THE BAPTIST WHITE LIE CAKE

Alice Grayson was to bake a cake for the Baptist Church Ladies' Group in Tuscaloosa, but forgot to do it until the last minute. She remembered it the morning of the bake sale and after rummaging through cabinets, found an angel food cake mix & quickly made it while drying her hair, dressing, and helping her son pack up for Scout camp. When she took the cake from the oven, the center had dropped flat and the cake was horribly disfigured and she exclaimed, "Oh dear, there is not time to bake another cake!" This cake was important to Alice because she did so want to fit in at her new church, and in her new community of friends. So, being inventive, she looked around the house for something to build up the center of the cake. She found it in the bathroom - a roll of toilet paper. She plunked it in and then covered it with icing. Not only did the finished product look beautiful, it looked perfect. And, before she left the house to drop the cake by the church and head for work, Alice woke her daughter and gave her some money and specific instructions to be at the bake sale the moment it opened at 9:30 and to buy the cake and bring it home. When the daughter arrived at the sale, she found the attractive, perfect cake had already been sold. Amanda grabbed her cell phone & called her mom. Alice was horrified - she was beside herself! Everyone would know! What would they think? She would be ostracized, talked about, ridiculed! All night, Alice lay awake in bed thinking about people pointing fingers at her and talking about her behind her back. The next day, Alice promised herself she would try not to think about the cake and would attend the fancy luncheon/bridal shower at the home of a fellow church member and try to have a good time. She did not really want to attend because the hostess was a snob who more than once had looked down her nose at the fact that Alice was a single parent and not from the founding families of Tuscaloosa, but having already RSVP'd, she couldn't think of a believable excuse to stay home. The meal was elegant, the company was definitely upper crust old south and to Alice 's horror, the cake in question was presented for dessert! Alice felt the blood drain from her body when she saw the cake! She started out of her chair to tell the hostess all about it, but before she could get to her feet, the Mayor's wife said, "what a beautiful cake!" Alice, still stunned, sat back in her chair when she heard the hostess (who was a prominent church member) say, "Thank you, I baked it myself.." Alice smiled and thought to herself, "God is good.

The Golf Nut

Tim and Dorothy met while on a singles cruise and Tim fell head over heels for her. When they discovered they lived in the same city only a few miles apart, Tim was ecstatic. He immediately started asking her out when they got home. Within a couple of weeks, Tim had taken Dorothy to dance clubs, restaurants, concerts, movies, and museums. Tim became convinced that Dorothy was indeed his soul mate and true love. Every date seemed better than the last.
 On the one-month anniversary of their first dinner on the cruise ship, Tim took Dorothy to a fine restaurant. While having cocktails and waiting for their salad, Tim said, "I guess you can tell I'm very much in love with you. I'd like a little serious talk before our relationship continues to the next stage. So, before I get a box out of my jacket and ask you a life-changing question, it's only fair to warn you, I'm a total golf nut. I play golf, I read about golf, I watch golf on TV. In short, I eat, sleep, and breathe golf. If that's going to be a problem, for us, you'd better say so now!"
 Dorothy took a deep breath and responded, "Tim, that certainly won't be a problem. I love you as you are and I love golf too; but, since we're being totally honest with each other, you need to know that for about the last five years I've been a hooker." "I see," Tim replied thoughtfully. He looked down at the table, and was quiet for a moment, deep in serious thought then he added, "You know, it's probably because you're not keeping your wrists straight when you hit the ball."

