BLOG

Google Plans Trip To Mars In April Fools Bonanza

Ever since Google released a mind-reading search engine in 2000, April Fool’s jokes have been an annual part of the company’s public persona. In what is surely their most ambitious hoax yet, they have teamed with Virgin to create “Project Virgle,” the first permanent human colony on Mars.

This elaborate joke has an entire page filled with information about the Mars expedition, including an application to become a Mars pioneer, a Mission Control community, a FAQ section about the trip and a full 100-Year Plan.

Only in a very small link within the FAQ section does it lead to an error page that displays the following message:

oh, all right. Fine. April Fool’s. Ha, ha, ha. It isn’t real. There. Are you happy? Does it please you to drag us out of our lovely little fantasy world, to crush all our hopes and dreams? Is that really what you need to hear? Fine, you’ve heard it. Virgle isn’t real.

Yet.

After the jump, watch videos of Google and Virgin founders explaining Virgle and read about Google’s other April Fool’s Day hoaxes.

Virgin Galactic Prepares To Make Space Its Punk

British entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson has unveiled the official plan to slap the Virgin brand on the cosmos itself with the official launch of Virgin Galactic. Branson’s spaceliners will take six passengers (and two pilots) to sub-orbital space, more than sixty miles above the earth’s surface. For $200K passengers get a whopping five minutes of weightlessness and the possibility of sitting next to celeb space enthusiasts. According to the New York Post designer Phillippe Starck and Stephen Hawking have both signed up for flights slated to begin in 2009. Maybe he’ll give you a break on the ticket if you show up at the New Mexico launching grounds, Spaceport America, with a Virgin-logo trampstamp.