April Fools': A long tradition of hoaxes and vexation

April Fools' Day, a day marked by the commission of practical jokes, gags and hoaxes played on unknowing friends and relatives -- is a longstanding tradition of delight and vexation for all those involved.

Although the origin of the day is obscure, one theory is that the term April Fool was coined for those who signaled the first day of spring early after the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar in the year 1582. There is also speculation it originated after King Charles IX changed the first day of the year from April 1 to Jan. 1. Those who didn't get it were called April Fools and taunted by villagers.

In Canada, the jokes only traditionally last until noon. After that, the trickster is labeled an April Fool. In French-speaking ares of the country, the annual tradition includes poisson d-avril -- translated as "April's fish" -- where pranksters attempt to attach a paper fish to the victim's back without them noticing.

In other countries like Ireland, France and the U.S., the jokes continue until midnight, much to the chagrin of those who are fooled.

The tradition of April Fooling is longstanding in the world of media. Perhaps the most notable television hoax of all time is a 1957 BBC television segment in which farmers can be seen harvesting a bumper crop of spaghetti, resulting from the "virtual disappearance of the spaghetti weevil."

The three minute spoof, which was filmed outside a Swiss hotel, prompted hundreds of phone calls to the station to question the story's validity, or to ask about how they could grow their own spaghetti trees (BBC producers told them to "place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best").

Here are some of the most notable April Fools' pranks from around the world, pulled off to varying degrees of success:

And the best highlights of 2009 (so far):