April Fools!

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This entry was published at least two years ago (originally posted on April 1, 2003). Since that time the information may have become outdated or my beliefs may have changed (in general, assume a more open and liberal current viewpoint). A fuller disclaimer is available.

Well, yeah, okay, so it’s the 2^nd^ now. In lieu of actually posting any sort of joke, a few fun April Fool’s links:

First off, two self-links (because my ego is just that out of control). Neither of these were April Fools posts, but they fit in with the spirit of the day — just me having fun.

  1. Hippies on Mars! Inspired by a photograph of Mars that, because of false-color imaging that made it look like a tie-dye pattern, I mangled a NASA press release. Groovy.
  2. Mars needs a facelift! After seeing some high-resolution pictures of the Cydonian “face” on Mars that effectively proved that it didn’t really look like a face after all, I decided that that wasn’t nearly entertaining enough. The end result is still one of my favorite pieces of inspired sillyness. I did my best to write the entire piece from the mindset of your typical conspiracy/UFO kook, and apparently pulled it off — one reader told me that until my giveaway lines at the end, he was convinced I was entirely off my rocker. High praise indeed, under the circumstances!

Other fun links:

  1. The top 100 April Fool’s Day hoaxes of all time, from the Museum of Hoaxes. Some of these I’d heard of before, some I hadn’t. Quite a few are worth a giggle. (via /.)
  2. Also from the Museum of Hoaxes, the top ten college pranks of all time. The number one spot is well deserved, and the number ten spot has amused me for a few years, though I never knew it was originally an MIT prank. Learn something new every day! (via tbmaddux)
  3. The MIT Gallery of Hacks tracks the best of the infamous MIT hacks (“a clever, benign, and \” ethical \” prank or practical joke, which is both challenging for the perpetrators and amusing to the MIT community [and sometimes even the rest of the world!]”). People with too much intelligence and a sense of humor. (via i22y)