Did anyone pull any April Fools day pranks? Here's mine

[coriolis]

Tell us about any thing you did to celebrate the day.

I'll tell you how I hoaxed the local newspaper last year. At the high school in our town, the sports teams are nicknamed "The Indians." At a prominent location in a park in a nearby city there is a well-known and much-loved 30 or 40-foot tall carved wooden statue of an indian done by a nationally known sculptor. I wrote a fake press release stating that the school was purchasing the statue and moving it to our town. I mailed the press release to the regional newspaper and they ran the story in the paper. They didn't even bother to verify the story with the school. The local radio stations picked up the story as well. Within a couple hours the newspaper posted on their web site that the story was false. The radio stations interviewed the mayor who denied the story. In the next mornings paper they reported that they received many calls from concerned citizens and admitted that they were hoaxed.

Here's the text of the press release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: XXXXXX XXXXXXX, Principal
Tel. (XXX) XXX-XXXX

STUDENTS TO PURCHASE LANDMARK
Famous Indian Statue to Be Relocated To School Grounds
A spokesman for the Senior Class of the Muncy Area High School, located in North-Central Pennsylvania, has announced that they are close to an agreement with the nearby City of Williamsport, to purchase and relocate a wooden statue of Iroquois Chief Woapalanee presently standing at Brandon Park in Williamsport, to the grounds of the Muncy Area High School. The statue, over 37 feet tall, (picture attached) was carved from a 42-inch diameter oak log by the renowned Indian Sculptor Peter Toth, in 1990. The spokesman who is also a parent of a senior stated that “Muncy High School is known as ‘The Indians.’ The addition of this well known statue to our campus will enhance the appearance of our grounds and honor those who lived here in the past. This project will serve as a reminder of our history and the hard work of many volunteers.” A representative of the Williamsport Department of Public Works indicated that a new statue depicting a lumberjack will be erected at the Brandon Park location, which “will be a better indication of Williamsport’s history”. The employee, who wished to remain anonymous, added that “Everyone knows that the lumbering industry created more Millionaires per capita in Williamsport than in any other city.” He acknowledged that it will be “a challenge to find a log of sufficient diameter to properly show a burly woodsman.”

A local attorney is donating his time to prepare an agreement to finalize the move. After that, all that remains is to raise funds for the project. A fundraiser kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 pm on April 1, 2008, on the School’s front lawn. Many activities are planned. They include a re-enactment of a pow-wow, or sacred peace ritual using an authentic Iroquois peace pipe on loan from the Muncy Historical Society; a replica teepee will be erected on site; a demonstration of smoke signals will be given; cowboy and Indian memorabilia will be on sale; and authentic reproductions of historical items will be sold in a silent auction to honor the “silent warriors of the woods.” In addition, the Muncy Marching Band will perform in authentic Iroquois war dress; the cheerleaders will perform a rain dance, followed by a car wash in the school parking lot. The cheerleaders will also provide Indian face painting for the kids. Assistant Principal XXXXXX XXXXX will speak at 6:25 pm, after the smoke clears. The public and media are invited to this event.

[vbhoutex]

ROFLMAO!!! I can't believe they fell for that without checking it. Do they have any idea who did it yet?

[coriolis]

No, Only a few friends and family knew about it.

[Stephanie]

That's one heck of a prank!