April 1 is a tricky environment to navigate, as readers have to be especially sharp-eyed to separate the fact from fiction.
The Otago Daily Times was first out the blocks this morning with a story claiming the new Dunedin hospital project has been disrupted by the presence of a velvet worm.
Comments on the story included: "Well we probably won't get the hospital there now" and "Dunedin is so ridiculous for a second I believed this".
Other fanciful April 1 claims around Dunedin included rail enthusiast and city council candidate Jarrod Hodson saying he had added a jumbo jet to his collection of trains for his garden railway in Ravensbourne.
Coastguard Dunedin announced they had managed to purchase a brand-new (yellow) submarine and they were accepting applications for ship’s captain.
Wheels at Wānaka said they had received a letter from Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, confirming their appearance at the tractor show at Wānaka as part of their Easter vacation to New Zealand.
The ‘‘letter’’ from Harry which they posted on their Facebook page, says the pair will touch down in Queenstown on April 18, and secretly host their plane there.
It also ‘‘advises’’ Wheels at Wānaka that Meghan ‘‘can also be a little picky about what she eats as you will no doubt find out, for goodness sake don't serve anything that has been killed’’.
Waitaki District Council also poked fun at their recently redesigned logo by claiming their new one would be an upside-down McDonald’s sign.
Burger Fuel was offering drinkable aioli thick shakes and Reading Cinemas said they were replacing popcorn with ‘‘pop rice’’.
