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Illustration by Mike Padilla
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Arizona Daily Wildcat
Friday, April 1, 2005
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In France, April Fool's Day is called "April Fish." Children paste paper fish on their friends' backs and on discovery of their tricks, they yell out "Poisson d'Avril."
In England, April Fool's Day tricks are carried out only in the morning. Fools are called "gobs" or "gobby," and the victim of a joke is called a "noodle."
In Scotland, the April Fool's celebration continues for two days. The person tricked is called an "April Gowk," which is another name for a cuckoo bird. The second day is called "Taily Day," where pranks are played on the "butt oxen." The origin of the "kick me" sign can be traced to this observance.
In Portugal, April Fool's is celebrated on the Sunday and Monday before Lent. The traditional trick there is to throw flour at one's friends.
Mark Twain once said, "The first of April is the day we remember what we are the other 364 days of the year."
There's a sign in the Harvill building that says, "Please stop putting dead birds in the microwave."
In 1996, the Taco Bell Corporation ran a full-page ad in several major newspapers claiming it had purchased the Liberty Bell and was renaming it the "Taco Liberty Bell."
Today is April Fool's Day. "Idiot" refers to a person of profound mental retardation having a mental age below 3 years and generally being unable to learn connected speech or guard against common dangers. The term, however, is now considered offensive.
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