Mensexpert- April Fools' Day

Though the history of April Fools’ Day is uncertain, some people believe that it began in France around 1582, when the new Gregorian calendar was introduced under Charles IX and the New Year’s week was shifted from March 25th - April 1st to January 1st.

Because communication travelled slowly back then, most people came to know of this change only several years later. Also there were those who refused to acknowledge this change and continued to celebrate New Year’s Eve on 1st April. The general populace labelled these people as “fools” and subjected them to jokes and pranks, like sending them invitees to non existing parties. The people who fell for these pranks were called “April Fish” because a newly hatched fish, being naïve, easily gets caught in the most obvious of traps. In addition to this, another common prank that became popular was to paste a paper fish on someone’s back as a joke.

The harassment and prank-playing evolved into a custom, and like most other quaint and quirky French traditions, it was soon adopted by Britain and Scotland. The English then introduced it to the American colonies in the 18th century, from where it rapidly spread to the rest of the world. In India, though we keep up with the international trends and celebrate April Fools’ Day, we have our very own desi version of the Fools’ Day. How else can throwing a water balloon on a hapless, naïve passer-by be justified?

So for the Xpert literati out there, here’s a list of the five most famous April Fools’ pranks to have been unleashed on the human race. Just so you know.

1: Bumper Spaghetti Harvest

In 1957, BBC announced that with the complete eradication of the dreaded spaghetti weevil, Swiss farmers have enjoyed a bumper Spaghetti harvest. The announcement was followed with the footage of Swiss farmers pulling Spaghetti strands from trees. Thousands of people fell for the prank and called up BBC to find out how they could grow their own Spaghetti trees in their backyards. To this, BBC followed with the announcement that they should try “placing a Spaghetti strand in a can of ketchup and then hope for the best.”

2: Instant Color TV

In 1962, Sweden used to air just one television channel and it was broadcasted in black and white. On 1st April, Kjell Stensson, the station's technical expert, announced that thanks to a revolutionary new technology, people could now receive color reception on their B&W sets. All they had to do was cover their TV sets with a nylon stocking. Thousands of people fell for the prank.

3: San Serriffe

In 1977, the British Daily, The Guardian, published an eight page supplement on San Serriffe, a republic consisting of nine semi-colon shaped islands located in the Indian Ocean. A series of articles heaped lavish praise on the islands’ natural beauty, their history and culture. The two biggest islands were called Upper Caisse and Lower Caisse and it was announced that the president of San Serriffe, General Pica, had opened San Serriffe to international tourism. The Guardian’s telephone rang all day, as millions of people called up to seek more information on a place they were planning to make their next holiday destination.

4. Alabama Changes the Value of Pi

In April 1998, it was announced in an article published by the New Mexicans for Science and Reason, that the State legislature of Alabama had voted that the value of pi would be changed from 3.14 to its “Biblical value” of 3.00. It was not long before the article made its way to the internet and was then forwarded to millions of people through emails. The Alabama State Legislature then had to spend the next few weeks pacifying thousands of callers, including some noted mathematicians, by assuring them that the report was just a prank.

5: The Left-Handed Whopper

In 1998, a full page ad was published in USA today by Burger King, which announced the introduction of the "Left-Handed Whopper", a burger specially designed for the forty million left handed Americans. Though it had all the ingredients of the right handed burger – hamburger patty, tomatoes, lettuce, mayonnaise etc. but the condiments had been rotated by 180 degrees so that the burger could be easily grasped by the left handed customers. Hundreds of people visited burger king and ordered the Left-Handed whopper. Several more insisted that they be served the original right handed version.