Of course it was a joke!
The WNBA-NBC has no plans whatsoever to flip the pins upside down. The laws of physics, decades of sport tradition, and the sanity of every ninepin bowler worldwide remain fully intact. The photo you saw shows pins being tested on a pin-setting machine — they are just suspended mid-air during the automatic resetting process, not a revolutionary tournament format.
Pins suspended in the pin-setting machine during automatic reset — not a new regulation! 😄
April Fools' Day (also called All Fools' Day) is celebrated every year on April 1st. It is a day dedicated to practical jokes, hoaxes, and lighthearted pranks played on friends, colleagues, and even the general public.
The tradition is observed in many countries around the world, though it is not a public holiday. Newspapers, websites, companies, and organisations often publish fake news stories — just like we did! — and reveal the joke later in the day.
- 🗓️Celebrated on April 1st every year since at least the 16th century.
- 🌍Observed in the UK, US, Germany, Czech Republic, France, and many other countries.
- 📰Famous media pranks include the BBC's "Spaghetti Harvest" (1957), Taco Bell's Liberty Bell purchase (1996), and countless others.
- 🤣The exact origin is debated — theories range from the Gregorian calendar reform to ancient spring festivals.
- ⏰In many countries, pranks are only valid until noon — after midday, the prankster becomes the "April Fool".
- 🎳As far as we know, no bowling federation has ever seriously proposed upside-down pins. Yet.
- 🇬🇧English: April Fools' Day
- 🇩🇪German: Aprilscherz (April joke) / In den April schicken (to send someone into April)
- 🇨🇿Czech: Apríl — it comes from the Latin "Aprilis" and is celebrated with jokes and pranks called "aprílové žerty"
- 🇫🇷French: Poisson d'avril (April fish) — children stick paper fish on unsuspecting backs!
- 🇪🇸Spanish: Día de los Santos Inocentes (celebrated on December 28)