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On this day - 1 April

Historical items of interest as featured in the papers of the day.

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BBC broadcasts April Fools day spaghetti tree hoax

Daily Express 01/04/1957

April Fools Day has long been celebrated on April 1st with practical jokes. On April 1st 1957, the BBC program Panorama broadcast a segment featuring spaghetti being grown on trees in Switzerland, leading to numerous members of the public seeking information on where they could find this spaghetti farm.

Panorama is a long running documentary program in the UK, with a focus on investigative journalism. This, combined by a voice over for the segment done by Richard Dimbleby, led to the authentic nature of the hoax.

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Formation of the Royal Air Force

Daily Mirror 01/04/1918
The Royal Air Force was formed on April 1st 1918 as a result of merging the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service. It became the third independent air force in the world after Finland and Mexico.

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