[PW] BBC spaghetti harvest spoof [was: Marco Polo and pasta]

[Beuerlein, Pat (Edm Journal)]

> The 1957 BBC hoax came up on Stumpers twelve years or so ago when I
> mentioned spaghetti trees in passing . . . .  The hoax
> apparently seared the imagination of millions of Brits, who to this day may
> still believe it.
 . . . 
> I remember that hoax and everyone was talking and laughing about it
> the next day. All the newspapers carried the story with extra suggestions

The BBC's 'Swiss spaghetti harvest' comes up regularly in stories about
April Fool's jokes in the media. I particularly liked one Brit journalist's
addition about the public response. Being a nation of gardeners, many of the
English viewers wanted to know how they could grow their own spaghetti.
According to this fellow, his outfit told the callers to open a tin of
tomato sauce, stick in a strand or two of spaghetti, stand it in a warm
sunny window, and wait for roots to grow before transplanting.

You can see video from the 1957 Panorama show at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/1/newsid_2819000/2819
261.stm

Patricia