On the morning of 1 April 1974, residents of Sitka, Alaska, looked across the water toward the snow-covered summit of Mount Edgecumbe and saw something they had never seen in thousands of years: a thick column of black smoke rising from the volcano’s crater. Naturally, panic spread quickly as people rushed to the streets, convinced that the long-dormant volcano was erupting. According to the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) , Mount Edgecumbe’s last confirmed eruption occurred nearly 4,000 years ago, making any sign of activity deeply concerning. The dramatic plume from the summit, however, had nothing to do with magma, as it was the work of local logger and prankster Oliver “Porky” Bickar. He orchestrated an elaborate April Fool’s Day joke by burning 70 old tyres inside the crater of the dormant volcano. The hoax remains a legendary example of how careful planning, perfect timing, and a believable setting briefly fooled an entire community.
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