Talk:April Fools' Day

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Is there any reason this sentence: "One might note that 9 months from the 1st of April a child was born of immaculate conception which could be the source of the fools day." should be in the article? This seems to be a completely unnecessary statement that claims Christan doctrine as truth. This doesn't seem like anything an organization that purports itself to be informational should state unless it is a organization with an acknowledged Christan point of view. It also doesn't make any sense to me personally, it seems like a complete non-sequitur. This certainly could just be going over my head, but I don't see the relation between the two things. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.40.135.34 (talk) 10:06, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

It seems to me that someone is just messing around with it; it was just added today. 24.249.134.214 (talk) 18:01, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] Chaucer excerpt

The article leaves open the question of why Chaucer refers to April Fools Day as "32 days after the first of March." It sounds like it used to be considered a jinx to refer to the day by it's name or date- or maybe they thought talking about it jinxed you by making you more likely to become a fool on that day. Or, maybe you just referred to it obliquely in the hopes that people who were out to get you who listened to your conversation would be less likely to be reminded of the day, and to quietly resolve themselves to get you when it came up. Then this safe practice could have become a custom or superstition for many.

I have an idea of how to research this-- I guess a medieval-expert anthropologist or an expert on literature from medieval England would be the best person to present the theory to, although it might be hard to find evidence that would support it. If we could find literary evidence of other days that were referred to obliquely during Chaucer's era to avoid a hex or a jinx, we could extrapolate from that fact that Chaucer might have been doing the same thing. If we find other writings from Chaucer's time that don't support the theory (i.e., that refer to April Fools Day by name or as April 1st) then the theory may still be correct, because Chaucer's jinx-prevention may have not been uniformly practiced- it may have been a custom from a specific are of England or among a specific social class or ethnicity (pre-William the Bastard Britain was made up of a great many tribes or petty kingdoms, and the island was influenced by a great many ethnic groups, even before William got there). Anyway, if Western folk-culture has stayed a lot the same since the middle ages, in my opinion this is a likely theory, since people from many cultures still, and for quite a while have, avoided jinxes by not mentioning something out loud, or by not doing something. 67.85.225.175 22:28, 3 November 2007 (UTC) Swan


I understand that Chaucer was 500 years after William (the Bastard/the Conqueror). In my above comment, I'm just referring to pre-William Britain to make the point that, while American may think of Britain as a little island, it is plenty big enough to support plenty of cultural diversity. Just because you know a cultural custom is done in one place or one town in Britain, you really can't say that "British people do X." Plenty of other British people may have no knowledge of the custom or it might make no sense to them. Even today, I think there are still Scots who speak Scots-Gaelic in Britain, and Welsh who speak Welsh (I think they might even have it on TV and in periodicals and such in Wales). So that's three living languages with big communities on one little island. 67.85.225.175 02:30, 5 November 2007 (UTC) Swan

[edit] Dragonball AF

Do you think we should add it? I think it deserves to be mentioned here —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.207.60.27 (talk) 00:03, 1 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Radio Prank

I seem to remember a very good April Fools day prank by London based Capital radio. April fools day fell on a saturday. They broadcast a show using Chris Tarant who was the then host of the Breakfast show which was normally broadcast Monday to Friday. The show followed the exact same format. I believe that many people turned up at their place of work on Saturday only to find it not open. Does anyone else remember this and could it possibly be a prank that has been played by other radio stations? --Cockers 15:07, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Google's April 1st Pranks

Someone should include Google's annual April 1st jokes: PigeonRanking (I think from 2003) - last year had the 'moon base' announcement, and 2005 they are 'introducing' a line of "Google Gulp" drinks. The comic strip switcheroo only happened once, but many online cartoonists continue to do some sort of gag on April 1st (see: UserFriendly, PC Weenies).

Software Development magazine's April 2002 issue contains a hoax article about an AI program that "writes programs" based on a natural language conversation with the user. "Successful" examples range from writing an unbeatable tic-tac-toe program to writing FAA aircraft control software.

Sport's Illustrated did a hoax a few years back where they wrote an entire article about a rookie pitcher for the Mets who had studied philosophy in Tibet and had an amazingly fast fastball. I wish I could remember the details. -- Zoe

This year's prank is about getting wireless internet through your toilet http://www.google.com/tisp/ 74.192.205.170 17:07, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

Google Mail also has a prank about "Paper Archive". See [1] for the "overview", and [2] tells you it is a prank. I was completely fooled!!! --219.88.78.203 04:02, 2 April 2007 (UTC) Whoops sorry forgot to log in thats me --User:Lyradog User talk: Lyradog 04:03, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] A Wikipedia Prank

You know, wikipedia ought to pull something really big this April Fool's. I mean, come on! Google does it, Radio stations do it - Why don't we? I mean, come on. It's not as if anyone's going to die if we pull a prank for 12 hours, right?

