It’s April 1…April Fools’ Day! Today is a day known for practical jokes and pranks. Expose your jokes and pranks by shouting out “April Fools’ Day!” after you trick someone. We promise that this blogpost isn’t full of any tricks on you, but keep your eye out all day today just to be safe!
History
Believe it or not, this day has been celebrated for centuries. However, not much is known about how this holiday first started. Some believe that it first started in 1852 when France switched to a different calendar. Since the first day of the year for them used to be April 1, but then they switched their first year of the day to January 1, many believe that this is why April 1 is celebrated as the big April Fools’ Day!
Many others believe that April Fools’ Day first got its start on the first day of spring because Mother Nature fools us all with the sudden change of weather. Who knows?!
Fun Facts about Fools
Some say that you should only trick others on this day until 12pm noon. Why that specific time? No one knows for sure!
On this day in 1957, a man on TV jokingly said that spaghetti was growing from trees…and many viewers believe him!
In France, they have a tradition of sticking paper fish on each other’s backs. They then shout out a phrase in French which actually means “April Fish!”
Famous April Fools’ Pranks
Sports Illustrated once wrote an entire article about a new pitcher on the New York Mets. They said his name was Sidd Finch and he could throw a baseball 168 miles per hour! Everyone was thrilled…until they discovered this story wasn’t true. The words “Happy April Fools’ Day” were actually hidden within the title of the article.
Taco Bell said they had purchased the Liberty Bell and were renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell. There were mixed reactions until Taco Bell revealed it was all just a joke!
Burger King once announced they were coming out with a “Left Handed Whopper” which had some ingredients rotated 180 degrees for those who were left-handed. Customers came in and tried to order one until they found out it was all an April Fools’ joke!
UFO sightings? Flying penguins? What other famous (or infamous) April Fools’ pranks can you research and find? There are a bunch of hilarious ones out there!
At Home Activities
Here are some suggested ways to make today even more fun and full of laughs!
Check out a book full of jokes from the library, or find jokes online, and share them with friends and family. Which joke made them laugh the hardest?
Write some of your own jokes! Share them in a book with some illustrations to go with them.
Film yourself doing a (safe!) practical joke on someone. Make sure it’s a joke that you can all laugh about together afterwards and that no one will be hurt or upset! Need some ideas? Research pranks online. Some popular ones are putting cream cheese on a toothbrush instead of toothpaste, pour a cup of Jell-o and pretend that it’s juice, refill a box of cereal with toys instead, use food coloring to make food a unique color…the options are endless!
Whether you make the fun or just observe the fun and laughter today, make it a good one!
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