Wikipedia:April Fools' Main Page/On This Day

Please use this page for discussions surrounding the maintenance of "On This Day" items for April Fool's day

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Areas of work needed to complete the front page are:

• Wikipedia:April Fool's Main Page/Featured Article
• Wikipedia:April Fool's Main Page/Today's Featured Picture
• Wikipedia:April Fool's Main Page/On This Day
• Wikipedia:April Fool's Main Page/In The News
• Wikipedia:April Fool's Main Page/Did You Know

Ground rules for this activity along with a list or participants may be found on the Main talk page.

Selected anniversaries for the "On this day" section of the Main Page

Please read the selected anniversaries guidelines before editing this box.

April 1: April Fools' Day; Iranian Islamic Republic Day (1979) Richard Plantagenet Campbell Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 3rd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos 1871 – The Duke of Buckingham (pictured) opened the first section of the Brill Tramway, a short railway line to transport goods between his lands and the national rail network. 1952 – Israel enacted a citizenship law, prior to which the country technically had no citizens. 1969 – The Hawker Siddeley Harrier, the first operational fighter aircraft with V/STOL capabilities, entered service with the Royal Air Force. 2001 – Same-sex marriage in the Netherlands was legalised, with the country becoming the first to do so. Aimery of Cyprus (d. 1205) Sophie Germain (b. 1776) Shivakumara Swami (b. 1907) Scott Joplin (d. 1917) More anniversaries: March 31 April 1 April 2

The Mission

This section should focus on unusual, but factual events occurring on 1 April, mostly April Fool's jokes played by other people. This would serve the dual purpose of providing fact and reminding the reader that this is April Fool's Day, which may further convince them that the Wikipedia is presenting "joke facts". Selected anniversaries can include anything that happened as described in April Fool's Day#Well-known hoaxes.

I like the idea of listing notable jokes played by other people but it means that genuinely notable events such as the end of the Spanish Civil War or Iran overthrowing the Shah will never feature in On this day. I'm unsure of the best way round this. --Cherry blossom tree 00:45, 14 January 2007 (UTC)

How many notable April 1 events are there? I agree that this is a prime case, along with the 'In the News' section, for having a 'serious' section linked from a humorous one. Maybe just have April Fool's Day main page every two years, and take a rest after this year, which I believe will be three years running? Carcharoth 23:48, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

Notable real events can appear if they are expressed whimsically, as with the foundation of the RAF above. Certes (talk) 23:13, 29 March 2009 (UTC)

Action Items

1. What bizarre things can we think of that happened on April 1st - preferably things that aren't April Fool's day related.
2. Again, someone has to take the action to get these through whatever committee deals with this stuff.

Candidates

• 1318 - Scots capture a small town from the English again. English march to get it back again.
• 1789 - In New York City, the United States House of Representatives holds its first quorum and elects Frederick Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania as its first House Speaker.
• 1924 - Adolf Hitler jailed for trying to start a revolution in a beer hall
• 1974 - Berkshire gives a 374-foot horse to Oxfordshire
• 1944 - bombing Switzerland? (Maybe a bit too serious.)
• ???? - Battle of the Five Forks (surely there's something in that name).
  • 1865 - General Pickett ordered to hold Five Forks, loses 2,950.
• 1976 - Apple Computer founded (can we find out any improbable facts about this)?
• 527 - Justinian I becomes emperor (seems to have been among the least comic of Byzantine emperors).
  • 527 - Justinian the Great becomes emperor, a plague is later named in his honor.
• 1957 - The BBC recommends that radio listeners place a sprig of spaghetti in a can of tomato sauce and hope for the best.[1]
• 1980 - Opening of Britain's first nudist beach in Brighton.
• 1918 - RAF founded
• 1939 - Generalísimo Francisco Franco of the Spanish State announced the end of the Spanish Civil War, when the last of the Republican forces surrendered.
• 1974 - Iran declares itself to be an Islamic Republic.
• 1973 - Britain introduces VAT (Value Added Tax) to replace Purchase Tax and SET.
• 1965 - Britain announces the formation of Greater London - comprising the City of London and 32 Metropolitan Authorities.
• 1960 - United States launches its first weather satellite.
• 1958 - First Aldermaston march for nuclear disarmament in Britain.
• 1945 - World War II: Operation Iceberg - United States troops land on Okinawa in the last campaign of the war.
• 1948 - The blockade of Berlin begins with Soviet troops enforcing road and rail blocks between Berlin and the Allied Zone in West Germany. The Allies mount a massive airlift to keep West Berlin supplied.
• 1947 - School leaving age in Britain raised to 15.
• 1947 - Britain nationalises the Electricity Industry.
• 1945 - World War II: American forces invade the island of Okinawa in the Pacific Ocean.
• 1935 - Britain introduces Green Belt legislation to stop indiscriminate building on many areas of the countryside. (Maybe there is scope here: "Britain passes law requiring Green belts.")
• 1938 - The term "boner" was created by Franklin Delano Roosevelt during a chess game with the current king of Iceland.
• 1924 - The first gramophone to change records automatically goes on sale.
• 1877 - Eddison announces invention of microphone
• 1816 - Jane Austen writes: "I could no more write a romance than an epic poem. I could not sit seriously down to write a serious romance under any other motive than to save my life; and if it were indispensable for me to keep it up and never relax into laughing at myself or other people, I am sure I should be hung before I had finished the first chapter."
• 1970 - the Gremlin is introduced to the American market.
• 1979 - Iran's government becomes an Islamic Republic by a 98% vote, overthrowing the Shah officially.
• 1997 - the Comic strip switcheroo sees 46 syndicated artists swap strips for the day

