Transcript
1
April Fools' Day has an unclear origin, but several theories exist.
One idea comes from Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales (1392) in The
Nun’s Priest’s Tale. In the tale, a proud rooster is tricked
by a fox. Chaucer writes that the story happened on the thirty-second
day since the start of March, which could be April first. However, some
scholars believe this was a mistake in copying the text.
Another theory
suggests April Fools' Day started in France. In the Middle Ages, New Year's was
celebrated in late March, ending on the first of April. Later, when France
officially moved New Year’s Day to January 1 in 1564, people who still followed
the old date were mocked, which may have been the start of April Fools’
traditions. (127 words)
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Transcript
2
In Britain in
1686, the day was called "Fooles holy day". People were tricked into
visiting the Tower of London to watch the "washing of the lions.”
There was no such event, but many fell for the joke and showed up
at the Tower expecting to see lions being bathed.
Some also link
the tradition to Noah’s Ark, saying Noah mistakenly sent out a dove
too early on April one, inspiring later pranks.
One of the most
famous modern April Fools’ Day pranks was Google's "Google Nose"
hoax in 2013. Google announced a new feature called Google Nose, claiming
it allowed users to search for smells online. The fake feature supposedly
let people sniff their screens to experience different scents, from
flowers to wet dogs. The prank was convincing because Google is known
for innovative technology. Many people were fooled, and the joke spread
widely online before they realized it was fake. (152 words)
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