April Fools Then to Now

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By Taylor Cunningham

There are many theories as to how the tradition of April Fools began, but there is one that seems to be the most popular. Legend has it that April Fools began when the western world switched from the Gregorian calendar to the Julian calendar. When the switch happened, it moved the date of the New Year from April 1st to January 1st. Those who celebrated the New Year in April still were deemed “April fools”, because they couldn’t remember the change.

However April Fools really started, today it is a day of pranks and fun. Most of the gags are considered harmless, although there a few crazy ones that have been done. Some of the more common pranks include pregnancy scares, funny phone calls, cling-wrapping objects, and so on. More extreme ones that have been done include covering rooms and cars with sticky notes or tin foil, giving people caramel onions instead of apples, or scare pranks.

Personally, the craziest prank I’ve experienced was when one of my high school friends convinced me that he got his girlfriend pregnant. He got our art teacher in on it, and had my friend and me fooled all day long. It was so serious; he had fake tears going and everything!

What pranks did you do for April Fools? What are some of the craziest ones you’ve experienced? Share them with us! Tweet or DM to @maccollegespec, or share on our Facebook page @maccollegespec. We would love to hear from you!