April Fools Day: History and Curiosities

The first day of April, as we know, is the day of the year dedicated to pranks, the day in which the rascal soul of everyone can make its voice heard with more or less articulated pranks. It happens that April Fools' Day is organized to the detriment of some acquaintance, but increasingly often, it is the newspapers or information sites that camouflage biased news with redundant titles between formal statements and prestigious signatures.

April Fools' Day is, however, a tradition that hides within its folds 5 curiosities to be discovered to best prepare, on the infamous day of April 1st, to be victims or executioners.

April Fools' Day: The Origins

The origins of April Fools' Day are uncertain. Some trace its birth back to the Roman festival of Hilaria, dedicated to the goddess Ceres, which marked the passage from winter to spring. During the celebrations, it was customary for Roman patricians to organize, as a joke, a banquet for their servants.

According to others, the custom originated from the fact that during this period, fishermen often returned to shore with empty nets, thus becoming the object of ridicule from their fellow villagers who usually gave them peaches (instead of fish).

The most widely accepted theory, however, traces the custom back to France's adoption of the Gregorian calendar in 1564 with the Decree of Roussilon. Before then, New Year's Eve was celebrated between March 25th and April 1st, while later it was brought forward to January 1st.

The French, fond of the old tradition , continued to exchange gifts according to the usual celebrations, thus becoming the target of pranksters who, to mock them, began to give them empty packages or organize non-existent parties.

April Fools' Day in Ancient Rome

Already in Ancient Rome, immediately after the Ides of March, farmers used to celebrate the goddess Cybele, protector of animals and wild places. The festivities ended on March 25, a date that symbolized the resurrection of the god Attis, the Roman emblem of the vegetative cycle of spring.

These celebrations were called Hilaria (literally, celebrations of joy) and lasted for several days with sacred dances and songs.

Some historians also note some funny similarities between these festivities and our modern-day April Fools' Day, because even at that time there was the habit of fooling one's friends with lots of pranks, to shake them off the long winter and welcome the arrival of spring!

April Fools' Day in Ancient Egypt

A more suggestive hypothesis – but less documented – refers to Ancient Egypt, more precisely to the beautiful Cleopatra. It was the distant 40 BC when the Egyptian queen challenged her suitor, Mark Antony, to a fishing contest.

Legend has it that the latter had thought of cheating so as not to see his reputation tarnished. He ordered a slave to attach a large fish to his rod and run to the dock to put it in the water. But the cunning Cleopatra had heard everything and made fun of Mark Antony by replacing the live fish with a fake fish made of crocodile skin. We are not sure, but we suspect that everyone on the scene had a great laugh that day!

April Fools' Day in Europe

There are several theories about the birth of the custom that began to spread in Italy and Europe at the end of the 19th century. Experts attribute the birth of April Fools' Day in Europe to a specific date: 1582. In that very year, Pope Gregory XIII had sanctioned the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar (the one we use today), to unify the calendars, which at the time were different from country to country.

In many areas, previously, the beginning of the year was made to coincide with the period of the spring equinox when winter ended. In many places it was celebrated precisely on the first of April.

Since there was no TV, newspapers or radio, many people, especially among the lower classes, even after the Gregorian calendar came into force, continued to celebrate New Year's Eve at the beginning of April and were mocked for it. Later, people began to play pranks on this day, such as delivering empty gifts, summoning people to the square for the strangest causes, spreading false news, etc.

April Fools' Day Today

The origin of April Fools' Day as we know it today can be traced back to France, where forgetful people who had forgotten the change of calendar received fake gifts, that is, empty gift boxes. The prank was to make the victim believe that April 1st was still New Year's Day. Once the box was opened, the unfortunate person found only a colored paper fish that symbolized the prank. This explains the origin of the famous Poisson D'Avril!

Why fish?

This curiosity also has uncertain origins. The day of jokes is, in fact, traced back to the symbol of the fish only in Italy and France and for this very reason it is supposed that it is linked to the tradition of the children of these two peoples to plot pranks by attaching the drawing of a fish to the back of the poor unfortunate.

According to others, however, the symbol of the fish is linked to the fact that the victims of jokes "fall for it", as they say, to the pranks with the same ease with which fish fall for the hook.

A connection of logical sense, in this sense, exists. A different theory, instead, believes that the symbol is linked to the fact that in these days the Sun leaves the constellation of Pisces to enter that of Aries.

April Fools' Day Around the World

Although it is celebrated in different parts of the world, with different connotations, sometimes on slightly distant days, this tradition always remains anchored to a playful and joking style. In Scotland it is celebrated as “Gowkie Day”, day of the cuckoo, on which it is customary to attach a “kick me” notice to the back of the poor unfortunate.

A typical spring festival, which often coincides with the first of April, is the Holi Fest in India. It is a festival dedicated to fun, where you can play and get dirty with some colored powders. The meaning of the event is inspired by an ancient Indian rite that symbolizes rebirth, the arrival of the beautiful season, the desire to play, laugh and consolidate friendships and it is celebrated by playing funny pranks on relatives and friends.

In Portugal, although it is celebrated on the Saturday and Sunday before Lent, the custom is to throw bags of flour from the balconies on the heads of unfortunate passers-by.

April Fools' Day in Other Months

Then there are some "April 1st" that coincide with different dates, for example the Day of the Holy Innocents is a day of celebration and pranks for all the Spanish people. In fact, on December 28th, in the midst of the Christmas markets, families and friends enjoy playing pranks on each other and laughing together.

The history of this day dates back to the Nativity period and refers to the episode in which King Herod, having discovered the birth of Jesus, ordered a massacre of newborns. However, we have no historical evidence and therefore the hypothesis is not verified.