Like we don't do it the other 364 days? LOL (AndrewAnorak 16:53, 30 March 2007 (UTC))

This is an encyclopædia. We are here to make information free for all. Correct? Further, we aren't pagans. Family Guy Guy 06:13, 1 April 2006 (UTC)

And google is a proper search engine! Plus it's only for 12 hours, not like if it's going to cause any harm. Nearly every large website does it! I thought Wikipedia is supposed to be the largest running online encyclopedia project?Faizaguo (talk) 18:38, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

"We aren't pagans"? How is that not inappropriate?

Many Wikipedians do make April Fool's Day jokes, and it takes weeks to clean up the mess! And some jokes go completely undetected. Such jokes on Wikipedia are really just self-justified vandalism. Glenn 07:25, 3 July 2006 (UTC)
To paraphrase Tom Lehrer, "There's time to trick them all the more, the other three-hundred and sixty-four." Wahkeenah 17:26, 30 March 2007 (UTC)


Also, who says we're not pagans? Wahkeenah 17:26, 30 March 2007 (UTC)
Guess I'm a little late here, but if it's done with the knowledge of the wikipedia community, the jokes will be easier to clean up once it's over.68.228.80.106 (talk) 07:37, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] New York Times Liberty Bell

Taco Bell printed an ad about them buying the rights to the Liberty Bell, I elo

[edit] Pigeon milk

sending someone on an absurd errand such as seeking pigeon's milk: Kind of ironic, since pigeons and other doves do in fact produce a (false) milk, which they feed to their young. -- Coneslayer 20:13, 2005 Mar 23 (UTC)

[edit] Vandalism

As of yet, Wikipedia has not had any record of vandalism on April Fools Day. If you happen to see any, please report them directly to me. Thanks.… – Minh Nguyễn (talk, contribs, blog) 05:23, 1 Apr 2005 (UTC)


[edit] Maltese Drivers

They already drive on the left, (or at least are supposed to). Or am I missing something? Srl

Yeah, the prank is that they would have to drive on the right now. poopsix 16:10, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Amusing

I understand people want to have fun, do it in a way that does not effect my life. Thanks. -- Cat chi? 11:13, 1 Apr 2005 (UTC)

That's pretty darn selfish and isolationist. Plus, not funny- how are they supposed to pull great pranks? Ask you beforehand? poopsix 08:37, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] New Year

What I don't understand is the thing about new year: Prior to the adoption of the Gregorian calendar in 1582, it was observed as New Year's Day. Does that mean 1530, say, changes to 1531 in April??? -- Tarquin 12:07, 1 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Do bear in mind the title of this page! --Thomas 14:32, 1 Apr 2005 (UTC)

I don't think the new year thing is itself an april fool, I've read it in a great deal of sources. If it IS, then the joke is a little old, and this page shouldn't be making it. -- Tarquin 09:48, 2 Apr 2005 (UTC)

It's not a joke at all. Actually, this is the most common explanation for the origin of April Fool's Day.


[edit] Comic Strip Ouiji Board

I am looking in my paper so here's a list of comics that don't involve this Ouiji board:

B.C., Peanuts, Beatle Bailey, For better or worse, Shoe, Hagar the Horrible, Rose is Rose, Blondie, Luann, Dilbert, Hi and Lois, Funky Winkerbean, Wizard of Id, Baby Blues, Pooch Cafe, Garfield, Family Circus, Arlo & Janis, Rex Morgan, Crankshaft, Ziggy, Lockhorns

Here's the list of those that do: Foxtrot.

Therefore: It's just foxtrot. Any examples to prove me wrong? --69.92.23.193 23:38, 1 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Get Fuzzy too. -- Coneslayer 01:59, 2005 Apr 2 (UTC)
It wouldn't be possible for Peanuts to have been involved, since Charles M. Schulz has been dead for five years. It'll be hard to check the King Features Syndicate strips online since it they always post comic strips with a two week delay. -- JohnDBuell 03:30, 2005 Apr 2 (UTC)
Bill Amend's personal page shows that only three comics actually did this. Pearls Before Swine, Get Fuzzy and FoxTrot. --JohnDBuell 16:32, 28 May 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Holiday?

Is April fool's day really a holiday? Shall we categorize it under "category:holidays"? I really don't think so. A holiday is a day off such as New year's day or Christmas. I don't think there's a country on earth where prople don't go to work on April 1 because they are allowed by the government to fool other people. April fool's day is, at most, a festival or celebration. -- Toytoy 08:17, Apr 2, 2005 (UTC)

Does a holiday need to be a day when you don't have work? There are plenty of Catholic holidays that aren't recognized by the US government, and so don't result in a day off. So, why wouldn't that work for April Fools' day? poopsix 09:02, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

If "Father's day" and the rest of the "hallmark holidays" (cheesy term, i know, but it's the simplest) are listed in holidays, I see no problem with categorizing this as a holiday. 24.205.34.217 16:38, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

AFD is certainly a Holiday by Wikipedia's definition and I support it's inclusion in the category:holidays

[1] --LeeColleton (talk) 01:26, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Nature's day?

This day is also the international nature's day.

Is this yet another hoax?