Puns for Intelligent People

Some new ones, some repeats. 1. The fattest knight at King Arthur's round table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi. 2. I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, But it turned out to be an optical Aleutian . 3. She was only a whiskey maker, But he loved her still. 4. A rubber band pistol was confiscated from algebra class, Because it was a weapon of math disruption. 5. No matter how much you push the envelope, It'll still be stationery. 6. A dog gave birth to puppies near the road And was cited for littering. 7. A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France Would result in Linoleum Blownapart. 8. Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie. 9. A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall. The police are looking into it. 10. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana. 11. Atheism is a non-prophet organization. 12. Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said to the other: 'You stay here; I'll go on a head.' 13. I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me. 14. A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab center Said: 'Keep off the Grass.' 15. The midget fortune-teller who escaped from Prison was a small medium at large. 16. The soldier who survived mustard gas and Pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran. 17. A backward poet writes inverse. 18. In a democracy it's your vote that counts. In feudalism it's your count that votes. 19. When cannibals ate a missionary, They got a taste of religion. 20. If you jumped off the bridge in Paris, You'd be in Seine . 21. A vulture boards an airplane, carrying two dead raccoons. The stewardess looks at him and says, 'I'm sorry, sir, only one carrion allowed per passenger.' 22. Two fish swim into a concrete wall. One turns to the other and says 'Dam!' 23. Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, so they lit a fire in the craft. Unsurprisingly it sank, proving once again that You can't have your kayak and heat it too. 24. Two hydrogen atoms meet. One says, 'I've lost my electron.' The other says 'Are you sure?' The first replies, 'Yes, I'm positive.' 25. Did you hear about the Buddhist who refused Novocain During a root canal? His goal: transcend dental medication. 26. There was the person who sent ten puns to friends, With the hope that at least one of the puns would make them laugh. No pun in ten did.

Letra "C"

Va un niño cubano caminando por la calle, se cruza con Fidel Castro y al ver Fidel que el niño lo ignora, le pregunta: Oye niño, sabes tú quién soy yo?.. El niño mintiendo le contesta: - No señor, no se quién es usted, ni me interesa... Fidel muy enojado le dice: Como castigo por no conocer al comandante Castro, ahora mismo tienes que decirme 20 palabras que comiencen con la letra 'C' para que más nunca en tu vida se te olvide que mi apellido es Castro con la letra 'C'. Y el niño le dice: 1. Compañero 2. Comandante 3. Castro 4. Cómo y 5.. Cuándo 6. Carajo 7. Comeremos 8. Carne 9. Con 10. Cerveza 11. Como 12. Comen los 13. Cabrones 14. Comilones del 15. Comité 16. Central 17. Comunista 18. Cubano...? Castro se queda mirándolo asombrado y le dice al niño: Faltan dos!. El niño concluyó: 19. !Care 20. CULO!

THINGS THAT ARE DIFFICULT TO SAY WHEN DRUNK

1. Innovative 2. Preliminary 3. Proliferation 4. Cinnamon THINGS THAT ARE VERY DIFFICULT TO SAY WHEN DRUNK: 1. Specificity 2. Anti-constitutionalistically 3. Passive-aggressive disorder 4. Transubstantiate THINGS THAT ARE DOWNRIGHT IMPOSSIBLE TO SAY WHEN DRUNK: 1. No thanks, I'm married. 2. Nope, no more booze for me! 3. Sorry, but you're not really my type. 4. No thanks, I'm not hungry. 5. I'm not interested in fighting you. 6. Thank you, but I won't make any attempt to dance. I have no coordination and I'd hate to look like a fool! 7. I must be going home now as I have to work in the morning.

Tito Puente

Bandleader, percussionist, composer, and arranger. Born Ernesto Antonio Puente, Jr., on April 20, 1923, in New York, New York. Puente was a musical pioneer for mixing musical styles with Latin sounds and for his experiments in fusing Latin music with jazz. The son of Puerto Rican immigrants, Puente grew up in New York City's Spanish Harlem and took piano lessons as a child and then studied percussion. He became a professional musician at age 13. Tito Puente later learned to play a number of instruments, including the piano, saxophone, vibraphone, and timbales (paired high-pitched drums). After an apprenticeship in the historic Machito Orchestra, he was drafted and served in the navy during World War II. Once he returned to New York in 1945, Puente used money from the G.I. Bill to study at the famed Juilliard School of Music. He formed a band that would later be known as the Tito Puente Orchestra in 1948. By the 1950s, crowds came to see his band play and Puente became a Latin music sensation. In 1958, his best-selling album, Dance Mania, was released. More hit records followed as the world enjoyed the way Puente put a big band spin on traditional Latin dances. He added other Latin and Afro-Cuban rhythms to his repertoire, including cha-cha, merengue, bossa nova, and salsa, and among his notable songs are “Babarabatiri,” “Ran Kan Kan,” and “Oye Como Va.” Puente also performed with leading jazz performers, including George Shearing and Woody Herman, as well as with many stars of Latin music and, in later years, with symphony orchestras. During a career that spanned more than five decades, Tito Puente became a musical legend in Latin music and jazz circles. He made more than 100 albums and created more than 200 compositions. Puente received numerous awards for his work, including five Grammy Awards. Sometimes called the "King of Latin Jazz" or simply "El Rey"—The King—he made an indelible mark on the popular culture. The writer Oscar Hijuelos made him a character in his 1989 novel The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love, and Puente appeared as himself in the 1992 film adaptation. He also guest starred on numerous television shows, such as The Simpsons. Tito Puente died on May 31, 2000, while in the hospital for heart surgery in New York, New York. Adored by his fans, many people waited in line for days to say good-bye to the popular bandleader.