April Fools' Day: The Most Absurd Hoaxes in History

Every year, many pranks are added to the long list of the most successful April Fools' Day pranks in history. Certainly, among the most creative and original are the large companies most active on the Internet, such as Google and YouTube, but also municipal administrations and the media. Let's find out what the most absurd hoaxes in history have been.

The Guardian's Prank

In 1977, the Guardian published the news of the discovery of a new island, called San Serife. For the occasion, the newspaper also published an insert with detailed information and photos, managing to fool the numerous readers. Only after a few days it was revealed that it was a joke and that the name of the island was inspired by the “sans-serif”, a typeface.

The 'Taco Bell' Prank

In 1996, one of Philadelphia's symbols was questioned, provoking the ire of citizens. That year, the Taco Bell Corporation, a chain of Mexican restaurants, announced that it had purchased the Liberty Bell, the famous bell of freedom, pride of the city. Hundreds of protest calls were recorded at the National Historic Park, where one of the symbols of American independence is kept.

Google's Pranks

Every year, Google likes to tease its millions of users on April Fools' Day, inventing ever-changing pranks. Among the most famous, in 2010, was the idea of announcing the launch of Google Translate for Animals, a translation service from any human language to any animal language and vice versa. Many had expressed enthusiasm for the idea, before realizing that it was all a sham.

The Loch Ness Monster Prank

It was April 1, 1972 when newspapers around the world (or almost) opened with the news of the discovery of the carcass of the Loch Ness Monster, described as weighing a ton and over 5 meters long. The “monster,” however, was actually the body of an elephant seal, which had died a few weeks earlier and had been thrown into the lake by a prankster.

It seems that no one, initially, noticed the nature of the carcass, so much so that it was even displayed for a few days in a zoo before the authors of the prank came forward, perhaps embarrassed by the turn the joke had taken.

The Pranks Of The 60's

The tradition of April Fools' Day did not spare the 1960s either.

It was April 1, 1961 when the newspaper La Notte published an article in which it wrote that in Milan a law required all horse owners to have a license plate for the animal so that they could be identified on the street like any other motorist.

Battisti's 'Buttonhole'

On April 1, 1998, a few months before Lucio Battisti's death, journalist Franco Zanetti published the news on the Rockol website of the imminent release of a new album by the singer , entitled "L'asola". All the national newspapers reported Zanetti's revelations. The next day, however, the announcement was made that it had only been a well-conceived April Fool's joke, complete with a fake website and a double-meaning title (moving the accent gives "la sola", which in Roman dialect means scam).

Videos in Reverse in YouTube

On April 1, 2009, YouTube's millions of users woke up to a surprise: all videos were upside down. According to the company, "modern monitors offer better image quality when turned upside down, a bit like mattresses, which should be turned every six months." Many took the site's managers' explanation at face value, even trying to flip their screens, before realizing it was just a joke.

Working on the Moon

In 2004, before even trying to make a translator for animals, Google posted an interesting job ad online. The professional figure required by the internet giant had to be highly qualified with particularly technical skills, such as to allow them to work at the “Copernico” center.

Peugeot's Prank

A single color can often be boring. For this reason, in 2012 Peugeot decided to launch a new car, capable of changing color depending on the mood of the driver. To understand the mood of the moment, it was enough to look at the color of your car. The model was called Peugeot Rcz and the manufacturer carried out the initiative in the United Kingdom, where the tradition of April Fools is most felt.

The Little Mermaid's Bones

Copenhagen's iconic monument reduced to bones. It happened in 2010, when the Danes woke up without the famous Little Mermaid, who has been watching over the capital on her rock since 1913. In her place was the skeleton of the fantastic creature. In reality, the statue had flown to China for the Shanghai Expo and the replacement was made with the upper part of a human skeleton and the lower part of a large swordfish.

April Fools' Day: Some Prank Ideas

Beyond all the pranks that can be made via Whatsapp and Facebook, there are still some evergreens that are always fun with family or friends.

One is the “broken” remote control. Try putting a piece of tape in front of the sensor that sends the signal… it will become a nightmare for the victim to change the channel!

Alternatively, you could make a fake cake. Use shaving cream instead of cream and salt instead of sugar. For the dough, you can use old chopped onions with dry bread. Remember to show off your best “poker face” for the occasion!

Download an app that mimics the sound of an electric razor and hold the phone to the head of the unfortunate person. This prank will first drive them crazy and then make them laugh out loud!

Lie to your “Netflix buddy” by making her believe you watched the last episode of your favorite series without her and make up an ending she would never expect!

Our favorite prank, however, remains the one with the hole in the glass. Make a small hole under the rim of a plastic cup and hand it to a friend while she's on the phone with you!

April Fools' Day: The Funniest Pranks

Numerous are the pranks carried out over time by famous people, radio or television broadcasters, newspapers, accredited press agencies or companies with worldwide reverberation. Among these, one of the most famous was the one masterminded by the famous director Orson Wells who scheduled the broadcast for April 1, 1938 of a radio program announcing the landing of the Martians on Earth.

“The War of the Worlds” due to technical problems did not go on the air until October 30 of that same year but still caused the hoped-for effect of general panic among the population who emptied the streets and bombarded the police with phone calls.

Another funny prank, even considering the organization that hatched it, is that of CERN in Geneva, which on April 1, 2015 announced that it had finally solved the mystery of the Jedi Knights' strength. The news was supported by photographic documentation showing two famous CERN scientists who were able to move objects without touching them in any way.

The discovery, according to the news, was due to the "enhancement of the Large Hadron Collider", that is, the particle accelerator of CERN which, this time for real, allowed them to prove shortly after the existence of the Higgs Boson, better known as the "God Particle".