Hockey pitch instead of Kamarouka
April 1 is a possibility to joke for people from all over the world. A great amount of practical jokes come from everywhere. Mass media are not an exception.
Even serious editions try to deviate from their everyday issues a little and play practical jokes on their readers.
The European radio for Belarus decided to study the archives of the Belarusian press and find out what kind of jokes were played by newspapers on their readers on April Fool’s Day.
There were some exotic jokes. The editor-in-chief of “Narodnaya Vola” Svyatlana Kalіnkіna said that there was an interesting joke when she was editor-in-chief of “Belaruskaya Dzelavaya Hazeta”:
“We wrote that there were extra energy resources at Vitsebsk hydroelectric power station and that the enterprise decided to warm up the water in a lake nearby and bring a hippopotamus there.
We said that there was no food for the animal and that he might die. We received a lot of letters – people wanted to help and even to donate money. Some readers believed there were a hippopotamus in that lake and wanted to help him. Vitsebsk authorities got offended by the joke and threatened to send a complaint to the court.
I think they read the news and thought they did not know what was going on in their city, so they started to deal with the problem of a hippopotamus that did not even exist. Still, they did not lodge any complaint. I think they also have a sense of humour”.
The “Hastranom” newspaper also used to make jokes on its readers. The edition’s editor-in-chief Ihar Danilau says:
“For example, we wrote that there would be ticket-stamping machines installed in metro trains and that people would have to punch their tickets themselves. People phoned us and asked: why? when? etc…
We also published an announcement about a school of geishas preparing geishas who would be able to work in Japan. There were also some interesting phone calls after that.
Girls phoned and asked where the school was situated. We do not frighten people anymore because the situation in our country is already dangerous. All the truth published in newspapers may seem funny”.
Sports editions joke about sports. A sports reporter from “Pressball” Syargei Shcharko says:
“The most interesting joke was when we announced that people working at the Kamarouski market (Kamarouka) asked to transfer them to the Zhdanovichy market. And we also added that there would be a hockey pitch instead of Kamarouka. We said that the Belarusian national hockey team would be training there. Then we noted that a Belarusian short track team would also train there and even announced enrolment in the team.
Short track is an Olympic sport where skaters run around a hockey pitch. But according to the Belarusian mentality, such sportsmen lack the necessary ardor.
We said that all people could join the team, and that they will be paid a scholarship of 500 USD and they will be able to travel abroad and play there. We also demanded that they should be patriots and should have the ardor.
Many people of all ages phoned us wishing to enrol in the team. Lots of people working at Kamarouka were phoning and saying they had never asked to be transferred to Zhdanovichy so that a short track pitch would be built instead of the market”.
Regional editions also know how to make jokes on their readers. The deputy editor-in-chief of “Hazeta Slonimskaya” Syarhey Chyhryn says:
“Several years ago we wrote there were dollar bank notes floating in the Shchara. People came there and searched for them.
Later we announced that it was a joke. But many people came to the Shchara to search for the bank notes and later they phoned complaining they hadn’t found anything”.
It turned out that many editions made jokes about Kamarouka – besides “Pressball”, it was “Turism I Otdyh”. The editor-in-chief of “Ryph-Tour” Natallya Plytkevich says:
“It happened three years ago. We did it like that: half of the newspaper was turned upside down and all the articles in that part contained some jokes. We wrote that Kamarouka would be taken down and an amusement park would be built there. Indignant readers phoned us and asked how we could write such things and how come there would be no Kamarouka?”
Even serious editions try to deviate from their everyday issues a little and play practical jokes on their readers.
The European radio for Belarus decided to study the archives of the Belarusian press and find out what kind of jokes were played by newspapers on their readers on April Fool’s Day.
There were some exotic jokes. The editor-in-chief of “Narodnaya Vola” Svyatlana Kalіnkіna said that there was an interesting joke when she was editor-in-chief of “Belaruskaya Dzelavaya Hazeta”:
“We wrote that there were extra energy resources at Vitsebsk hydroelectric power station and that the enterprise decided to warm up the water in a lake nearby and bring a hippopotamus there.
We said that there was no food for the animal and that he might die. We received a lot of letters – people wanted to help and even to donate money. Some readers believed there were a hippopotamus in that lake and wanted to help him. Vitsebsk authorities got offended by the joke and threatened to send a complaint to the court.
I think they read the news and thought they did not know what was going on in their city, so they started to deal with the problem of a hippopotamus that did not even exist. Still, they did not lodge any complaint. I think they also have a sense of humour”.
The “Hastranom” newspaper also used to make jokes on its readers. The edition’s editor-in-chief Ihar Danilau says:
“For example, we wrote that there would be ticket-stamping machines installed in metro trains and that people would have to punch their tickets themselves. People phoned us and asked: why? when? etc…
We also published an announcement about a school of geishas preparing geishas who would be able to work in Japan. There were also some interesting phone calls after that.
Girls phoned and asked where the school was situated. We do not frighten people anymore because the situation in our country is already dangerous. All the truth published in newspapers may seem funny”.
Sports editions joke about sports. A sports reporter from “Pressball” Syargei Shcharko says:
“The most interesting joke was when we announced that people working at the Kamarouski market (Kamarouka) asked to transfer them to the Zhdanovichy market. And we also added that there would be a hockey pitch instead of Kamarouka. We said that the Belarusian national hockey team would be training there. Then we noted that a Belarusian short track team would also train there and even announced enrolment in the team.
Short track is an Olympic sport where skaters run around a hockey pitch. But according to the Belarusian mentality, such sportsmen lack the necessary ardor.
We said that all people could join the team, and that they will be paid a scholarship of 500 USD and they will be able to travel abroad and play there. We also demanded that they should be patriots and should have the ardor.
Many people of all ages phoned us wishing to enrol in the team. Lots of people working at Kamarouka were phoning and saying they had never asked to be transferred to Zhdanovichy so that a short track pitch would be built instead of the market”.
Regional editions also know how to make jokes on their readers. The deputy editor-in-chief of “Hazeta Slonimskaya” Syarhey Chyhryn says:
“Several years ago we wrote there were dollar bank notes floating in the Shchara. People came there and searched for them.
Later we announced that it was a joke. But many people came to the Shchara to search for the bank notes and later they phoned complaining they hadn’t found anything”.
It turned out that many editions made jokes about Kamarouka – besides “Pressball”, it was “Turism I Otdyh”. The editor-in-chief of “Ryph-Tour” Natallya Plytkevich says:
“It happened three years ago. We did it like that: half of the newspaper was turned upside down and all the articles in that part contained some jokes. We wrote that Kamarouka would be taken down and an amusement park would be built there. Indignant readers phoned us and asked how we could write such things and how come there would be no Kamarouka?”