An Ode to English

We'll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes, But the plural of ox becomes oxen, not oxes. One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese, Yet the plural of moose should never be meese. You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice, Yet the plural of house is houses, not hice. If the plural of man is always called men, Why shouldn't the plural of pan be called pen? If I speak of my foot and show you my feet, And I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet? If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth, Why shouldn't the plural of booth be called beeth? Then one may be that, and three would be those, Yet hat in the plural would never be hose, And the plural of cat is cats, not cose. We speak of a brother and also of brethren, But though we say mother, we never say methren. Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and him, But imagine the feminine: she, shis and shim! Let's face it - English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger; Neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England . We take English for granted, but if we explore its paradoxes, We find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square, And a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig. And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, Grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend. If you have a bunch of odds and ends and Get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it? If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? Sometimes I think all the folks who grew up speaking English should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what other language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? We ship by truck but send cargo by ship... We have noses that run and feet that smell. We park in a driveway and drive in a parkway. And how can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, While a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language In which your house can burn up as it burns down, In which you fill in a form by filling it out, and In which an alarm goes off by going on. And in closing, if Father is Pop, how come Mother's not Mop?

Ten Reasons why God created Eve

10. God worried that Adam would be lost in the Garden of Eden because he wouldn't ask for directions. 9. God knew that someday Adam would need someone to hand him the TV remote. (Parenthetically, it has been noted that men don't want to see what's ON TV; they want to see WHAT ELSE is on.) 8. God knew that Adam would never make a doctor's appointment. 7. God knew that when Adam's fig leaf wore out, he would never buy a new one for himself. 6. God knew that Adam would not remember to take out the garbage. 5. God wanted man to be fruitful and multiply, but he knew Adam would never be able to handle labor pains and childbirth. 4. As "keeper of the garden," Adam would need help in finding his tools. 3. Adam needed someone to blame for the Apple Incident and for anything else that was really his fault. 2. As the Bible says: "It is not good for man to be alone." 1. And the No. 1 reason of all [Tada, drum roll, fanfare, etc.] God stepped back, looked at Adam and declared: "I can do better than that."

CONVERSACION TELEFONICA CON UNA MADRE

M: MAMA H: HIJO H: Hola, ma, te puedo dejar los perros el fin de semana? M: Vas a salir? H: Si M: Con quien? H: Con una amiga M: Yo no sé porqué te separaste de tu esposa, es una mujer tan buena... H: Yo no me separé mamá.....ella me dejó M: Tú dejaste que se fuera y ahora andas por ahí con cualquier lagartona... H: NOO.. ando con cualquier lagartona mamá!..... Te puedo dejar los perros el fin de semana?? SI O...NO? M: Yo jamás los dejé a ustedes para salir con alguien que no fuera tu padre!. H: Hay muchas cosas que tú hiciste y yo no hago M: Qué me quieres decir? H: Nada, nada... solo quiero saber si te puedo dejar los perros M: Vas a quedarte a dormir con esa vieja? M: Qué diría tu esposa si se enterara? H: Mi EX esposa!... y no creo que a ella le preocupe pues desde que nos separamos no debe haber dormido sola ni una noche!. M: Entonces, te vas a quedar a dormir con esa ninfómana? H: No es una ninfómana.... por favor mamá! M: Una vieja que sale con un divorciado... con perros... es una ninfómana, una vividora H: No quiero discutir. Te llevo los perros o no? M: Pobres perritos, con un dueño así! ?????? H: Así como ?????? M: Con pajaritos en la cabeza, por eso te dejó tu esposa! H: Bastaaaa!!!!!!!!! M: Encima me gritas?.... Seguramente a esa vieja con la que sales también le gritas! H: Ahhh!? Ahora te preocupa la lagartona! M: Viste que SI es una lagartona?.... Si yo me di cuenta enseguida H: Adiós mamá!!!!! M: Espera... no cuelgues!... ?A qué hora me traes los perros? H: No los voy a llevar..... No voy a salir!!!!! M: Hijito, si no sales nunca, cómo CHINGAOS piensas rehacer tu vida?

