Flying penguins (2008)

Country

United Kingdom

How it feels

A BBC trailer from 2008 pretends to show flying penguins on an Antarctic island as proof of evolution. It is a hoax made for April Fools' Day to promote the BBC iPlayer.

whimsicalplayfullightheartedmockumentarycheekydeceptiveanimatedbreazy

What happens

Miracles of Evolution is a BBC film trailer featuring flying penguins made in 2008 as an April Fools' Day hoax. The film was advertised as compelling evidence for Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. It was largely set on King George Island, 120 kilometres (75 mi) from mainland Antarctica. The Daily Telegraph wrote that the film was "an instant classic. It is accomplished work of this kind that guarantees the BBC its unique status." The BBC website still claims that it may attempt to film the flying penguins again because the original film did not explain how such small birds, that are not used to flying, could survive long migrations over vast, stormy oceans. Miracles of Evolution was filmed with animated penguins for the occasion of April Fools' Day, and to promote the BBC iPlayer. MSN included "The BBC's flying penguins" as one of their twelve "hoaxes of the decade." (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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