April Fool’s Prank

When did it Become Illegal to Smoke in Your Car?

On April 1, 1999, in South Carolina

The County Sheriff was on the radio saying they were going to start writing tickets for people who were seen smoking in their vehicles.

He said the state legislature had just passed the bill, and his deputies would start enforcing the law immediately. He explained the price of the ticket and how it would affect your car insurance rates. He added that it was unhealthy, and could be a safety hazard. The sheriff seemed to support the idea.

He said all this with a straight face. The state legislature was in session. There was an ongoing controversy over ticketing people for not wearing their seatbelts.

That made it all very believable.

It was also on the radio’s news on April 1, 1999.

That particular sheriff was a very outgoing, charismatic kind of guy. He had political aspirations well beyond that of a county sheriff. This was the largest county in the state, and half of it was in the state capital of Columbia, South Carolina.

When it was on the radio’s newscast that morning a lot of people heard it. Very few checked their calendars or paid attention to the hints that it was an April Fool’s joke. No law ever takes effect immediately after it is passed.

The waste hit the fan quickly and unforeseen consequences happened just as fast.

The county courthouse was besieged with angry phone calls. Council members were getting calls on their private cell phones. Even 911 services were getting clogged with people who wanted to complain to someone about this atrocity of government overreach.

There was no social media in those days, but word spread rapidly anyway.

This was South Carolina. A lot of people still smoked in those days. Most people are conservative and object to most laws. They want their freedom no matter the cost. Any infringement, no matter how slight, is a real crisis.

Even when people realized it had been an April Fools prank, not many people were amused

The radio station had to apologize and the sheriff did too. Several politicians grandstanded and made as many political points as they could.

It was one of the best April Fool jokes that I have ever witnessed.

What April Fool pranks have you seen?