Best of Boston

1988 Best April Fools' Day Joke

When toungue-tied former state representative Roger “Sparky” Goyette turned in his long-awaited 65-page report on the “marine biota,” on April 1, 1988. Sparky, a former mechanic, has been hired at $30,000 a year by the House to research the environmental “project” after New Bedford voters threw him out at the polls.