Revision 28744897 of "April 1, 2004" on enwiki

==[[April 1]], [[2004]]==
*[[George W. Bush]] signs the [[Unborn Victims of Violence Act]], commonly known as [[Laci Peterson|Laci]] and Conner's Law, that states that an act of violence that leads to the death of a pregnant mother and her child can be counted as two offenses. [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/04/20040401-3.html (White House)] [http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20040401-041701-1460r (UPI)]
* [[Faroe Islands|Faroese]] Prime Minister's Office announces that from then on the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister's Office would use a new version of the Faroese Coat of Arms. The colours were inspired from the Merkið (flag) and yellow/gold was added. The new [[Coat of Arms]] depicts a Ram on a blue shield ready to defend. It can be used by the Government Ministries and by [[Faroe Islands|Faroese]] embassies, but some still use older versions of the [[Coat of Arms]]. [[Image:Faroe Coat of Arms 4.png|thumb|right|100x112px|Faroese Coat of Arms]]
* The [[Turkey|Turkish]] [[Interior Ministry]] states forty-one members of [[terrorist]]  [[organization]], [[Revolutionary People's Liberation Party]] ([[DHKP-C]]), are detained in synchronous operations in [[Turkey]], [[Germany]], [[Italy]], [[Belgium]], and the [[Netherlands]]. [http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-04/01/content_1396648.htm (Xinhua)]
* Following a [[gun]] [[battle]], in which [[Palestinian]]s hiding in a [[World Health Organization]] psychiatric hospital, in [[Bethlehem]], opened fire on [[Israel]]i [[troop]]s outside who came to arrest them, 12 of the Palestinians, mostly known militants from [[al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades]] that make up part of [[Yasser Arafat]]'s [[Fatah]] faction, are [[arrest]]ed. [http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=OXGW3W3TKK1ZWCRBAELCFEY?type=topNews&storyID=4723774 (Reuters)] [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3589759.stm (BBC)]
* [[Astronomer]]s [[estimation|estimate]] that [[Earth]]-like [[planet]]s may orbit as many as one in twenty [[star]]s. [http://www.webindia123.com/news/showdetails.asp?id=34978&cat=Science (Webindia123)] [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3588721.stm (BBC)]
* [[Paul Bremer]] pledges [[justice]] for the [[Defense contractor|contractor]]s killed and [[mutilation|mutilated]] in an attack in [[Falluja]]. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3589057.stm (BBC)]
* [[United Kingdom|British]] Immigration Minister [[Beverley Hughes]] resigns over [[visa (document)|visa]] irregularities. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3589131.stm (BBC)]
* [[Palestinian]] [[General]] Haj Ismail Jabber is discovered to have been claiming the [[payroll]] for 37,000 members of the [[Palestinian Authority]]'s National Security force when only 30,000 members exist.  The difference of $2 million is kept by General Jabber each month. [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/411056.html (HaAretz)]
* [[Same-sex marriage in Canada]]: [[Michael Hendricks and René Leboeuf]] become the first same-sex couple to legally wed in [[Quebec]]. [http://montreal.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=qc_marriage20040401 (CBC)]
*[[Neil H. Shubin]] of the [[University of Chicago]] reports in the [[Journal Nature|Journal ''Nature'']] the discovery of a 365-million-year-old forelimb in [[Pennsylvania]], representing the evolution of [[fish]] to land-dwelling animals.  [http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa003&articleID=000BC4A9-8057-106C-BA3083414B7F0000 (Scientific American)]
Voting begins in South Korean parliamentary elections.

===April Fools hoaxes perpetrated in 2004===
'''[[April 1]] [[2004]]''' was an [[April Fool's Day]] that fell on a [[Thursday]]. Hoaxes for this year included:

