The History Of April Fools' Day - An Excerpt

From : The Huffington Post
The History Of April Fools' Day Plus The Top Five Pranks Of All Time .

The origins of April Fools' Day are murky, but the likeliest explanation is that it began as a way to mock French people who were slow to switch to the Gregorian Calendar which changed New Year's from April 1 to January 1. These folks were labeled "fools" and some were sent on "fools' errands."

Of course there are alternate theories, specifically ones that ascribe the informal holiday to the cultural impact of the Hilaria Festival of ancient Rome, held on March 25, and the Holi celebration in India, which ends on March 31.

The Museum of Hoaxes has a complete collection of all the theories, but the real problem with explaining April Fools' Day is that you never quite know when someone is trying to fool you with their explanation. The classic example of this comes from Joseph Boskin: Constantine and Kugel. This Boston University professor explained that the holiday stemmed from a moment of political unrest under Constantine, when a group of court jesters said they could run the empire better than he could. He claimed that Constantine was amused so he let a jester named Kugel be king for a day...April 1. The "AP" ran this theory in 1983, only to find out it was Boskin's prank on the American public.

The real fun, as we all know, is executing these pranks ourselves or, at the very least, reveling pranks past. Here is our collection of the five best pranks of all time...

1) Swiss Spaghetti Harvest

In 1957 the jokesters at BBC, ran a segment on the coming of spring after a mild winter and what that meant for Swiss farmers. The answer? An unusually large spaghetti crop. According to the Museum of Hoaxes, "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) The Taco Liberty Bell
In 1996, Taco Bell ran an ad in six major newspapers saying:

"In an effort to help the national debt, Taco Bell is pleased to announce that we have agreed to purchase the Liberty Bell, one of our country's most historic treasures. It will now be called the 'Taco Liberty Bell' and will still be accessible to the American public for viewing. While some may find this controversial, we hope our move will prompt other corporations to take similar action to do their part to reduce the country's debt."

Many politicians' offices were taken in, as the Park Service received phone calls from aides to Sens. Bill Bradley (D-NJ) and J. James Exon (D-Neb).

3) Arm The Homeless

In 1993, the "Arm the Homeless" coalition sent a press release to a newspaper in Columbus, Ohio saying:

"The Arm the Homeless Coalition will be collecting donations to provide firearms for the homeless of Columbus... Funds are to be used to provide arms, ammunition and firearm safety training for homeless individuals who pass the coalition's rigorous screening. Homeless are selected for the program on the basis of need, mental and emotional stability, and potential value to society at large."


The "AP," CNN, Rush Limbaugh, and the "Columbus Dispatch" did stories about the group, which turned out to be three students from OSU that had no intention of arming the homeless but wanted to "draw attention to the issues of guns and violence, homelessness and media manipulation in our society." Other groups have repeated the hoax since then, here's video of one such prankster...

4) Nixon's Second Term

In 1992, National Public Radio's "Talk of the Nation" announced that Richard Nixon was running for a second term as president with the slogan, "I didn't do anything wrong, and I won't do it again."

Listeners were fooled and called in in droves. Later in the show, the host revealed it was a joke and that Nixon's voice was impersonated by comedian Rich Little.

5) Wisconsin State Capitol Collapses

in 1933, the "Madison Capital-Times" announced that the capitol building had collapsed after a series of strange explosions that they attributed to "large quantities of gas, generated through many weeks of verbose debate in the Senate and Assembly chambers."

Many were outraged, those with a sense of humor laughed.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

April 1 is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 274 days remaining until the end of the year. April 1 is most notable in the Western world for being April Fools' Day.


