Flops vs funnies: Sydney’s best and worst April Fool’s Day jokes revealed
It’s always a mixed bag when it comes to April Fool’s Day — so here’s some of Sydney’s best and worst pranks so far.
NSW
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Sydney has been caught out in a string of April Fool‘s jokes this morning — that left some shocked and others in fits of laughter.
The gags started at 5.30am with Ben Fordham, when the 2GB breakfast host sent listeners into a spin by pretending he’d suffered an accident at Royal Randwick racecourse.
Because the program was being hosted at the racecourse, Fordham had sports presenter James Willis to play along and sit in the host’s chair for the first few minutes, telling listeners their usual presenter was “OK” but alluding to an incident on the track involving a racehorse.
But following the 5.35am traffic report, Fordham was back at the mic and gave the gag up, telling listeners it was all a prank.
Listeners rang in with a mix of responses — some applauding the joke while others were less than impressed.
It was later revealed in the show that 2GB senior management — who clearly weren’t in on the gag — had called to make sure everything was OK, and Fordham’s colleague Ray Hadley had “sprinted upstairs” at the Pyrmont office after producers called to ask the 67 year-old if he could fill in on the breakfast show following the faux accident.
But while Fordham‘s joke fell flat for some, other organisations brought their A game to the funniest day of the year.
NSW Police unveiled their brand new Inter Bin Investigation Squad – IBIS, for short- complete with footage of officers herding a flock of “bin chickens” around Sydney’s Hyde Park.
“The new squad has already proven extremely useful during high-level search warrants and collecting forensic evidence at crime scenes,” NSW Police captioned the video of the spoof online.
Elsewhere around Sydney, other jokes which failed to impress included a post from NSW Labor leader Chris Minns who claimed Sydney‘s road tolls had all been scrapped.
“Breaking, The Liberals have scrapped tolls in Sydney. Read more below,” Mr Minns wrote online before adding in the comments: ”April fools – I wish this was true.”
But Sydney Water‘s newly invented “flushable wet wipes” sparked chortles on social media.
“Gotchya … April fools,” the organisation quipped.
The Scenic World Blue Mountains team also gave comedy a crack, taking on the difficult task of making the picturesque region “even bluer” by unveiling so-called plans to dye the rapids of Katoomba Falls.
“Thousands of litres of non-toxic dye will be poured into the water supply at the top of the falls by our brave Scenic World staff who will man this job 24/7, rain, hail or shine,” the company wrote on Facebook.
The Supercars Championship social media team tried to pull the wool over V8 fans’ eyes but declaring driver Cam Waters was making a career change to bull riding, and Domino’s Pizza unveiled they’d wrapped a hatchback car in pizza-themed print.
McDonald’s also joined in on the fun, debuting the fast food restaurant’s sweet and sour sauce ice cream sundae.
April Fools’ Day also sparked a few eyebrow-raising collaborations on the culinary front from iconic Aussie brands.
Vegemite and Arnott’s TimTam teamed up to announce a collaborative pretend biscuit flavoured with the savoury spread.
“Two iconic Aussie favourites have come together to create one ‘mitey’ delicious biscuit, what more could you wish for,” the two labels declared on social media.
Weet-Bix and Heinz also teamed up for the questionable combination of “beans with bix”.
“We‘ve been working hard with our friends … to create an even more convenient brekkie option for Aussies,” Weet-Bix announced.
“Introducing Beans of Bix … in a can.”
Not to be outdone, jobseeker search engine Seek also announced plans to open a remote office on the planet of Mars, offering a range of job roles appropriate for life on the solar system‘s fourth planet.
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