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Podcast: Today In History with The Retrospectors
Episode: The Spaghetti Harvest
Description: One of the most famous hoaxes in broadcasting history aired on the BBCâs revered Panorama programme on April Fools Day, 1957: a segment purporting to show a âspaghetti harvestâ taking place near Lake Lugano. According to the report, mild weather and the disappearance of a âspaghetti weevilâ had resulted in trees unseasonably laden with strands of pasta.Â
The prank originated with Charles de Jaeger, who drew on a childhood memory of being teased that spaghetti grew on trees. With the backing of Panoramaâs young Editor, Michael Peacock, his team travelled to Switzerland to film convincing footage. Local partici...