[edit] Page vandalism

"Traditionally, pranks are supposed to go pee pee by noon"

Now that April fools day is over in most parts of the world, maybe we should look through this article for more vandalism.  :-S

[edit] Other sources for the day

I have heard from a rather non-Xian source, that the Fool's Day has to do with the Xian belief that a baby was born without a father. Assuming a baby is born on December 25, and working with an average 269-day gestation period, the conception happens on April first. So, a nonbeliever would consider a believer a "fool" for believing that a baby is born with no male, and that belief would be on April first. The source is some obscure book a friend of mine has. No other sources i know of, so i don't think it's prime stuff for the front page. -- Chacham 09:08, 2005 Oct 10 (UTC)

Well, actually that would work for 268 days:
mysql> select date_add('2006-12-25',interval -268 day);
+------------------------------------------+
| date_add('2006-12-25',interval -268 day) |
+------------------------------------------+
| 2006-04-01                               |
+------------------------------------------+
--Gutza T T+ 12:15, 1 April 2006 (UTC)


There's no truth to that claim.

Anyway, the non-Christian could just as easily be considered the fool in that story. More so in fact, if there were any truth to the story. That would make far more sense since we are talking about Christian countries. It would never be popularized if it was the other way around.


What the crap does Xian mean? If you mean Christian, then do the proper way of abbreviating it: ☧-ian (with the Greek letters together). The ☧ is short for Χριστός. Check out Xmas. Also, there is no ☧-ian belief that babies are born without fathers. Even Jesus Christ himself had a Father, just not the normal biological kind. poopsix 09:05, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] April Fools Day on Wikipedia

Are we allowed to make funny edits and prank other users on April Fool's Day? That would be fun! --Wack'd About Wiki 19:35, 4 February 2006 (UTC)

You're allowed to make funny edits every day, they'll just get reverted more quickly on April Fool's Day since people will be looking out for them. I also suspect admins will be more lenient about about temporarily blocking people, at least I hope they are - because I have big plans this year. --NEMT 04:41, 20 March 2006 (UTC)
No. Melchoir 02:04, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

Personally, I reserve what humor I have to talk pages and edit summaries - Wikipedia is more of a deadpan type. --Chodorkovskiy 15:23, 1 April 2006 (UTC)

Well, according to the administrators, Wikipedia is too serious for this kind of thing.......Faizaguo (talk) 18:40, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

Agreed. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.17.188.98 (talk) 23:55, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Dutch history

"Because the Dutch did not comply with this, they fought back. There was this band of roaming so-called freedom fighters, what we'd now call terrorists, calling themselves Geuzen, after the french geux which means beggars."

This isn't exactly objective. So the US revolutionists were terrorists as well? --Syr 17:01, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] April Troll's

Has anybody else noticed the similarity between April Fool's jokes and trolling? Seriously, the methods and goals are the same. Is this noteworthy? --Chodorkovskiy 09:15, 1 April 2006 (UTC)

It might be worth noting, but it could also be counted as original research, which is prohibited. If you could get a reliable source on such a thing, feel free to post it. --Gracenotes T § 15:37, 1 April 2006 (UTC)
I simply thought about comparing the two, but yeah, you're right.--Chodorkovskiy 15:41, 1 April 2006 (UTC)
To compare the two, you would need a reliable source, noting similarities.

[edit] Question

Is April Fool's Day a Western custom, or is a more worldwide custom? In what countries it this day "celebrated"? Sijo Ripa 20:22, 2 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] April first in the Cantebury Tales (1400)

Canterbury Tales: The Nun's Priest Tale

  • 3190 Syn March [was gon], thritty dayes and two,
Since March had gone, thirty days and two,
  • 3191 Bifel that Chauntecleer in al his pryde,
Befell that Chauntecleer in all his pride,

MartinGugino 02:55, 19 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] April Fools' prohibited after midday?

I'm confused by the last sentence in the first paragraph. The text reads "In some countries, April Fool's jokes (also called "April fools") must only be made before midday." Does this mean in some countries, they prohibit the jokes after midday or is it just a tradition? The article should be updated to make it more clear. — Jeremy | Talk 02:21, 20 April 2006 (UTC)

Hm, seems clear enough to me with that single sentence. It's one of the unwritten rules on how to prank people, possibly made up by people to prevent excessive pranking and such. The unwritten rule applies where I live, and I'm pretty sure it's elaborated further on in the article. Of course, with the usual mass vandalism every April 1st, something might've been lost.. - Zero1328 10:39, 20 April 2006 (UTC)
Well, the "source" is a "BBC Article" but it's not a BBC article at all. It's simply a BBC-administered Wiki (h2g2) with that info. Wikipedia can't reference itself, so I'm going to add "citation needed" to that line, even if it's well know. The "cited source" is: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A516791. The-bus 16:16, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Cleanup: verifiability/notability

I noticed that quite a few entries in the list are without references to sources. Two problems:

  • wikipedia:Verifiability; the entry may be false, a "metahoax"
  • Notability: on this day zilloions of people say stupid things, and it is not a big deal that a shock jock announced that a local city mayor died of heart attack. Only entries with reported consequences or of particular elaboration must be included.

My suggestions:

  • Delete all unsourced entries; at least the stupid ones, i.e., lacking ingenuity and fantasy.
  • Move entries that don't have wikipedia articles in the lists by year (no article - no especial notability).