The Power Of Prayer

Someone has said if Christians really understood the full extent of the
power we have available through prayer, we might be speechless. Did you
know that during World War II, an adviser for Churchill organized a group of
people to pray for their country? They would drop what they were doing
every day at a prescribed hour
for one minute to pray collectively for the safety of England , its people
and peace. There is now a group of people organizing the same thing here in
America . If you would like to participate: Every evening at 9:00 PM
Eastern Time (8:00 PM Central) (7:00 PM Mountain) (6:00 PM Pacific), stop
whatever you are doing and spend
one minute praying for the safety of the United States , our troops, our
citizens, and for a return to a Godly nation. If you know anyone else who
would like participate, please pass this along. Our prayers are the most
powerful asset we have.

10 COSAS QUE DIOS NO TE PREGUNTARA

1-Dios no te preguntara que modelo de auto usabas;
te preguntara a cuanta gente llevaste.






2-Dios no te preguntara los metros cuadrados de tu casa;
te preguntara a cuanta gente recibiste en ella.



3-Dios no te preguntara la marca de ropa en tu closet;
te preguntara a cuantos ayudaste a vestirse.




4-Dios no te preguntara que tan alto era tu sueldo;
te preguntara si lo ganabas limpiamente.




5-Dios no te preguntara cual era tu titulo;
te preguntara si hiciste tu trabajo con lo mejor de tu capacidad.




6-Dios no te preguntara cuantos amigos tenias;
te preguntara cuanta gente te consideraba su amigo.

7-Dios no te preguntara en que vecindario vivias;
te preguntara como tratabas a tus vecinos.




8-Dios no te preguntara por el color de tu piel;
te preguntara por la pureza de tu interior.




9-Dios no te preguntara por que tardaste tanto en buscar la salvacion;
te llevara con amor a su casa en el cielo y no a las puertas del infierno.






10-Dios no te preguntara a cuantas personas compartiste este mensaje ;
simplemente te preguntara si te dio verguenza hacerlo.....





Jesucristo dijo:
' Si tu me niegas frente de tus amigos,
Yo te voy a negar frente a mi Padre'


Anda...
te animo a compartirlo con los demas....
reponda este mensaje con el titulo '10 cosas que Dios no te preguntara'

Cannabis could help treat epilepsy

Compounds found in the leaves of cannabis plants can help reduce seizures in epilepsy that has caused misery to millions of people, say experts.

The British government is growing these plants in huge industrial-sized greenhouses in the hope of producing a new treatment for epilepsy, the Daily Telegraph reported Sunday.

Scientists have found three compounds in the leaves that can help reduce and control seizures in epilepsy, it said.

Ben Whalley, lead researcher of the study at the University of Reading, said tests in animals had shown the compounds are effective at preventing seizures and have less side effects than existing epilepsy drugs.

In Britain alone there are over 500,000 people who suffer from epilepsy.

'There was a stigma associated with cannabis that came out from the 60s and 70s associated with recreational use, so people have tended not to look at it medicinally as a result,' the newspaper quoted Whalley as saying.

'Cannabis is thought of being a treasure trove of compounds that could be used for pharmacological development,' he added.

Epilepsy is caused by sudden bursts of electrical activity in the brain that disrupt the normal way in which messages are transmitted. This can cause debilitating seizures and fits that can lead to sufferers injuring themselves.

