No Foolin’! Here’s A Bit Of April Fool’s History
So, a wonderful prank was played upon us today. well, not really. Our entire computer system/email/access to corporate evaporated into thin air overnight. And all day so far, it's been wreaking all sorts of havoc on everything we do here. We've been joking all day how it's an April Fool's joke. Ha, if only! It's affected all sorts of computers, all over the country.
Because of that, there's been a whole lot of hurry up and wait, today. And it kinda got me wondering where the heck all this April Fool's business got started anyway. According to History.com, it's possible it goes back as far as 1582, when France was switching from the Julian calendar, to the Gregorian calendar. During this time, the New Year moved from mid-March - April, to January 1st. Don't even ask me how something so crazy happened, but whatevs.
These people who didn't switch over, were made a lot of fun of, and became the butt of some serious jokes. They often had paper signs placed on their backs that called them "April fish", which was meant to mean someone who was young and gullible.
It also may have been a reference to the spring weather. As though Mother Nature were playing a trick on us every year by being super unpredictable. Over time, in the 18th century, All Fool's Day as it became known, spread throughout Scotland and Great Britain. In some spots it was a tow-day affair that consisted of a lot of practical joking. It's even believed that time period is when literally, the first "Kick me" signs were placed on people's backs!
These days, we'll pretty much all been the perpetrator, if not victim, of some kind of April Fool's prank. As long as it doesn't go to far, and no one is hurt, what's the harm? Anything done in good fun has to be appreciated on some level. And if it's not, then you definitely pulled off your prank perfectly!