American Swedish Institute sells 90-year-old ‘basically edible’ codfish for dine-in, and other April 1 hijinks
Here’s one way to wake up in the morning, especially if you have a hankering for “fake news.”
The makers of Peace Coffee, the Minneapolis-based purveyor of fair trade coffee beans, announced Friday they had unrolled a line of organic, caffeinated mouthwash in flavors such as “Black Squirrel — dark roast, fine ground double espresso” and “Yeti — extra clean, triple caffeine cold brew.”
Sounds too good to be true, you say? Not to be outdone, the Mall of America announced Friday the rebranding of its popular 30-year-old log chute ride as the Kenny Loggins Chute, named for the “Danger Zone” singer from the 1986 soundtrack to “Top Gun.”
If that sounds fishy, how’s this for a lye?
After unearthing three wooden trucks filled with bundles of 90-year-old dried cod from their archives, administrators at the American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis announced Friday they had placed the discovery on the menu at their mansion cafe, though samples were available by reservation only.
The cod, which had been found wrapped in newspapers from 1932, was “remarkably preserved and basically edible,” reads a written statement from the institute, which noted that the lye-soaked fish is the main ingredient used in “the beloved Scandinavian delicacy, lutfisk” and believed to be the earliest example of the dish in Minnesota.
The announcement — released with a link to YouTube videos about the “vintage lutfisk” featuring Stockholm University food researcher Richard Tellstrom — was embargoed for publication on Friday. Which was April 1.
In other words — April Fool’s Day.
Those weren’t the only gags that had — some of us — going on Friday, for better or for worse. Utepils Brewing Co. broke some hearts by telling fans on its Facebook page that it had canceled its top-selling Ewald the Golden Hefeweizen.
Next to a picture of a makeshift grave marker, the brewing company announced it was introducing the hoppy Ewald The Wildman, which “blends the traditional Hefeweizen style with the hop characters we’ve all grown to love. Pretty tasty, right?”
It took a bit for some to pick up on the joke.
“Good one!” wrote a Facebook user. “My heart did a quick yo-yo into my stomach before quickly remembering today’s date.”
Some April Fool’s jokes drew accusations they had barely skirted, if not crossed a line into poor taste, though probably not as far as celebrities Chris Rock and Will Smith on Oscar night.
The social media account for the Voyageurs Wolf Project, which studies wolves in Voyageurs National Park in International Falls, announced Friday that bear-like wolverines had been spotted migrating south into Minnesota after more than a century away.
The news stirred excitement and hope in some corners, though the project’s social media thread — spanning at least 16 consecutive Tweets on the subject — quickly devolved into a ludicrous explanation about how the wolverine had been aided in its travels by Sasquatch, a former adversary.
An expert quoted hailed from the fictitious Dunder Mifflin University, named for the company in the sitcom “The Office,” while another was identified as “famed ethologist” Dr. Whors Manoor.
At Nathan Hale Park on St. Paul’s Summit Avenue, Julie Fasciana did a double-take when a reporter pointed to a large sign, face down on the ground next to Hale’s memorial statue, that indicated eight luxury condominiums would soon replace the neighborhood green.
The sign — knocked down by wind or foe, who knows? — informed passersby “6 SOLD. Act Fast While Parking Still Available.”
And written on the supporting leg behind its canvas, in large black marker on red masking tape next to a happy face, was the incorrigible punchline: “April Fool.”
“Thank you for not giving me a heart attack,” said the only mildly-amused Fasciana, while walking her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.
In an email, Ramsey Hill resident Stan Berger explained he drew up the sign 14 years ago as a way to razz his neighbors, whom he called “fanatics” about the historic area’s strong architectural controls. After putting the sign on an empty lot on his property for April Fool’s Day, he began placing it on his neighbor’s lots on subsequent April 1sts.
“It’s been stored away for about five years,” Berger wrote. “This year it’s going to be resurrected.”
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