BLOGGING THE VIEW: Don’t be a fool! Some fun facts about this day of pranks

Tomorrow morning is the day pranksters love, and the rest of us loathe – April Fool’s Day has arrived.

But, like it or not, the day isn’t going anywhere so we might as well embrace it. Here’s a look at some of the fun facts behind this day.

1. Where it all began

While the origins are still debated, some historians date the first April Fool’s Day to 1582 in France when the switch from Julian to Gregorian calendar was made.

Many didn’t realise that the start of the new year was not the end of March but 1 January and so were laughed at for being such fools.

2. Global celebrations

This holiday of pranks is celebrated in many countries across the globe in a variety of ways. In France, it’s mostly celebrated by children who laugh at the poisson d’Avril – or April fish – who get caught out.

In Greece, it’s believed you’ll have good luck if you trick someone, while in the UK, all pranks end by midday otherwise the prankster becomes the fool.

3. Some of the most memorable April Fool’s pranks in history

Most April Fool’s pranks will be small-scale and quickly forgotten, but there are some so impactful they’ve stood out in the history books. Here’s a look at a few that topped the list.

• Defying gravity

In 1976, renowned astronomer Patrick Moore told BBC listeners that the Jovian-Plutonian gravitational effect would cause earth’s gravity to weaken at 9.47am, encouraging people to jump at the time and almost float.

• Washing lions

A lot further back in history – 1698 in fact – it was advertised that lions would be washed at the Tower of London. Although this didn’t happen, and there wasn’t even social media to spread the fake news, many did turn up.

• Digital Ben

In 1980, BBC Overseas Service announced that the world-famous Big Ben clock would be transformed into a digital clock face and the gongs replaced with beeps. They added that the first callers would also get to win the hands of the clock. It didn’t go down well and they were forced to apologise for weeks thereafter.

• Man in a bottle

In 1749 in London (clearly the British humour coming into play a lot on April Fool’s!), it was advertised that a man would squeeze himself into a bottle at an upcoming show. The crowds turned up, but the man and his alleged bottle didn’t, leading to a riot.

• Spaghetti tree

In 1957, the BBC broadcast a family in Switzerland who had managed to grow and harvest spaghetti from a specially grown tree. Listeners who called in to find out how they could grow their own spaghetti trees were instructed to stick some spaghetti in a tin of chopped tomatoes and ‘hope for the best’.

• Taco Bell

What turned out to be a clever marketing tactic in 1996 began as an April Fool’s Day prank. American fast food company Taco Bell announced it had bought the famous Liberty Bell to help ease the national debt and would be renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell.

Keep your wits about you this Saturday and, with the real danger of fake media circulating, always check your sources!

Sources:
https://www.insider.com/how-april-fools-day-is-celebrated-in-11-countries-around-the-world-2017-3#united-kingdom-10
https://www.history.com/news/april-fools-day-greatest-pranks
https://www.newsweek.com/april-fools-day-pranks-jokes-1693246
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/z7gbxyc

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