Word: switzerland
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...assaults can be either subtle or brazen. And, really, people should see them coming. But in a media world addicted to drama and the bizarre, credulity will always take a hit. April Fools' Day 2009 is no different. From the Middle East, where peace threatened to break out, to Switzerland, where the national obsession with neatness created jobs for mountain cleaners, the world once again fell prey to an array of hoaxers, fibbers and tellers of tall tales - all excused by a strange yearly tradition of mysterious origin. Here are a few of the bogus news items that have appeared...
...holiday guests can always enjoy perfect mountains. Using brooms, brushes, water and muscle power, they clean the rocks of any bird droppings." Visitors to myswitzerland.com were invited to take a Mountain cleaner aptitude test and submit their name for a chance to win a week's holiday in Switzerland. See YouTube video.)... [April Fools...
Baby, it's cold outside. But the early-spring chill doesn't deter Thomas B. from taking a brisk walk along Appenzell's hilly trails to enjoy the green landscape of this rural canton in northeast Switzerland...
...Appenzell, the second smallest of Switzerland's 26 cantons, known for its cheese and sturdy mountain dogs, became a nude-hiking mecca is the subject of some speculation. "It's probably because naked hikers who had been here raved about their experiences on blogs, building this area's reputation," says Veronique Kanel, a spokeswoman for Switzerland Tourism, the country's official tourist body. "We haven't heard so far of a massive influx of naked hikers to other Swiss regions, although I suspect that once in a while they also go outside of Appenzell...
...does it do to public security and order?" he asks, adding that he has already convened about a dozen other nude-hiking aficionados to devise legal action. If the law passes, "we will sue Appenzell," he says, vowing to take the case all the way to the Federal Court - Switzerland's highest judicial authority...