Events

* 527 - Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne.
* 1293 - Robert Winchelsey leaves England for Rome, to be consecrated as Archbishop of Canterbury.
* 1318 - Berwick-upon-Tweed is captured by the Scottish from the English.
* 1340 - Niels Ebbesen kills Gerhard III of Holstein in his bedroom, ending the 1332-1340 interregnum in Denmark.
* 1572 - In the Eighty Years' War, the Watergeuzen capture Brielle from the Spaniards, gaining the first foothold on land for what would become the Dutch Republic.
* 1789 - In New York City, the United States House of Representatives holds its first quorum and elects Frederick Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania as its first House Speaker.
* 1826 - Samuel Morey patents the internal combustion engine.
* 1854 - Hard Times begins serialisation in Charles Dickens magazine, Household Words.
* 1857 - Herman Melville publishes The Confidence-Man.
* 1865 - American Civil War: Battle of Five Forks - In Siege of Petersburg, Confederate General Robert E. Lee begins his final offensive.
* 1867 - Singapore becomes a British crown colony.
* 1873 - The British steamer RMS Atlantic sinks off Nova Scotia, killing 547.
* 1891 - The Wrigley Company is founded in Chicago, Illinois.
* 1912 - The Greek athlete Konstantinos Tsiklitiras breaks the world record in the standing long jump jumping 3.47 meters.
* 1918 - The Royal Air Force is created by the merger of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service.
* 1924 - Adolf Hitler is sentenced to five years in jail for his participation in the "Beer Hall Putsch". However, he spends only nine months in jail, during which he writes the book Mein Kampf.
* 1924 - First revenue flight for Belgium's Sabena Airlines
* 1924 - The Royal Canadian Air Force is formed.
* 1933 - The recently elected Nazis under Julius Streicher organize a one-day boycott of all Jewish-owned businesses in Germany, ushering in the series of anti-Semitic acts that will gradually, yet ultimately lead to the Holocaust.
* 1936 - Orissa Formerly known as Kalinga or Utkal became a state in India.
* 1937 - Aden becomes a British crown colony.
* 1939 - Generalísimo Francisco Franco of the Spanish State announces the end of the Spanish Civil War, when the last of the Republican forces surrender.
* 1941 - The Blockade Runner Badge for the German navy is instituted.
* 1944 - Navigation errors lead to an accidental American bombing of the Swiss city of Schaffhausen.
* 1945 - World War II: Operation Iceberg - United States troops land on Okinawa in the last campaign of the war.
* 1946 - Aleutian Island earthquake: A 7.8 magnitude earthquake near the Aleutian Islands creates a tsunami that strikes the Hawaiian Islands killing 159 (mostly in Hilo, Hawaii).
* 1946 - Formation of the Malayan Union.
* 1948 - Cold War: Berlin Airlift - Military forces, under direction of the Soviet-controlled government in East Germany, set-up a land blockade of West Berlin.
* 1948 - Faroe Islands receive autonomy from Denmark.
* 1949 - Chinese Civil War: The Communist Party of China holds unsuccessful peace talks with the Kuomintang in Beijing, after three years of fighting.
* 1949 - The twenty-six counties of the Irish Free State become the Republic of Ireland.
* 1954 - President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorizes the creation of the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado.
* 1955 - The EOKA rebellion against The British Empire starts in Cyprus, with the goal of obtaining the desired unification ("enosis") with Greece.
* 1967 - The United States Department of Transportation begins operation.
* 1969 - The Hawker Siddeley Harrier enters service with the RAF.
* 1970 - President Richard Nixon signs the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act into law, requiring the Surgeon General's warnings on tobacco products and banning cigarette advertisements on television and radio in the United States starting on January 1, 1971.
* 1973 - Project Tiger, a tiger conservation project, is launched in the Corbett National Park, India.
* 1974 - In the United Kingdom, the Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties come into being.
* 1976 - Apple Computer is formed by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.
* 1976 - Conrail takes over operations from six bankrupt railroads in the Northeastern U.S..
* 1976 - Jovian-Plutonian gravitational effect is first reported by the astronomer Patrick Moore.
* 1978 - The Philippine College of Commerce, through a presidential decree, becomes the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.
* 1979 - Iran becomes an Islamic Republic by a 98% vote, officially overthrowing the Shah.
* 1980 - New York City's Transit Worker Union 100 begins a strike lasting 11 days.
* 1981 - Daylight saving time is introduced in the USSR.
* 1989 - Margaret Thatcher's new local government tax, the Community Charge (commonly known as the 'poll tax'), is introduced in Scotland.
* 1996 - The Halifax Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia is created.
* 1997 - Comet Hale-Bopp is seen passing over perihelion.
* 1999 - Nunavut is established as a Canadian territory carved out of the eastern part of the Northwest Territories.
* 2001 - An EP-3E United States Navy surveillance aircraft collides with a Chinese People's Liberation Army Shenyang J-8 fighter jet. The Navy crew makes an emergency landing in Hainan, People's Republic of China and is detained.
* 2001 - Former President of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milošević surrenders to police special forces, to be tried on charges of war crimes.
* 2001 - Same-sex marriage becomes legal in the Netherlands, the first country to allow it.
* 2002 - The Netherlands legalizes euthanasia, becoming the first nation in the world to do so.
* 2004 - Google introduces its Gmail product to the public. The launch is met with scepticism on account of the launch date.
* 2006 - The Serious Organised Crime Agency, dubbed the 'British FBI', is created in the United Kingdom.

