Every year on 1 April, people around the world play tricks on each other, and newspapers, broadcasters and companies join in with elaborate hoaxes. Nobody knows exactly how the tradition began, but some of its pranks have become legendary. Here are 12 facts about April Fools’ Day.
1Nobody knows how it started.
There are many theories about the origins of April Fools’ Day, but no firm evidence for any of them.
2Chaucer may have mentioned it.
Some people link it to “The Nun’s Priest’s Tale” in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales (around 1392), in which a vain rooster is tricked by a fox on a date that can be read as 1 April. Scholars think this is probably a coincidence of wording.
3The calendar theory is probably a myth.
A popular story says it began when France moved New Year to 1 January in the 1500s, and people who kept celebrating in spring were mocked as fools. There is no good evidence for this.
4In Britain, pranks traditionally stop at noon.
By British tradition, April fools must be played before midday. Anyone who plays a trick in the afternoon is said to be the fool themselves.
5Scotland used to have two days of it.
In Scotland, 1 April was known as “Hunt the Gowk” day, a gowk being a cuckoo or fool, when people were sent on pointless errands. It was followed by “Tailie Day”, when tails were pinned to people’s backs.
6The French stick paper fish on people.
In France, Belgium and Italy, the day is called “April fish”. Children try to stick paper fish on people’s backs without them noticing.
7Big Ben was going digital.
In 1980, the BBC announced that Big Ben would be converted to a digital clock. Listeners phoned in to protest.
8A newspaper invented an island.
In 1977, The Guardian published a special report on San Serriffe, a holiday island shaped like a semicolon, whose places were named after printing terms.
9Burger King sold a left-handed Whopper.
In 1998, Burger King advertised a “Left-Handed Whopper” with its fillings rotated 180 degrees. Thousands of customers asked for one.
10Some real announcements were mistaken for jokes.
When Google launched Gmail on 1 April 2004, offering an enormous 1 gigabyte of free storage, many people assumed it was a prank.
11The BBC showed spaghetti growing on trees.
In 1957, the BBC’s Panorama showed a Swiss family harvesting spaghetti from trees. Many viewers rang in asking how to grow their own. It is often called the greatest April fool of all time.
12Some hoaxes went too far.
Pranks that cause panic, such as fake emergencies, can be taken seriously by the authorities, so many organisations now avoid April fools altogether.
FAQs about April Fools’ Day
What time does April Fools’ Day end?
By British tradition, pranks should stop at noon. In many other countries, they continue all day.
What is the most famous April fool?
The BBC’s 1957 Panorama report on the Swiss spaghetti harvest is usually named as the most famous.
Sources and further reading
Explore more: funny facts and what happened on 1 April.
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