Reason.com - Free Minds and Free Markets
Reason logo Reason logo
  • Latest
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Subscribe
    • Crossword
  • Video
    • Reason TV
    • The Reason Roundtable
    • Just Asking Questions
    • Free Media
    • The Reason Interview
  • Podcasts
    • All Shows
    • The Reason Roundtable
    • The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie
    • The Soho Forum Debates
    • Just Asking Questions
  • Volokh
  • Newsletters
  • Donate
    • Donate Online
    • Donate Crypto
    • Ways To Give To Reason Foundation
    • Torchbearer Society
    • Planned Giving
  • Subscribe
    • Reason Plus Subscription
    • Gift Subscriptions
    • Print Subscription
    • Subscriber Support

Login Form

Create new account
Forgot password

April Is the Foolish Month

Jesse Walker | 4.1.2003 4:34 AM

Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL Add Reason to Google
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

April includes both my favorite holiday, on the first, and my least favorite, on the fifteenth. In honor of the former, the Museum of Hoaxes is giving Web-surfers a chance to calibrate their bullshit detectors, with a special April Fool's Day quiz.

[Via The Volokh Conspiracy.]

Start your day with Reason. Get a daily brief of the most important stories and trends every weekday morning when you subscribe to Reason Roundup.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

NEXT: Few, Proud, Tobaccoless

Jesse Walker is books editor at Reason and the author of Rebels on the Air and The United States of Paranoia.

Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL Add Reason to Google
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

Hide Comments (11)

Editor's Note: As of February 29, 2024, commenting privileges on reason.com posts are limited to Reason Plus subscribers. Past commenters are grandfathered in for a temporary period. Subscribe here to preserve your ability to comment. Your Reason Plus subscription also gives you an ad-free version of reason.com, along with full access to the digital edition and archives of Reason magazine. We request that comments be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment and ban commenters for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.

  1. geophile   23 years ago

    7 out of 16 correct.

    It seems that at least one has come true since it was originally offered as a joke: forehead tattoo marketting (though apparently just a joke vis-a-vis Pepsi) has recently been tried. Saw it on Boing-Boing a couple months ago.

  2. Tuning Spork   23 years ago

    12 out of 16 correct! The biggest surprise was that carrot is a fruit one. And I can't believe they don't make vodka bars!

  3. Jesse Walker   23 years ago

    Well, they should make vodka bars, dammit.

  4. Erik Berg   23 years ago

    No I know why I fall for exactly every 4th email about enlarging my penis

  5. Warren   23 years ago

    Vodka bars!? You vodka snobs too good to drink with the rest of us?

  6. Warren   23 years ago

    10/16
    The ones that got me;

    Corporate tattoos - Can't believe they are passing this up.

    Prehistoric penguins - Didn't think they ever lived north of the equator.

    Vodka bars - Another untapped gold mine.

    Tooth telephone - Totally embarrassed, I knew it was coming, didn't think we were there yet, still skeptical that this is a WORKING technology

    Operation fake tourist - Other side of Co. tats., can't believe this pays off, how many phone/cameras would he have to sell to justify his paycheck, and is it more than the traditional forms of advertising?

    Carrots are fruits - When someone on this side of the Atlantic tries to tell you tomatoes or whatnot is a fruit it's for some pseudo botanical reason (i.e. it's a seed case therefore it's a fruit) but "you can make jam from it"? Next thing you know they'll be testing for witches by trying to build a bridge out of the accused.

  7. geophile   23 years ago

    Vodka bars could be the next big thing, like those tobacco lollipops the FDA banned. Russia should get on this immediately, after whipping themselves for not making them sooner.

  8. Jesse Walker   23 years ago

    I didn't have trouble believing that they'd try the fake-tourist scam, Warren. What I couldn't handle was the thought that they'd *announce* it.

  9. Warren   23 years ago

    Jesse
    Ha! No kidding. I wonder how long it took for before every other "tourist" started running off with their new high tech gadget.

  10. Glen   23 years ago

    I got 11 of 16, but it took a long time for the score box to appear. During that time I decided that I had been had by an April Fool's joke. I was pleased that that had not happened.

