Fun Facts about April Fool's Day (oh, and Happy Easter Too!)

This weekend many people will be observing Easter Sunday, but quite a few of those people will also be celebrating April Fool's Day at the same time. (Who thinks quite a few kids are going to wake up to some really messed up baskets this year?) 

April Fool's Day is all about having some good-hearted fun, and hey, so is Backwater Jack's! For that reason, we dug into some fun April Fool's Day facts that you can impress your friends with. (You'll have to come up with the pranks on your own.)  

• Some say April Fool's Day came about because April 1st was originally New Year's Day. When the Gregorian calendar was adopted in the 16th century, the new year then began on January 1st. People that continued to celebrate on April 1st were called "April fools" and had tricks played on them. 
• In England, you're not called a fool, but rather a "noodle," "noddy," "gobby," or "gob." 
• April Fool's Day is actually not a national holiday, but it is observed universally in many countries. 
• Scotland's celebration is 2 days long. The 1st used to be called "Huntigowk Day" (a short version of "Hunt a Gowk Day.") Their "fools" are called "gowks," which is the Scottish word for cuckoo. April 2nd is known as "Taily Day" and involves pranks focused on the backside. This is possibly where the classic "Kick Me" sign on a person's back originated.
• Instead of a "Kick Me" sign on the back, in France kids tape paper fish on people's backs. We're not exactly sure why, but it's something they do and they find it quite funny. 
• Every year since 1986, New York City has put out a press release for their April Fool's Day parade, but no parade ever happens. It doesn't really exist. (Do you think residents have caught on yet?)
• Google is known for coming up with some sort of prank every April Fool's Day, so when they announced the launch of Gmail on April 1, 2004, most people assumed it was just a hoax. Obviously, it wasn't. 
• Twitter decided to get in on the act in 2013 by announcing that they would be introducing a new 2-tiered Twitter service. If you wanted to keep using it for free, you would only be able to type consonants, but if you wanted to be able to type vowels too, it would be $5/month. (Would you pay for that?) 
• One of biggest pranks pulled in honor of April Fool's Day was played by the BBC. They ran a news item about how the early arrival of spring weather in 1957 had caused the spaghetti trees to produce their crops early. Apparently, pasta wasn't a big thing in the country back then and many people actually believed this to be a true story, even calling the news station inquiring about to buy their own Spaghetti Trees! The story was even accompanied by the video below showing a family carefully harvesting the pasta. Way to follow through with a joke! 

Some people say the reason that April Fool's Day is a spring observance is that it's the season that sends us the most fickle weather, being warm and beautiful one day and threatening freezing temperatures the next. (Which is extra frustrating for the best waterfront bar & restaurant at the Lake of the Ozarks, because we're anxious to get that awesome pool open again!)

When you're done celebrating a wonderful Easter Sunday with the family, come on out to Backwater Jack's and celebrate April Fool's Day for the rest of the day with us. When it comes to watching out for pranks, though, it's every man for himself!

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