Happy April Fools Day

[LigH]

The last Top Ten thread wasn't wiped off dust for 5 years now - so let's start a new one.

German radio stations like to share a big joke to make it more credible.

This year there was a report that the Eiffel Tower in Paris needs a refurbishing. But that is now only possible by a complete deconstruction...  

Just try to imagine opening all the rivets which keep it together.

or:

The German Federal Office for Traffic celebrates its 60th Anniversary - and raffles 60'000 penalty points to be pardoned.

[Caraick]

The last Top Ten thread wasn't wiped off dust for 5 years now - so let's start a new one.


This year there was a report that the Eiffel Tower in Paris needs a refurbishing. But that is now only possible by a complete deconstruction... 

Just try to imagine opening all the rivets which keep it together.

This is why I love April Fool's Day I remember hearing about a TV report by BBC, I believe, about the famous spaghetti farms that harvested the noodles for the beloved pasta.. 

[LigH]

The "Swiss Spaghetti Harvest" prank of 1957 is indeed one of the best of all time. -- YouTube video

Much more blatant than the intellectual prank about the 10th anniversary of an island nation named "San Serriffe" ("Sans-serif" is a category for modern fonts).

[Caraick]

Thanks for linking that one, I hope everyone checks it out.. one of the greatest I've ever heard of

For my April Fool's, I just hooked up a wireless mouse to a friend's computer, and amused a few others by moving his mouse at random intervals while he was trying to move it... Funny results, and I did eventually let him know that no, his mouse was not possessed.

[Illy2]

And all I had considered doing was something small and simple... I was just going to post a "I'm coming back to PS" thread XD Ah well... I'm too sick for mischief. Hellos everybody. o/

[Caraick]

Hiya, Illy

Not funny, we want you back...

[Catlemur]

I remember a prank on a TV show at Belgium when they claimed that the king of Belgium was assasinated and a civil war begun.People were shocked.

[Chucki]

Much more blatant than the intellectual prank about the 10th anniversary of an island nation named "San Serriffe" ("Sans-serif" is a category for modern fonts).

Not just modern fonts, all fonts since around Roman times have been categorised as Serif and Sans Serif (non-serif). Serifs are the name for a certain way of ending letters achieved by giving a single chip of a chisel, flattening the end of the letter, which has since become more elaborate in some cases. Sans serif simply means that there is no serifs on the letters, so they're plain.

[LigH]

Indeed, "sans-serif" is french and means "without serifs (ending lines)".

But more or less all fonts without serifs are modern, because serifs were used in "manufacturing" letters (especially already in times of stonemasons hammering letters into stone blocks) to give hints where a stem or bow starts.

Sans-serif fonts are often based on simpler geometrical elements, requiring a less forceful but rather delicate technique of production (drawing table instead of stonemasonry or metal carving).

Fonts not needing and not using serifs was a rather unfamiliar sight for readers, therefore they were also called "grotesque". With the computer-aided design of fonts, sans-serif font families became rather usual and are not grotesque anymore, just modern-looking.