*In [[April 1st RFC|a tradition]] dating back to at least [[1978]] (RFC 748), the [[IETF]] issues RFC 3751, Omniscience Protocol Requirements, written by Scott Bradner, the Secretary and VP of Standards for the [[Internet Society]]. See [[April 1st RFC]].
*[[The Guardian]] newspaper reported that [[Peter Mandelson]] was frontrunner to become the [[BBC]]'s new chairman.[http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,14173,1183684,00.html]
*[[CBBC]]'s ''Newsround'' website claims the [[planet]]s of the [[Solar system]] will be renamed after characters from ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' - [[Earth]] will be named [[Gandalf]]. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/sci_tech/newsid_3587000/3587189.stm]
*Both [[The Independent]] [http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/media/story.jsp?story=507170] and [[The Today Programme]] [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/reports/arts/archers_20040401.shtml] claimed [[Brian Eno]] had crafted an electronic remix of the theme tune of the radio [[soap opera]] ''[[The Archers]]'' to replace the theme that had been used for over 50 years. 
*An advert by [[BMW]] claimed new 'SHEF technology' would allow car drivers to cook their evening meals whilst driving home.[http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,14173,1183684,00.html]
*[[The Sun]] reported that [[British Police]] were fitting [[hawk]]s with [[speed cameras]] to catch lawbreaking motorists.[http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2004150977,,00.html]
*The [[Daily Mail]] included photographs purporting to be the [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Queen]] gambling on [[horse racing]] amongst her subjects at a local [[Bookmaker]].[http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,14173,1183684,00.html]
*[[Google]] announced to start interviewing candidates for their new [http://www.google.com/jobs/lunar_job.html lunar hosting and research center]. An email to the address listed returns an [http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=102591&cid=8740668 autoreply].
*The [[Electronic Frontier Foundation]] announced that it was merging with the [[United States Department of Justice]], with [[Attorney General]] [[John Ashcroft]] taking a new job in the office supplies department. They also announced that the recently retired [[MPAA]] head [[Jack Valenti]] would be joining their board of directors.
*[[Blizzard]] announced that [[World of Warcraft]] would be adding Two-Headed Ogres as a playable race [http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/races/two-headed-ogre.shtml]. Also, they announced the addition of a new neutral hero for [[Warcraft III]]: the Goblin Tinker [http://www.battle.net/war3/neutral/goblintinker.shtml]. Meanwhile [[Mythic Entertainment]], makers of [[Dark Age of Camelot]] announced a new expansion with a new player race of tiny tiny Spriggans [http://www.camelotherald.com/rots/].
*[[Freshmeat]] partners with [[Babelfish]] to enable (very poor) translations into over 52 languages [http://freshmeat.net/articles/view/1142/]. The front page was also translated using the [[rot13]] cipher.
*The [[Toronto Star]] reports that [[joggers]] in the city are upset at a new speed limit of 10 km/h in city [[park]]s; the limit is to reduce noise disruption during the sensitive mating season of the local black [[squirrel]] population. [http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1080774613973&call_pageid=970599119419]
*The [[neopaganism]] [[Internet forum]] WiccaUK was informed that [[spaghetti]] was invented by [[witch]]es in the [[Middle Ages]].[http://forums.wiccauk.com/showthread.php?t=8540]
*[[National Public Radio]]'s news program ''[[All Things Considered]]'' announces that the [[United States Postal Service]], as part of its "Go Postal" program, is launching a "National Portable Zip Codes Program," which will allow individuals to keep their old zip codes if they move within the United States. [http://www.npr.org/features/feature.php?wfId=1805651]
*[[Howard Stern]]'s daily radio program was introduced by Tom Chiusano, the general manager of [[WXRK]] (which hosts the program), announcing that [[Viacom]] was pulling the plug on the show because of "the weight of the government pressure and its effects on our corporation." During the next hour, a mock replacement show with two different DJs ensued, and listeners from across the country called to complain. [http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4648090/]
* The [[Motley Fool]] investment site announced that [[Hormel Foods Corporation]] planned to sue the [[United States]] government over the [[CAN-SPAM]] anti-spam law.  [http://www.fool.com/features/2004/h040331.htm?source=mppromo]
* ''Pro Wrestling Torch'' reports [[Vince McMahon]] will form a women's [[ice hockey]] league with some unusual rules. [http://www.pwtorch.com/artman/publish/article_7753.shtml]
* A [[Singapore]] [[tabloid]] reported that a billboard outside the [[Singapore History Museum]] was vandalized with the phrase "[[Casino]] Coming Here". Singapore has very strict laws forbidding vandalism.  
* The owner of [[DeadJournal]] announced, as an [[April Fools]] joke, that [[LiveJournal]] would be taking over operation of his site. [http://www.deadjournal.com/community/new_shit/34659.html]
* Australian Broadband Community website [[Whirlpool_(website)|Whirlpool]] announced that Telstra was going to "kill off" its cable service in favour of its ADSL service. [http://whirlpool.net.au/article.cfm?id=1256&show=all]
* [[DVD]] news website, [http://www.dvdfile.com dvdfile.com], reported that the entire [[General Hospital]] [[soap opera]] would be released on June 22, boasting a 55 disc set of all 252 episodes from the 38th season.
* Open source firewall [[SmoothWall]] announced that it had been bought by [[Microsoft]], prompting a large number of [http://community.smoothwall.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12813 concerned and worried posts] on the [http://community.smoothwall.org SmoothWall Community Forums]
*The [[Homestar Runner]] website claimed that it was for sale and had one of those generic animations with a stickman shoveling dirt. However, if the viewer waited long enough, the character of Stinkoman would show up and duel the stickman.
*[[OverClocked ReMix]] featured a poorly-made [[Final Fantasy]] medley rearrangement submitted by Final Fantasy composer [[Nobuo Uematsu]]. Later in the day, the ReMix is attributed to [[Chrono Trigger]] composer [[Yasunori Mitsuda]].
*[[:pt:Revista Set|Set]][http://www.uol.com.br/setonline], a [[Brazil|Brazilian]] [[Film journals and magazines|film magazine]], said that [[Industrial Light and Magic]] was burned and [[Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith|Star Wars Episode III]] was delayed to [[2007]], and also that [[Johnny Knoxville]] was chosen for [[Indiana Jones]] in ''[[Indiana Jones 4]]''. (the pages were only deleted Saturday, April 3)
* [[Suprnova.org]] announced that, owing to a huge surge in Japanese traffic, the site would slowly transition to Japanese, and discontinue its English-language version.

Genuine events that had been interpreted as April Fools included:

*The [[National Archives (UK)]] revealed that during the [[Cold War]], there were British plans to use [[chicken]]s to regulate the temperature in a [[nuclear bomb]].[http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,14173,1183684,00.html]
*[[The Guardian]] revealed that the [[Football World Cup 1954|1954 World Cup]]-winning [[Germany national football team|Germany team]] may have been given performance-enhancing injections.[http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1183266,00.html]
*The [[Associated Press]] reported that [[Google]] would launch an [http://gmail.google.com/ e-mail service] with 1 GB of storage for each user. [http://www.google.com/press/pressrel/gmail.html]
*[[The Register]] [http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/36707.html], '''Web Hosting Industry News''' [http://thewhir.com/features/subdomain.cfm] and [[Slashdot]] [http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/03/30/0240215] report that Ideaflood, Inc. has filed a [[patent]] on the idea of user [[subdomain]]s and is now attempting to collect royalties from various websites.

=== External link ===
* [http://www.urgo.org/aprilfools2004.html A long list of supposed 2004 April Fool's]

[[Category:April Fool's Day]]

[[ja:4月1日 (2004年)]]