Friday is fool’s day
By Nancy Gordy
EDMONTON — This Friday is the one day a year where pranks and jokes will be tolerated by many around the world.
On the first day of April, or April Fool’s day, people expect these pranks and jokes and have for hundreds of years. While the origin of April Fool’s day is uncertain, there are a lot of guesses.
One possible origin dates back to 1582, when King Charles XI moved New Year’s Eve from the end of March to the first of January. Those who still celebrated New Year’s Eve at the end of March were then called fools, according to the CBC.
Fast forward to the 21st century, however, and the date consists of much more than simply calling someone a fool.
The day is an excuse to wrap Saran Wrap over the toilet seat, switch the salt into the pepper shaker, spread a false rumour or pretend to win the lottery.
- April Fool’s day is the one day each year where pranks and jokes are accepted and excused. Photograph supplied by www.free-express.com.
Big corporations have also got in on the fun in the past by playing practical jokes on the public.
BBC launched scent broadcasting in 1965, in which some viewers even reported being able to smell the scents from their televisions. Burger King announced a left-handed whopper in 1998 that allowed the condiments to drip out of the right side. The CBC tends to get in on a joke of some sort each year for April Fool’s day as well. One past prank included a documentary they aired about a disease in which victims appear dead and then come back to life days or weeks later.
Many people in Edmonton have joined in the pranks over the past years too.
“I told my dad that my car was keyed in my building’s parkade and I had only lived there for a month,” Breah Russell said. “I said they wrote mean messages on the car, and when he asked what they wrote, I said they wrote April Fools.”
Jaclyn Fedorus has never personally pulled a prank, but people at her school previously created a fake event that was to be hosted by a math professor. They put up signs all over campus in order to make it look like it was actually happening.
If you’re looking for ideas for this Friday, check out www.aprilfools.com. The site includes office pranks and fake news headlines to name a few.
- Look out for any office pranks that co-workers may try to pull off this Friday! Photograph supplied by www.aprilfoolsdayprank.com.