The Best April Fool's Day Prank

The best April Fool's Day Prank I've ever seen pulled off took place on April 1, 1987 in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

I was in Grade 9 at Port Arthur Collegiate Institute. Before going to school, many of us listened to Larry & Willy (Larry Hennessey & Willy Percy) who had an immensely popular morning radio show on 580-CKPR as it was then known.

That morning they informed the public that the Love Boat would be docking at The Marina in Thunder Bay Harbour at noon. They even spoke with the captain of the ship over the phone.

I ultimately ended up not going down. But about a thousand people did and lo and behold there was no Captain Stubing let alone any ship. I remember a number of people coming back to the school who were at The Marina who had been had. Yet no one was upset. It was all done in good fun. It was a clever ruse and lots of people fell for it. It just added to the legend of Larry & Willy.

They were too successful to stay in Thunder Bay. The following year they went out to Vancouver and have been there ever since.

I wonder if they've pulled off any other April Fool's Day pranks over the past two decades.