Celebrating April Fools’ Day

To mark April Fools’ Day this year, instead of playing some joke that would invariably backfire (see here, and its’ results here) I’ve decided to introduce you all to a fool so complete in his ridiculousness, it’s a wonder I’ve not mentioned him here before.

Many of you will of course recognize the name Ricky Gervais. Ricky, and his friend Stephen Merchant, are the creators of the original, UK version of “The Office”. Well, before they were on TV, Ricky and Steve did a radio show for Xfm in the UK. It was then that they met a man who would become the subject of much fascination and ridicule. That man was Karl Pilkington.

I was first introduced to Karl via the first of the “Ricky Gervais Podcasts”, which were originally offered as free downloads from the Guardian newspaper back in 2005. It quickly became apparent why Ricky and Steve decided to include Karl in their conversations. The thoughts and ideas that came out of Karl’s mouth were astonishing. For example, here’s Karl’s thoughts on Noah and the flood:

“If i was him (Noah) i would have gone, “Hang on a minute, ive just seen somethin that looks a bit like this, let it drown”, have a bit of a clear out, but he was messin about savin everythin”

(Podcast Series 1, Episode 5)

The podcasts are chock full of those types of wisdom nuggets. They are an absolute riot. They are in trouble of being no more.

According to RickyGervais.com, “Karl refuses to do any further podcasts because he is ’sick of people moaning’.” He apparently reads lots of message boards and forums, and is tired of people thinking that he can’t possibly be as daft as he seems on the shows.

Well, Ricky is here to tell you that he can. He’s decided to start a blog to continue the legend of Karl until the return of the podcasts. It can be found here:

Ohh! Chimpanzee that Monkey News!

So, please join me in celebrating April Fools’ Day by delving into the world of Karl Pilkington. I can guarantee that you’ll be glad you did.