It’s April Fools’ Day, Germies, so get your prank on! If you are wondering about the origins of this lighthearted holiday, you are not alone. April Fools’ Day, sometimes called All Fools’ Day, dates back to at least the 1500s. In 1561, Eduard de Dene, A Flemish poet, composed a poem about a nobleman who devises foolish errands with which to occupy his servant on April 1st. The servant seems to realize that he is being “pranked” in the tradition of April Fools, protesting that he is being made to run “a fool’s errand.” Others have conjectured that April Fools’ Day began as a form of teasing those who were reluctant to adopt the new Gregorian Calender in 1582, continuing instead to celebrate the New Year on April 1st rather than in January.
If you aren’t satisfied with that explanation, and many historians are not, never fear. You can just make up your own. That’s exactly what Joseph Boskin of Boston University did in 1983. Professor Boskin told an Associated Press reporter that the true origins of April Fools’ Day were to be found during the reign of Emperor Constantine. Boskin claimed that April 1st marks the day when Emperor Constantine allowed his court jester, Kugel, to rule the Roman Empire as King Kugel for one entire day. King Kugel’s final decree was that April 1st forever be celebrated as a day of foolishness. The Associated Press was none too pleased to find out that Boskin had pranked them, but, in the spirit of the day, we think you have to admit that it was a good one. While the origins of this lighthearted holiday are somewhat obscure, the high jinks are not to be missed.
After King Kugel, here are five of our favorite April Fools’ Day hoaxes:
The BBC Spaghetti Farms
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When Penguins Fly
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Google Maps on Your Nintendo
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RickRoll — you might be too young to remember this, but you won’t forget it now. You’ve been Rick Roll’d!
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The Hotelicopter — High Stylin’ It!
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