April Fools' Day 2014 'fun facts' - prank friends with crazy & interesting trivia!

April Fools! Celebrate the pranktastic holiday this year with these fun facts and trivia! Happy April Fools' Day from Mstars!

-  The first-ever recorded April Fools' Day reference was in Geoffrey Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" [1392]. 

- The holiday's origin still remains a mystery, but some people believe it began with a calendar change in the 16th century. This is when Pope Gregory XIII adopted the Gregorian calendar, and New Year's Day was moved from April 1 to January 1. 

- Back in the day, pranks had to be accomplished in the morning. Pranking people during the afternoon and evening in most English-speaking countries was once frowned upon.

- Here's a hilariously infamous prank - back in 1996, Taco Bell announced that it was purchasing the Liberty Bell to help with the national debt. It would be renamed the Taco Liberty Bell. Ha.

- A recent survey suggests that 32% of workers fell victim to a workplace April Fools' Day prank. 

- Mark Twain once said this about April Fools: "This is the day upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other three hundred and sixty-four" ("Pudd'nhead Wilson," 1894).

- A "Top 100 April Fools' Day Hoaxes of All Time" list actually exists on MuseumOfHoaxes.com.

- Another origin theory - the ancient Romans' Festival of Hilaria (ot Roman Laughing Day, the "day of jokes"). In Ancient Rome, the Festival of Hilaria was held to celebrate the vernal equinox and honor the Anatolian Earth Goddess.