April Fool's Day

This is a really nice story about Fool`s Day.

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The Madmen of Gotham - Is This Really Where It Started?

British folklore links April Fool's Day to the town of Gotham, the legendary 'town of fools' located in Nottinghamshire [Gotham is a town between Leicester and Nottingham] in the UK.

According to legend, it was traditional in the 13th century for any road that the King placed his foot upon to become public property. So when the citizens of Gotham heard that King John [1166-1216] planned to travel through their town, they refused him entry, not wishing to lose their main road.

When the King heard this, he sent soldiers to the town. But when the soldiers arrived in Gotham, they found the town full of lunatics engaged in foolish activities such as drowning fish or attempting to cage birds in roofless fences.

Their foolery was all an act to make the King believe they were insane. The King fell for the ruse and declared the town too foolish to warrant punishment. Ever since then, according to legend, April Fool's Day has commemorated their trickery. 

Teacher Elena Iorga