Just last month, Lipton pulled an early April Fools' prank announcing the discontinuation of their iconic Iced Tea Peach. So, in honor of our very recent April 1st, let’s take a fun chronological ride through 5 of humanity’s most gloriously gullible moments in history:

1910: The Dreadnought Hoax 

In what might be history’s most uncomfortable prank, a group of British intellectuals, including a young Virginia Woolf, pretended to be Abyssinian royals. The Royal Navy, apparently incapable of recognizing blackface (yep, yikes…), gave them a full VIP tour of their flagship warship. 

1917: Cottingley Fairies

Two bored cousins in England staged photos of fairies using cardboard cutouts and hatpins, which shouldn’t have fooled a toddler. Yet somehow, these blurry pics convinced even Sherlock Holmes’ own creator that magic was real. 

1938: War of the Worlds Panic

Orson Welles' radio adaptation of H.G. Wells' novel "War of the Worlds" was presented in a news bulletin format, leading some listeners to sprint into the streets with wet towels on their heads believing that an actual Martian invasion was underway. 

1957: Spaghetti Trees & 2008: Flying Penguins 

On April 1st, 1957, the BBC aired a documentary about Swiss farmers harvesting spaghetti from trees. British viewers reportedly flooded the network with calls asking how to grow their own. So next time you think of taking up gardening, place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best! Some 51 years later, the BBC aired yet another nature documentary, this time about penguins evolving to fly away from climate change. Despite BBC’s April Fools’ precedents and this discovery of the “Miracles of Evolution” airing ’coincidentally’ on April 1st, thousands of viewers still bought it.

2013: Google Nose 

On April 1st, 2013, Google “launched” a feature letting you search for smells “by intersecting photons with infrasound waves”. The kicker? Thousands reportedly fell for it. Never underestimate how far tech hype can go when people are eager to believe in the impossible – and forget to check their calendars.

From Edwardian England to the Instagram era, April Fools’ Day has been our annual reminder to have fun and that no matter how advanced we think we are, credible sources can still prank us into believing even the most ridiculous facts. Of course, if you’re the prankster, it’s all fun and games – unless you are Elon Musk, who joked about Tesla going bankrupt and ended up making the stock plummet. Happy belated April Fools’!