This reminds me of one of the earliest TV April 1st hoaxes, way back in 1957. The usually very serious BBC current affairs programme 'Panorama', hosted by the late Richard Dimbleby, produced this wonderful item about the annual spaghetti harvest. In those days, pasta was still little known in England, and this story was widely believed.
Take a look at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27ugSKW4-QQ
Mike/Citrange