April Fools' Day has become mostly a warning date for those who browse the Web daily, since most pranks are based on false and scandalous news. However, in the early morning of April 1, 1989, tycoon Richard Branson decided to play a prank that the city of London still hasn't entirely forgotten: flying in a UFO.
If there's one thing we can say about Richard Branson it's that he doesn't sit still. In July of last year, he became the first billionaire founder of a space company to actually reach space, but if we study his history a little more closely, we'll find several attempts to break world records, trips across the Atlantic and Pacific, and other adventures on ships and hot air balloons.
Richard Branson in a flying saucer
One of those adventures began exactly at four in the morning on April 1, 1989, during April Fools' Day. Branson decided to celebrate that day in a very particular way, and essentially troll a good part of London, by flying a giant balloon shaped like a UFO. The balloon's strobe lights blinked every ten seconds, and in complete darkness, the trick was quite convincing….
As Branson's UFO continued its journey over the M25 motorway, drivers were astonished by the spectacle and ran to emergency phones to explain what they were seeing. Traffic stopped, radio and television were flooded with reports of the event, police forces began mobilizing units, and even the army went on alert! Apparently, Branson's original plan was to greet the earthlings in Hyde Park (basically one of the Queen's backyards), but the weather played a trick on him and he ended up in Surrey Field.
Upon touching down, an officer approached the 'craft', but Branson had an extra surprise: the door opened releasing smoke created with dry ice... and out came a dwarf dressed as an alien. Branson said that the officer 'turned around and started running in the opposite direction' when he saw the miniature ET. Logically, the police initially threatened to arrest Branson for wasting their time, but the anger didn't last long, and he resolved it by paying a fine…
Sources: Twisted Sifter, Hoaxes.org
