Predicting Tomorrow's Blog Posts Today?

Thanks to the interweb, and an army of helpful wiki editors, this year's April Fool's Day pranks are being lovingly compiled for posterity.

They haven't yet added this year's annual prank by Depeche Mode, which was pulled, as always, a day early (someone will likely add it soon.) The following questionable, but nonetheless adorable, news item was added to the group's website on March 31st:

When the band were recording their "Black Celebration" album, the boys took a break, and recorded a full album of "oldies". Named "Toast Hawaii" (after Fletch's favorite food item at the recording studio cafeteria, and later used as the name of Fletch's record label), the album has not been heard outside of the "inner circle" of Depeche Mode's friends since the 1986 recording...until now.

All copies of the album were thought lost, until Mr Gore found a cassette copy of "Toast Hawaii" in a box of old cassettes. After extensive remastering, the project is ready to be released.

Following recent web releases by bands such as Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails, the "Toast Hawaii" album will be a web release. Starting April 8th, fans will be able to purchase multiple formats of the album:

$10: The full album in your preferred digital format (AAC, MP3, FLAC, WAV)
$20: The full album in digital format, along with a copy of the album on compact disc, autographed by Fletch.
$40: The full album in digital format, along with a copy of the album on compact disc, not autographed by Fletch.

A sample of "Tutti Frutti" is available below. A full micro-site will be up within a few days. Stay tuned!

Tutti Frutti - 30 second mp3 sample

(The MP3 sample, sadly does not work.)

If only it was true...

A few of my other favorite pranks so far, all listed on the Wiki page:

• Google Australia's gday MATE (Machine Automated Temporal Extrapolation): "We can use this technique to predict almost anything on the web – tomorrow’s share price movements, sports results or news events. Plus, using language regression analysis, Google can even predict the actual wording of blogs and newspaper columns, 24 hours before they’re written!"

• Along those lines, Gmail custom time purportedly lets you send mail from the past.

• Improv Everywhere's terrible 90s-flashback site redesign. It's like being trapped in an episode of Ally McBeal or Eli Stone.

Happy April Fool's, gentle reader; trust no one.