  11. Brian   23 years ago

    9/16. Vodka bars got me, too.

    Spork...I would have been much more suprised if the EU _hadn't_ reclassified the carrot as a fruit. I heard recently that they revised the definition of banana to include specifications for curvature. If it doesn't curve right, it isn't a banana.

    But then again, I only got 9/16 right, so maybe my BS detector wasn't wroking that day...

Please log in to post comments

Mute this user?

  • Mute User
  • Cancel

Ban this user?

  • Ban User
  • Cancel

Un-ban this user?

  • Un-ban User
  • Cancel

Nuke this user?

  • Nuke User
  • Cancel

Un-nuke this user?

  • Un-nuke User
  • Cancel

Flag this comment?

  • Flag Comment
  • Cancel

Un-flag this comment?

  • Un-flag Comment
  • Cancel

Latest

Justice Department Says Filming Immigration Raids Is 'Domestic Terrorism'

Autumn Billings | 12.26.2025 10:00 AM

From Nixon to Trump, the 'War on Drugs' Has Been a Disaster for Americans' Freedom

Steven Greenhut | 12.26.2025 7:30 AM

Review: A Novel About Masculinity and Weightlifting

Peter Suderman | From the January 2026 issue

Brickbat: Big Boss Man

Charles Oliver | 12.26.2025 4:00 AM

When Washington Crossed the Delaware on Christmas 1776, It Wasn't in the Name of Christian Nationalism

Steven Greenhut | 12.25.2025 7:30 AM

Recommended

  • About
  • Browse Topics
  • Events
  • Staff
  • Jobs
  • Donate
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Media
  • Shop
  • Amazon
Reason Facebook@reason on XReason InstagramReason TikTokReason YoutubeApple PodcastsReason on FlipboardReason RSS Add Reason to Google

© 2025 Reason Foundation | Accessibility | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

r

I WANT FREE MINDS AND FREE MARKETS!

Help Reason push back with more of the fact-based reporting we do best. Your support means more reporters, more investigations, and more coverage.

Make a donation today! No thanks
r

I WANT TO FUND FREE MINDS AND FREE MARKETS

Every dollar I give helps to fund more journalists, more videos, and more amazing stories that celebrate liberty.

Yes! I want to put my money where your mouth is! Not interested
r

SUPPORT HONEST JOURNALISM

So much of the media tries telling you what to think. Support journalism that helps you to think for yourself.

I’ll donate to Reason right now! No thanks
r

PUSH BACK

Push back against misleading media lies and bad ideas. Support Reason’s journalism today.

My donation today will help Reason push back! Not today
r

HELP KEEP MEDIA FREE & FEARLESS

Back journalism committed to transparency, independence, and intellectual honesty.

Yes, I’ll donate to Reason today! No thanks
r

STAND FOR FREE MINDS

Support journalism that challenges central planning, big government overreach, and creeping socialism.

Yes, I’ll support Reason today! No thanks
r

PUSH BACK AGAINST SOCIALIST IDEAS

Support journalism that exposes bad economics, failed policies, and threats to open markets.

Yes, I’ll donate to Reason today! No thanks
r

FIGHT BAD IDEAS WITH FACTS

Back independent media that examines the real-world consequences of socialist policies.

Yes, I’ll donate to Reason today! No thanks
r

BAD ECONOMIC IDEAS ARE EVERYWHERE. LET’S FIGHT BACK.

Support journalism that challenges government overreach with rational analysis and clear reasoning.

Yes, I’ll donate to Reason today! No thanks
r

JOIN THE FIGHT FOR FREEDOM

Support journalism that challenges centralized power and defends individual liberty.

Yes, I’ll donate to Reason today! No thanks
r

BACK JOURNALISM THAT PUSHES BACK AGAINST SOCIALISM

Your support helps expose the real-world costs of socialist policy proposals—and highlight better alternatives.

Yes, I’ll donate to Reason today! No thanks
r

FIGHT BACK AGAINST BAD ECONOMICS.

Donate today to fuel reporting that exposes the real costs of heavy-handed government.

Yes, I’ll donate to Reason today! No thanks