April Fools’ roundup

Ben Moss.
April 02, 2013
April Fools' roundup.

ThumbnailIt’s April 2nd, and news sites have gone back to reporting the news instead of inventing it. Yesterday’s annual festival of invented headlines, some convincing, some lame, many frighteningly plausible, was as popular as ever with websites.

We played two pranks of our own: the introduction of certification for U.S. designers, and Apple turning to Flash for website security. But is All Fools’ Day popular with everyone? Are there some people who’d prefer to simply turn off the internet and work offline for the day?

Why do we feel the need to prank each other? Are we playing Devil’s advocate on serious points we can’t normally discuss, or are we simply indulging in the ridiculous?

In case you missed them, or weren’t sure if they were genuine news stories, here’s our roundup of the gags we enjoyed the most yesterday.

Google Treasure Maps

Google also tried to entice us away from work with a One-Eyed Willy style treasure map. Google Maps supposedly allowed you to collaborate with Goonies across the globe to track down the treasure of Captain Kidd. I really wanted this one to be true.

Cat testing

We don’t think anyone actually fell for this, but it’s a great idea: user testing feedback offered by cats. usertesting​.com did a great job of making us laugh while promoting their service.

Google Nose

Every year Google seem to blow their PR budget on high production value pranks. One of several in 2013 was Google Nose Beta, an implausible addition to Google’s range of search products.

YouTube shuts down

In the current economy, businesses everywhere are shutting down. Including, supposedly, YouTube who admitted that their entire raison d’être over the last eight years was to find the Best Video in the World’. Obviously, YouTube was still up this morning, but they did a great job of selling this one.

Twttr

Twitter announced that it would be splitting its site in two: a full paid version that would cost $5 per month, and a free version called Twttr with all vowels removed.

Virgin’s glass bottomed plane

Virgin Atlantic released a story that they were introducing glass bottomed planes, giving everyone a window seat. Actually, once you got over the terror of takeoff and landing, this one could have been pretty cool if it had been true.

Virgin

WestJet’s Furry Family

Airlines seem to be very keen to get in on the joke. WestJet introduced their Furry Family’ service, allowing you to carry your pet in the airline cabin. Sadly, they didn’t quite have the nerve to stick to the prank, and fessed up before the end of their video.

Aer Lingus

Irish airline Aer Lingus have introduced’ a number of changes, including boarding by clan, staff in hurling uniforms, live Irish folk music in the cabin, and traditional Irish folk dance during the safety briefing. Just like WestJet, they couldn’t maintain the poker face either.

Nokia’s microwave oven

If it hadn’t been announced yesterday, we might have fallen for Nokia’s microwave oven announcement. With features such as eye-tracking technology to stop the turntable when it’s looked at, and apps to let you rate food, maybe they should build it, it might rescue their bottomline.

Sony Animalia

Sony entertained us with a new lineup of tech targeted at domestic fauna’.

Google Blue

Parodying the hype surrounding new product launches, Google (again) pokes fun at itself with the launch’ of Google Blue: it’s Google Mail, only blue. If they know that tech launches often seem as full of hot air as this, why don’t they do something different?

Scope Bacon

Scope mouthwash released Scope Bacon, a bacon flavored mouthwash.

A special message from POTUS

A special message from President Obama? Are we at war with North Korea? Is a meteor on a collision course with the Earth? Strangely even the leader of the free world got in on the act, with whitehouse​.gov releasing an unusual presidential announcement.

Did you fall for an April Fools’ prank this year? Do you enjoy All Fools’ Day or wish it would go away? Let us know in the comments.

Featured image/​thumbnail, laughter image via Shutterstock.

Ben Moss

Ben Moss is Senior Editor at WebdesignerDepot. He’s designed and coded work for award-winning startups, and global names including IBM, UBS, and the FBI. One of these days he’ll run a sub-4hr marathon. Say hi on Twitter.

Read Next

Apple Opts for AR over VR at WWDC

An Apple VR headset has been one of the most widely-rumored devices of the last few years, and it was finally settled a…

Exciting New Tools for Designers, June 2023

We’re halfway through 2023 already, and the number of incredible apps, tools, and resources for designers is mounting.

3 Essential Design Trends, June 2023

This month we are focusing on three trends within a bigger website design trend – different navigation menu styles and …

15 Best New Fonts, May 2023

The choices you make when selecting a typeface have more impact on your design than almost any other decision, so it’s …

10+ Best Tools & Resources for Web Designers and Agencies (2023 updated)

Having the ability to envision a tastefully designed website (i.e., the role creativity plays) is important. But being …

20 Best New Websites, May 2023

This month, there are tons of great new agency websites to get excited about. 3D animated prisms are a popular theme, a…

How to Find the Right White Label Website Builder for Your Agency

Web design agencies face a lot of obstacles in closing the deal with new clients. One of the most common ones is the ar…

Exciting New Tools For Designers, May 2023

There are hundreds of new tools for designers and developers released each month. We sift through them all to bring you…

3 Essential Design Trends, May 2023

All three of the website design trends here mimic something bigger going on in the tech space, from a desire to have mo…

10 Best AI Tools for Web Designers (2023)

It’s time to stop worrying if AI is going to take your job and instead start using AI to expand the services you can of…

10 Best Marketing Agency Websites (Examples, Inspo, and Templates!)

Marketers are skilled in developing strategies, producing visual assets, writing text with high impact, and optimizing …

15 Best New Fonts, April 2023

Fonts are a designer’s best friend. They add personality to our designs and enable fine typography to elevate the quali…