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| April Fool Messages |
Adam Growe, host of Discovery Channel’s Cash Cab: “When I was a morning radio announcer in the early ’90s, there was a big lottery — one of the biggest at that time, for something like $30-million. The draw happened to take place just before April Fool’s and there was a winning ticket. On the morning of April Fool’s, however, I went on air and announced that, in fact, there was a second winning ticket, yet unclaimed.
Listeners started calling the station and I began to hear stories of people picking through their garbage, leaving work, getting their kids to school late, etc., all in order to double check their ticket.
The story got picked up by international news services. In the following days, friends, family and other Canadians all across the states called me or sent me messages about various U.S. newspapers that covered the story of the April Fool’s joke played by a morning deejay in Orangeville, Ont. It must have been a slow news week!”
Steve Patterson, host of CBC Radio One’s The Debators: “My favourite go-to April Fool’s [jokes] early on were crank calls to my parents or older brothers. Sometimes I’d pretend to be the police, sometimes the principal of my school saying that one of my brothers was in trouble. But I stopped doing that when one of my brothers actually got into trouble with the police and when the officer called, my mom laughed in his face and hung up, thinking it was me.
My best April Fool’s prank was when I changed my father’s outgoing message on his old-fashioned answering machine, which he also used for business, and made it appear that he had been abducted by sinister forces. With the help of my best friend, [we used] our best movie bad guy voices and an old adding machine whose “paper feed” button, in a different frame of mind, sounded exactly like a machine gun. So the message which formerly said “You’ve reached John Patterson, please leave me a message” now said: “We have taken John Patterson (rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat). If you ever want to see him again, you will buy many plumbing supplies (rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat). Don’t bother leaving a message. We know where you live! (rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat).” Followed by crazy screaming.
I thought it was hilarious. My dad didn’t at first. But after he made a bunch of sales that day from concerned and amused customers, I think he forgave me.”
Growe and Patterson are featured in Raising the Roof’s 14th Annual April Fools Weekend of Comedy which runs from April 1 to 3.
Sources: http://arts.nationalpost.com
