Moon Flies Out Of Orbit    (April Fool's Day - 1905)

Large headlines in the Cincinnati Enquirer declared that the moon had flown out of its orbit and assumed a new position in the sky. The movement was said to have been accompanied by a "remarkable pyrotechnical display." The accompanying article explained that astronomers did not anticipate further shifts in the moon's orbit and assured everyone that there was no imminent danger. However, the moon would now cast so much more illumination that street lights would no longer be necessary.

A few days later, the Enquirer boasted that their "exclusive story of the moon's escapade completely sold thousands of people" who had spent the night of April 1st "looking for a repetition of the phenomenon," before they had realized what day it was.