Island author and journalist, Mike Starke, has made it into The Museum of Hoaxes ‘Top 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes of All Time’ with a feature he wrote for the official British Army magazine, Soldier, in April 1980.

The article jested that the Irish Guards’ bearskin helmets kept growing, and required a regular trim. It claimed that the helmets were originally made from the skin of Russian bears, and the skin was so thick that it retained “enough of the essential hormones and animal fats to sustain hair growth.”

“Soldier is an official magazine relied on for its accuracy; my April Fool’s jokes were quite the opposite!” Mike laughed. “As a publication trusted for its military fact, my trick could’ve gone down like a ton of bricks. So you can imagine I was very surprised when it took off!”

Mike’s article quickly amassed not only national, but worldwide appeal, fooling readers as far afield as Australia. The editors of the Daily Express, in London, were so taken in by the story that they repeated the story as a genuine tale, when it was, in fact, complete fiction.

“My triumph? I fooled Field Marshal Lord [Michael] Carver! He wrote me a personal letter, admitting he had been taken in by the bearskins!”