Following is a list of some of the pranks played on the world by institutions we can usually trust on any other day of the year.

In 2000, Google announced a new service for smarter and faster searching – The Google Mentalplex. The service even came with simple, but detailed instructions on how to use it:

Remove hat and glasses.
Peer into MentalPlex circle. DO NOT MOVE YOUR HEAD.
Project mental image of what you want to find.
Click or visualize clicking within the MentalPlex circle.

That was not all. Google had set up an FAQ page and an illustrations for correct usage page too.

Again in 2007, Google announced a new service called Gmail Paper. A service where you could request a physical copy of any message with the click of a button, and Google would send it to you in the mail. Was there a limit on how many mails you could get printed. The Answer from the Google people was:

You can make us print one, one thousand, or one hundred thousand of your emails. It’s whatever seems reasonable to you.

I don’t know about how many people actually believed that, but I remembering opening the Gmail home page, reading about Gmail Paper and wondering: “Could this be for real?”

BBC is one of the most trusted News service in the whole wide world, yet even they have not hesitated from fooling their audience on April Fool’s day every now and then.

In 1967, BBC Radio 2 made an announcement through the British Astronomer Patrick Moore about a once in an lifetime event where Pluto would pass behind Jupiter, and at 9:47 the planets would be so aligned that they would lessen the gravitational force of the Earth. If someone were to jump in the air at that moment, BBC claimed, they would be able to feel the effect of this planetary alignment. BBC later received many calls from people claiming to have felt the effect. It is reported that one woman even claimed that she and her eleven friends actually rose form their chairs and floated in the air.

On April 1, 2008 BBC reported that Filmmaker and Writer Terry Jones had made the remarkable discovery of penguins that could fly. The news was aired as a part of BBC’s new natural history series, Miracles of Evolution. The report came complete with a video footage that showed the penguins flying. The presenter, Terry Jones, described the event as, “It was quite amazing. Rather than getting together in a huddle to protect themselves from the cold, they did something quite unexpected, that no other penguins can do.”

The penguins were reportedly flying to the rain forests of South America where they would ” spend the winter basking in the tropical Sun.”

On 31st March, 1989 people driving on a highway outside London reported seeing an UFO. Police were called and they dutifully came to investigate. The UFO finally landed in a field on the outskirts of London and a small man emerged from the craft. The man turned out to be Richard Branson, the chairman of Virgin Records. He had planned the prank in such a way that he was supposed to land in London’s Hyde Park on April 1. A rowdy gust of wind, however, blew him off track and he ended up in Surrey.

In 1982, The Daily Mail ran a report about how a local manufacturer had managed to sell 10,000 “rogue bras” to women. The support wire in these bras was made out of a kind of copper that was originally meant for use in fire alarms. This copper, when it came into contact with nylon and body heat, produced static electricity that interfered with television and radio broadcasts. The news resulted in quite a bit of inconvenience to many female employees of broadcasting stations.

(Sources:
Information: http://wikipedia.com, http://www.museumofhoaxes.com
Images : Internet)

Related Posts

• November 14, 2009 — Brothers in Peace
• October 24, 2009 — Global Warming – We Can Stop It!

Before entering into any discussion on the subject, there is a need to understand the culture and capabilities of the two nations. India has been hailed as a fast developing economy and a lot of information is available about the nation. Let us, therefore, have a look at the capability of its neighbour, Pakistan. The average growth for Pakistan, before the Afghan issue, till 2004-2006 was at 6-8% yearly. The country received the top performer of the Region for new reform from World Bank during 2005. A few years back Pakistan managed top performance in terms of the fastest growing economy in the world, only behind China. And Pakistan’s services sector is the fastest growing in the region.

Having been led into the path of Terrorism, and despite facing tremendous internal as well as external issues, they still seem to be able to manage their current growth to an average of about 5.8%, their core sectors being agriculture, textiles, chemical industry and services sector. Their rapid growth in textile industry seems to outperform the world’s thread industry, as they move up the value chain. They are one of the largest producers of some of the agricultural products like mangoes and onions, to name a few.

Having been such a great country, and one that happens to have stumbled into some terrible issues, it’s  upto India to help its brother nation deal with the troubles it is currently facing. But, that will not happen in a short while. The agreement earlier signed between Mr. Pervez Musharraf and Mr. Manmohan Singh did seem promising, but the poor control of the terrorist network within the country and internal politics has cost Pakistan heavily.

Two countries like India and Pakistan – when they stand together – can be compared with the greatest strength of the world, as they both complement each other. The so called Goliaths of the world are now taking advantage of the age old principle of divide and rule.

