Sir Patrick Moore, an English Amateur Astronomer and the man behind the greatest April Fool’s jokes of all time
There’s an article claiming that everyone who jumps in the air at exactly 9:47am today will experience a momement of weightlessness due to some race alignment of the planets, and that it will take 3 seconds to jump up and down. The news has gone viral yesterday and is being shared by few media outlets in Lebanon as well.
This is a hoax and probably the world’s oldest April Fool’s joke. Here’s the explanation:
This is merely a resurgence of an April Fool’s joke that dates back to 1976 by Sir Patrick Moore. Moore was an English amateur astronomer who rose to prominence as a writer and talk show host on the subject.
On April 1, 1976 Moore told radio listeners that at exactly 9:47am, Pluto and Jupiter would be in alignment, creating reduced gravity on earth at the moment the smaller planet passed behind the larger one. Moore told the audience that anyone who jumped at this time would briefly float in the air. Hundreds of listeners called in after the “event” to describe how they did in fact float at the given time.
Moore’s joke has been cited as one of the greatest April Fool’s jokes of all time. Although the hoax has resurfaced in 2013, the explanation – even the same time of day – Moore gave back in 1976 has remained unchanged.
Sir Patrick Moore passed away in 2012 at the age of 89.
Bottom Line
Zero Gravity Day is merely the resurgence of a hoax which dates to April Fool’s Day 1976. [Source]
If you insist on trying to jump on 9:47 and hoping to float, be my guest.
Yasa as well
