The Spaghetti tree is fictitious and the subject of a three minute report on the Swiss Spaghetti Harvest at Lake Lugano in the Swiss canton of Ticino - broadcasted on April 1st, 1957 (April Fool’s Day).
It was the BBC in its Panorama series and the BBC’s very respected broadcaster Richard Dimbleby added plausibility to the spoof. The original footage of the programme can be viewed by clicking here!
Pasta at that time was not an everyday food and in the 1950s pasta was known mainly from tinned spaghetti in tomato sauce and considered an exotic delicacy in many countries. An estimated 8 million people watched the programme on April 1st , and hundreds phoned in the following day to question the authenticity of the story, or ask for more information about spaghetti cultivation and how they could grow their own spaghetti trees. The BBC reportedly told them to “place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best”. The story has been labelled by CNN ”undoubtedly the biggest hoax that any reputable news establishment ever pulled”.
Our quiz was correctly answered by Frederike Schmid who will enjoy spaghetti for two on the house!
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