LEAD STORY ~ 1700 April Fools tradition popularized
On this day in 1700, English pranksters begin popularizing the annual tradition of April Fools' Day by playing practical jokes on each other.
Although the day, also called All Fools' Day, has been celebrated for several centuries by different cultures, its exact origins remain a mystery. Some historians speculate that April Fools' Day dates back to 1582, when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, as called for by the Council of Trent in 1563. People who were slow to get the news or failed to recognize that the start of the new year had moved to January 1 and continued to celebrate it during the last week of March through April 1 became the butt of jokes and hoaxes. These included having paper fish placed on their backs and being referred to as "poisson d'avril" (April fish), said to symbolize a young, easily caught fish and a gullible person.
Historians have also linked April Fools' Day to ancient festivals such as Hilaria, which was celebrated in Rome at the end of March and involved people dressing up in disguises. There's also speculation that April Fools' Day was tied to the vernal equinox, or first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, when Mother Nature fooled people with changing, unpredictable weather.
April Fools' Day spread throughout Britain during the 18th century. In Scotland, the tradition became a two-day event, starting with "hunting the gowk," in which people were sent on phony errands (gowk is a word for cuckoo bird, a symbol for fool) and followed by Tailie Day, which involved pranks played on people's derrieres, such as pinning fake tails or "kick me" signs on them.
Modern day pranks ~
In 1996, Taco Bell, the fast-food restaurant chain, duped people when it announced it had agreed to purchase Philadelphia's Liberty Bell and intended to rename it the Taco Liberty Bell.
In 1998, after Burger King advertised a "Left-Handed Whopper," scores of clueless customers requested the fake sandwich.
1826 Samuel Morey of Oxford, New Hampshire patented the internal combustion engine.
1918 British Royal Air Force is founded
1924 Hitler sent to Landsberg jail
In Germany, Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler is sentenced to five years in prison for leading the Nazis' unsuccessful "Beer Hall Putsch" in the German state of Bavaria.
In the early 1920s, the ranks of Hitler's Nazi Party swelled with resentful Germans who sympathized with the party's bitter hatred of Germany's democratic government, leftist politics, and Jews.
1945 U.S. troops land on Okinawa
On this day in 1945, after suffering the loss of 116 planes and damage to three aircraft carriers, 50,000 U.S. combat troops of the 10th Army, under the command of Lieutenant General Simon B. Buckner Jr., land on the southwest coast of the Japanese island of Okinawa, the southern main island of Japan.
1960 The first U.S. Weather Satellite was launched.
TIROS I was put into orbit and soon meteorologists saw the first pictures of a midlatitude cyclone over the northeastern United States.
1963 The daily TV serial, General Hospital, began its long and popular run on ABC-TV.
1970 Gremlin is introduced.
AMC, the company that first introduced the compact car in the 1950s, introduced the Gremlin, America's first sub-compact car. AMC was the only major independent car company to survive into the 1970s.
1987 - Steve Newman became the first man to walk solo around the world.
No foolin’! The 15,000-mile trek took him four years and untold pairs of shoes to complete. His first words after completing the journey, “Man, my dogs are achin’!”
Chart Toppers
The Ballad of Davy Crockett - Bill Hayes
Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White - Perez PradoDance with Me Henry (Wallflower) - Georgia GibbsIn the Jailhouse Now - Webb Pierce
1963He’s So Fine - The ChiffonsSouth Street - The OrlonsRhythm of the Rain - The CascadesStill - Bill Anderson
1971Me and Bobby McGee - Janis JoplinJust My Imagination (Running Away with Me) - The TemptationsProud Mary - Ike & Tina TurnerAfter the Fire is Gone - Conway Twitty & Loretta Lynn
1979Tragedy - Bee GeesWhat a Fool Believes - The Doobie BrothersSultans of Swing - Dire StraitsI Just Fall in Love Again - Anne Murray
1987Lean on Me - Club NouveauNothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now - StarshipTonight, Tonight, Tonight - GenesisSmall Town Girl - Steve Wariner
LEAN ON ME~
9 comments:
He’s So Fine - The Chiffons
South Street - The Orlons
Rhythm of the Rain - The Cascades
Still - Bill Anderson
Proud Mary - Ike & Tina Turner
Sultans of Swing - Dire Straits
NOW THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKIN ABOUT......
Brilliant. Loved It all. Love Pam xx
http://journals.aol.co.uk/pamal3/almost-40/
Lean on me a good song, thanks
Thanks Beth, I didn't know the history of this day.
Laini
I love reading the songs... I think the Gremlin was an April Fool's joke! LOL
be well,
Dawn
http://journals.aol.com/princesssaurora/CarpeDiem/
On this day many years ago, my sister married her second husband. It was truly a joke and ended 10 years later! LOL True story.
Missie
LOL, the Gremlin...we had our driver education class in a Gremlin! I didn't know the history of April Fools, interesting reading. I like reading the Billboard list for years gone by...so many good songs.
xx
Lisa
Wow I always thought april fools day came from somewhere else ~ trust us Brits to have something to do with it though. LOL.............interesting reading xx
Jenny
http://journals.aol.co.uk/Jmoqueen/MyLife
In regards to "hunting the gowk." There is a tradition in the theatre of sending young apprentices on pointless searches. "Go see if you can find the stage rake or the grid key." A raked stage is a plain stage that is higher at the back end than at the front. The grid is a construction of pipes that hold up the lighting equipment, it doesn't use a key. The apprentice will ask around and everyone he asks will send him to someone else until he finally realizes he's been fooled.
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