Day of merriment

 

"It is easier to fool people
than it is to convince them
that they have been fooled."
Mark Twain

April Fools’ Day is linked to ancient Roman festivals such as Hilaria (Latin for joyful) and the medieval Feast of Fools. Many cultures have lighthearted celebrations this time of year, related to the spring equinox in the Northern Hemisphere. Just call it spring fever. 

One of the top April Fool's hoaxes of all time:

"The respected BBC news show Panorama announced that thanks to a very mild winter and the virtual elimination of the dreaded spaghetti weevil, Swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop. It accompanied this announcement with footage of Swiss peasants pulling strands of spaghetti down from trees. Huge numbers of viewers were taken in and called the BBC wanting to know how they could grow their own spaghetti tree. To this the BBC diplomatically replied, place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best. Even the director-general of the BBC later admitted that after seeing the show, he checked in an encyclopedia to find out if that was how spaghetti actually grew."

 OK, back in 1957 people were less sophisticated when it came to exotic food like spaghetti.  And "Swiss peasants" still existed. 

But to be honest, that story isn't any more outlandish than some of the conspiracy theories going around these days.

CLICK HERE for a list of the 100 best funny April Fool's pranks of all time.