The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Be on the lookout for whoopee cushions, loose salt and pepper shaker lids, and goodness knows what else today. It's April Fool's Day, that time when we can all have a good laugh at ourselves (and others). Did you know this day of practical jokery has roots dating back centuries? It all began in France in the 1500s when Pope Gregory introduced a new calendar for Christians in which the new year began on January 1. Prior to this new calendar, people in France celebrated the arrival of the new year on April 1. Since news traveled slowly in those days, many people didn't hear of the change and continued to celebrate New Year's Day on the first of April. These uninformed individuals were dubbed "April Fools" by the rest of France, and often became the target of various pranks. A popular prank at the time was to give the fools misleading information, such as the Pope's supposed introduction of an additional day to the week. Today, this tradition of jest lives on, and victims of today's pranks are now the April Fools. Whether you're on the giving or receiving end of a prank, remember that April Fool's Day is all about having fun and sharing some hearty chuckles. As Mark Twain once quipped: "The first day of April is the day we remember what we are the other 364 days of the year."
