April Fools’!

by Casey Williams

Happy April Fools’ Day 2010! Please be cautious of friends intending to prank you and make you out to be an April Fool. Though the Exchange can’t promise you’ll be spared from the pranking, we can help you understand how this strange holiday came to be.

Though no exact origin is known, The Museum of Hoaxes claims that Aprils Fools’ Day started from a 16th-century trend. In 1564, King Charles IX of France adjusted the measured year to the Gregorian calendar that we now live by. Previously, the beginning of the new year was April 1, which Charles IX switched to January 1.

Word of the change spread slowly in its time and also met some resistance. Those that refused to note the date change, or those that simply hadn’t received the news, were looked upon as lesser citizens. It then became a running tradition to play pranks on these so-called “fools.”

Famously effective April Fools’ pranks include a collapsed capitol building and a Google giveaway. In 1933, a Wisconsin-area newspaper reported on April 1 that the Wisconsin State Capitol building had collapsed under the force of a series of explosions. The explosions were attributed to the amount of hot gas that had collected in the building during a time of particularly heated debates.

This image ran in the Madison Capital-Times in 1933 accompanying a false story about Wisconsin's State Building collapsing. Photo: The Huffington Post

More recently, on April 1 of 2007, Google announced plans to start a distribution service of archived emails from users’ Gmail accounts. Those wanting to own print copies of their emails for “scrapbooking purposes” could order their inboxes to be shipping in bulk. Googled planned to offset the costs of ink and paper by scattering large, boldface-type ads on the printed emails.

We at the Exchange wish to warn you of the schemes and pranks of April Fools’ Day. Remember not to take that astonishing midday text message too seriously, and try to pass on the spirit of the holiday as best you can.