Taco Liberty Bell Ad Doesn't Ring True

PHILADELPHIA - It's not just the Liberty Bell anymore, it's the Taco Liberty Bell. And if you believe the newspaper ads, the famously cracked bell is now owned by the burrito-and-beans fast-food chain.

Yeah. For sure. April Fool.

The company that embellishes its commercials with the gong of a mission bell announced in this morning's full-page ads that it had bought the Liberty Bell from the federal government to reduce the national debt.

A news release even touted some related trivia:

-- The Liberty Bell weighs 2,080 pounds, the same weight as 3,247 seven-layer burritos, 11,093 tacos or 3,974 Mexican pizzas.

-- It would take 5,376 packets of hot sauce to fill the inside of the bell.

Actually, the city of Philadelphia, not the federal government, is the real owner of the bell and, in the words of mayoral spokesman Kevin Feeley: "We're not about to run for the border."

Still, Taco Bell may yet pay for something, Mayor Edward Rendell said. "I fully intend to reach out to them and hit them up for a large donation."

Since April Fools' Day comes but once a year, even the White House got into the act.

"We will be doing a series of these things," presidential press secretary Mike McCurry told reporters. "Ford Motor Company is joining today in an effort to refurbish the Lincoln Memorial. . . . It will be the Lincoln Mercury Memorial."