One of my favorite words: codswallop Though it was (and is) a load of codswallop, listeners reportedly called in to say they had indeed felt the predicted weightless sensation. Dec. 2014 update: Fake news site Daily Buzz Live has resurrected the hoax yet again with a new article claiming the planetary alignment will occur on Jan. 4, 2015. January 4th 2014 – Planetary Alignment Decreases Gravity – Float For 5 minutes! It has been revealed by the British astronomer Patrick Moore that, on the morning of January 4th 2014, an extraordinary astronomical event will occur. At exactly 9:47 am, the planet Pluto will pass directly behind Jupiter, in relation to the Earth. This rare alignment will mean that the combined gravitational force of the two planets would exert a stronger tidal pull, temporarily counteracting the Earth’s own gravity and making people weigh less. Moore calls this the Jovian-Plutonian Gravitational Effect. Moore told scientists that they could experience the phenomenon by jumping in the air at the precise moment the alignment occurred. If they do so, he promised, they would experience a strange floating sensation. Analysis: This may sound familiar to connoisseurs of April Fools Day pranks. Its a loose homage to what many consider to be one of the greatest leg-pulls of all time, namely a BBC radio broadcast on April 1, 1976 during which famed amateur astronomer Patrick Moore announced that an unusual planetary alignment would briefly counteract the force of gravity on Earth at 9:47 that morning. Anyone who jumped in the air at exactly that moment would experience weightlessness, Moore promised. He labeled the phenomenon, which was supposedly the result of the planet Pluto briefly passing behind Jupiter, the Jovian-Plutonian Gravitational Effect. Though it was (and is) a load of codswallop, listeners reportedly called in to say they had indeed felt the predicted weightless sensation. Lets hope the silliness doesnt go that far this time around. March 2014 update: News-Hound has re-published the prank article, now claiming the miraculous planetary alignment occurs on April 4, 2014. Fooled us twice? I hope not! Dec. 2014 update: Fake news site Daily Buzz Live has resurrected the hoax yet again with a new article claiming the planetary alignment will occur on Jan. 4, 2015.
Posted on: Thu, 25 Dec 2014 22:13:24 +0000
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