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The Origin
The origin of
April Fools Day is not clear. In fact, there are quite a few theories on how it
started. There is evidence that it has been happening in Northern Europe since
the 1500s, however it is very vague and ambiguous. For certain, in 1708 a man
wrote to a the Apollo Magazine in
England asking how the tradition started, and people have been asking ever
since.
One theory is
that the French calendar changed in 1564, moving the start of the year from the
end of March to the beginning of January. If anyone failed to remember this and
celebrated New Years in the last week of March (until April 1st) had jokes
played on them.
Another theory
is from England where in the 13th century there was a law that any road the
king put foot on would become public property. One town, called Gotham, did not
want to lose their main road (for toll reasons I guess), so when the king
announced he was going to visit it their town they refused him entry. When the
king heard this, he sent soldiers to the town. But when the soldiers arrived
they found the town full of lunatics doing foolish activities, such as trying
to drown fish, or catch birds in cages that had no roof. Their foolery was all an act, of course, but
when the king heard this he fell for it and declared the town too foolish to
punish. Ever since, according to legend, April Fools Day commemorates their
trickery.
Blue Can Warning, April 1, 1996
Virgin Cola
announced that in the interest of consumer safety it had integrated a new
technology into its cans. When the cola passed its sell-by date, the liquid
would react with the metal in the can, turning the can bright blue. Virgin
warned that consumers should therefore avoid purchasing all blue cans.
Coincidentally, Pepsi had recently unveiled its newly designed cans which were
bright blue.
Big Ben Goes Digital, April 1, 1980
The BBC reported
that Big Ben was going to be given a digital makeover. The news elicited a huge
response from listeners shocked and angry about the change. “Surprisingly, few
people thought it was funny,” admitted Tony Lightley. The same news report also
claimed that the clock hands would be given away to the first four listeners to
contact the station. One Japanese sailor in the mid-Atlantic immediately
radioed in, hoping to be among the lucky callers.
