Printable Story with Interactive Review Questions. Read and test reading comprehension online or print and use offline. For 3rd or 4th Grade and up.
Spaghetti Trees
One of the best April Fool's Day jokes was done in 1957 by the BBC, the British television network.
They showed a report of people in Switzerland cutting spaghetti from spaghetti trees. Women carefully picked spaghetti from a tree and laid them in the sun to dry. They explained how every strand of spaghetti grew to the same length thanks to years of hard work by the growers.
In 1957, spaghetti was not a popular food in Britain and was available only in cans or in Italian restaurants. It's not a surprise that so many people believed the story.
The BBC was flooded with calls asking where people could buy spaghetti plants and how they could grow their own spaghetti. The BBC's answer to the them was "Stick some spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best!" Perhaps they should have replied, "April Fool!"
When did the BBC play the spaghetti tree story? March 31, 1956 April 1, 1956 April 1, 1957 April 1, 1957
What do you think BBC stands for? British Broadcasting Corporation Britain's Best Cannelloni Big Brother Company British Broadcasting Corporation
According to the BBC, in what country was the spaghetti growing? Britain Italy Switzerland Switzerland
According to the BBC, how did the spaghetti dry out? It was laid in the sun. It was baked in an oven. It dried on the tree. It was laid in the sun.
According to the BBC, how did every strand of spaghetti come to be the same length? special seeds cut by scissors hard work by the growers hard work by the growers
Spaghetti was very popular in Britain in the 1950's. True False It doesn't say in the story. False
How did the BBC tell people to grow spaghetti? Go to Switzerland and grow it there. Stick some spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce. They told them that you can't really grow spaghetti. Stick some spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce.