`'mikka (t) 22:42, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] War of the Worlds

Why is the famous radio broadcast by Orson Welles not listed here? I know it was not on April 1st, but it was still a very successful hoax.BBGun06 20:24, 26 June 2006 (UTC)

so put it under hoax, not april fools. pretty simple. --naught101 09:40, 13 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Frodo of Gombe

The "Frodo of Gombe" story under "Hoaxes" is irrelevent and clearly written by the hoax's own author. And if you click on the external link for its source, you are taken to a lonely forum post with no replies but from the original poster. It's quite sad, really.

[edit] side effects sub heading

[edit] Other effects

There is a persistent type of hoax which is telling someone to phone "Mr. C. Lion" (sealion), or "Mr. L. E. Fant" (elephant), or "Mr. G. Raff" (giraffe), or suchlike, at a telephone number that turns out to be a zoo. This causes a massive and very unwelcome overburden on zoos' telephone switchboard staff.

that was posted under the heading "side effects." it's great, but it's not related to april fools. perhaps it should go under hoax or prank call? --naught101 09:38, 13 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Misplacement of apostrophe

All my dictionaries (OED, Collins, Chambers) have "April Fools' Day" (with the apostrophe after the s, not before it). It is the day of "April fools", after all, not one "April fool". So do dictionary.com, Encarta and Wiktionary, so why does Wikipedia misspell the name of the article? — Paul G 07:34, 6 November 2006 (UTC)

  • Good question. Now answer this one: Is it Mother's Day, Mothers' Day, or Mothers Day? Wahkeenah 13:18, 6 November 2006 (UTC)
    • How about none of the above: it's "Mothering Sunday" :P Actually I think "Mothers' Day" is probably strictly correct. "Mothers Day" - no. Anyhow, I'm going to move this page if no one has any objections. — Paul G 13:53, 8 November 2006 (UTC)
      • "Mothers Day" could be just fine. It depends on whether it's possessive, or whether it's a day honoring all mothers, in the same form as "Veterans Day", which you'll note does NOT have an apostrophe anywhere. Wahkeenah 14:03, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

I've moved the page, changed all occurrences of "Fool's" to "Fools'" in the article, and added a comment on the spelling using "Fool's". I've said this is incorrect. If this is POV, sue me ;) I haven't fixed the double redirects. — Paul G 14:01, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

  • And now you'll incur the wrath of those who will insist it should be spelled "Fools's" rather than "Fools'". Wahkeenah 14:04, 8 November 2006 (UTC)
    • Well, they're just a bunch of fools's ;) — Paul G 10:38, 9 November 2006 (UTC)
  • The question is, is it actually the day of "April Fools" (plural), or is it the day that belongs to the "April Fool" (singular), in the same way that Valentine's Day is the day that belongs to St. Valentine. Numerous illustrations depict the character of The Fool dressed in his robes and horned hat, suggesting he is a singular, iconic character. Martin Wainwright's recent book, "The Guardian Book of April Fool's Day," placed the apostrophe before the s. My version of the OED (1985) doesn't use an apostrophe at all in the spelling. I would say that both placements of the apostrophe are correct, since no one can say with authority whether April Fool is singular or plural. It's a matter of subjective opinion. Alexboese (talk) 00:23, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

I think you'll find that "April Fool's Day" (which is the only spelling in the Oxford Dictionary of English) is a perfectly correct spelling. If you think about it, "the day of the April fool" makes perfect sense as a description. "The April fool" is here acting as a generic referring to April fools in general. Similarly "Mother's Day" can be read as the day of Mother, or the day for the Mother, and again "Mother" does not refer to a specific mother. You don't need a plural to refer to mothers in general; you can do that with a singular. 21:53, 1 April 2008 (UTC)~ —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.168.113.164 (talk)

  • Historically, "April Fool's Day" has been the more popular spelling. Perhaps because it looks less awkward than April Fools' Day. If you do a search on Amazon of books with "April Fool" in their title, the majority of them use the spelling "April Fool's Day." But many dictionaries do spell it as "April Fools' Day," apparently believing that the name refers to all fools in general. They may have been persuaded of this because of the alternative term "All Fools' Day," that does imply fools in their entirety. Although some etymologists believe that All Fools' Day is a corruption of Auld Fool's Day, or Old Fool's Day. My preference is for April Fool's Day (singular) because there are so many references to the April Fool as the celebration's patron saint, assuming his throne for the day. But like I said above, both spellings seem acceptable. So if wikipedia wants to use "April Fools' Day," so be it. Though it might be worth adding a note, acknowledging that both spellings are widely used, and there doesn't appear to be a definitively correct form.

There's also an argument for "April Fools Day," dropping the apostrophe altogether. After all, "April Fools" is what you yell out when you've tricked someone. In this sense, it's neither singular nor plural. It's merely an exclamation.--Alexboese (talk) 16:33, 4 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] What links here

There are way too many pages containing April Fool's instead of April Fools' and there is even a category too (category:April Fool's Day) - far too many to update by hand. Could a bot be written to make the necessary changes? — Paul G 14:42, 13 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Well known hoaxes

This section appears to be too long, and will only get longer. Nor has it been clarified what counts as 'well known'. Additionally, there are already several other articles listing April Fools pranks year by year.

