Nervous System: The April Fools' Prank That Changed the World

Google's reputation for April Fools' Day jokes inclined many to assume the 2004 announcement of Gmail was yet another gag. In later interviews, Sergey Brin said the best form of an April Fools' prank would be to debut something that sounded so crazy it had to be a joke, and then let it sink in that the service was real and here to stay.