Births

* 1220 - Emperor Go-Saga of Japan (d. 1272)
* 1543 - François de Bonne, duc de Lesdiguières, Constable of France (d. 1626)
* 1578 - William Harvey, English physician (d. 1657)
* 1610 - Charles de Saint-Évremond, French soldier (d. 1703)
* 1640 - Georg Mohr, Danish mathematician (d. 1697)
* 1647 - John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, English poet (d. 1680)
* 1697 - Antoine François Prévost, French author and novelist (d. 1763)
* 1753 - Joseph de Maistre, French diplomat and writer (d. 1821)
* 1765 - Luigi Schiavonetti, Italian engraver (d. 1810)
* 1776 - Sophie Germain, French mathematician (d. 1831)
* 1809 - Nikolai Gogol, Ukrainian-born Russian writer (d. 1852)
* 1815 - Otto von Bismarck, 1st Chancellor of Germany (d. 1898)
* 1815 - Edward Clark, Governor of Texas (d. 1880)
* 1834 - Big Jim Fisk, American entrepreneur (d. 1872)
* 1854 - Bill Traylor, American artist (d. 1949)
* 1856 - Acacio Gabriel Viegas, Indian physician (d. 1933)
* 1865 - Richard Adolf Zsigmondy, Austrian-born chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1929)
* 1866 - Ferruccio Busoni, Italian pianist and composer (d. 1924)
* 1868 - Edmond Rostand, French dramatist (d. 1918)
* 1873 (N.S.) - Sergei Rachmaninoff, Russian composer, pianist, and conductor (d. 1943)
* 1875 - Edgar Wallace, English writer (d. 1932)
* 1880 - Agha Petros, Assyrian general (d. 1932)
* 1882 - Paul Anspach, Belgian Olympic champion fencer (d. 1991)
* 1883 - Lon Chaney, Sr., American actor (d. 1930)
* 1885 - Wallace Beery, American actor (d. 1949)
* 1893 - Cicely Courtneidge, English actress and comedian (d. 1980)
* 1895 - Alberta Hunter, American singer (d. 1984)
* 1897 - Nita Naldi, American actress (d. 1961)
* 1898 - William James Sidis, American genius (d. 1944)
* 1899 - Gustavs Celmins, Latvian politician (d. 1968)
* 1900 - Robert McDowell, Mayor of Maryborough, Queensland (d. 1988)
* 1901 - Whittaker Chambers, American writer, editor, and defector (d. 1961)
* 1902 - Maria Polydouri, Greek poet (d. 1930)
* 1906 - Aleksandr Yakovlev, Russian engineer and aeroplane designer (d. 1989)
* 1908 - Abraham Maslow, American psychologist (d. 1970)
* 1909 - Eddy Duchin, American popular pianist & bandleader (d. 1951)
* 1911 - Fauja Singh, Indian athlete.
* 1914 - Lor Tok, Thai comedian and actor (d. 2002)
* 1915 - Otto Wilhelm Fischer, Austrian actor (d. 2004)
* 1917 - Melville Shavelson, American film director, producer and screenwriter (d. 2007)
* 1919 - Joseph Murray, American surgeon, Nobel laureate
* 1920 - Toshirō Mifune, Japanese actor (d. 1997)
* 1921 - Ken Reardon, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2008)
* 1922 - William Manchester, American historian (d. 2004)
