Fools

April 1, 2006 2:03 AM

Newsfilter: Genetically engineered dragons a possibility, China buys Google just as Google Browser announced, new work by Euclid discovered. [via] [also: 1,2,3)
posted by MetaMonkey (15 comments total)

don't forget the all new google romance.
posted by scodger at 2:14 AM on April 1, 2006

no google spaghetti trees?
posted by the cuban at 2:18 AM on April 1, 2006

I'm disappointed that a Google Romance search for "boobies" didn't bring anything up.
posted by chrominance at 2:20 AM on April 1, 2006

Also, Flickr has imploded under the weight of all the cat pictures.
posted by sidereal at 3:10 AM on April 1, 2006

Wikipedia has a running list of 4-1 pranks...
posted by HuronBob at 3:28 AM on April 1, 2006

Quote : "Nonetheless, the astonishingly wide range of these investigations and speculations means that our use of the term "non-Euclidean geometry" is clearly misleading. We can now honestly say that it's all Euclidean geometry."

But what will this do to R'yleh?
posted by Grimgrin at 4:06 AM on April 1, 2006

these seem kind of obvious ... the best pranks are those that force people to think hard about them ... or they're so absurd that it would seem that no one would believe them ... but they do

did anyone hear npr's story last year about the exploding maple trees? ... that was a good one
posted by pyramid termite at 4:52 AM on April 1, 2006

I loved the Euclid link.... absolutely hilarious, but subtle. An excellent April Fool's joke.

Back in the BBS days, I remember having a big discussion about the 'hotheaded naked ice borers' (from Nature, I think) that someone posted about, all excited. "Wow, look at these neat critters!" It was amazing how many (smart!) people just bought it, hook, line, and sinker. It was a very well-done article. Probably my favorite April Fool's article/joke so far. :)

That was also my first encounter with the collective-intelligence phenomenon. I expressed doubt about it based on the physics of melting ice, while others hit it from different angles. We'd figured out that it couldn't possibly be true within a day or so.... which is kind of slow compared to modern Internet blogcritics, but BBSes didn't move too fast. :)
posted by Malor at 4:56 AM on April 1, 2006

Years ago, on the last page of an April Scientific American, they had a short article on using a computer to correct children's art. It was very well done; they received many complaints.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 7:11 AM on April 1, 2006

I'm feeling scared he he
posted by fullerine at 7:28 AM on April 1, 2006

wtf?
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 7:34 AM on April 1, 2006

I hope the dragon part is true.
posted by troutfishing at 10:58 AM on April 1, 2006

linkfilter. heh.
posted by MetaMonkey at 11:26 AM on April 1, 2006

I'm holding a (very) faint hope that we are all Pam Ewing — and the last five-plus years have been but a ratings ploy....
I'm stepping into the shower now.
Is that a noise?
Bobbeh? Bobbeh? BOBBEH??!!
*heart-rending sobs*
posted by rob511 at 2:40 PM on April 1, 2006

Oog . . . I really just can't tell if this is April Foolsery or not.
posted by dgaicun at 9:28 PM on April 1, 2006