April Fools’ Day
April 1
According to SoftSchools.com, when New Year’s Day was changed from April 1st to January 1st in the 16th century in France some people refused to accept the change. They were often referred to as April fools. The book The Canterbury Tales, written in 1392 by Geoffrey Chaucer, associated April 1st with foolishness. April Fools’ Day in Scotland is called Huntigowk Day. In Scots the word gowk means a cuckoo or foolish individual. Since 1986 there have been press releases issued to announce the April Fools’ Day Parade in New York City. No such parade exists. In the 1950s the BBC ran a news story about a spaghetti harvest that took place in Switzerland resulting in many requests for spaghetti trees by viewers.
National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day
April 1
The first written reference to a peanut butter and jelly sandwich was in 1901 from the Boston Cooking School Magazine. PP&J was a staple to feed military in WWII and when the soldiers got home the popularity of the sandwich skyrocketed. The average American will eat 1,500 PB&Js before they turn 18. It takes one acre of peanuts to make 30,000 peanut butter sandwiches. Peanuts aren’t nuts. They’re legumes. So, it’s technically inaccurate to call it a nut butter, but it’s usually referred to one anyway. There’s a jar of peanut butter in 75 percent of the homes in America.
Today’s Birthdays of Note….
Debbie Reynolds – Singer & Actress – born in El Paso, Texas
Rachel Maddow – News Commentator – born in Castro Valley, California