Two of the compounds the researchers have identified, one called cannabidiol and the other called GWP42006, have been highly effective at controlling seizures in animals, the newspaper said.

They now hope to begin clinical trials in humans within the next three years. Neither of the compounds produce the characteristic 'high' associated with cannabis use, it said.

The latest findings were published in the scientific journal Seizure. The scientists believe they work by interfering with the signals that cause the brain to become hyper-excitable, which leads to epileptic seizures.

Baptizing an Irishman

An Irishman is stumbling through the woods, totally drunk, when he comes upon a preacher baptizing people in the river. He proceeds into the water, subsequently bumping into the preacher.

The preacher turns around and is almost overcome by the smell of alcohol, hereupon, he asks the drunk, "Are you ready to find Jesus?"

The drunk shouts, "Yes, oi am."

So the preacher grabs him and dunks him in the water.

He pulls him back and asks, "Brother, have you found Jesus?"

The drunk replies, "No, oi haven't found Jesus!"



The preacher, shocked at the answer, dunks him again but for a little longer.

He again pulls him out of the water and asks, "Have you found Jesus, me brother?"

The drunk answers, "No, oi haven't found Jesus!"

By this time, the preacher is at his wits end and dunks the drunk again -- but this time holds him down for about 30 seconds, and when he begins kicking his arms and legs about, he pulls him up. The preacher again asks the drunk, "For the love of God, have you found Jesus?"





(get ready for this.....)







The drunk staggers upright, wipes his eyes, coughs up a bit of water, catches his breath, and says to the preacher,




"Are you sure this is where he fell in?"

Obama to run for second term in 2012

US President Barack Obama will run for a second term in 2012, his campaign website announced Monday.

'This campaign is just kicking off. We're opening up offices, unpacking boxes, and starting a conversation with supporters like you to help shape our path to victory. 2012 begins now, and this is where you say you're in,' Xinhua cited the launch video posted on his campaign website.

The US presidential election is due in November 2012.

As a Democrat, Obama served three terms in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004. He was elected in the congressional elections in 2004 as a US senator.

He made history in 2008 presidential election as he became the first African-American president in the US and gained unprecedented high popularity with his promise of bringing to the country 'change we can believe in'.

1860 : Pony Express debuts

On this day in 1860, the first Pony Express mail, traveling by horse and rider relay teams, simultaneously leaves St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California. Ten days later, on April 13, the westbound rider and mail packet completed the approximately 1,800-mile journey and arrived in Sacramento, beating the eastbound packet's arrival in St. Joseph by two days and setting a new standard for speedy mail delivery. Although ultimately short-lived and unprofitable, the Pony Express captivated America's imagination and helped win federal aid for a more economical overland postal system. It also contributed to the economy of the towns on its route and served the mail-service needs of the American West in the days before the telegraph or an efficient transcontinental railroad.

The Pony Express debuted at a time before radios and telephones, when California, which achieved statehood in 1850, was still largely cut off from the eastern part of the country. Letters sent from New York to the West Coast traveled by ship, which typically took at least a month, or by stagecoach on the recently established Butterfield Express overland route, which could take from three weeks to many months to arrive. Compared to the snail's pace of the existing delivery methods, the Pony Express' average delivery time of 10 days seemed like lightning speed.

The Pony Express Company, the brainchild of William H. Russell, William Bradford Waddell and Alexander Majors, owners of a freight business, was set up over 150 relay stations along a pioneer trail across the present-day states of Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Nevada and California. Riders, who were paid approximately $25 per week and carried loads estimated at up to 20 pounds of mail, were changed every 75 to 100 miles, with horses switched out every 10 to 15 miles. Among the riders was the legendary frontiersman and showman William "Buffalo Bill" Cody (1846-1917), who reportedly signed on with the Pony Express at age 14. The company's riders set their fastest time with Lincoln's inaugural address, which was delivered in just less than eight days.

The initial cost of Pony Express delivery was $5 for every half-ounce of mail. The company began as a private enterprise and its owners hoped to gain a profitable delivery contract from the U.S. government, but that never happened. With the advent of the first transcontinental telegraph line in October 1861, the Pony Express ceased operations. However, the legend of the lone Pony Express rider galloping across the Old West frontier to deliver the mail lives on today.