* 1924 - Brendan Byrne, Governor of New Jersey
* 1924 - Miodrag Petrović, Serbian actor (d. 2003)
* 1926 - Charles Bressler, American tenor
* 1926 - Anne McCaffrey, American author
* 1927 - Amos Milburn, American pianist (d. 1980)
* 1928 - George Grizzard, American actor (d. 2007)
* 1929 - Milan Kundera, Czech-born writer
* 1929 - Payut Ngaokrachang, Thai animator
* 1929 - Jane Powell, American dancer, actress, and singer
* 1929 - Bo Schembechler, American football coach (d. 2006)
* 1930 - Grace Lee Whitney, American actress
* 1931 - Rolf Hochhuth, German writer
* 1931 - Ita Ever, Estonian actress
* 1932 - Gordon Jump, American actor (d. 2003)
* 1932 - Debbie Reynolds, American actress
* 1933 - Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, French physicist, Nobel laureate
* 1933 - Dan Flavin, American artist (d. 1996)
* 1934 - Don Hastings, American actor
* 1934 - Rod Kanehl, American baseball player (d. 2004)
* 1934 - Vladimir Posner, Russian journalist
* 1935 - Larry McDonald, American politician (d. 1983)
* 1936 - Jean-Pascal Delamuraz, Swiss politician, president of the Confederation in 1989 and 1996 (d. 1998)
* 1938 - Ali MacGraw, American actress
* 1938 - John Quade, American actor
* 1939 - Phil Niekro, American baseball player
* 1939 - Rudolph Isley, American singer
* 1940 - Wangari Maathai, Kenyan environmentalist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
* 1942 - Samuel R. Delany, American author
* 1942 - Annie Nightingale, British disc jockey
* 1944 - Rusty Staub, American baseball player
* 1945 - John Barbata, American drummer
* 1946 - Ronnie Lane, English musician (d. 1997)
* 1946 - Arrigo Sacchi, Italian football coach
* 1947 - Alain Connes, French mathematician
* 1947 - M, English singer
* 1947 - Norm Van Lier, American basketball player (d. 2009)
* 1948 - Jimmy Cliff, Jamaican musician
* 1949 - Gérard Mestrallet, French businessman
* 1949 - Sammy Nelson, Northern Irish footballer
* 1949 - Gil Scott-Heron, American musician and composer
* 1950 - Samuel Alito, U.S. Supreme Court Justice
* 1951 - John Philip Abizaid, U.S. Army General, former CENTCOM commander
* 1952 - Annette O'Toole, American actress
* 1952 - Bernard Stiegler, French philosopher
* 1953 - Barry Sonnenfeld, producer and director
* 1954 - Jeff Porcaro, American drummer (d. 1992)
* 1955 - Gregg Jarrett, American television anchor
* 1955 - Humayun Akhtar Khan, Pakistani statesman
* 1957 - David Gower, English cricketer
* 1958 - D. Boon, American musician (d. 1985)
* 1960 - Michael Praed, British actor
* 1962 - Dave Ulliott, English poker player
* 1962 - Samboy Lim, Filipino basketball player
* 1964 - Erik Breukink, Dutch cyclist and manager
* 1964 - Kevin Duckworth, American basketball player (d. 2008)
