MCT“April 1. This is the day upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other three hundred and sixty-four.”
American author and satirist Mark Twain wrote those words in his 1894 novel “Pudd’nhead Wilson,” in reference to that one day every year when, he wrote, people feel free to act like the fools they really are.
According to the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, the origins of this annual “holiday” are relatively debatable and those who dare to guess at its beginnings can only seem to agree that it became popular in 18th century England.
Some sources say the “holiday” originated with the creation of the Gregorian calendar in late 1500s. Prior to this time, many in Western Europe celebrated the new year on April 1, according to the British Council, a nonprofit organization designed to increase appreciation for and promote the ideas and achievements of the United Kingdom.
Without any modern forms of communication, the news did not spread very quickly, leaving some to still celebrate the first of April, according to the Council’s Web site.
Other theories suggest the festivities now known as April Fools started in Pagan religions as a festival of the spring equinox – the halfway point between the longest and shortest days of the year, according to the Council.
Whether it be Saran-wrapping a car, or toilet-papering somebody’s house, such pranks are examples of hoaxes, according to the Council’s Web site. Hoax is a word thought to be a shortening of “hocus-pocus”-a synonym for trickery that in turn came from hoc corpus est, a Latin phrase from the Catholic mass spoken when, they teach, the bread is transformed into the body of Christ.
Junior Kim Morris said that while she has never pulled any pranks herself, she was at the receiving end of a prank her freshman year.
“The guys took the shower curtains out of our dorms,” she said. “We went to the bathrooms and couldn’t take a shower.”
One thing that makes April Fool’s Day pranks stand out is that by knowing the date is coming up, it gives pranksters opportunity to better plan their jokes, junior Grant Schwartz said.
“Mostly, I think April Fool’s pranks are thought out more and less impromptu,” Schwartz said. “You anticipate it; you know when it’s going to be every year.”
But over the years, such hoaxes have broken the bounds of the common person and started showing up in the toolboxes of business and advertising professionals.
In 1996, Taco Bell took out a full-page ad in The New York Times, claiming that in order to help alleviate the national debt, the fast food chain had agreed to purchase the Liberty Bell, housed in Philadelphia.
“It will now be called the ‘Taco Liberty Bell’ and will still be accessible to the American public for viewing,” the advertisement stated. “While some may find this controversial, we hope our move will prompt other corporations to take similar action to do their part to reduce the country’s debt.”
PainePR, the national public relations firm that created the ad received nationwide media attention, and generated an estimated equivalent of $25 million in “free advertising,” according to Taco Bell’s marketing department.
When reporters asked then-White House press secretary Mike McCurry about the alleged sale, McCurry responded that federal government was “selling the Lincoln Memorial to Ford Motor Co. and renaming it the Lincoln-Mercury Memorial.”
In some countries, the news media also have established their foothold in the day’s festivities. Over the years, the British Broadcasting Corporation has played its share of pranks on its viewers. In 1980, the worldwide media mogul announced that landmark clock Big Ben was going digital and that officials would give away its famous hands.
Sgt. Jay Dobson of University Police said he hasn’t heard of any major cases of practical jokes and after looking through cases going back five years, he did not find any specifically related to the holiday.
While the department has seen its share of hoax cases, they haven’t been on or around April 1, Dobson said, adding that in the 11 years he has been with the department, he doesn’t recall anything unusual.
While there are those out there who just can’t wait for that one day each year so they can execute that perfectly planned practical joke, others said that most of the time, they forget about the “holiday” until they experience it firsthand.
“I just didn’t remember that it was that day,” Morris said, explaining she thinks most of the hoaxes she has heard about seem to be in good fun.
“Some people could take it too far, but I don’t think it’s a big deal.”
Junior Sean Gokey agreed, but said he hadn’t even started thinking about anything he might do to “in celebration” of Sunday’s “holiday.”
“I think it’s mostly in fun, but obviously if you take it too far, it’s a danger,” Gokey said. “Now that you mention it, maybe I will (pull a prank).”
