APRIL FOOL--say what???

April Fools Day History and Fun Facts

History of the holiday
The most popular theory of when April Fools Day started is that it began in 1582 in France when King Charles IX reformed the Julian calendar and made it Gregorian. This made the new year begin on January 1, instead of April 1, as it always had been prior to the switch. Because cell phones, texts, and e-mails weren't around then, the news of the calendar switch took some time to get across to everyone. As a result, some countryfolk (and a few stubborn ones who resisted the change) were labeled "April fools." They were subsequently used as punchlines in jokes, sent on "fools errands," and subjected to practical jokes. Scottish and Fench settlers brought to the colonies of the US in the 1600s. Thus, a holiday was born.
April Fools Day goes global
Believe it or not, April Fools Day is celebrated in a variety of countries. France calls it Poisson d'Avril, which means April Fish. Children will tape a picture of a fish onto the backs of their friends and yell "Poisson d'Avril." One reason for this could be that the zodiac sign for April is pisces, which is a fish. In Scotland, April Fools Day is celebrated for two days and known as Taily Day. Pranks are typically geared towards the bottom and it's said that the origin of the "kick me" sign can be traced back to Scotland. The U.K. only celebrates April Fools Day in the morning as they believe it is bad luck to play jokes in the afternoon. Fools are known as "gobs" or "gobby" and victims of jokes are called "noodles." Poland celebrates April Fools Day very seriously by not doing anything serious that day. Jokes and hoaxes are played and even the media gets in on the fun. Denmark observes April Fools Day with jokes and pranks, and celebrates again on May 1.
Well known April Fools Day pranks
Everyone has a favorite prank or joke that has been carried out on April Fools Day. Here are a few that have been made famous by their ingenuity.
* Left-handed Whoppers from Burger King: the fast food chain announced they were carrying Whoppers for left-handed people that had condiments dripping from the right side. Yep, people tried to order it. (1998)
* Spaghetti trees: A BBC show ran a segment featuring Swiss people harvesting spaghetti from trees. The segment announced that spaghetti weevils had been eradicted. People called the station wanting to know how they could grow their own spaghetti tree. (1957)
* Bill Gates has been assassinated: Chinese and South Korean websites claimed that Bill Gates had been killed. The Korean stock market dropped 1.5%. (2003)
* Rickroll - YouTube hyperlinked all of the videos on their front page to the Rickroll.