On April 1 it seems media outlets become either fools or comedians. Here’s your comprehensive list of pranks the media world want you to believe this April 1.
Dragons will probably not be waking due to climate change. Or any other reason, as Scimex would have you believe.
But they did reveal new information on the fantastical creature’s dietary habits.
“Additionally the researchers say throughout history, fire-breathing dragons have been known to favour knights as a food source,” the fake press release read.
“They recommend that countries, like Australia, avoid honorific titles to avoid attracting the attention of hungry dragon hatchlings.”
The NT News are probably not going to stop writing statuses in all caps.
But at least we found out who is responsible for all those crocodile front page headlines:
Not so much a prank, but in an attempt to make the world more fun, Google Maps has released a Pac-Man map option today - officially ruling out any chances of productivity this April Fool’s.
Less fun was this convincing news from finder.com.au that "this could be the last Easter with real chocolate," due to a "global shortage of cocoa beans." They even published a breaking news video on the crisis:
Queensland police have a new Senior Sergeant, the aptly named Joey Hopper, and he’s really excited about the force’s Roo Shoe trial.
The shoes will “increase officer mobility” and are the first in a line of “kangaroo-inspired equipment, such as pouches for officers to store their accoutrements”.
Joining in the foolery is the NSW cops, with the force declaring “camels are making a return to policing”.
They’ve promised they will be pulled in line if caught spitting.
“We demand that our four-legged companions display the same standards that we expect from the public, so we have had to give them additional training to address that,” Inspector Tom Lawrence said.
For some reason Australian police are hooked on animals today, and the South Australian Police are no exception. They picked April 1 to kick-start their Police Cat Operations Unit, or Cat Sqaud for short.
“These police trained cats won’t be pussy-footing around. We have been using Police Dog Patrols for many years now, but these cats are the purr..fect addition to police operations and they are ready to prowl the streets for anything fishy!" the phony release read.
And if you thought politicians never smile, think again.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten jumped on the April Fool’s bandwagon with this zinger for the PM.
But the Australian Sex Party won this April Fool's Day, according to Daily Life, with the declaration of their new hybrid political party.
In darker humour, apparently cats will be allowed to goggle at fish and even snorkel amongst them at Sydney’s first Cat Aquarium, while Flight Centre are offering Sydney to London return airfares for just $199.
The catch? You’ll be travelling ‘cargo class,’ literally amongst the plane’s cargo in an “air-tight container.”
But it’s not all bad, with Flight Centre promising “travellers can take advantage of wireless in-flight entertainment options using their own personal device and bring meals and snacks for the journey.”
Unfortunately, lists like this didn’t come in time for those who were made fools by the Vegemite saga on Tuesday.
Pedestrian TV humbly admitted their embarrassing defeat after the internet named and shamed accordingly.
Other false news has included the joke claim by Woolworths to have created a "watermapple" - a hybrid watermelon-apple - and a futuristic VO5 hair clip that tethers to a smartphone to monitor hair health.
If only.
