6 In 1999, Canada got a whole new territory on April Fool’s Day. Along with the timing, the name of the new territory, “Nunavut“, contributed to the idea that this large land’s right grant was a joke.
In the year 1999, a new name, “Nunavut”, was added to the map of Canada. Nunavut is the largest and northernmost territory of Canada. It was officially separated from the Northwest Territories on April 1. Due to its unique name and date of creation, Nunavut was considered as a joke at that time. (source)
7 In 2015, less than twenty-four hours before April Fools’ Day, Amazon unveiled its newest innovation, the Amazon Dash Button. This was a button for different household items which could be pressed for an automatic Prime Order to the house in case of the need of a refill. Many people thought it was an April Fool’s Day prank!
Amazon unveiled its awesome innovation, the Amazon Dash Button, in the year 2015. This gadget bears a logo of the brand of a product which people can choose according to their choice. A customer can bring it home and stick it on any flat surface. Whenever the product needs to be replenished, the person just needs to push the button and it would be dispatched directly to their house. As amazing as it sounds, the Amazon Dash Button was considered as an April Fool’s Day joke in the beginning as it was revealed to the public less than twenty-four hours before the 1st of April. (source)
8 Due to the Bielefeld Conspiracy, it’s a common thing in Germany to pretend the German city of Bielefeld doesn’t exist. Bielefeld got so fed up they released a press statement to confirm it does exist, however they released it on April 1st.
In 1994, an internet joke originated which claimed that the city of Bielefeld, Germany does not exist and it is an illusion propagated by various forces. It is known as the “Bielefeld Conspiracy” and it posed three questions.
Do you know anybody from Bielefeld?
Have you ever been to Bielefeld?
Do you know anybody who has ever been to Bielefeld?
At that time, the majority of people answered “no” to all three questions. Anybody who answered “yes” to any of these questions was said to be a part of the conspiracy or to have been deceived.
After this conspiracy, the city council of Bielefeld tried hard to rebuild the public image of the city. But even after seventeen years or more after the conspiracy started, the mayor’s office still received e-mails and phone calls questioning the existence of the city. Finally being fed up with the myth, the city council released a press statement in 1999 titled “Bielefeld does exist!”. But unfortunately, it was released on April Fool’s Day! (source)
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9 Gmail first launched on April 1st, 2004. Not so surprisingly it was widely assumed that the service was an April Fool’s Day joke!
Long before the release of Gmail, Google had developed a reputation for being a prankster in the tech community. So, when this multi-billion dollar company launched Gmail on April 1, 2004, no one believed it. Also, Google claimed that Gmail had a storage limit of one gigabyte which in 2004 was too good to be true. So, even when the vice president of the products’ group at Google, Jonathan Rosenberg, published a statement about being serious about the release, people still took it as a joke. (source)
10 Motown legend Marvin Gaye was shot to death by his father on April 1, 1984, after a fight between them. The murder weapon was a gun he had given his father for Christmas. People at first dismissed the news thinking it was a joke.
Marvin Gaye was an American singer, songwriter and record producer who earned the title “Prince of Motown” due to his prominent role in the Motown record company. He was killed on April 1, 1984, when his father fatally shot him in their Los Angeles home.
On the day of the murder, Marvin and his father were arguing about a misplaced insurance policy document. After hours of verbal fighting, the altercation became physical when Marvin kicked his father. Soon his father took out the pistol earlier given to him by his son and shot him in the chest. Even though the first shot was fatal, his father moved closer and shot him again. After arriving at the hospital he was pronounced dead. Even though the incident was true, the date on which it happened prompted people to take it as a joke in the beginning. (1, 2)
