April fool's special: Top 5 corporate gags

This time of the year always sees businesses loosen up and go in for a bit of tomfoolery

While April Fools' Day might see you preparing to prank your mates, you're not the only one with an evil gleam in your eye. A lot of corporations also see the first of the month as a chance to loosen up and have a little fun too. It gives everyone a good laugh and does wonders for their branding. Here are some of our favourite corporate gags from past years:
1 Samsung's Galaxy BLADE Edge (2015)
Smartphones today do everything else, so it was only a matter of time before they could replace kitchen knives. The cutting-edge cooking companion was announced last year and boasted a wireless meat thermometer, water- and fire-proof coating and - the best bit - a sensor that would call the concerned authorities, should the blade make contact with human blood.
2 Twitter's Twttr  (2013)
Social media giant Twitter hopped on the pranking bandwagon in 2013, by announcing that they were officially taking all the vowels out of the game and opting for a "denser" communication that used just consonants. Users that wished for access to all letters of the alphabet would have to pay a premium $5 a month.
3 Taco's Liberty Bell (1996)
On April 1, 1996, the American fast food chain Taco Bell took out a full page ad in six of the country's prominent newspapers that declared their decision to "purchase" the historic Liberty Bell in order to help "reduce the country's debt". Hundreds of Americans swarmed the brand's franchises in protest and just as many inundated the National Park Service with phone calls and complaints (can't blame them, considering corporate sponsorship is all too real in today's world.) They made about $25 million in free publicity, thanks to their day of fun.
4 BMW's Rain-Deflecting Open Top Car (1983)
The best part about driving convertibles is to be able to feel the wind in your hair. BMW captisalised on this in 1983, when it announced the latest in auto technology: the ability for cars to repel water - thanks to jets of air that could "blast water away", even in a car wash.
5 BBC's Spaghetti Tree (1957)
If it's on TV, it must be true. On April Fools' Day in 1957 - a time when "not many Britons were familiar with spaghetti" - the BBC broadcast a three-minute special about a family in southern Switzerland that had managed to "grow" spaghetti on trees. Footage showed strands of the pasta hanging from trees and hundreds of viewers phoned in, wanting to know where they could get their own tree. The BBC reportedly told them to "place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best".
Compiled by Karen Ann Monsy

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