Comments

(Comments that contained suggestions moved to suggestions list above)

that's a good start. but i think something like "1970: Gremlin turned loose, charges through American market" would be better. with this new sentence structuring, the status of gremlin is now vague and [i]seems[/i] monster like, while not saying anything untrue about the event. just plain ol' American hype. ;) —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Bierleka (talk • contribs) 11:21, 12 January 2007 (UTC).

How about looking up the total number of traffic fatalities involving the Gremlin, and saying "Gremlin released into American market. Death toll later estimated at over 50,000 (or however many)."--Joel 22:56, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

• 1981 - In Soviet Russia, clock changes YOU! —Dgies^t c 02:58, 23 January 2007 (UTC)

(Uncylopedia has other material to develop a Russian reversal theme.) Certes (talk) 23:08, 29 March 2009 (UTC)

• 2004 - Google offers users a then-unheard-of one billion bytes of spam storage. —Dgies^t c 16:15, 23 January 2007 (UTC)

• 1967 - The United States Department of Transportation begins operation. D-Caf 23:46, 23 January 2007 (UTC)

• On 1 April 1934, the UCI published a new definition of a racing bicycle that specified how high the bottom bracket could be above the ground, how far it could be in front of the seat and how close it could be to the front wheel. The new definition effectively banned recumbents from UCI events and guaranteed that upright bicycles would not have to compete against recumbents. For all intents and purposes, the ban is still in effect. See Recumbent bicycle. --Missmarple 18:08, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

• 1976 - Apple Computer founded (can we find out any improbable facts about this)?
  • Couldn't you just say, "1976 - the apple was created?" Still truthful, yet with a twist. Jauerback^dude?/_dude. 15:40, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Cue puns about how many bytes were in its core, windfalls for the founders, etc., not forgetting the McIntosh (apple). Certes (talk) 23:08, 29 March 2009 (UTC)

Short-list?

Well, time is getting short. We need at least five good ones. So far, the most likely appear to be:

• 527 - Justinian the Great becomes emperor, a plague is later named in his honor.
• 1924 - Adolf Hitler jailed for trying to start a revolution in a beer hall
• 1957 - The BBC recommends that radio listeners place a sprig of spaghetti in a can of tomato sauce and hope for the best.
• 1970 - Gremlins are introduced into America.
• 1974 - Berkshire gives a 374-foot horse to Oxfordshire
• 1980 - Opening of Britain's first nudist beach in Brighton. (If we wrote it as: "Nudism is encouraged on Brighton beach" might surprise Americans because they are thinking of the wrong "Brighton beach").
• 1997 - The Comic strip switcheroo

I think we need a creative way to re-state these so that they sound incredible - but this seems to a good start.

