It’s April Fools Day! Over the years, I’ve gotten some pretty good pranks played on me. The most overused one has been the ‘OMG there’s a bug on the ground!’ one, playing off of my immense fear of bugs. But as of late, I’ve been wondering, exactly where did this holiday spring from?

The best assumption that I could gather from the internet is that it may have derived from 16th century France. Back then, the start of the new year was observed on April 1st. In 1562, Pope Gregory introduced a new calendar where the new year began on January 1st.  Some people didn’t hear about or observe the change and were still celebrating the new year on April 1st. People would make fun of them, playing tricks on them, and send them on “fool’s errands”, calling them April fools.

It seems plausible. I wasn’t there to confirm these facts however. 

I know that many of you may participate in the Fool’s Day fun. What are the best/funniest pranks that you’ve pulled, seen pulled, or have had pulled on you?