I suggest:

  • that this particular section is cleaned up to include only particularly notorious hoaxes.
  • that an article called List of April Fools' Day hoaxes or similar is created for those interested in a fuller list.

Any thoughts? Richard of York 14:43, 9 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Back to the Future II Movie Special

During the TV special for the movie BttF2 (making of?), Zemeckis (I think, don't remember exactly) claimed that they had used real hover skateboards that were based in a technology that was discovered a while ago and patented but was not used because it was considered dangerous and hard to control. Supposedly the things used two magnets and created some weird magnetic effect that levitated the board. Allegedly, the actor or stuntman or whatever had an accident and broke some limb while using the "dangerous" device.

They had to issue a clarification the next week or month or so that it was an april fools' joke, because many people had called asking where they could get their flying skateboards.

I thought this was a well-known prank, but I can't find anything on the 'net. Anyone else remember this?200.48.20.67 15:55, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] References

The article should be split into referenced and unreferenced pranks. The same was done for Y2K, three quarters of them were urban legends or rumours or nonsense.

[edit] Alternative 3

Contrary to the text of this article, the USA and USSR were not supposed to be preparing for hypothetical future climate catastrophe, but were in fact supposedly putting plans into action as a result of a climate catastrophe that had begun and was thought to be inexorably progressing toward the extinction of mankind. The entire program is available on Google Video at present, but as the program itself is all the information I have, I hesitate to edit the article. Original research? 72.83.243.12 03:56, 15 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Jeopardy/Wheel of Fortune Switcheroo

I can't see that this qualifies as a hoax in any way - nobody was deceived in any way by the switch, were they? Jon Rob 14:45, 23 February 2007 (UTC)

  • Clearly not much of a "hoax", but if it was done for April 1, they were promoting it that way, i.e. as an April Fool joke. Wahkeenah 15:03, 23 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] This is spam (not to mention the foolish external links)

The 2007 issue is now online (get RAFT'2OO7). --Earendel 15:50, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Concerning NationStates

The 2005 practical joke was replacing the front page so it looked like the DHS, not the DoD. See link here http://www.nationstates.net/hws.html -- I only mention because I was one of the guys who came up with it. I suggested "Department of Homeworld Security," made the logo, and took on the role of General George Hammond when we got lots of worried help requests about it. Damn but I was evil. --The Centipede 02:34, 26 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] dubious items

Trying to prune the list, here are dubious items as I find them. The second level of comment is my explanation for removal. I am putting them here so people who know of a source for these can easily see they've been removed from the article and add them back, with a source.

  • Breast Exams by Satellite: In the 1990s, Portuguese national television network RTP announced the Ministry of Health would perform free breast exams by satellite, causing thousands of women to go out topless
    • A similar prank to this has been reported, but it was not an April Fool's joke and not conducted by RTP, but by some random hoaxer with a telephone
  • Weird Al Yankovic wears opposite costumes during concerts such as his "Dare to be Stupid" costume during "Like a Surgeon".
    • Can't find any references for this... just Wikipedia mirrors. Found a detailed review of a 4/1 show that did not mention him doing this prank.
  • FBI Crackdowns on On-line File Sharing of Music: Such announcements on April Fools Day have become common.
    • Unreferenced, not really interesting or funny. It would be like saying "sometimes people send virus warnings on 4/1"
  • Wrapping Televisions in Foil: In another year, the Dutch television news reported that the government had new technology to detect unlicensed televisions (in many European countries, television license fees fund public broadcasting), but that wrapping a television in aluminium foil could prevent its detection.
    • Best I could find was [3]. A "oocktail fact" is perhaps not the best reference.
  • National Television Station (TVM) in Malta: In 1995, TVM announced the discovery of a new underground prehistoric temple with a mummy. Another year, TVM announced that Malta would adopt the European continent convention of driving on the right-hand side of the road
    • Citation requested for 3 months... I couldn't find anything on Google.
  • Free wine for all:The Norwegian newspaper "Bergens Tidende" announced in 1987 that the state's alcohol monopoly had 10,000 litres of illegally smuggled wine that had been confiscated. The inhabitants of Bergen were invited to the main store in town to receive their share of the goods, rather than to spill good wine down the drain. That morning staff were met by about 200 men & women with bottles, buckets, and other suitable vessels for carrying the prized goods. Legislation in Norway causes alcohol to be relatively expensive and have limited availability.
    • Again, citation requested for 3 months and no one bothered. Not much on Google except 9,000 (!) Wikipedia hits. [4]
  • Rain drop power: On April 1st 2006 Norwegian media had a one-page story concerning "rain drop power", which could replace oil as a primary energy source. One could write to the energy company BKK in Bergen in order to be a volunteer and receive the power generated for free.
    • Couldn't find a source, tried several places
  • China Decapitates Taiwan: In 2005, an undergraduate nicknamed SkyMirage, who was well-known in Taiwan for his humor, fabricated a series of news that China's airforce was bombarding Office of President, Taiwan.
    • Unref'd, doesn't fully explain it and sounds like a vandal edit. Couldn't find a reference anyway
  • In 2002, it was revealed by Electronic Gaming Monthly that Sonic and Tails, two popular SEGA characters, were unlockable characters in the game, Super Smash Bros Melee. People took this to be a serious statement and many tried to determine how to unlock the two characters. Upon printing that it was an April Fool's joke, many were frustrated and some even upset. [citation needed]
    • Couldn't find a credible source... [5]
  • Demashita! Powerpuff Girls Z was announced for production by Aniplex, Cartoon Network, and Toei Animation on 1 April 2005 and was originally discredited, but turned out to be true when poster art and clips from the series were revealed days later.[6]
    • Ref not in english, seems to be some random fansite

