and the virtual elimination of the spaghetti weevil, Swiss farmers were
enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop. Footage of Swiss farmers pulling
strands of spaghetti from trees prompted a barrage of calls from people
wanting to know how to grow their own spaghetti at home.
***
Noted British astronomer Patrick Moore announced on the radio in 1976
that at 9:47 am, a once-in-a-lifetime astro- nomical event, in which
Pluto would pass behind Jupiter, would cause a gravitational alignment
that would reduce the Earth's gravity. Moore told listeners that if they
jumped in the air at the exact moment of the planetary alignment, they
would experience a floating sensation.
Hundreds of people called in to report feeling the sen- sation.
***
In 1996, American fast-food chain Taco Bell announced that it had bought
Philadelphia's Liberty Bell, a historic symbol of American independence,
from the federal government and was renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell.
Outraged citizens called to express their anger before Taco Bell
revealed the hoax. Then-White House press secretary Mike McCurry was
asked about the sale and said the Lincoln Memorial in Washington had
also been sold and was to be renamed the Ford Lincoln Mercury Memorial
after the automotive giant.
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