{"id":1629,"date":"2013-04-01T09:00:09","date_gmt":"2013-04-01T14:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/?p=1629"},"modified":"2013-03-13T15:25:10","modified_gmt":"2013-03-13T20:25:10","slug":"if-every-fool-wore-a-crown-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=1629","title":{"rendered":"If Every Fool Wore a Crown…"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"April\"<\/a>The Bible says it\u2019s better for a man to meet a bear robbed of her cubs rather than a fool in his folly (Proverbs 17:12).\u00a0 Yet we are a little foolish at times.\u00a0 Maybe that\u2019s why the Welsh Proverb says, \u201cIf every fool wore a crown, we should all be kings.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 At no time is that more evident than on April Fool\u2019s Day (April 1st<\/sup>).\u00a0 It seems to bring out the \u201cfolly\u201d in everyone.\u00a0 In addition to people trying to outdo themselves with tricks and jokes, around that time people will believe just about anything.<\/p>\n

The origin of April Fool\u2019s Day is hazy at best.\u00a0 Lots of ancient festivals such as the Roman Saturnalia, the Indian Holi, the Festus Fatuorum (Feast of Fools), and a Celtic festival honoring Lud, the god of humor, involved games, tricks, and jokes.\u00a0 The most popular theory about April Fool\u2019s Day links back to France and the Gregorian Calendar.<\/p>\n

The New Year used to be an eight day celebration culminating on April 1st<\/sup>.\u00a0 The papacy adopted the Gregorian Calendar in 1582 which moved New Year\u2019s Day to January 1st.\u00a0 News traveled slowly in those days, so some continued to celebrate the New Year on April 1st<\/sup>.\u00a0 Still others refused to accept this new calendar and were considered \u201cfools\u201d by everyone else.\u00a0 They were made the brunt of jokes like having paper fish stuck to their backs without their knowledge called Poisson d\u2019Avril (April Fish) and sent on \u201cfool\u2019s\u201d errands.<\/p>\n

Not to be outdone by France, these prank playing traditions spread to England, Scotland and America.\u00a0 In Scotland they call it \u201cTaily Day\u201d and it is devoted strictly to pranks for the posterior of the body.\u00a0 Thus we can trace the \u201ckick-me\u201d sign back to this origin.\u00a0 No foolin\u2019!\u00a0 I\u2019m not making this up.<\/p>\n

In modern times we celebrate by using fake vomit, fake dog-poo, whoopee cushions, exploding pens, and since we love to carry on traditions\u2026putting \u201ckick-me\u201d signs on unsuspecting bystanders.\u00a0\u00a0 We are a foolish bunch, aren\u2019t we?<\/p>\n

April Fool\u2019s Day is also the perfect time for hoaxes.\u00a0 It\u2019s difficult to tell truth from fiction these days so here are some classic April Fool\u2019s jokes played on the public.\u00a0 For more, check out the Museum of Hoaxes website.<\/a><\/p>\n

In 1980 the BBC announced that Big Ben would become digital to keep up with the times. \u00a0It received a huge protest from listeners.<\/p>\n

In 1994 an alcoholic beverage company reported it had invented a new kind of candy\u2026the chewy Vodka Bar.\u00a0 These delicacies were designed to compete with Snickers and Mars Bars.\u00a0 They came in three flavors:\u00a0 coconut, lemon, and salted cucumber.\u00a0 They were also working on the vodka instant tea bag.<\/p>\n

In 1996, Taco Bell announced that it bought the Liberty Bell and it would be renamed the Taco Liberty Bell.\u00a0 Outraged citizens called Philadelphia in protest.\u00a0 Taco Bell admitted it was a joke a few hours later.\u00a0 Mike McCurry, White House press secretary, was asked about the incident and he said the Lincoln Memorial had been sold also, but to a different company.\u00a0 It would now be called the Ford Lincoln Mercury Memorial.<\/p>\n

In 1998 Burger King placed a full page ad in USA today introducing the \u201cLeft-Handed Whopper.\u201d\u00a0 It would have the same ingredients as a regular Whopper but condiments would be rotated a bit for the benefit of the left handed eater.\u00a0 It was a hoax but many showed up at local Burger Kings for the new Whopper and others requested the \u201cRight-Handed\u201d version.<\/p>\n

In 2000, a newspaper ran an article stating Florida researchers had come up with a Viagra type pill for sexually frustrated pets.\u00a0 It sounds believable to me.\u00a0 After all, people pay good money to take their dog to a psychiatrist.<\/p>\n

Hey, we\u2019ve all fallen for jokes now and then.\u00a0 Just look at our politicians.\u00a0 Like Will Rogers said, \u201cThe trouble with practical jokes is that very often they get elected.\u201d\"Kick<\/a><\/p>\n

I guess the real lesson of April Fool\u2019s Day is to practice not believing anything we hear or read and only half of what we see \u2013 that and not getting close enough to anyone who can put a \u201ckick-me\u201d sign on your back.<\/p>\n

And with that I will say, \u201cHappy April!\u201d<\/p>\n

BTW\u2026your shoe is untied.\u00a0 Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Bible says it\u2019s better for a man to meet a bear robbed of her cubs rather than a fool in his folly (Proverbs 17:12).\u00a0 Yet we are a little foolish at times.\u00a0 Maybe that\u2019s why the Welsh Proverb says, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1629"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1629"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1629\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}