More to come perhaps. --W.marsh 13:17, 29 March 2007 (UTC)

All of these have my vote for deletion BQZip01 17:06, 29 March 2007 (UTC)

A few more:

  • On Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, after a drought of millionaire winners, Regis Philbin announced that instead of increasing the prize $10,000 each show, the amount would decrease by $10,000 a show. Then he yelled that this was not true because it was "APRIL FOOL'S DAY!"
    • Not nearly as elaborate as the other two, seems like a spur of the moment joke. Also I couldn't find a ref.

May add some more here. --W.marsh 23:52, 29 March 2007 (UTC)

Just removed the following:

  • The Unification Bowl: In 2008, during playoff season, Cheetos brand snacks announced the formation of The Unification Bowl via a full page ad in USA Today. Curious football fans who visited http://www.unificationbowl.com, found that The Unification Bowl was actually a glass bowl filled with....Cheetos. Prank was deemed a Random Act Of Cheetos and launched a prank promotion that continues through April Fool's Day, 2008.


Why would there been an item from the FUTURE? SeoxyS (talk) 15:47, 26 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Some items for consideration

In ancient Roman times April 1 was associated with the Veneralia a festival of the godess Venus. Was gift giving on April 1 associated with the display of signs of affections? What about being a fool for love? The modern April Fools Day seems to be much more cynical.

What is the nature of the fool in April Fool's Day. Is it The Fool on a Tarot card? Or just a jester? Or just someone easily fooled?

The article is still missing something. More historical material might help. Jbergquist 15:54, 29 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] The French Connection

April Fools' Day is the opening scene of French Connection II, not The French Connection. As Popeye Doyle arrives in Marsaille, French narcotics police are duped into thinking drugs are hidden in fish at the marketplace, which is revealed to be a hoax. Joe62.255.0.7 20:56, 31 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Protection

Pfft. You shouldn't protect it. Someone should just keep a copy of the original page and let people have fun with it! Then just revert it on April 2! --Theunicyclegirl (talk, review me!) 02:24, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

  • Dont protect this .. let it have fun thats just way to over the line to do that , its supposed to be fun Ballzwashin 03:09, 1 April 2007 (UTC)
  • Maybe make a subpage on this page. Like copy everything onto April Fools' Day/Sandbox and have a blast! (Or just to go Uncyclopedia!) └Jared┘┌talk┐  04:01, 1 April 2007 (UTC)
  • This is not a play-ground. It is an encyclopedia. If you wish to experiment, please use the sandbox. If you find productively editting an encyclopedia to be fun the please contribute. If you want to play pranks, please go somewhere else. Johntex\talk 05:00, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

dude, you just sucked all the spirit out of the room... --ÄtΘmicR€£igionesїgñ

Are all administrators killjoys? Faizaguo (talk) 18:49, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

  • Good. Go find an article help write, then, please. Johntex\talk 07:02, 1 April 2007 (UTC)
    • I guess you missed out on previous Wiki celebrations of April Fool's Day. Wiki has previously allowed some joking around on this day (for example, fake AfD's on various articles as pranks). Part of editing in the true spirit of Wiki is knowing when to relax; as shown by your smug replies and decidedly unpleasant attitude on this topic, this is clearly a skill you've yet to master. Apologies to Atomic and the others who wanted to experience the lighter side of Wiki; sorry this wasn't a more positive encounter. GarryKosmos 08:28, 1 April 2007 (UTC)
I haven't missed out on previous ones, and yes joking around is common on the Wikipedia and talk namespaces, but not the actual articles themselves. Vandalism isn't suddenly hilarious just because of the date. (Btw 'Wiki' means something different to 'Wikipedia'.) -- Chuq 09:05, 1 April 2007 (UTC)
Chug is exactly right. Aritcle vandalism does not become funny on the first of April every year. If you think vandalism to articles is ever pleasant, then you are the one you has a decidely unpleasant attitude. Johntex\talk 18:38, 1 April 2007 (UTC)
I'm not saying vandalism is pleasant (for one, a fake AFD is not considered vandalism on this day given that admins have done so before). I'm saying your rude and uncivil reaction to their statements was out of line. I'm not sure if you intended to, but you came across as more than a little elitist and as ignorant of the day's celebration. Statements like "This is not a play-ground. It is an encyclopedia" are condenscending and flat-out inappropriate. If you're going to correct someone, do so in a more polite, mature manner. Otherwise, don't say anything at all. Most editors I know phrase things with greater care, please try to learn from your peers on this matter so you can improve. Also, please read WP:CIV and WP:BITE. GarryKosmos 19:01, 1 April 2007 (UTC)
You are mistaken and you are being uncivil. What was being discussed here was whether or not this article should be protected against vandalism. This had nothing to do with AfD or other jokes on non-article pages. It is perfectly appropriate to remind people that this is not a playground, a social networking site, the unencyclopedia, or any of the other things that Wikipeida is not. You need to go review our policies and objectives. Anything that lessens the accuracy of even one of our articles, even for one day, is not to be encouraged for the sake of something you think may be "fun". Johntex\talk 20:07, 1 April 2007 (UTC)
You don't have to encourage it, and discouraging is fine, but you bit Atomic Religione, which isn’t right. You didn't say anything wrong, but you could have been nicer in the way that you went about saying it. I get that you were probably annoyed by the antics going on around this article, but you need to be especially careful during those times to avoid incidents like this. Cheers, -- The Hybrid 20:17, 1 April 2007 (UTC)
I said "please".  :-) Johntex\talk 21:36, 3 April 2007 (UTC)
Fair enough ;) -- The Hybrid 22:05, 3 April 2007 (UTC)

