April Fools' pranks across The Local Europe
With April Fool's Day now safely behind us and readers' guards lowered again, we've rounded up the jokes and pranks The Local pulled on our sites around Europe. Just in case it wasn't clear from the nature of the stories themselves - or if you're reluctantly back in the office after the long weekend and need a lift, here is a round-up of April Fools' spoof stories from The Local.
In Germany the suggestion was raised that Bayern Munich had vowed to play the last match of the Bundesliga wearing traditional lederhosen - because barring some catastrophe, they'll have the competition all wrapped up. Former team doctor Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt - a real person - was even wheeled out to suggest players grease their thighs with goose fat to prevent chafing.
SEE ALSO: Sweden mulls shaving products ban for minors (April Fool's 2012)
The Eiffel Tower came under fire on the French site, with imaginary feminists calling for the "phallic symbol" to be torn down and replaced with something less resembling a penis. The story even included a French pun, with the group bearing the name Occoupez Le Tour meaning occupy - but also cut off - the tower.
Spanish romantics who refuse to learn from their past mistakes may have gotten temporary succour from the story that a dating site was setting up a facial-recognition-software-powered service to find people who resemble former lovers. The story was so believable that United Press International picked up the story and reported it - seemingly without cottoning onto the joke.
SEE ALSO: Anti-feminist 'Viking' community uncovered in Swedish wilds (April Fool's 2011)
And in case you missed it, here in Sweden we joked that archaeologists in Stockholm found Thor's hammer. With a huge international interest in the story, a mention from the BBC and over 8,000 Facebook shares (and counting), we can only imagine that people really want to believe more than they truly believed.
The Local
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Just in case it wasn't clear from the nature of the stories themselves - or if you're reluctantly back in the office after the long weekend and need a lift, here is a round-up of April Fools' spoof stories from The Local.
In Germany the suggestion was raised that Bayern Munich had vowed to play the last match of the Bundesliga wearing traditional lederhosen - because barring some catastrophe, they'll have the competition all wrapped up. Former team doctor Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt - a real person - was even wheeled out to suggest players grease their thighs with goose fat to prevent chafing.
SEE ALSO: Sweden mulls shaving products ban for minors (April Fool's 2012)
The Eiffel Tower came under fire on the French site, with imaginary feminists calling for the "phallic symbol" to be torn down and replaced with something less resembling a penis. The story even included a French pun, with the group bearing the name Occoupez Le Tour meaning occupy - but also cut off - the tower.
Spanish romantics who refuse to learn from their past mistakes may have gotten temporary succour from the story that a dating site was setting up a facial-recognition-software-powered service to find people who resemble former lovers. The story was so believable that United Press International picked up the story and reported it - seemingly without cottoning onto the joke.
SEE ALSO: Anti-feminist 'Viking' community uncovered in Swedish wilds (April Fool's 2011)
And in case you missed it, here in Sweden we joked that archaeologists in Stockholm found Thor's hammer. With a huge international interest in the story, a mention from the BBC and over 8,000 Facebook shares (and counting), we can only imagine that people really want to believe more than they truly believed.
The Local
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