April Fool's Day has been celebrated for several centuries by different cultures, though its exact origins remain a mystery. Some newspapers, TV channels and well-known companies publish false news stories to fool people on 1st April. One of the earliest examples of this was in 1957 when a program on the BBC, the UK's national TV channel, broadcast a report on how spaghetti grew on trees. The film showed a family in Switzerland ...
History
The origin of April Fool’s Day is not clear. Some historians believe that it dates back to the 16th century when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar. People who were slow to get the news or failed to recognize that the start of the new year had moved to January 1st and continued to celebrate it during the last week of March through April 1st became the butt of jokes and hoaxes.
Celebration
April Fool’s Day is celebrated in many countries around the world. On this day, people play practical jokes on each other and have fun trying to make other people believe things that are not true. Traditionally, you should only play jokes and tricks until midday – after this time it is considered bad luck.
In the UK, jokes and tricks can be played all day on 1st April. In Ireland, a popular prank is to send someone on a ‘fool’s errand’. The victim is sent to deliver a letter, supposedly asking for help. When the person receives the letter, they open it, read it and tell the poor messenger that they will have to take the letter to another person. This continues and the victim ends up taking the message to several different people until someone feels sorry for them and shows them what the letter says: ‘Send the fool to someone else.’
In 1957, a program on BBC broadcasted a report on how spaghetti grew on trees. Many people were fooled into believing it as in those days British people didn’t eat much pasta and many didn’t know how it was made. In 1998, Burger King announced that it had created a left-handed hamburger. The advert for the ‘new product’ explained that all the ingredients had been rotated 180 degrees so that it was more comfortable for left-handed people to pick up and eat. The following day, Burger King admitted that this advertisement had been a hoax.
Controversy
April Fool's Day is a day for jokes and tricks in many countries. Some people say it encourages fun and laughter and reduces stress. Others say it can have negative consequences like confusion, worry or wasting time and resources. In the era of 'fake news', it's often hard to work out when we're being tricked into believing something that isn't true. But on April Fool's Day you need to be even more alert. No one knows exactly how the tradition started, but there are plenty of people who enjoy this light-hearted day and are happy to keep the tradition alive.
Some newspapers, TV channels and well-known companies publish false news stories to fool people on 1st April. On this day you should watch out for fake news even more than usual.
Well-known fools
Hereunder are some examples of April Fool's Day celebration both bad and good effects from history:
- In 1957, the BBC broadcasted a report on how spaghetti grew on trees. This was an elaborate hoax that fooled many people.
- In 1996, Taco Bell announced that it had purchased the Liberty Bell and was renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell. This prank caused a lot of controversy.
- In 2008, Google announced that it had developed a new technology called "Gmail Paper" that would allow users to receive their emails as paper printouts. This was an elaborate hoax that fooled many people.
- In 2010, Google announced that it had developed a new technology called "Google Translate for Animals" that would allow users to translate their pets' thoughts into human language. This was an elaborate hoax that fooled many people.
- In 2013, the White House announced that it had released a video of President Obama announcing his plans to ban the production and sale of unregulated homemade firearms. This was an elaborate hoax that fooled many people.
- In 2014, the city of San Francisco announced that it was going to rename its airport after comedian Robin Williams. This prank caused a lot of controversy.
- In 2015, YouTube announced that it was going to shut down its website and select a winner from all the videos uploaded over the years. This was an elaborate hoax that fooled many people.
- In 2016, Google announced that it had developed a new technology called "Google Cardboard Plastic" that would allow users to experience virtual reality in real life. This was an elaborate hoax that fooled many people.
- In 2017, Burger King announced that it had developed a new Whopper burger made entirely of chocolate. This prank caused a lot of controversy.
- In 2018, Snapchat announced that it was going to shut down its app and delete all user data. This was an elaborate hoax that fooled many people.
Vocabularies
- joke : something said or done to provoke laughter or amusement
- trick : a cunning or deceitful action or device
- gag : a practical joke or prank
- prank : a trick that is intended to be funny but not to cause harm or damage.
- hoax : tarick, a humorous or malicious deception
- butt of jokes : the person who is made fun of
- practical jokes : a joke that involves physical action
- deception : the act of making someone believe something that is not true
- tradition : a custom or belief that has been passed down from generation to generation
- spoof : a humorous imitation of something
- jester : a professional clown employed to entertain a king or nobleman in the Middle Ages
- clown : a comic entertainer, especially one in a circus, wearing a traditional costume and exaggerated makeup
- buffoon : a ridiculous but amusing person; a clown
- joker : a person who is fond of joking
April Fools Quotes
- “For fools rush in where angels fear to tread.” - Alexander Pope
- “I sometimes wonder if the manufacturers of foolproof items keep a fool or two on their payroll to test things.” - Alan Coren
- “Talk sense to a fool and he calls you foolish.” - Euripides
- “It is human nature to think wisely and act foolishly.” - Anatole France
- “The first of April is the day we remember what we are the other 364 days of the year.” - Mark Twain
- “A sense of humor is the ability to understand a joke — and that the joke is oneself.” - Clifton Paul Fadiman
- “The trouble with practical jokes is that very often they get elected.” - Will Rogers
- “Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.” - William Shakespeare
- “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.” - Abraham Lincoln
- “The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes.” - Winston Churchill
- “Our wisdom comes from our experience, and our experience comes from our foolishness.” - Sacha Guitry
- “Any fool can make a rule, and any fool will mind it.” - Henry David Thoreau
- “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.” - Chinese Proverb
- “We’re fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance.” - Japanese Proverb
- “I have great faith in fools — self-confidence, my friends call it.” - Edgar Allan Poe
- “A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.” - Douglas Adams
- “Lord, what fools these mortals be.” - William Shakespeare
- “He who hesitates is a damned fool.” - Mae West
- “Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools talk because they have to say something.” - Plato
- “April hath put a spirit of youth in everything.” - William Shakespeare
Sources:
eSilence
English Silent Letters And Rules
