On the occasion of 1st April, go through these selected 24 interesting April Fools Day facts.
The day to play pranks is here again. April 1st is around the corner. You will be playing practical jokes and tricks on others and have fun. Celebrating this fun-filled day, here are 24 interesting April Fools Day facts.
This custom has existed since Roman times, centuries ago when Hilaria, a festival was observed. Its exact origin is not known so far but there are certain speculations for the same. Some believe that it began in 1582 in France when New Year’s Day was changed from April 1st to January 1st. However, many others date this origin even centuries earlier.
Whatever the origins are, the fun factor of this day is never compromised. So, here are 24 fun facts for April Fools’ day.
24 Interesting April Fools’ Day Facts
April Fools’ Day has always been a source to enjoy some light-hearted moments with others. Let’s take time to go through some April fools’ day jokes and pranks. Here you go –
- The Canterbury Tales, a book written by Geoffrey Chaucer in 1392 put forth April 1st with foolishness.
- April Fools’ Day is also called All Fools’ Day.
- In Scotland, April Fools’ Day is called Huntigowk Day and lasts for two days. The word gowk in Scottish means a cuckoo or foolish individual. The second day is known as Taily Day. On this day, pranks involving the backside are played. Supposedly, it is the origin of “kick me” signs. This is among the weird facts about April fools day.
- In France, April 1 is called “Poisson d’Avril.”
- Italy, France, Belgium, Canada, and Quebec often refer to April Fools’ Day as April Fish. As a part of this custom, people jokingly stick a paper fish to someone’s back, without being noticed. Isn’t it one of the April fools day interesting facts?
- In Denmark, Poland, Norway, and Sweden the media often publishes a false story in honor of April Fools’ Day.
- In England and Canada, pranks are played only on the morning of April 1.
- In the 1950s the BBC ran a news story. It was about a spaghetti harvest that took place in Switzerland. This prank is said to be the best April Fools’ Day prank of all time. It resulted in many requests for spaghetti trees by viewers. This is one of the famous April fools pranks.
Image Source - In the 16th century, New Year’s Day was changed to January. In France, some people refused to accept the change. They were often referred to as April fools.
- April Fools’ Day is very strongly believed in Poland. It is evident from the signing of an anti-Turkish alliance. It took place on April 1st with Leopold 1 in 1683. It had to be backdated to March 31st.
- In 1698 an April Fools’ Day joke tricked several individuals to go to see lions being washed at the Tower of London. This is one of the best April fools pranks.
- In England and Canada, April Fools’ jokes are only supposed to be played until noon.
- In 1965, a Copenhagen newspaper published a Parliamentary law. It reported that the Parliament had passed a law to paint all dogs in white. This will improve road safety at night as they could be seen clearly in dark.
- In 1980, pranksters announced at the BBC that Big Ben, London’s historic clock tower, would undergo a face-lift. It will be transformed to become digital to keep up with the times.
- Since 1986, press releases are issued to announce the April Fools’ Day Parade in New York City. The truth is that no such parade exists.
- Another one among the 24 fun facts about April Fools’ Day happened in 1986. Le Parisien stated that the Eiffel Tower was going to be dismantled and rebuilt inside the new Euro Disney Park.
Image Source - In 1987, hundreds of citizens turned up carrying empty bottles and buckets because of a rumor. It was that the government was planning to distribute 10,000 liters of wine confiscated from smugglers!
- Here is one more of the fun facts on April fools day. In 1996, Taco Bell spread a rumor that they had bought the Liberty Bell. They added that they were going to rename it – the Taco Liberty Bell.
- In 2008, the BBC ran a video clip of flying penguins for its series – Miracles of Evolution. The news presenter explained that the penguins flew to the tropical rainforests of South America to escape the cold, harsh Antarctic weather.
- In 2008, WestJet airlines in Canada advertised its overhead cabin bins as “among the most spacious of any airline”. This is among those things about April fools day that was implemented as a prank for the public. The airlines said that passengers would be charged an extra $12 to use these “sleeper cabins.”
- In 2009, the Taipei Times claimed that “Taiwan-China relations were dealt a severe setback yesterday when it was found that the Taipei Zoo’s pandas are not what they seem.”
- The paper reported that the pandas were gifted by the Chinese government. They were brown forest bears, dyed to resemble pandas. The paper received many complaints, one of which was from the zoo’s director.
- In 2010, another one was added to April fools fun facts and trivia. A parody web video was released. It claimed that President Obama was the ‘greatest president ever and that he had kept every promise he had made. The National Republican Senatorial Committee released the video.
- In 2016, Google introduced “Mic Drop,” a Gmail feature. It enabled users to send emails with an animated gif depicting a minion dropping a microphone. The prank went awry when people accidentally click on the button. By doing so, they unwittingly sent business emails with whimsical animation. After several hours of confusion, the feature was removed.
There are even more April Fools’ Day pranks in history.
Do you have more to add to these fun facts on April fools day? Mention in the comments below.
