David Beckham joining the Australian soccer team? A stapler sending tweets? It must be April Fools' Day.

In keeping with tradition, media outlets, companies, websites and other jokers came up with various April Fools' hoaxes Thursday that ranged from the ridiculous to the absurd.

Australian pen maker Artline was advertising a new product in newspapers and on its website www.artline.com.au -- a pen that remembers everything you write.

"Forget the worry of losing the shopping list or the scrap of paper with that vital name or number on it," read the Artline advertisement. "You can download it all later -- as you wrote it, or in the typeface of your choice."

Last year on April 1 the company unveiled a pen with microchip tracking so no one could pinch it.

The website HowStuffWorks.com came up with the "twapler," which is a "stapler that automatically sends a message via Bluetooth or WiFi to a Twitter feed detailing exactly what you're stapling at any given moment."

"Whether you're joining together a research project, tax forms or your divorce papers, the Twapler will send out a message for eager tweeters to revel in."

Australian broadcaster ABC put out a spoof interview with an injured David Beckham in which the former England soccer captain said he was set to join the Australian national team, the Socceroos, as assistant manager and lead them to World Cup glory in South Africa.

Residents of the small Australian town of Murwillumbah woke up to the news in local newspaper the Tweed Daily News that "Avatar" director James Cameron had scouted local rainforests as a location for a sequel to the box-office hit.

April Fools' Day dates back centuries, but its origins remain unclear. A widespread theory is that it dates back to the adoption of the Gregorian calendar with the term April Fool applying to those who were still following the Julian Calendar.

By tradition in most countries, people can pull pranks before noon on April 1 in the name of April Fools' Day but become the fool if they do it in the afternoon.

贝克汉姆要加入澳大利亚国家足球队？订书机也能“推特”？如果看到这样的消息，一定是愚人节到了。

按照惯例，世界各地的新闻媒体、公司、网站和爱开玩笑的人在本周四愚人节当天搞出了各种荒唐可笑的玩笑和恶作剧。

澳大利亚钢笔制造商Artline在报纸及其网站www.artline.com.au上发布了一款最新产品的广告——一种可以记住你所写内容的笔。

Artline在广告中是这样描述这款笔的：“不用再为弄丢购物清单或记有重要名字或数字的便条而担心了。你可以在写完后下载全部内容——按照原本的字体，或另选其它字体。”

去年愚人节，这家公司“推出”一款无人能偷走的微芯片跟踪笔。

HowStuffWorks.com网站则在愚人节当天推出了一款“推特订书机”，这款订书机可以“通过蓝牙或无线网络向推特发送信息，随时记录你正在装订的东西。”

“无论你是在装订研究报告，报税表格还是离婚文件，这款订书机都会向推特上发送一条信息，吸引粉丝关注。”

澳大利亚广播公司则在当天播出了对贝克汉姆的一期专访。在这个经过处理的假专访中，有伤在身的前英格兰国家足球队队长宣布，他将担任澳大利亚国家足球队（绰号Socceroos）的助理教练，带领该队征战南非世界杯。

澳大利亚Murwillumbah小镇的居民则在愚人节早上看到了当地《特维德每日新闻》报上的这样一条消息，《阿凡达》导演詹姆斯•卡梅隆已选定当地雨林作为这部票房大片续集的拍摄地。

愚人节已有数百年历史，但其来源仍存在争议。一种比较普遍的观点认为愚人节与“格里历”（即现行公历）的使用有关，当时人们将在公历普及后仍使用罗马儒略历（公历的前身）的人称为“四月愚人”。

按照大多数国家的传统，人们只能在愚人节的上午开愚人节玩笑。如果到了下午再去搞恶作剧，那么你自己就成了“愚人”了。