A Little Laugh Turneth Away Wrath, Commentary, humour

Happy All Fool’s Day

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April Fool’s Day or as it is known in some places, All Fool’s Day, has a long history of silliness, absurdity, and yes, foolishness.

Its start is lost to time, but it’s been around since at least 1561 when Flemish poet Eduard de Dene recorded sending his servant on a number of “foolish errands” on April 1.

An April Fools’ Day prank marking the construction of the Copenhagen Metro in 2001.

Down through the centuries, people have enjoyed accomplishing all sorts of pranks, from the simple to the elaborate and everything in between.

The above is a photo of a ticket to the “washing of the lions” at the Tower of London in 1857! There hadn’t been any lions at the Tower since 1835, but this “annual ceremony” apparently appealed to a large number of people who showed up to get their legs pulled.

I don’t have much of an imagination for pranking but over the years I’ve certainly enjoyed being a spectator – and sometimes I’ve been the prankee, also a lot of fun.

I hope you have an excellent day to enjoy all the silly foolishness! 😊

26 thoughts on “Happy All Fool’s Day”

    1. Thanks, Allan. Wouldn’t that be great? Do you remember the Stealers Wheels song Stuck in the Middle with You? “Clowns to the left of me/Jokers to the right;” it kind of describes our geographical position except that the clowns and jokers have nuclear weapons instead of a big red nose and some plastic teeth. Ugh.

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  10. Ha, the washing of the lions ticket gave me a good laugh. No foolishness for us this year, except if you count the whole liberation day tariffs. Oh wait, that’s on April 2. Hmmm. And if only it was a joke.

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    1. Hi Linda, I thought that was pretty funny, too! I can’t even imagine where you would begin in order to try to wash a lion! Yes, and we have liberation day or as Doug Ford calls it, lay-off day arriving tomorrow. For sure, if only it was a joke.

      On a happier note, I hope you’re enjoying your holiday!

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      1. It’s hard to believe that we’ve already been here for nearly a week. It’s been very rainy the past couple of days but we’ve managed to get in a couple of hikes between the torrential downpours. The scenery here is beautiful rain or shine.

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        1. That sounds so wonderful, Linda. I think NZ has just headed into autumn, yes? You’re going to get the best of both worlds; autumn there and late spring here when you return. How great! I hope you enjoy every moment, rain or shine.

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          1. That’s right. It’s fall in NZ. The days are still warm though and there are way less tourists around. But maybe part of that is because of all the rain these past few days! The weather is looking much more promising today!

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  11. There was a famous April 1st prank in England in the 1950s where the BBC managed to convince plenty of people that spaghetti was grown on trees. 😀

    But regarding the lions, strange as it may sound there were in fact big cats (and many other wild creatures, including elephants and a polar bear) at the Tower for centuries, beginning in the 1200s. It was basically a royal menagerie, alongside its more famous functions as prison and execution site. The last animals were finally rehomed to London Zoo in the 1830s.

    But nobody ever went washing the lions, as far as I’m aware. Well, they wouldn’t have done it twice, anyway…

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    1. Yes, I remember seeing that on tv somewhere many years ago. Quite funny and an excellent prank but also shows how gullible we can be.

      I looked up the Tower for resident lions and saw that there were lots of other species up until 1835 but somehow missed that there were lions as well, so thanks for the correction. Lions make sense of course given that they have long been symbolic of monarchy. Agreed! Washing them would be a neat trick, that’s if one could survive it … 😉

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