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The History of April Fools’ Day
8 dates that bolstered the power of the high jinks holiday
Illustration by Sam Island
April Fools’ Day dates back more than 400 years; it’s even older than Thanksgiving (no joke!). Which means there have been lots of chances for good mischief.
Illustration by Sam Island
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1582: Fool’s gold
In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII introduced the Gregorian calendar, moving the start of the new year to January from April. And thus, those who kept celebrating the old new year were ridiculed as “April fools,” which eventually led to a new unofficial holiday, historians suggest.
1698: A wild start
The first documented April fools’ prank took place in London. A clever Brit announced a special event at the Tower of London: “See the Lions washed.” No such public cleansing of jungle cats was planned, but the announcement drew a crowd of rubes.
Illustration by Sam Island
1796: New jokes in the New World
The earliest recorded American April fools’ prank took place in Middletown, Connecticut, where an anonymous handbill promised a marketplace with a demand for “fool’s coats.” The ad specified that sellers should bring coats that were “predominante” in yellow, with lots of tin bells and tassels, including “seven on the right shoulder.”
1974: An explosive prank
When residents of Sitka, Alaska, awoke to see smoke rising from the crater of a long-dormant Mount Edgecumbe, officials scrambled to respond to a possible volcanic eruption. It was an elaborate stunt, three years in the making. Oliver “Porky” Bickar led a group of people who had piled hundreds of tires and greasy rags in the volcano’s crater and set them on fire — and spray-painted “APRIL FOOL” on the snow.
Illustration by Sam Island
1980: A new meaning of hat hair
The official magazine of the British army reported that its guards’ fur helmets needed regular trimming because the bear pelts used were so thick that the hair continued growing. The London Daily Express reprinted the article — perhaps because the prank story promised that the bearskin growth hormone “can be put to use in medical research — especially into baldness.”
1983: Some meta mischief
When an Associated Press reporter asked history professor Joseph Boskin about the origins of April Fools’ Day, the Boston University academic jokingly cited a fictitious King Kugel — the name inspired by a friend’s favorite noodle dish. The next day, the professor was shocked to learn that the reporter had run the King Kugel gag as fact.
1985: A false pitch
Illustration by Sam Island
A pitcher who can hurl a baseball at 168 mph? That’s what writer George Plimpton claimed about a supposed New York Mets prospect in the April 1 issue of Sports Illustrated. “You can hardly see the blur [of the ball] as it goes by,” a batter was quoted in the fake story, “The Curious Case of Sidd Finch.” “As for hitting the thing, frankly, I just don’t think it’s humanly possible.” Fans fell for the gag, which some called the greatest April Fools’ prank in sports history.
2001: A groundbreaking hoax
For earth-shaking impact, few pranksters can beat the British DJs who announced that a replica Titanic would be visible from the chalk cliffs of Beachy Head in East Sussex. Crowds flocked to see the made-up ship, and a large part of the fragile cliffs cracked — then days later, crumbled. Scientists blamed the collapse on weather and erosion, but the crowds couldn’t have helped.
Illustration by Sam Island
Corporate cutups
How companies tease customers on April Fools’ Day:
Burger King’s Whopper
In 1998, Burger King took out a full-page ad in USA Today explaining that southpaws could order a lefty Whopper, with condiments rotated 180 degrees, creating a left-handed taste.
Cottonelle’s side hustle
In 2015, Cottonelle posted: “America has spoken, and we at Cottonelle have listened — Introducing Cottonelle’s new toilet paper for lefties.”
Audi’s sweet deal
In 2019, Audi Australia announced new model B-tron, a vehicle that ran on honey, “a sustainable, naturally acquired fuel harvested from robina flowers in Bavaria.” The car was to include an onboard toaster for sweet morning treats.
McDonald’s gets in a pickle
In 2019, McDonald’s restaurants in Australia announced the McPickle Burger — “juicy, flavoursome pickles layered between melted cheese, ketchup sauce and toasted sesame seed buns.”
Airline leans in to joke
In 2023, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines unveiled “a revolutionary new cabin feature: The Recline Alert System. We’ve developed a sound effect that notifies passengers when the seat in front of them reclines.”
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