Planetary Alignment - 1976

Planetary Alignment - 1976

By DAN FLETCHER Wednesday, Apr. 01, 2009

Denis Scott / Corbis

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The British media have a unique affinity for pulling April Fools' pranks, matched only by the British public's unique ability to fall for them. On April 1, 1976, BBC Radio 2 astronomer Sir Patrick Moore gave listeners some bunk about how, at 9:47 am, Pluto and Jupiter would align in such a way to temporarily reduce the earth's gravity. Moore told listeners to jump at exactly that time to experience the once-in-a-lifetime effect. At 9:48, callers flooded the lines, eager to describe how they had briefly floated. News that