The concept of pranking your friends and co-workers on the first day of April is a longstanding tradition dating back centuries .
The origins of April Fools ’ Day , also referred to as All Fools ’ Day , remain a mystery ; however , some historians believe it began as early at 1582 . That year , France switched calendars from the Julian to the Gregorian . This new calendar moved the beginning of the year to January 1 .
People who were late getting the news of this change continued celebrating the new year during the last week of March through April 1 . They reportedly became the butt of jokes and pranks including being marked by paper fish on their backs and being called “ poisson d ’ avril ” ( April fish ) which symbolized easily caught fish and a gullible person .
During the 18th century , the British embraced April Fools ’ Day . The Scottish even made it a two-day event . Day one : “ Hunting of the gowk ” ( gowk means cuckoo bird or fool ) A day in which people were sent on phony errands . Day two : “ Tailie Day ” A day for pinning fake tails or kick me signs onto people .
Last year , Quilted Northern announced the “ Rustic Toilet Paper ” saying the Rustic Weave brand was available in varieties including cedar loom and extra virgin birch .
Nowadays , companies and corporations join in on the fun .
Some of our favorites include the 1998 Burger King announcement of a “ Left- Handed Whopper ”. According to the ad , the Whopper included the same ingredients , but the condiments were rotated 180 degrees . Unfortunately , a lot of customers didn ’ t get the joke and requested the sandwich .
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