The origin of April Fools' Day is obscure. One likely theory is that the modern holiday was first celebrated soon after the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar; the term referred to someone still adhering to the Julian Calendar which it replaced.
In many pre-Christian cultures May Day (May 1) was celebrated as the first day of summer, and signaled the start of the spring planting season. An April Fool was someone who did this prematurely. Another origin is that April 1 was counted the first day of the year in France. When King Charles IX changed that to January 1, some people stayed with April 1. Those who did were called "April Fools" and were taunted by their neighbors.
In the eighteenth century the festival was often posited as going back to the times of Noah. An English newspaper article published on April 13th, 1789 said that the day had its origins when he sent the raven off too early, before the waters had receded. He did this on the first day of the Hebrew month that corresponds with April. A possible reference to April Fools' Day can be seen in the Canterbury Tales (ca 1400) in the Nun's Priest's tale, a tale of two fools: Chanticleer and the fox, which took place on March 32nd.
Some all-time classic hoaxes and pranks include the following:
#1: The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest
spaghetti harvest1957: The respected BBC news show Panorama announced that thanks to a very mild winter and the virtual elimination of the dreaded spaghetti weevil, Swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop. It accompanied this announcement with footage of Swiss peasants pulling strands of spaghetti down from trees. Huge numbers of viewers were taken in. Many called the BBC wanting to know how they could grow their own spaghetti tree. To this the BBC diplomatically replied, "place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best."
#2: Sidd Finch
Sidd Finch1985: Sports Illustrated published a story about a new rookie pitcher who planned to play for the Mets. His name was Sidd Finch, and he could reportedly throw a baseball at 168 mph with pinpoint accuracy. This was 65 mph faster than the previous record. Surprisingly, Sidd Finch had never even played the game before. Instead, he had mastered the "art of the pitch" in a Tibetan monastery under the guidance of the "great poet-saint Lama Milaraspa." Mets fans celebrated their teams' amazing luck at having found such a gifted player, and Sports Illustrated was flooded with requests for more information. In reality this legendary player only existed in the imagination of the author of the article, George Plimpton.
#3: Instant Color TV
In 1962 there was only one tv channel in Sweden, and it broadcast in black and white. The station's technical expert, Kjell Stensson, appeared on the news to announce that, thanks to a new technology, viewers could convert their existing sets to display color reception. All they had to do was pull a nylon stocking over their tv screen. Stensson proceeded to demonstrate the process. Thousands of people were taken in. Regular color broadcasts only commenced in Sweden on April 1, 1970.
#4: The Taco Liberty Bell
Taco Liberty Bell1996: The Taco Bell Corporation announced it had bought the Liberty Bell and was renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell. Hundreds of outraged citizens called the National Historic Park in Philadelphia where the bell was housed to express their anger. Their nerves were only calmed when Taco Bell revealed, a few hours later, that it was all a practical joke. The best line of the day came when White House press secretary Mike McCurry was asked about the sale. Thinking on his feet, he responded that the Lincoln Memorial had also been sold. It would now be known, he said, as the Ford Lincoln Mercury Memorial.
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Terry thought it would be nice to have a little fun today. Visit her website for a look at what's really new. No hoaxes there.
5 comments:
My children expect me to do something for April Fool's Day. :) So I play along. I froze their cereal last year, I've stuffed their shoes with newspaper so they couldn't put their feet in. Think I'll do strawberries with salt now (just a little--hate to waste a good strawberry!)
I don't pull any pranks on April Fool's Day.
So naturally my husband always makes certain to
pull one on me. It's always something amusing and never mean-spirited. So we both have a bit of fun. In life, we all need a sense of humor.
Thanks for sharing all these great stories with us today, Terry.
The worst prank I ever 'received' was actually from my first agent, who called all her clients and told them she was quitting. With no kids around, and no out-of-the-house job, days and dates lose meaning, and the date never registered.
Elizabeth, I think kids like/expect jokes, and I agree: don't waste good strawberries.
Jacqueline - 'not mean spirited' is the key.
Terry
Terry's Place
Romance with a Twist--of Mystery
We used to have great fun with the day when the kids were all young and we enjoyed playing pranks. Now it is just a day like any other for me. Although I was wondering about the spaghetti harvest I kept seeing references to on Twitter and Facebook. LOL
Terry: I grew up with 3 sisters. Two of them played jokes on the 2 of us who didn't and I HATED jokes because they made me feel foolish for being gullible. Years later we can laugh about it. Thanks for sharing the history of the day. I had no idea!
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