April 1st aka April Fools’ Day

Each year, April 1st is celebrated as April Fools’ Day around the world. Individuals will “pull each other’s legs” and play harmless pranks for fun and laughter.  People often come up with amusing or silly ideas to surprise their loved ones or friends. Afterwards, the prankster will yell, “April Fools” to reveal that it was fake, made-up joke.

Pranks

• “In Ancient Rome, pranks included having paper fish attached to their backs and being called “poisson d’avril” (April fish), which symbolized young, easily caught fish.  Basically, they were a gullible person. 
• In 18th century Scotland, the tradition became a two-day event:
  • send individuals to “hunt the gowk” aka cuckoo bird (which was a symbol for a fool) and other phony errands 
  • Tailie Day, where individuals would pin fake tails or “kick me” signs on people’s derrieres.
• In 1957, the BBC reported that Swiss farmers experienced a record spaghetti crop and showed footage of people harvesting noodles from trees.
• In 1985, Sports Illustrated writer George Plimpton tricked many readers when he ran a made-up article about a rookie pitcher named Sidd Finch who could throw a fastball over 168 miles per hour.
• In 1992, National Public Radio ran a spot with former President Richard Nixon saying he was running for president again… only it was an actor, not Nixon, and the segment was all an April Fools’ Day prank that caught the country by surprise.
• In 1996, Taco Bell, the fast-food restaurant chain, duped people when it announced it had agreed to purchase Philadelphia’s Liberty Bell and intended to rename it the Taco Liberty Bell.
• In 1998, after Burger King advertised a “Left-Handed Whopper,” scores of clueless customers requested the fake sandwich.
• Google notoriously hosts an annual April Fools’ Day prank that has included everything from “telepathic search” to the ability to play Pac Man on Google Maps.
• A classic April Fools’ Day prank of covering the toilet with plastic wrap or swapping the contents of sugar and salt containers.”
• And many others.

History and Origin

The exact origin of April Fools’ Day remains a mystery.

In ancient times, calendars were based on the vernal equinox. In Europe, the new year often started around March 25th.

Some historians believe that April Fools’ Day is related to an Ancient Roman festival, Hilaria (Latin for joyful), which was celebrated at the end of March by followers of the cult of Cybele. The Egyptian legend of Isis, Osiris and Seth supposedly inspired individuals to dress up in disguises to mock fellow citizens, even magistrates.

Some experts speculate that April Fools’ Day also was tied to the Vernal Equinox, or First Day of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere, when Mother Nature fooled people with changing, unpredictable weather.

However, most historians speculate that it dates back to 1582 when France switched to the Gregorian calendar from the Julian calendar. When Pope Gregory XIII introduced the Gregorian calendar, he stated that the new year would start on January 1st instead March 25th to April 1st. Many people supposedly refused to accept the drastic change. Some people were slow to get the news, so they continued to celebrate the new year during the last week of March. These late adopters became the butt of jokes and hoaxes and were called “April fools.”  Individuals led these late adopters to believe in things that were non-existent.