StrangeSights

In case you didn’t know, Easter Monday this year co-incided with April Fool’s Day and it seemed everyone had a gag or two up their sleeve. Here is just a small sample of some of the pranks we came across:

• YouTube announced that its entire catalogue of films would be deleted - turns out the whole site was just a competition launched to find the best video clip and the search has come to an end;

• Google launched its new scent search app, Google Nose, which comes with the ability for you to search by smell, as well as its new extension of Google Maps - a feature to find treasure;

• In Australia, Google Streetview launched a new service - Schmick - which enables you to transform your home into the house you’d like it to be with a few simple clicks of the mouse;

• Sony launched Animalia Tech - technology aimed at your pets - think headphones for your cat, a laptop for your dog; and,

• Skype, meanwhile, launched a new service allowing you to speak to you loved ones in…space;

• Virgin boss Richard Branson announced his airline had plans to launch a glass-floored plane - the world’s first - a story which was apparently picked up and run on Chinese television.

Let us know of any you found particularly good!

• As pranks go, it was pretty elaborate. Staff at Legoland California reportedly decided to prank their boss by swapping his real-life Volvo SUV - parked in the company car park - for a lifesize replica made completely out of Lego. The model was made from more than 201,000 Lego bricks.

• A US man has come up with a way of both spending time with his baby and getting some exercise. Joshua Levitt was reportedly lifting his baby (now an eight-year-old) up and down in an attempt to soothe her when he realised, in his words, he was “multi-tasking” by getting some exercise at the same time. He’s now developed an entire exercise routine - described in his book Baby Barbells - which includes a ‘baby bench press’ and ‘lullaby lunges’.

• Ah, the years slip by so fast. Yes, it was time for the annual Wife-Carrying World Championships in Finland last week and once again, Finns Kristiina Haapanen and Taisto Miettinen reportedly took the prize, defeating 46 other couples to win their third successive championship. The event, which takes place over a 253.5 metre course featuring two dry and one water obstacle, traces its roots back to 19th century bandit who stole food and girls from villages.