17. Using pigs as lard factories, April 1, 1921
The Germans, through their newspapers, have a long and distinguished history of producing April Fools’ Day hoaxes, some more believable than others. In April, 1921, a Berlin newspaper produced a story which explained how a particularly innovative farmer derived lard from his pigs without killing them. The lard was removed surgically from the living animal, which was then stitched up to presumably produce yet more lard. The animal was numbed during the procedure, which could be performed up to three times per year, making the animal a living lard factory. First British, and later American newspapers reprinted the story and enhanced it.
For over a year the story remained in play. The farmer who discovered the process had been described as living in the town of Schleichegrieben. Once it became apparent that no town of that name existed in Germany British newspapers began to question the story. The name of the fictional town translated to sneaking bacon, another indication of the falsity of the story. The Berlin newspaper which originally published the story admitted it was an April Fools’ Day joke over a year after it first appeared, having fooled hardened news publishers in Europe and America, as well as their readers, for most of that time.