WP:BDHፈቃደ (ውይይት) 20:21, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

Anyone else think the protection tag is absolutely hilarious?Tmrobertson 17:48, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] April fools day and the UK tax Year

I wonder if the start of the UK tax year (April 5th)is related to the original new year being in april perhaps this should be a related topic ie if april 2nd is on a friday then april 5th is a monday the start of the working week. Tax is the biggest joke in england at present83.100.189.230 08:30, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] "BBC Radio 4 (2005): The Today Programme announced ... The Archers had changed their theme tune ..."

if my memory severs me correct they did play the "new" theme on that day. Listners liked the new one so much, Radio 4 still use it on the Omnibus edition of the whole week's episodes every Sunday at 10.00. just looked at The_Archers#Theme_tune, reads: "In 2004 both The Independent [4] and The Today Programme [5] claimed (as April Fool's Day jokes) that Brian Eno had crafted an electronic remix of the theme tune to replace the old theme." -- Artlondon 16:20, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

=Redirect Redirect page to something gross

[edit] Canada only before noon?

I've lived in Canada all my life, and I've never heard of this "jokes must be played before midday" thing. Maybe the entry itself makes the fool? 142.167.95.179 23:35, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

I'm from Ontario and I've always heard it was only before noon. Perhaps there are differences in other regions? Merc 2k 02:51, 2 April 2007 (UTC)
I'm from the UK and I was told as a child that jokes had to be played in the morning - after noon and the fool is on you. Though this doesn't seem to be something widely recognised in the UK these days, if it ever was. User:Green Fairyt c 19:26, 2 April 2007 (UTC)
I've lived in Canada since I was 4 and the before noon rule has been a part of April Fools' for all the time for me, my friends, and family. CoW mAnX (talk) 00:46, 1 April 2008 (UTC)
I'm from the UK, and I've always been told it was supposed to be before noon. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.8.58.255 (talk) 15:27, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Iceburg

"The Great Iceberg" On April 1, 1978 a barge appeared in Sydney Harbor towing a giant iceberg. Sydneysiders were expecting it. Dick Smith, a local adventurer and millionaire businessman, had been loudly promoting his scheme to tow an iceberg from Antarctica for quite some time. Now he had apparently succeeded. He said that he was going to carve the berg into small ice cubes, which he would sell to the public for ten cents each. These well-traveled cubes, fresh from the pure waters of Antarctica, were promised to improve the flavor of any drink they cooled. Slowly the iceberg made its way into the harbor. Local radio stations provided excited blow-by-blow coverage of the scene. Only when the berg was well into the harbor was its secret revealed. It started to rain, and the firefighting foam and shaving cream that the berg was really made of washed away, uncovering the white plastic sheets beneath"

This is taken verbatim from the page at http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/aprilfool/ Pennywisepeter 15:37, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Economist.com

According to The Economist, Finnish people relish in April Fool's frivolities the most.

This should be removed from Trivia, as it is an april fool as well. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Möllikkä (talk • contribs) 05:42, 3 April 2007 (UTC).

[edit] Merge

It has been suggested that this article be merged into April 1. --98E 17:01, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

Oppose the suggested merger since Christmass Day would be merged if the idea was to be taken to a logical conclusion, in addition where would Easter Day, Good Friday and other movable feasts be put if such merges were to become common practice. --Drappel 17:51, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

Oppose, separate concepts. --W.marsh 17:53, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Book Details

Hi May I ask advice? I've just had a book published about April Fool's Day which has oodles of extra info & in particular much the fullest details yet given of the BBC spaghetti hoax & the Guardian's San Serriffe one. (I am the Guardian's Northern editor & the book is The Guardian Book of April Fool's). I fully understand that Wikipedia isn't in the business of plugging things, but wondered if the book could be a reference or footnote on the grounds that people wanting more info will def find it there. If I could get the whole text put online I would - I appreciate that may also be a problem. Anyway, thanks in advance & for W generally btw this entry isn't intended to be a plug & i'm v happy if you want to scrub it after giving an answer Martin wainwright 21:20, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

If it is a reference book, just put it under further reading. As long as the post is simply the title, author, etc. I see no problem with it. — BQZip01 — talk 06:38, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] April Fool Practice in East Asian cultures?