* 1964 - Scott Stevens, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1965 - Mark Jackson, American basketball player
* 1965 - Robert Steadman, English composer
* 1966 - Chris Evans, English disc jockey
* 1967 - Phil Demmel, American musician
* 1968 - Andreas Schnaas, German horror film director
* 1968 - Julia Boutros, Lebanese singer
* 1969 - Fadl Shaker, Lebanese singer
* 1969 - Dean Windass, English Football Player
* 1970 - Sung Hi Lee, Korean-born model
* 1971 - Method Man, American rapper
* 1971 - Jessica Collins, American actress
* 1971 - Lachy Hulme, Australian actor and screenwriter
* 1971 - Shinji Nakano, Japanese race car driver
* 1972 - Allen and Albert Hughes, American film directors
* 1972 - Darren McCarty, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1972 - Jesse Tobias, American musician
* 1973 - Christian Finnegan, American comedian
* 1973 - Stephen Fleming, New Zealand cricketer
* 1973 - Rachel Maddow, American radio personality and political analyst
* 1973 - Joe Francis, American adult video producer
* 1974 - Richard Christy, American drummer
* 1974 - Hugo Benjamín Ibarra, Argentine footballer
* 1974 - Sandra Völker, German swimmer
* 1975 - George Bastl, Swiss tennis player
* 1975 - John Butler, Australian singer and musician
* 1976 - David Oyelowo, English-Nigerian actor
* 1976 - Clarence Seedorf, Dutch footballer
* 1977 - Haimar Zubeldia, Spanish cyclist
* 1978 - Jean-Pierre Dumont, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1978 - Miroslava Vavrinec, Swiss tennis player
* 1979 - Ivano Balić, Croatian handballer
* 1980 - Randy Orton, American professional wrestler
* 1980 - Bijou Phillips, American actress
* 1980 - Yūko Takeuchi, Japanese actress
* 1981 - Asli Bayram, Turkish German model and actress
* 1981 - Antonis Fotsis, Greek basketball player
* 1981 - Hannah Spearritt, British singer
* 1981 - Pieter Weening, Dutch cyclist
* 1981 - Aimee Chan, Miss Hong Kong 2006
* 1981 - Bjoern Einar Romoeren, Norwegian skijumper
* 1982 - Sam Huntington, American actor
* 1982 - Gemma Hunt, British children's television presenter
* 1982 - Taran Killam, American comedian and actor
* 1983 - Ólafur Ingi Skúlason, Icelandic footballer
* 1983 - Sean Taylor, American football player (d. 2007)
* 1983 - Matt Lanter, American actor and model
* 1984 - Gilberto Macena, Brazilian footballer
* 1985 - Josh Zuckerman, American actor
* 1986 - Ireen Wüst, Dutch speed skater
* 1987 - Ding Junhui, Chinese snooker player
* 1987 - Li Ting, Chinese diver
* 1988 - Courtney McCool, American gymnast
* 1988 - Brook Lopez, American basketball player
* 1988 - Robin Lopez, American basketball player
* 1989 - Vietoris Krisztián, German racecar driver
* 1993 - Keito Okamoto, Japanese Singer