'Strange Sex' will explore medical abnormalities, unusual fetishes

A documentary-reality series on medical abnormalities, unusual fetishes and the science behind sexual attraction is to be aired in the second season of 'Strange Sex' of TLC.

The 10 episode docu-reality series profiles a range of individuals brave enough to divulge the trials and tribulations of their various conditions.

It will include a Muslim couple who waited until their wedding night to have sex only to discover they were unable to consummate their nuptials, a woman born with two vaginas dealing with the possibility she will not be able to have children.

And, in the debut episode, Ron Low, a typical suburban husband and father from Chicago on a mission to help men restore their foreskin, will be featured.

"In 2001 I realized I had to do something to improve my sex life because it was getting to be dull," Fox News quoted Low, an industrial engineer, as saying.

"I researched online and found out there are a lot of men restoring their foreskins and I decided to do it too.

"The tape less device I wanted wasn't available, so that got me tinkering in my own basement to make a device based on some ideas I had seen online and came up with a way to make these things to meet my needs.

"I hope when you see (the show) you get an appreciation for how foreskin restoration really benefits men. It makes up for a lot of damage," he stated.

According to Los Angeles-based psychologist Dr. Nancy Irwin, 'Strange Sex' will also provide a profound sense of relief to those with atypical sexual predilections, in addition to providing treatment techniques and resources.

"Hopefully, the show will underscore the fact that no one chooses to have these conditions, and it takes a very courageous person to share this intimate issue and ask for help," she said.

While the show deals with an assortment of unconventional issues, it has clearly captivated American audiences. The season one premiere attracted an average of 1.2 million viewers.

"We send very confusing messages through the media; teens and girls are highly sexualised at an alarmingly earlier age now, yet our sex offender laws and punishments are stricter than ever. No wonder offences are higher," Irwin said.

"This is why people tune in to a show like this; we are curious about sex, and want some real answers that are not available through commercial means," she added.

1700 : April Fools tradition popularized

On this day in 1700, English pranksters begin popularizing the annual tradition of April Fools' Day by playing practical jokes on each other.

Although the day, also called All Fools' Day, has been celebrated for several centuries by different cultures, its exact origins remain a mystery. Some historians speculate that April Fools' Day dates back to 1582, when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, as called for by the Council of Trent in 1563. People who were slow to get the news or failed to recognize that the start of the new year had moved to January 1 and continued to celebrate it during the last week of March through April 1 became the butt of jokes and hoaxes. These included having paper fish placed on their backs and being referred to as "poisson d'avril" (April fish), said to symbolize a young, easily caught fish and a gullible person.

Historians have also linked April Fools' Day to ancient festivals such as Hilaria, which was celebrated in Rome at the end of March and involved people dressing up in disguises. There's also speculation that April Fools' Day was tied to the vernal equinox, or first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, when Mother Nature fooled people with changing, unpredictable weather.

April Fools' Day spread throughout Britain during the 18th century. In Scotland, the tradition became a two-day event, starting with "hunting the gowk," in which people were sent on phony errands (gowk is a word for cuckoo bird, a symbol for fool) and followed by Tailie Day, which involved pranks played on people's derrieres, such as pinning fake tails or "kick me" signs on them.

In modern times, people have gone to great lengths to create elaborate April Fools' Day hoaxes. Newspapers, radio and TV stations and Web sites have participated in the April 1 tradition of reporting outrageous fictional claims that have fooled their audiences. In 1957, the BBC reported that Swiss farmers were experiencing a record spaghetti crop and showed footage of people harvesting noodles from trees; numerous viewers were fooled. In 1985, Sports Illustrated tricked many of its readers when it ran a made-up article about a rookie pitcher named Sidd Finch who could throw a fastball over 168 miles per hour. In 1996, Taco Bell, the fast-food restaurant chain, duped people when it announced it had agreed to purchase Philadelphia's Liberty Bell and intended to rename it the Taco Liberty Bell. In 1998, after Burger King advertised a "Left-Handed Whopper," scores of clueless customers requested the fake sandwich.