1) War of the Worlds
Known for his flair for the dramatic, Orson Welles, with members of his Mercury Theatre Company, incited mass hysteria and earned themselves national fame on October 30, 1938, when they performed an adaptation of H. G. Wells' The War of the Worlds on their CBS radio show. The players used a news-broadcast format and announced that visitors from Mars had invaded New Jersey. Thousands of panicked New Jersey citizens fainted, fled their homes, and overflowed telephone lines when they heard Welles say, "Good heavens, something's wiggling out of the shadow like a gray snake. I can see the thing's body now. It's large, large as a bear. It glistens like wet leather." Welles had reportedly expected a frenzied reaction, though he said, "the size of it was flabbergasting."
flair - talent
to incite - wznieść
to wiggle out - wić się
to glisten - zalśnić
flabbergasting - wprawiający w osłupienie
2) Big Ben
The BBC has kept up a tradition of April Foolery ever since. In 1980, it announced that the clock faces on Big Ben -- a London landmark in the clock tower of West minister Palace -- would be replaced with digital displays, to keep up with modern technology. They were flooded with calls of protest.
to announce - ogłaszać
landmark - charakterystyczny obiekt
to keep up with - nadążyć za
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