Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON
I took this shot in a city car park about three weeks ago, and decided to save it for April Fools' Day. Because of the way the car was parked, the manufacturer's logo on the wheel was actually at a 90-degree angle from the way we normally view it (as you can see from the positioning of the letters BMW). About 20 years ago, there was a radio host who played a memorable prank, telling people there had been a spate of fake BMWs sold. He said that BMW owners should rush out and inspect that famous logo on the bonnet/ hood of their cars. If the blue segments were in the top left and bottom right quadrants, he said, then the cars were definitely fake. He got a flood of calls. Some callers were in a panic, while others just laughed at the joke. The blue segments are always in the top left and bottom right quadrants, as you know. But the whole episode just shows that some people are always gullible, even on April 1. Do you have a great April Fools' Day story? Leave a comment and tell me about it ....
4 comments:
Boys and their toys, eh? Served the blighters right, I say!
1962. Sweden. Pre colour television.
A well-known and respected technical expert (name unpronounceable and unspellable) broadcast on Swedish TV that people could convert their B&W sets to colour for the price of a pair of nylon stockings.
Remember that this was in the days when nylons themselves were relatively new, and had that shimmering look that appeared to change colour depending on how you held it up to the light.
He demonstrated how to stretch the stockings over a TV set in the studio and stood back with apparent satisfaction that his experiement had worked.
Apparently hundreds of people at home, watching this demo, actually tried it.
It didn't seem to matter to them that his demonstration was being received on their sets in BLACK and WHITE!
Hi Shrink wrapped scream,
It would have been great fun back then, in pre-Internet days!
Cheers
David
Nice one, El Tel,
That's a great story. Definitely one to remember.
Will store that away in the memory trove.
David
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