Today is the day of serious pranks and laughter. This day is April Fools’ day. April Fools’ is celebrated every year on April 1st and it is the only day where pranks happen in abundance worldwide. While no one knows exactly where April fools’ comes from, historians believe that it can be traced back to the 1500’s. However, this special holiday did not become popular until the 1700’s. The 1700’s was the era of the founding fathers, so with April Fools’ slowly becoming a part of the culture, the founding fathers most likely joined in on the fun. Ben Franklin was said to be the jester of the fathers, however one of Franklin’s quotes can describe some people’s views on April Fools’: “Tricks and treachery are the practice of fools that do not have brains enough to be honest”. Some people on April Fools’ day do not like having tricks played upon them, although it is all in the spirit of fun and games!
While placing the history of April fools’ day in the hands of our forefathers, some historians believe that the origins might be linked to the vernal equinox. The vernal equinox is the equinox in March that signals the beginning of spring. Since the equinox represents the beginning of spring, it can be interpreted that this fast change in weather is mother nature trying to make a joke.
Aside the vernal equinox and the founding fathers, April Fools’ day spread to Britain in the 1800’s where the beginning of the prank “kick me” came into play. The “kick me” prank is normally played out where a person would take a sheet of paper, write kick me on it, and then stick it to a person’s back. Then other people who see the sign and kick the “kick me” victim. The Brits thought that this was extremely hilarious and so it became a “traditional” April Fools’ joke.
The modern take on April fools’ some would say has got to be a bit more modern. There have been pranks reported that consist of someone covering an entire car with sticky notes at night to only have the owner of the car be forced to take off every last sticky note in the morning. Another prank included someone microwaving soap because once microwaved, it starts to look like a loaf of bread. Not exactly the softest loaf on the market, since people tried eating it. Lastly, a person reported an April Fools’ prank where he or she covered the red light on the bottom of a coworkers’ mouse making the mouse disabled.
All in all, April Fools’ is a holiday with much history. Since it can be dated back to the 1500’s there have been millions of pranks played to celebrate such a day. So in the Spirit of April Fools’ go out and make history by playing the funniest, yet safe prank of the year.
image source: http://www.thinkgeek.com/42.shtml
sources: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/april-fools-tradition-popularized, http://www.workinghumor.com/quotes/benjamin_franklin.shtml#, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/01/best-april-fools-pranks-2015_n_6988312.html