National Geographic Lampooned in April Fools' Parody

Melissa Trujillo in Boston
Associated Press

April 1, 2008

It looks like a typical National Geographic magazine cover with the signature yellow border. So what's Paris Hilton doing on there?

The folks at the Cambridge, Massachussetts-based Harvard Lampoon persuaded National Geographic employees to help them ensure their April Fools' parody—with satire on Mongolia's wildest water parks and "Native Girls Gone Wild"—looked authentic.

(See photos from the parody of National Geographic.)

The issue, out today, is the latest in a string of magazine parodies by editors of the student-run Lampoon. But the long-running satire magazine had never done National Geographic.

Geographic Lends a Hand

National Geographic responded quickly when contacted by the students last summer, though the magazine had no say in the content of the parody—much of which could be described as off-color. (National Geographic News and National Geographic magazine are both owned by the National Geographic Society.)

"My guess was they were just extremely bored and they were tired of working with animals and scientists and wanted to hang out with college students," said Hayes Davenport, who edited the magazine with fellow Harvard senior Ross Arbes.

Davenport said other publications have helped with their parodies in the past, such as when USA Today printed the Lampoon's version on its press in 1989. And he said National Geographic's staffers were eager to help the Lampoon make fun of the magazine's serious image.

The magazine helped print the parody and distribute it alongside its own April edition in some areas, Arbes said. A designer also helped lay out the parody to make it look as much like the original as possible.

"They provided things that were really valuable to us," Arbes said.

Editors from National Geographic could not be reached Monday, but the magazine released a facetious statement.

"Editors are unavailable for comment, having left the country … as usual," it said. "There are reports of laughter from parts of the building, but that could just be because we are a fun place to work."

Your "Wildest Animal Fantasies"

In one article the Lampoon takes aim at a National Geographic contributor who toils away for years in search of a specific species. Their "Seeking the Island Fox" article has the writer cold, wet, and annoyed at getting just a brief glance of a "pretty boring" animal.

The Lampoon version of National Geographic also includes excerpts from fictional new Geographic magazines designed for teens and children and features Hilton in a "Your Wildest Animal Fantasies" story.

And of course, the Lampoon's version offers a send-up of anthropological nudity. A photo of a lion is actually made up of dozens of images of women's bare chests.