A nod and a link: April Fools' Day pranks abound in the news

If you happen to browse upon a news story that's too odd to be true Wednesday, hold your outrage and check the calendar.

It's April Fools' Day -- when media outlets around the world take a break from the serious business of delivering news and play fast and furious with the facts.

No one quite knows when the practice began, but any journalist will point to what is undoubtedly the biggest hoax that any reputable news establishment ever pulled: A 1957 BBC report that said, thanks to a mild winter and the elimination of the spaghetti weevil, Swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop.