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April Fish |
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Exotic Poisonous Fish in the Mediterranean |
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Whilst the rest of this page celebrates humour and the practical joke,
this ‘fish tale’ is one that should be taken seriously. There have been recent reports in the Greek media that a tropical fish — the silver striped blaasop, native to the Western Pacific and the Indian Ocean— which is poisonous if eaten, has started migrating to the Eastern Mediterranean. The fish belongs to a group of fish called the ‘Lesseps migrants’, so called because they travel through the Suez Canal, which was designed by Ferdinand de Lesseps. |
The fish is silvery-grey, with black spots, a white belly, and a silver stripe along its side. It has toxins in its liver, skin and reproductive organs which cause fatal muscle paralysis and breathing and circulation problems. The fish was first spotted off Rhodes in 2005, but there has been a rapid increase in its presence in Greek waters since then and now it has reached Crete. Last week, according to Rethymniotika Nea, several were caught by fishermen in Keratokambos, on the South Coast. | It should be stressed that it is not a dangerous fish per se, (so swimmers, don’t worry!) it just isn’t safe to eat unless you know what you are doing. It is considered a delicacy in some ports of the Indian Ocean, but locals there know how to remove the poisonous bits. We’re not scaremongering, but remember, the ‘fishing trip +cook your catch beach barbecue’ excursions will be starting soon. Amateur fishing enthusiasts among you, check your nets, and if in doubt, stick to red mullet. |
Poisson d’Avril |
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| We couldn’t let this month go by without celebrating April Fool’s Day in some way. For those of you who are wondering why we would do this on a page that’s supposed to be about fish, well, in France April 1st is known as ‘Poisson d’Avril. According to the history books, this is the day in France to run round trying to attach a dead fish to somebody else’s back without them noticing, so that’s the tie in. April Fool’s Day is marked in many different countries all over the world. Here are just a very few of our favourite stunts. | ||
The Great Spaghetti Harvest |
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| Changing a Black and White TV to Colour — Instantly! This stroke of genius comes from Sweden. In 1962, before there was colour TV in Sweden, the broadcasting company’s technical expert appeared on the news to announce that due to new technology, viewers could now easily convert their TVs to enable colour reception. All viewers had to do was to place a nylon stocking over their sets, and soon they would be seeing their favourite programmes in colour. Apparently, thousands of people were taken in. And, in an absolutely brilliant follow-up, the date chosen to actually launch colour TV in Sweden was April 1st, 1970. |
Whistling Carrots In 2002, Supermarket chain Tesco published an advertisement in The Sun, advertising a genetically modified ‘whistling carrot’. It was claimed that the carrot had been engineered to grow with air holes in its side, and that when properly cooked, the carrot would whistle.  “….But can you play Waltzing Matilda?” |
 Discovery of Socrates’ Tomb In 1995, the Greek Ministry of Culture announced that whilst excavating the proposed new Athens metro sites, archaeologists had discovered what they thought to be the tomb of Socrates. There were apparently a number of exciting finds in the tomb, including an ancient vessel containing traces of hemlock (the poison that finished Socrates off). Several news agencies, including Agence France Presse immediately released this news world wide, and were forced to issue embarrassed retractions a few hours later once it was revealed that the Ministry had been joking. |
Jog Slowly, Keep Squirrels Happy! In 1993, German radio station Westdeutsche Rundfunk announced that Cologne council had passed a new speed restriction of 6mph for joggers in the park. The reasoning for this was that if joggers ran any faster, they would disturb the squirrels who were in the middle of the mating season. |
| Gill Sardella and Maurice Barton |
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