From singing nappies to taxi-style toilets: would you have fallen for these April fools?

It’s that time of the year for media and product pranks. Here is our roundup of the best of them

In an era when legitimate news stories range from US officials adding a journalist to a group chat planning a war to a miniature dachshund going feral on an Australian island for 16 months, it is increasingly hard for media outlets to invent ridiculous but plausible hoax stories for April Fools’ Day. Nevertheless, the tradition persists, and brands have been more active than ever in leveraging the one day of the year when outlandish boasts about their products might raise a smile rather than ire.

The nappy brand Rascals claimed to be launching a new range that would play a jingle every time it sensed a tinkle of a different kind. Experienced parents will be well aware that most humans already come equipped with a highly attuned detection system, in the shape of olfactory organs.