The Witzard

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"Spaghetti Trees" (BBC, 1957).


In honor of April Fool's Day 2011, I figured I'd conjure up a post on the best only April Fool's Day prank of all time that matters - "The [Great] Spaghetti Tree Hoax of 1957." The 3-minute segment [conveniently featured below] originally aired within the BBC current affairs documentary programme, Panorama.
In a time when the Italian dish wasn't yet widely known of in the UK, this clip - which showcased a Swiss family "harvesting" a spaghetti "crop" - prompted hundreds called in asking questions like, "How can my family grow our own spaghetti tree?" The BBC's response: "Take a sprig of pasta, place it in tomato sauce, and wait for it to grow."


Asher Roth's forthcoming sophomore album will supposedly be named after/in homage to the notorious prank. "G.R.I.N.D." is seemingly the first single from The Spaghetti Tree; An album which hasn't really been spoken of since Oct. 2010. When last reported, it was set to feature production from The Neptunes/ Pharrell, Ryan Leslie, Organized Noize (OutKast), Oren Yoel, 1,500 or Nothin', Swizz Beatz, and Nottz. Look out for Mr. Roth's Album #2, TBR later on in 2011.