Many things happen on the first day of the month. Rent is due or mortgage payments made. New diets are started. A fresh month begins that is full of possibilities.
But for one month the day is rather unique since the first of April brings with it April Fools', a day long associated with hoaxes and practical jokes. Yet it's a day that occupies the same amount of time and space on the clock and calendar as any other, and as such is filled with all kinds of historical events.
It was on April 1, 705 that Pope John VII was chosen. April 1, 1752 a New Orleans businessman created the '$' symbol. April 1, 1889 saw the first dishwashing machine marketed. 1924 the Royal Canadian Air Force formed on April 1 and in 1999 the territory of Nunavut was created. There’s more.
The first weather satellite was launched on the day in 1960. In 1976 Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs proved founding Apple Computer was no joke, and Google chose the day in 2004 to launch Gmail—enduring some skepticism as a result.
While there are multiple origin stories, it could be April Fools' Day dates back to the time when a switch was made from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar. Those who were behind in getting the news, and therefore celebrated the new year much later, were called April fools and became the object of jokes and hoaxes. The freedom to have some fun on the day has endured—to greater and lesser degrees of success.
Some pranks have been talked about for decades due to how cunning they were in fooling the masses. A Sports Illustrated story that claimed they found a pitcher who could throw a fastball 168 miles per hour drew a lot of attention. Then there was the one that caused a huge reaction when Taco Bell announced it had purchased the Liberty Bell and intended to rename it the Taco Liberty Bell. Perhaps you remember the announcement of Burger King's specially designed Whopper for left-handed customers. Orders flooded in.
But some jokes go very, very wrong. In Kansas City, DJ's warned listeners their water supply contained high levels of dihydrogen monoxide and people should watch for side effects including sweating, urination and skin-pruning. Hundreds of citizens called the water department and police for help. But dihydrogen monoxide is the chemical name for...water. The prank received widespread criticism and when it was repeated a decade later in another state two people lost their jobs. In Ohio an employee thought it would be fun to prank her boss and tell him the store was 小蓝视频 robbed at gun-point. The boss immediately called the police. It wasn't quite so funny when four patrol cars rolled up and subsequently arrested her for inducing panic.
Then there was the gaffe by Google who added a "mic drop" button to its email options. When you clicked on it, replies were disabled, completely shutting down the conversation—the ultimate mic drop. The problem is the button was located next to 'send' and many users were horrified to discover they had accidentally pulled a mic drop move on bosses, customers, spouses, friends and family. The button was disabled but the damage had been done. One person lost their job over that one.
Apparently using the metric system in Canada for forecasting weather was brought in on April 1. Whose idea was that? Given the potential for suspicion, it might be best for governments, corporations and companies to hold off on any big announcements on April 1.
Then again, given the nature of what we are hearing, seeing and reading from those very agencies and organizations on a daily basis, it's hard to know what is exaggeration, fabrication, joke, sarcasm or deliberate attempt to mislead. It's getting increasingly difficult to separate fact from fiction; honesty from hyperbole; good guys from those lacking in character. Such a sad state of affairs. And it's making every day feel like April Fool's Day.
But the cost is high. Trust is further 小蓝视频 eroded and the ability to discern what is real is a task fewer and fewer are willing to undertake. Manipulation, propaganda and outrage have become the order of the day and this isn’t helpful for anyone.
There is a day on the calendar called Common Sense Day. It follows seven months after April Fool’s, falling on November 4. Symbolic though it may be, we know we can’t wait that long. We can have our fun on April 1 but we quickly need to ensure common sense follows soon after. And then every day that follows. It’s our only option. That’s my outlook.
