BBC: Spaghetti-Harvest in Ticino | Switzerland Tourism

The spaghetti tree hoax is a famous 3-minute hoax report broadcast on April Fools' Day 1957 by the BBC current affairs programme Panorama. It told a tale of a family in southern Switzerland harvesting spaghetti from the fictitious spaghetti tree, broadcast at a time when this Italian dish was not widely eaten in the UK and some Britons were unaware that spaghetti is a pasta made from wheat flour and water. Hundreds of viewers phoned into the BBC, either to say the story was not true, or wondering about it, with some even asking how to grow their own spaghetti trees. Decades later CNN called this broadcast "the biggest hoax that any reputable news establishment ever pulled."

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[catherinepansey]

I saw this on TV as a child, on a rare afternoon, while alone watching tv. Never thought a thing about it, until, by bizarre happenstance, while having spaghetti for supper one night, with my 7 siblings, one of them asked, as a child would, "Where does spaghetti come from?". I proudly announced. " It grows on trees" Everyone at table laughed and laughed. I told them I saw the documentary on tv. describing it in detail, they did not believe me. I was ridiculed and frustrated. For years I wondered, AM I crazy? Surely I must be mad, as I grew up and knew of course, spaghetti does NOT grow on trees. I thought I must have imagined it, It seemed so real. I never forgot it, it haunted me for years and years. Then came the internet, I typed in spaghetti growing on trees, one day. AND THERE IT WAS! I showed all my now adult siblings. JUSTIFICATION. I was not Best April fool's prank EVER!!!!

[fifi_leafy]

They literally took the time to place spaghetti in a bunch of trees.

That’s freakin amazing

[Sunflowers]

I'm old enough to remember watching this. As psammiad says, spaghetti was strange and exotic back in the '50s. Fourteen years of food rationing in Britain finally ended in 1954 and this programme was broadcast in 1957, so we were only just getting back on our feet again. Spaghetti, if anyone ever ate it at all, came in tins and was covered in metallic-tasting tomato sauce. Olive oil was sold in chemists and used to treat earache. No-one, except the small populations of Italians or Greeks in big cities like London or Liverpool, would ever dream of cooking with it! Another reason it was so successful as a spoof was that the BBC was a well-respected, but very stodgy and stuffy organisation and the Panorama programme was its heavyweight flagship news and current affairs outlet so for them to broadcast something like that was a real departure from their usual fare.

[UntakenNick]

My neighbours have a spaghetti tree in their backyard and they always give us some when they're in season. The difference with store bought is incredible.

[marauder]

I remember reading about this years ago. From what I'm told, the BBC was stunned by the response this segment got. Not the people who were amused by the joke, nor by those vinegary folk who were scandalized that the BBC programmers had a sense of humor; no, the shocking part was the number of people who wanted information about attending the next year's harvest festivals

[kosta]

I applaud the guy for not breaking into laughter every 5 seconds

[GionSnow]

As a Swiss person i can confirm this is 100 % how we farm our spaghetti up til this day

[RiverSpirit]

We watched this in class for history (learning about non reliable information), and some people actually believed that spaghetti grew on trees...

[josephwarren]

I remember this too, but hailing from an Italian mother, who laughed herself into convulsions when she saw this, I knew better. I think about this every time I go out to our bread bush for fresh rolls.

[LinescrewCanada]

We're using similar technology in Canada, and our taco harvest this year should be a bumper crop.

[loumitch]

This story caused me to make a fool of myself in the 3rd grade back in 1962. I had seen this story on a re-run of a show called You Asked For It hosted by Jack Smith. But I missed the part about it being a hoax. Sometime later on down the road, my teacher asked the class if we knew how spaghetti was made. I confidently raised my hand and told her it grew on trees. She called my mother later that afternoon after school and told her, 'I think something is wrong with your son."

[MySwitzerland]

Did you know that the best spaghetti is grown in Ticino? The BBC broadcast this classic clip about the spaghetti harvest on April 1 many years ago. We couldn’t get you to fall for it today, could we?

[KlunkerRider]

I always looked forward to the annual spaghetti harvest, it always coincided with the penguin migration.

[bundeligafan]

"At the time (1957) spaghetti was relatively little-known in the UK, so that many Britons were unaware that spaghetti is made from wheat flour and water; a number of viewers afterwards contacted the BBC for advice on growing their own spaghetti trees."

[chaskenny]

This has got to be the best spoof ever. It was made better because Richard Dimbleby was the commentator. His was the voice of authority. Brilliant!

[azealot-aka-azz]

I showed this to my BF. He recognized it for the satire it was, but I pretended like I thought it was real. At first he thought I was trolling him, but I kept up the facade. I acted like I genuinely believed spaghetti grew on trees. He asked “Okay what about other pasta, like rotini?” On the spot, I said “Some are grown from other plants, for example shells are grown on bushes and picked like berries. For wackier shapes like rotini though, spaghetti is liquified then reconstituted into a different shape.” He thought I was trolling again, but I stood my ground. This devolved into 20 minutes of arguing. Me saying it was grown on trees, him telling me how it was actually made. This culminated with him telling me “It’s not a plant based thing!” and I took that 20 minutes of built up energy and retorted “What do you mean it’s not a plant based thing? It’s made from wheat!” He was devastated.

[EdithBurchett]

HOW is this possible to dislike this?
I think its one of my favorite videos since years and years and years.

[scattysafari]

Now THIS is how you do a prank. It's not hurtful or cruel or mean-spirited. It's imaginative. It plays on the authority we used to give the mainstream media. If you have to say, 'It's a prank bro!' you've failed. Still a classic of good-natured tomfoolery.

[vertigodescent]

Yes! I'm so happy to have found this! This exact segment is what caused my great grandmother to constantly say that spaghetti grew on trees, and she honestly believed it. It was fun to hear the stories Mum and Nanny had about Nanny Andy.

[chrissi]

We in Germany, are already awaiting the explosion of the Beer Geysir.
It is going to be delightful.