If it matters, I particularly liked the Five Forks one. --Islomaniac 973 23:06, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

I don't like the Hitler one, I find it too lighthearted for such a despicable being. Any jokes made about him must be downright vitriolic. — Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 00:32, 5 March 2009 (UTC)

Calling it "Brighton beach" (and not mentioning Britain) would be better then, since even more people would be fooled. — Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 00:34, 5 March 2009 (UTC)

Report on the news

e.g., "2005 - BBC News reports Zombie attacks in Cambodia." The old Daily Show trick, inverted: Real news is fake news, and fake news is real history.--Joel 22:51, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Actual Date

I think that, instead of saying it's April 1, we should say March 32, or November 152 etc. While this is not untrue, it is an April Fool's-y thing to do. Bensmith53 00:30, 25 February 2007 (UTC)

March 32 is the only possibility, as otherwise the presence/absence of February 29 screws things up as far as events that happened on leap years are concerned. --ais523 15:36, 12 March 2007 (UTC)

2007 is not affected unless we go for September One thousand and whatever. So Nov 152 could work.Bensmith53 10:01, 13 March 2007 (UTC)

Some late entries

• 2002 Tesco announces the impending release of "whistling carrots".
• 1977 The Guardian celebrates the 10th anniversary of Sans Seriffe, a small republic made up of "several semi-colon shaped islands in the Indian Ocean". (FYI the largest island was Upper Caisse and the smallest was Lower Caisse)
• 1986 The Parisien reports the dismantling if the Eiffel Tower.
• 1965 The BBC announces the release of their experimental technology allowing smells to be transmitted over the airwaves. (FYI several dim-witted listeners called in to say that they could smell some of the smells)
• 1919 Piles of horse manure are found in Venice's Piazza Sam Marco. Horses that can swim are blamed, as the Piazza is surrounded entriely by canals. (It was actually Horace de Vere Cole who hired gondoliers to dump (pardon the pun) the manure in the Piazza.

All of these come from Sandra Hall's On This Day (2005, New Holland) Bensmith53 00:43, 25 February 2007 (UTC)

Can you find articles for any of these events? —Dgies^t c 22:53, 1 March 2007 (UTC)

We could easily add sections to the relevant articles if we can't make full articles (i.e. Tesco for the first one, the Guardian for the second etc.)Bensmith53 06:38, 2 March 2007 (UTC)

• 2002: The Netherlands, on the anniversary of the recognition of a new form of marriage, legalizes euthanasia.

Spikebrennan (talk) 16:15, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Misdirection in chronicling hoaxes

It is my opinion that we should be a bit deliberately misleading in wording the past hoaxes by others. Specifically, it shouldn't be too obvious that we're reporting on a press hoax in the blurb — thus it's best to avoid items that can only be worded as a third-party "BBC reports that..." For example, the BBC introducing smell-o-vision is something the BBC is actually doing itself, so it's more believable. For the holiday, we might have Independence Day in San Serrife — avoiding reference to The Guardian.--Pharos 21:14, 13 March 2007 (UTC)

My recent changes so far

So far, I added Berwick-upon-Tweed and Serious Organised Crime Agency because of their unusual names, along with Independence Day in San Serriffe, to the template. I also put on Richard M. Nixon signing the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act banning cigarette TV and radio ads -- just so Nixon's image can be on there (for various reasons). The problem is that Justinian I is already on April 7 and the Beer Hall Putsch was featured on November 8. Zzyzx11 (Talk) 02:26, 29 March 2007 (UTC)

2008

My aim for 2008 and beyond is to try to get more ambiguous and abstract so we can include different events. So I am going to try things that sound unusual like:

• 1970 – The first of over 670,000 Gremlins were released into North America over a nine year period.

Zzyzx11 (Talk) 07:55, 12 March 2008 (UTC)

2009

So where does 09's suggestions start? I found this via three hours of random clicking: 1918 - The RAF gets some Police help --293.xx.xxx.xx (talk) 06:29, 28 April 2008 (UTC)

• 1293– Robert Winchelsey left England for Rome to be consecrated by the Pope, only to find that there was none.