My gut observation, from childhood experience and subsequent news, is April Fool jokes do not exist in Chinese and other East Asian cultures. This contributor has personally experienced a harsh rebuke ("out of his mind") by a boy in the same primary school class when the contributor mentioned "April Fool's Day" around the mid to late 1980s. It must be noted that boy had a very limited exposure to Western culture at the time. And years later in 2003, the hoax news mentioning Tung Chee-hwa's resignation concerning SARS triggered a panic among a large sector of Hong Kong population, which implied a majority did not treat this as joke. Are there serious cultural studies done on the popularity of April Fool in East Asian culture?--JNZ (talk) 10:31, 19 January 2008 (UTC) with modifications --JNZ (talk) 06:04, 20 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Alternate name

Isn't this day also known, somewhat more negatively, as Liar's Day? --81.150.229.68 (talk) 16:31, 25 March 2008 (UTC)

April’s fool day is known as Liar’s day in Ireland and the Isle of Man. During the Second World War, 1939-45 it was known as Hitler’s day in Northern Ireland but not in the South or on the Isle of Man, for some reason. See - http://www.halfbakery.com/idea/Liar_27s_20Day —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.150.251.249 (talk) 00:00, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] 16th Century French and Dutch References

The article states that "French and Dutch references from 1508 and 1539 respectively describe April Fools' Day jokes and the custom of making them on the first of April." What were these references? No citation is provided.--Alexboese (talk) 05:28, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] 8-bit tie

"Online Retailer ThinkGeek usually replace their main page with a page containing "Featured Items" that are a joke. The page looks, feels and functions just like their real one, however the items featured are hoax and do not exist. Such items have included "Inhalable Caffeine Sticks", an 8-bit tie, and an alarm clock which wirelessly connects to your PC to log into your internet banking, and send funds to a charity. Adding any of these items to your shopping cart takes you to a page stating that the item is a hoax."

Isn't the 8-bit tie real?

59.154.17.6 (talk) 05:38, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

Yeah, the 8 bit tie is real. I'll remove that from the article and replace it with one of their current additions. --clpo13(talk) 08:55, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

The 8-bit tie was a hoax from last year that was such a popular idea they decided to actually create a product. Zedlander (talk) 21:55, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] History

What about history and etymology about April Mop? Azmi1995 07:58, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Assuming Good Faith and Civility on April Fools Day

I'd like to suggest to those reverting joke edits to use the {{uw-joke}} template for first offences, and then {{uw-vandalism2}}, {{uw-vandalism3}}, {{uw-vandalism4}} as normal for repeat offences. Let's not be too harsh on our regular contributors, who are just trying to lighten things up, by labelling them as "vandals". (EhJJ)TALK 16:30, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

If not because they deserve it, then simply because it is easier to just wait it out than fight a battle over what will be over at the end of the day. Sam Barsoom 17:08, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Fixed gawk

Dont argue with me, its gawk not gowk since i talk the old scotch language and know it is wrong 85.211.71.231 (talk) 17:27, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Ugh, this page needs locked

This is obviously subject to vandalism, and has already been attacked several times, on this particular day... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.249.134.214 (talk) 17:57, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

Strike that, I have had a sudden change of heart. Revert it tomorrow as has been previously suggested ;) 24.249.134.214 (talk) 17:59, 1 April 2008 (UTC)
This page was semi-protected for the first few hours of the day and there was only a little vandalism and many good contributions. Sure, we could let all the vandalism pile up, but what about the numerous people who want to read this article today? I've submitted a request for semi-protection to be reinstated. We'll be able to update the page with news and general improvements, but it will be safe from the anon-IP style vandalism. (EhJJ)TALK 18:06, 1 April 2008 (UTC)
My request for semi-protection was declined [7] and given Wikipedia's WP:AGF policy (which I fully support), it does make sense. If the vandalism gets unmanageable, anyone is free to submit the request again. Until then, I suppose we'll just deal with reverting blatant vandalism as it occurs and then mop up the rest tomorrow. (EhJJ)TALK 18:59, 1 April 2008 (UTC)
It was bordering on unmanageable for a little bit, but things seem to have calmed down a bit. --clpo13(talk) 20:11, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Missing Definition

After all this talk about fooling the gullible, I just noticed that the word "gullible" isn't in the wiktionary. SkyDot (talk) 18:08, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

Wierd...it isn't. I just checked... — BQZip01 — talk 20:42, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] This page needs a background/history section

There appears to be some material in this vein on the discussion page - someone want to make a start at it? Where did the day first start? Where has it been most popular? Is it culturally specific or cross-cultural? Natebailey (talk) 00:59, 5 April 2008 (UTC)