1987

Thatcher-Gorbachev Romance

The Daily Mirror broke the news of a romance that had blossomed between Margaret Thatcher and Mikhail Gorbachev during Thatcher's tour of the Soviet Union. It accompanied this revelation with photos of the two world leaders sitting together in Moscow's Gorky Park. In one photo, Thatcher could be seen tenderly tickling Gorbachev under his chin. In another, the two walked arm in arm and even sneaked a kiss. The photos were posed by lookalikes, but they succeeded in fooling thousands. Many expressed shock that Thatcher, a married woman, would act in such a way in public. In real life, Thatcher left Moscow on April 2, 1987. She told members of the press that she and Gorbachev got on very well, considering that we are very different and hold very different views.

LA Highways Close for Repairs

LA disc jockey Steve Morris announced on KRTH-FM that freeways in Los Angeles and Orange counties would be closed for major repairs from April 8 to May 1 so that road crews could work nonstop. Morris discussed the news throughout his morning show, from 6:30 to 9:30 a.m., until finally he announced, April Fool! But long before he revealed the joke, his announcement had spread panic throughout L.A., where the freeway is an unavoidable part of daily life for most people. The radio station, Caltrans, and the California Highway Patrol were all flooded with calls. KRTH later admitted that it was stunned by the reaction to the hoax and noted that it had received a call from Caltrans informing them that they didn't think it was very funny.

YouTube Rickrolls the Internet

The Rickrolling prank involves tricking a person into clicking a link that leads them to a clip of Rick Astley singing Never Gonna Give You Up. For instance, a person might think they're clicking a link to see a preview of a new movie, but instead Rick Astley appears on their screen, singing his 1987 hit single. The prank became hugely popular in late-2007 and for a while seemed to be nearly ubiquitous online. But on 1 April 2008, YouTube took the joke to an entirely new level when the company redirected all the featured videos on its frontpage to Astley's clip. It was, without a doubt, the most extensive Rickroll of all time. As many people noted, the site had, because of its huge audience, essentially succeeded in Rickrolling the entire Internet.