Deaths

* 1085 - Emperor Shenzong of China (b. 1048)
* 1132 - St-Hugues, Bishop of Grenoble (b. 1053)
* 1204 - Eleanor of Aquitaine, mother of Richard I of England and John of England
* 1205 - King Amalric II of Jerusalem (b. 1145)
* 1528 - Francisco de Peñalosa, Spanish composer
* 1580 - Alonso Mudarra, Spanish composer
* 1621 - Cristofano Allori, Italian painter (b. 1577)
* 1637 - Niwa Nagashige, Japanese warlord (b. 1571)
* 1682 - Franz Egon of Fürstenberg, Bavarian Catholic archbishop (b. 1625)
* 1787 - Floyer Sydenham, English classical scholar (b. 1710)
* 1791 - Richard Butler American soldier (b. 1743)
* 1839 - Benjamin Pierce, American politician (b. 1757)
* 1865 - Giuditta Pasta, Italian soprano (b. 1797)
* 1872 - Frederick Maurice, English theologian (b. 1805)
* 1872 - William Frederick Horry, English convicted murderer (b. 1843)
* 1878 - John Corry Wilson Daly, Canadian politician (b. 1796)
* 1890 - David Wilber, American politician (b. 1820)
* 1914 - Rube Waddell, American baseball player (b. 1876)
* 1917 - Scott Joplin, American musician and composer (b. 1868)
* 1922 - Emperor Karl I of Austria (b. 1887)
* 1930 - Cosima Wagner, daughter of Franz Liszt and wife of Richard Wagner (b. 1837)
* 1946 - Noah Beery, American actor (b. 1882)
* 1947 - King George II of Greece (b. 1890)
* 1950 - Charles R. Drew, American physician (b. 1904)
* 1965 - Helena Rubinstein, Polish-born American cosmetics manufacturer (b. 1870)
* 1966 - Flann O'Brien, Irish humorist (b. 1911)
* 1968 - Lev Davidovich Landau, Russian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1908)
* 1976 - Max Ernst, German artist (b. 1891)
* 1979 - Bruno Coquatrix, French music impresario (b. 1910)
* 1979 - Barbara Luddy, American actress (b. 1908)
* 1981 - Eua Sunthornsanan, Thai composer and bandleader (b. 1910)
* 1984 - Marvin Gaye, American singer (b. 1939)
* 1985 - Douglass Wallop, American novelist and playwright (b. 1920)
* 1986 - Erik Bruhn, Danish ballet dancer, choreographer (b. 1928)
* 1988 - Jim Jordan, American actor (Fibber McGee) (b. 1896)
* 1991 - Martha Graham, American dancer and choreographer (b. 1894)
* 1991 - Jaime Guzmán, Chilean politician (b. 1946)
* 1992 - Michael Havers, British barrister and politician (b. 1923)
* 1992 - Nigel Preston, English drummer (b. 1959)
* 1993 - Alan Kulwicki, American race car driver (b. 1954)
* 1994 - Robert Doisneau, French photographer (b. 1912)
* 1995 - Lucy Rie, American potter (b. 1902)
* 1995 - H. Adams Carter, American Alpine Club President, 10th Mountain Division trainer (b. 1914)
* 1996 - Florence Buchsbaum, French theater director (b. 1926)
* 1996 - John McSherry, American baseball umpire (b. 1944)
* 1997 - Norman Carr, British conservationist (b. 1912)
* 1998 - Gene Evans, American actor (b. 1922)
* 1998 - Rozz Williams, American musician (Christian Death) (b. 1963)
* 1999 - Jesse Stone, American record producer (b. 1901)
* 2000 - Alexander Mackenzie Stuart, Baron Mackenzie-Stuart, Scottish jurist (b. 1924)
* 2001 - Olivia Barclay, British astrologer (b. 1919)
* 2001 - Jo-Jo Moore, American baseball player (b. 1908)
* 2001 - Trinh Cong Son, Vietnamese composer (b. 1939)
* 2002 - Simo Hayha, Finnish marksman (b. 1905)
* 2002 - Gavin Pfuhl, South African cricketer (b. 1947)
* 2003 - Leslie Cheung, Hong Kong actor and singer (b. 1956)
* 2004 - Aaron Bank, American OSS officer and founder of the US Army Special Forces (b. 1902)
* 2004 - Carrie Snodgress, American actress (b. 1946)
* 2004 - Nilo Soruco, Bolivian songwriter (b. 1927)
* 2005 - Alexander Brott, Canadian violinist and composer (b. 1915)
* 2005 - Harald Juhnke, German entertainer (b. 1929)
* 2005 - Jack Keller, American songwriter (b. 1936)
* 2005 - Ioannis Kyrastas, Greek footballer and manager (b. 1952)
* 2005 - Robert Coldwell Wood, American educator (b. 1923)
* 2006 - In Tam, Cambodian politician (b. 1916)
* 2007 - Herb Carneal, American sports broadcaster (b. 1923)