Water Discovered on Mars!
On Aril 1, 2005, NASA announced that Water was discovered on Mars. When people click on a link to view the image, this is what they found.
Water On Mars Credit & Copyright: Ellen Roper (GCC)
I have always loved April Fools Day.
When I was about ten years old, I remember my elder sister sneaking out of our shared room and heading into the garage just before dawn to set off the alarm on my father’s motorcycle. Within minutes, my father appeared, stick in hand, to defend his property, swearing hotly and wearing nothing but his boxer shorts. Next to his motorcycle stood my sister, laughing harder than I’d ever seen her laugh. Still, she didn’t get into trouble. Why? Because it was April Fools Day!
I also remember a radio announcer in my town announcing a parade that over five hundred people showed up to watch, but the parade never came. Why? Good old April Fools, the day we are allowed to pull pranks, send people on fool’s errands, and take advantage of the gullible few who forget what fun is all about.
But how did the tradition of April Fools Day begin?
I think the most intriguing explanation of the day’s origin comes from Joseph Boskin, a professor of history at Boston University, who posted an article about the day’s history with the Associated Press in 1983. He explained that the practice began in the reign of Constantine, when the Emperor allowed his favorite jester, Kugel, to be king for a day. Boskin explained that the jester’s role was a very serious one during the time of Constantine, saying, “In those times fools were really wise men. It was the role of jesters to put things in perspective with humor.” Boskin wrote that the “day of switching roles” was so popular, Constantine repeated it the following year and eventually, April Fools became an annual event. Several newspapers picked up this article, and it wasn’t until several weeks later that they discovered that Boskin had made the whole thing up. He had posted the article on April Fool’s Day; the Associated Press had become the victim of an April Fool’s prank themselves.
In truth, most experts don’t seem to agree on the day’s origin. The general consensus seems to indicate that it began as a sort of rite of spring-people blowing off the pent up tensions of winter and celebrating the return of green. Others point to the day’s origin as being a relic of older traditions celebrating the Vernal equinox. Still others suggest that it began with the adoption of the Gregorian calendar, which declared that the New Year would begin on the first of January rather than during the first days of spring. These scholars suggest that stubborn spring worshipers continued to celebrate the New Year each spring, becoming known as April Fools.
I have to admit that my heart goes out to those stubborn spring worshipers because I have come to love a good Celebration of Fools.
Is anything that I’ve written in this blog post true? You never know on April Fools Day.
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