So, how can we bring about a change during our time so that new generation of the two countries live as Brothers of Peace. If we look at it from the government point of view, then resolving the following issues could be a way:

• Dialogue on normalization of relations
• Dialogue on Kashmir & within Kashmir
• Dialogue within Each country
• Dialogue on Line of Control

It is, however, escaping our responsibility as individuals if we expect the governments to do all the work. There are somethings that we can do as individuals too. For starters we can use social networking as a platform for change. I know of a good friend who happens to be in an extended friendship with a brother from our brother nation. They keep in touch, and talk about their lives in the two countries. Well, that is an inspiration for us all. If we all are able to extend such cordial relationships with our friends who are separated from us by a manually built line of control, then flowers will blossom -  slowly, but surely. When we are able to extend and support friendships across continents, what stops us from building such relationships with our brothers and sisters who are merely a theoretically drawn line away. If each of the online Indian, or Pakistani,who is into networking on social platforms does this, there will definitely be a change in terms of perception and attitude.

We can make a further difference by helping them with our efforts during their calamities, or bomb strikes, through these social networking platforms. It’s a change that must happen and the online citizens of the two nations can be the change agents to do that. At the end of the day, we are bonded by ties of history, tradition and culture…aren’t we? When we talk about changing the world using these platforms, why not start with that?

Related Posts

• May 19, 2010 — Getting Systematic!
• April 1, 2010 — How They Fooled Us…
• February 27, 2010 — The Story of India Today!
• February 12, 2010 — Beyond Barriers…
• February 1, 2010 — IPL – The Business of Cricket!
• January 19, 2010 — The Rise of the “Baba”!
• January 2, 2010 — Where the Mind is Without Fear…
• December 17, 2009 — Splitting States – The New Story of India!
• October 24, 2009 — Global Warming – We Can Stop It!

Global Warming in the simplest terms is the increase in the average temperature of the Earth’s near-surface air and oceans, and it is projected that if things don’t change this temperature is going to increase in the days to come.

Why, you may ask, should we bother about this increase of temperature?

Every cause brings in its wake its effect. Let us see what would be the effects of the cause that is global warming. The increase in Earth’s temperature will cause melting of the ice in the polar Regions and result in a consequent increase in the sea levels. The glaciers at the Arctic front will retreat, and the huge ice terrain of the Antarctic will melt. The amount and pattern of precipitation will change all across the world, and there could be an expansion of the tropical deserts. Other possible related effects could be extreme weather conditions, species going extinct and even changes in the agricultural yields. Some of these changes have been showcased with a larger-than-life perspective in the 2004 movie “The Day after Tomorrow”. Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” also makes for a good watch in this context.

Keeping in mind the grave consequences of global warming, it becomes imperative that we understand global warming and its causes. Also, we need to ensure that we do our best to keep global warming in check.

The major culprits responsible for global warming are the “green house gases” – the main ones being carbon di-oxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. Most of the activities of our modern day lives contribute directly to making the global warming situation worse than it was a day before. From the use of refrigerator, to the air conditioners, to our petrol/diesel/gas sucking vehicles, to the large power plants – everything is a cause of adding more and more GHG into our environment. Knowingly or unknowingly, we are making this world an unsafe place for our coming generations.

But, all the doom’s day theories notwithstanding, there is still hope. WE, as the citizens of the world, should not wait for the so called governing world bodies, or the activists, to bring about the change. It’s up to us now to bring about the change. Here is a simple list of 5 steps that will help us in keeping the Earth green:

1. Save Electricity
Whenever possible save electricity, by switching of the Lights, Fans, AC’s, etc. and if possible use the 5 star rating appliances, CFL bulbs etc.This actually reduces the amount of greenhouse gases emitted from the power plants.

2. Use Paper bags
Use paper bags or jute based bags, when you go for shopping or purchase of items. This, again, reduces the plastic contamination which can have a ripple effect on the ground soil and on the agricultural needs.

3. Public Transport
Let’s make an effort to try to use public transport whenever possible. The per head greenhouse gas emission from any mode of public transport is way less as compared to the per head greenhouse gas emission from any private vehicle.

4. Planting a Tree
Plant at least one tree every year. Let each one of us plant a tree and see to it that it grows without any problems. We may not be able to plant 100 trees, but we can plant a single tree and ensure that it grows and survives in this environment.

5. Ensure your community follows
One man can start a revolution. In fact each and every revolution in history was started by a group of small but committed people. Let us be the ones to start this revolution to save our planet.

As has been said in enough forums, it’s in our hands to bring about the change. It is time to convert these words into action. Let’s not wait for the governing bodies to bring about the change for it’s with us, and in us to ensure the changes are made. Let’s work towards this. When we leave this planet let us leave it as a beautiful heaven for our future generations.

Reference Credits:
http://www.globalwarming.org/
http://www.worldviewofglobalwarming.org/
http://www.globalwarming.org.in/causes-of-global-warming.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming
& sources of Media.

Related Posts

• April 1, 2010 — How They Fooled Us…
• November 14, 2009 — Brothers in Peace