For The Fool In All Of Us

Try Out this April Fool's Day Quiz, no joke!

April Fool's Day was established:

A. In 1817 as a teacher's work day when children weren't required to attend school and thus played jokes and pulled pranks on their parents all day. 

B. In 1582 after a new calendar in France changed New Year's Day from April 1 to January 1.

C. In 1620 for the pilgrims who chose to dance on the deck of the Mayflower in April's pouring rain which led to sickness and disease before landing at Plymouth Rock.

The answer is B. When the Gregorian calendar was introduced in 1582, it took several years to get the word to hinterland communities that continued to celebrate New Year's on April 1 for years after the date was changed.

Other folks decided to rebel against the Gregorian calendar despite getting word that the dates had changed. These people were labeled "fools." They were often the butt of jokes and pranks and were called the "poisson d'avril," which is French for the term April fish, meaning young, naive and easily caught. The pranks and jokes spread across France and became a source of entertainment on April 1 of every year.

The antics spread to other countries including Scotland, England and even the American Colonies. Today, April Fool's Day is celebrated worldwide with small nuances in tradition such as when and how jokes are played. In Scotland, the jokes are always directed toward the buttocks and the day is referred to as "Taily Day." Here in America, anything goes and it often comes down to some serious creativity to pull one over on us. Hang on by the seat of your pants and you might just make it through the holiday unscathed.

In the meantime, here's a few pranks you can play on your family and friends for April Fool's Day.

• Secure the kitchen sink spray-nozzle to the on position with a rubber band.

• Instead of a sugar bowl, make it a salt bowl.

• There's no job too big for duct tape. Take some to work and use it for taping your co-worker's desk drawer shut. Just crawl under the desk, tape the underside edges of the center drawer to the underside of the desk. Watch the struggles begin as your co-worker tries with no success to open the drawer.

• Fill your sister's tube of toothpaste with mayonnaise. Blow into the tube to clear the passage and use a small butter knife to pack in just enough mayo to get your sister off to a great start in the morning.

Enjoy your April Fool's Day and remember, everybody plays the fool sometimes.

Editor's Note: Cumming Patch originally ran this article on April 1, 2011.