Fact of the Day: Why France celebrates "April fish" on April Fools'

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Original photo by nito/ Shutterstock On April Fools' Day, France celebrates "April fish." What do you call someone who's fallen for a prank? There's no punchline here — in most English-speaking places, you'd probably just call them gullible. But in France, you might use the term poisson d'avril, aka "April fish." The centuries-old name is linked to a 1508 poem by Renaissance composer and writer Eloy d'Amerval, who used the phrase to describe the springtime spawn of fish as the easiest to catch; young and hungry April fish were considered more susceptible to hooks than older fish swimming around at other times of year. Today, celebrating "April fish" in France — as well as Belgium, Canada, and Italy — is akin to April Fools' Day elsewhere, complete with pranks; one popular form of foolery includes taping paper fish on the backs of the unsuspecting. While the first reference to poisson d'avril comes from d'Amerval's poem, historians aren't sure just how old the April Fools' holiday is. It's often linked to Hilaria, a festival celebrated by the ancient Romans and held at the end of March to commemorate the resurrection of the god Attis. However, many historians believe that while Hilaria participants would disguise themselves and imitate others, there's little evidence that it's the predecessor of April Fools'. Other theories suggest that April 1 trickery stems from switching to the Gregorian calendar. One such explanation dates to 1564, the year French King Charles IX moved to standardize January 1 as the start of the new year, which had often been celebrated on Christmas, Easter, or during Holy Week (the seven days before Easter). Despite the royal edict, some French people kept with the Holy Week tradition and celebrated the new year in late March to early April, becoming the first "April fools." April Fools' celebrations last two days in Scotland. April Fools' celebrations last two days in Scotland.

An 1878 newspaper hoax reported Thomas Edison's newest invention could turn __ into food and wine. An 1878 newspaper hoax reported Thomas Edison's newest invention could turn __ into food and wine. Numbers Don't Lie Jokes included in "Philogelos," an ancient Greek book dating to the fourth or fifth century 265 Year Google released the mind-reading "MentalPlex" search tool, its first April Fools' prank 2000 Taco Bell's donation for Liberty Bell upkeep, after claiming the brand bought it in a 1996 prank $50,000 Age of the world's oldest known joke, written by ancient Sumerians in 1900 BCE 3,900+ The BBC once claimed spaghetti noodles grew on trees. The most convincing April Fools' pranks often come from the most unexpected sources, which could be why the BBC has a history of successful hoaxes. This includes a 1957 joke, considered to be one of the first TV April Fools' pranks, wherein the British broadcaster aired a two-and-a-half-minute segment claiming spaghetti noodles grew on trees in Switzerland. Footage showed Swiss noodle harvesters on ladders collecting noodles and drying them in the sun before dining on a large pasta dinner. While the prank likely would have fallen flat today, spaghetti wasn't commonly eaten in the U.K. during the 1950s, which meant the dish was entirely unfamiliar to most viewers. But the hoax didn't just prank viewers. Many BBC staffers were also fooled after being purposefully kept in the dark about the fictitious story — the production brainchild of cameraman Charles de Jaeger and a small crew — and were taken aback by a deluge of callers looking to acquire their own spaghetti trees.  You might also like The Stories Behind 8 U.S. Places Named After International Cities If you've ever driven along the interstate and seen a sign directing you to a European capital or ancient civilization, that's because a handful of U.S. cities adopted the name of another place. Here are the stories behind eight of them.

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