April Fool? I don't think so!!

I was born on April 1st and all my life have been subject to the traditional 'April Fool' jokes and tricks! But it is not just about me and my fellow April Fools who were born on this memorable day - it is extraordinary the imagination and measures that some people take and it is all part of the fun to scan the media to see what lengths they have gone to in order to fool the population!

Origin of April Fools’ Day—How did it all start?

The origin of April Fools’ Day is unknown, but it is believed to have started hundreds of years ago. One thought is that April Fools’ Day dates back to ancient Rome when people would dress up in disguises and mock each other in a festival called Hilaria (Latin for joyful) at the end of March. This was said to be inspired by the Egyptian legend of Isis, Osiris and Seth.

An ancient Roman myth also tells the story of the God Pluto who abducted Proserpina, the Goddess of grain and harvest. Prosperpina's mother searched everywhere for her in underworld - but could only hear her voice, and she never found her. This has led to the idea of a 'fool's errand'.

Others believe that April Fool stems from 16th-century France when the New Year began around Easter. When Charles IX decreed that 1st January would now be the start of the New Year some people found it hard to accept the change and continued to celebrate the new year at the end of March, beginning of April. These people were labelled poisson d'avril, meaning "April Fish" and were said to represent young, easily caught fish and being a gullible person! They were the subject of jokes - including having paper fish stuck on their backs!

Fish also play a big part in in the theory that the tradition of telling lies on April 1st is linked to fishing. The Celts were big fishermen when the fishing season started on April 1st. However, during that period there were not many fish and led them to lie about the amount of fish they caught!!

April Fool's Day and the Vernal Equinox (Spring!)

It is also thought that this time of year is when Mother Nature likes to play tricks on us!

There are two days in the year when the Sun is exactly above the Equator and the day and night are of equal length. In the Northern Hemisphere the vernal equinox falls on March 20th or 21st.

This is the start of Spring and the weather is in the habit of being extremely changeable. The saying "N'er cast a clout till May is out" is a proverb to remind us how fickle British weather can be and not to put away winter clothes until the end of May.

I personally have seen it snow on my birthday - but I have also sunbathed on the beach some years!

Historical Famous April Fool's Day Pranks

A successful April Fool's prank is to get someone to fall for a prank or believe a made up story. The world's media are imaginative and there have been some famous examples:

• In 1957, the BBC fooled thousands with a story on how Swiss Farmers were having a bumper harvest for spaghetti. They also showed a video of the spaghetti being harvested from trees!

  The BBC in 2008 broadcast that a breed of penguins had developed the ability to fly!

• In 2002,The Sun newspaper published an advertisement for Tesco supermarket announcing a new genetically modified carrot that whistles. They fooled readers into believing that the carrots were grown with tapered air holes and when fully cooked would start to whistle!

• In 1992 an actor posing as former President Richard Nixon fooled Americans saying he was running for president again

• In 1998 Burger King received scores of requests for 'Left Handed Whopper' burger they had fooled customers into believing was now on their menu!

  
  

Writer Jonathon Swift cleverly used hoaxes to tell his stories.

He said that his famous work 'Gulliver's Travels'' was the true story of a traveler called Lemuel Gulliver and in 1708 Swift used an almanac to predict the death of a famous astrologer. On the day of his 'death' Swift printed a black bordered eulogy and two days later published a leaflet praising his own prediction. This hoax coincided with April Fool's Day and Swift later said that had done this to discredit the predictions of the astrologer.

Edgar Allan Poe also used hoaxes to tell stories. In 1835 Poe was editor of the Southern Literary Messenger and he published a story called "The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall" detailing the story of a man who had flown to the moon in a hot air balloon and had remained there for five years.

The Cardiff Giant has been named the greatest hoax in human history. This story came at a time when Darwin's evolutionary concepts in The Origin of Species (1859) conflicted with the biblical liberalism debate, specifically Genesis 6:4 which said that at one time 'the Nephilim (Giants) were walking on the earth'.

George Hull created a 10 foot human figure, entirely petrified and sold it to a group of entrepreneurs who put it on public display. The US media published the story and despite notable paleontologists declaring the figure was a fraud thousands paid to see the 'Giant'.

Why people fall for these stories - and why people spread them

Throughout the centuries the rituals and pranks attributed to April Fool's Day have been relatively harmless. However, the introduction of the internet and social media have led to a far wider ranging impact - not always funny.

False Information

False information is news, stories or hoaxes created to deliberately misinform or deceive readers - a phrase now commonly used since the growth of social media.

At its worst false information manipulates, misinforms and causes mistrust. The term 'fake news' tends to be mainly associated with political issues where as false information covers a diverse range of misinformation and disinformation.

We have moved into a completely different level of 'pranking' to influencing election voting and causing global conflict - but why do we allow this to happen to us?

A 2022 study ”The psychological drivers of misinformation belief and its resistance to correction | Nature Reviews Psycholog found that emotional influences, motivated reasoning and mental shortcuts allow misinformation to take hold of us and embed, despite valid claims to its authenticity. We identify with information that reflect our own beliefs and views - even if it is not true. Our views and personal politics distort our perceptions of what is true and our emotional state at the time of receiving information can affect our judgement.

People also can pass on mis and disinformation in order to connect with others - especially during cognitive decline. The spreading of misinformation on social media can lead to a positive feedback impact of more likes and clicks and is a growing concern for social media platforms to curtail. The algorithms used by social media are designed to generate engagement and the use of mis and disinformation online can continue to promote similar false narratives to keep users engaged. The common goal of all provocateurs is to reach the widest audience possible and the media's efforts to expose mis and disinformation can frequently have the opposite effect by expanding its reach and reinforcing its legitimacy. Even when people recall and accept the corrections mis and disinformation can still remain in memories and compete with any corrections against it.

The Liar's Dividend

It is a challenging subject as we pride ourselves as having the right to free speech and free expression. In the West governments are wary of curtailing someone’s right to free speech so as to not be accused of political interference.

The liar’s dividend is the benefit gained by those spreading misinformation whereby it becomes unclear if the information is true -or not.

This approach has the benefit of muddying the waters so that people, can evade or reduce scrutiny embedded in accurate words or actions that are then not believed by others. We currently live in a world where information can be easily falsified. For example, a politician might claim that they did not do or say what they in fact did or said. Because of the mistrust in mainstream news media, political actors throughout the world can evade or blunt the legitimate scrutiny of their action, words and decisions. For those who deliberately sow mistrust, the liar's dividend pays off as they use the ensuing mistrust to their own advantage.

However, this has got very serious so let's end return to the traditions and folklore of April 1st - my birthday. I love the story of how Greece adopted the April Fool tradition but adapted to their own culture. The idea was that telling a small innocent lie on April 1st and managing to trick the victim, would result in good luck for the rest of the year.

In some parts of Greece it is believed that the person playing the trick will have bountiful crops and that rain on April Fool's Day is reminiscent of healing powers. Others, however, believe that those who dig on April 1st essentially are digging their own grave. Overall, the Greeks love playing pranks on this day believing that a successful joke brings the prankster wellbeing

From my point of view, on my birthday I will be viewing presents with caution, scanning the news for likely pranks and reminding anyone who cares to listen that April Fool's jokes are only legitimate before midday! Happy April Fool's Day.