More April Fools

I'm sitting here listening to All Things Considered's very long story on the tragedies that befall those who get to near untapped maple trees that are, in virtue of their untappedness, prone to explode "volcanically." The story is complete with extensive sound effects, the calls of New England accents, the tragic death of a child, and a reason: the low carb craze's deleterious effect on maple syrup consumption, not to mention Vermont children singing an exploding maple tree cautionary rhyme, and the remote pacific island that offers a palliative (wind sound effects and native speakers marking the South Pacific along with some child being harassed by an unsympathetic boss).

Closing with something like the Council for Peaches, among some sort of tree bark assocation: "Make peaches, not war." So far, no trace of it on the website.

The story ran for probably ten minutes total; it had me for about four of them. Very impressive. Even the bone dry folks over at NPR have a sense of humor, albeit of the same species of the drama geek / college bowl genus. Bravo, Robert Siegel.

UPDATE: This post is getting some search engine traffic, so I thought I'd add that NPR has posted a the story, which we can now confirm, as though it were ever in question, was a spoof.