San Serriffe
On April 1, 1977 the British newspaper The Guardian published a seven-page “special report” about San Serriffe, a small republic located in the Indian Ocean consisting of several semi-colon-shaped islands. A series of articles described the geography and culture of this obscure nation.
The report generated a huge response. The Guardian‘s phones rang all day as readers sought more information about the idyllic holiday spot. However, San Serriffe did not actually exist. The report was an elaborate April Fool’s Day joke—one with a typographical twist, since numerous details about the island (such as its name) alluded to printer’s terminology.
The success of this hoax is widely credited with inspiring the British media’s enthusiasm for April Foolery in subsequent years.
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