16 Interesting Facts About April Fools Day

April Fools’ Day is widely observed on the first day of April. It is a day of hearty jokes, fun, laughter, pranks, and surprises. In other words, this might be the perfect opportunity to show how humorous you are. It is also a day to let loose and celebrate foolishness with your friends and family. On this day, radio channels and TV shows take the opportunity to connect with their listeners and prank them with light jokes. Here are 16 interesting facts about April Fools Day you must know. 

16 Fascinating Facts About April Fools Day

1. April Fool’s Day is celebrated every year on 1st April.

2 In ancient Rome, people observed a holiday called Hilaria which was pretty similar to today’s April Fools Day. 

3. It is observed across the world including the UK, USA, Greece, India, France, and so on. 

4. According to popularly held beliefs, April Fools’ Day was created to dedicate a day to pranks, fun, banter, and celebrate the joy in our lives. 

5. This day is dedicated to entertaining each other with hilarious jokes.

6. April Fool’s Day celebration lasts for up to two days in Scotland.

7. One of the best pranks of April Fools Day happened in 1957 during a BBC program when a man named Richard Dimbleby said that spaghetti is grown on trees. 

8. Some historians believe that the tradition of April Fools’ Day started back in the year 1582. However, no one knows for sure. 

9. A famous theory behind this annual tradition is that when the Pope changed the calendar in France into a Roman one, there were people who knew nothing about it. Thus, they kept celebrating the New Year on April 1st. Other people started calling them fools, leading to the establishment of this day.  

10. In France, people continue a popular tradition called Poisson d’Avril, loosely translated as April Fish, in which people stick a paper on each other’s backs. 

11. Google launched Gmail on 1 April 2004 which made everyone believe that it was a prank. 

12. The Portuguese people do not celebrate this day on the first of April. instead, they make use of Sunday and Monday before Lent and throw flour at each other. 

13. In Scotland, the day was earlier known as Hunt the Gowk Day, gawk meaning a fool. A person was sent to deliver a message to another person by an individual who wishes to fool the messenger. 

14. In some countries, you are supposed to stop the pranks and jokes by noon at 12pm. 

15. In 2008, BBC went ahead with its hilarious pranks and spread the false news that penguins in Antarctica started flying. 

16. In 1976, BBC announced that the earth’s gravity would be reduced to a certain level and anyone who jumped in the would lightly float. What a hilarious prank!!

Hope you had fun reading these interesting and lesser known facts about April Fools Day. If you want to read more such interesting facts, then you can also visit our blog Fun Facts About Cricket.