Britain's Daily Mail reported that British Prime Minister Tony Blair repainted the traditionally black front door of his Downing Street office "socialist red" to match his Labour party colors. When it comes to April Fool's Day, Europe's media are having the last laugh. Britain's Daily Mail reported that British Prime Minister Tony Blair repainted the traditionally black front door of his Downing Street office "socialist red" to match his Labour party colors. The Times ran a story about a new song-activated credit card security system called "Chip 'n' Sing." Neither is true of course, but two centuries after the tradition began, media outlets still try to dupe the gullible in an unofficial yearly competition. Some say April Fool's Day started with the creation of the Gregorian calendar in the 16th century, which changed the starting date of the new year from April 1 - or April Fool's Day - to Jan. 1; others point to Indian and Roman festivals that celebrated tomfoolery. Another theory dates back to the 17th century, when British villagers would strap an effigy of the town's fool to a horse and parade it through the village. Some of the day's better efforts this year: The Rome daily Il Messagger reported that a new group in the city of Aquil had persuaded officials to cover up monuments in the main square by dressing the naked men and women with clothes of bronze. Sweden's daily Dagens Nyheter scared thousands of bicyclists by claiming that Stockholm's city government would impose speed limits of 12 mph on bikes in the inner city. The Moscow daily Moskovsky Komsomolets turned the day into a contest, offering free subscriptions to callers who identified false stories. Its gag stories included a secret research institute where Kremlin candidates to succeed President Vladimir Putin undergo scientific testing, and plans for a parliament building where lawmakers' offices would boast a bar, a balcony and a Jacuzzi . (Agencies)

說起愚人節，歐洲媒體堪稱這一天“整人大賽”的最后贏家。英國《每日郵報》報道，英國首相托尼·布萊爾將唐寧街首相府的傳統黑色大門刷成了“社會主義紅”，以配合工黨的象征色。《泰晤士報》則報道，一種名為“芯片與歌唱”（Chip 'n' Sing）的新型信用卡安全系統問世，使用者要唱歌才能啟動該系統。 毫無疑問，以上兩條報道都是假的。歐洲媒體在愚人節這天開玩笑的傳統，已經延續了二百年之久，各家媒體在這場年度非正式競賽中“大顯身手”，專整那些容易上當受騙的人。 有些人說，愚人節始于16世紀格里歷（即目前通用的公歷）誕生的時候。格里歷將新年的第一天由4月1日（愚人節）改成了1月1日；有的人則認為，愚人節起源于印度和羅馬“慶祝滑稽行為”的節日。 還有一種說法認為愚人節要追溯到17世紀，當時英國的村民們將鎮上傻子的模擬像綁在一匹馬的身上，然后在全村游行。 本年度愚人節精彩假新聞集錦： 羅馬《每日信息報》稱，阿基爾市的一個新團體已經說服了該市官員，給市中心廣場上的裸體男女雕像穿上銅制衣服。 瑞典《每日新聞報》報道，斯德哥爾摩市政府規定腳踏車在城內限速每小時12英里，這著實把許多騎自行車的人嚇了一跳。 莫斯科日報Moskovsky Komsomolets則在這一天搞起了“打假”競賽，識破假新聞的讀者打電話過來便可免費訂閱該報紙。其中的假新聞包括，俄羅斯建立了一個秘密研究機構，有望接替普京、入主克里姆林宮的候選人都要在此接受科學測試；議會大廈將要改建，議員辦公室里將會有酒吧、陽臺和水流按摩浴缸。 (中國日報網站編譯)