What I like about this is that it includes a couple of GAs. I can provide the ref for the date. Lampman (talk) 22:43, 9 February 2009 (UTC)

That is great. Kevin Rutherford (talk) 23:02, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

• 2008–Virgle, a parnership between Google and Virgin Group was announced with plans to colonize Mars." Kevin Rutherford (talk) 23:02, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

IMO, it is more fun to list legitimate events in creative ways rather than list actual April Fools jokes like Spaghetti tree, Comic strip switcheroo, and Virgle. Zzyzx11 (Talk) 17:18, 15 March 2009 (UTC)

• 1572–The Dutch city of Brielle achieved victory over Spain, though the Treaty of Nonsuch soon moved it to England. Certes (talk) 23:30, 16 March 2009 (UTC)

Is it possible to work in the phrase "Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba lost his glasses"? Zzyzx11 (Talk) 04:18, 17 March 2009 (UTC)

Of course, and the capture was made by sea beggars. Certes (talk) 22:59, 17 March 2009 (UTC)

• 1977–Richard George William Pitt Booth declared Hay-on-Wye independent from the UK. The town of 1,900 has two Norman castles and over 30 bookshops, and is twinned with Timbuktu. Certes (talk) 23:13, 17 March 2009 (UTC)

Reading this BBC link, it sounds more like it was an actual April Fools joke to gain publicity. Again, I would rather list legitimate events in creative ways rather than list actual April Fools jokes like Spaghetti tree, Comic strip switcheroo, and Virgle. Cheers. Zzyzx11 (Talk) 03:08, 18 March 2009 (UTC)

A rerun from last year: 2002 – Exactly one year after recognizing a new form of marriage, the Netherlands legalized euthanasia. Spikebrennan (talk) 17:40, 27 March 2009 (UTC)

Some others

Just thought I'd provide a few items I found under 1 April 2008 at RTÉ. --candle•wicke 20:30, 28 March 2009 (UTC)

• 2008: Finland's foreign minister is sacked after engaging in textual contact with the leader of the Scandinavian Dolls erotic dance troupe. Surely too good to be true but maybe someone from the area might know about it?

• 2008: Thousands of travellers are reunited with their belongings in London.

• 2008: A report states that gastroenteritis costs one island €135 million annually.

• 2008: A fresh outbreak of cryptosporidium wreaks havoc in County Galway,Ireland.

This is not Wikinews or ITN. Suggestions should still follow the OTD guidelines, like the ones posted above: The event should have some sort of historical significance. And there should be a selected article (bolded item), which needs to be updated to clearly state the event or day of the observance and the exact day it occurred. Cheers. Zzyzx11 (Talk) 00:09, 29 March 2009 (UTC)

Ah right. Oh well. Back to ITN I go. --candle•wicke 15:50, 29 March 2009 (UTC)

2010

To start the suggestions with Godwin's Law:

• 1924 - Adolf Hitler was sent to prison for treason. --A More Perfect Onion (talk) 15:32, 6 April 2009 (UTC)

That's not overly funny. I think that needs a better rewording if it wants to get off the ground. Kevin Rutherford (talk) 00:06, 27 August 2009 (UTC)

Alternate suggestion:

1924 - Adolf Hitler was placed in a cage --TitanOne (talk) 13:12, 19 March 2010 (UTC)

Currently, the Beer Hall Putsch article seems to not specify the April 1 date, if it ever did. Zzyzx11 (talk) 02:20, 30 March 2010 (UTC)

From a discussion on AF-DYK:

• 2000 - The first annual Edible Book Day is held. --A More Perfect Onion (talk) 15:44, 18 March 2010 (UTC)

Added to the holidays list. Zzyzx11 (talk) 02:20, 30 March 2010 (UTC)

The article is not tagged with "On this day" template on the talk. --Redtigerxyz ^Talk 12:05, 1 April 2010 (UTC)

Chewing gum and baking powder:

• 1891 - Wrigley Jr. opens a company, packaging chewing gum with each can of baking powder. --TitanOne (talk) 13:12, 19 March 2010 (UTC)

Article is currently tagged with {{refimprove}}, which makes it ineligible under normal OTD conditions. Zzyzx11 (talk) 02:20, 30 March 2010 (UTC)

Hale-Bopp, MMMBop, dubdopbop dubop doo..

Comet Hale-Bopp

• 1997 - Hale-Bopp was seen at its brightest in the sky, 15 days before MMMBop came out. --TitanOne (talk) 13:12, 19 March 2010 (UTC)

Maybe it's me, but I'm not a big fan of that joke. I think I'll just leave it as that. Zzyzx11 (talk) 02:20, 30 March 2010 (UTC)

Russian travels through

1981 - Russians move back time --TitanOne (talk) 13:27, 19 March 2010 (UTC)

Yo Bro

2001 - Dutch Bromance was given the option to legalize --TitanOne (talk) 13:45, 19 March 2010 (UTC)

I'm hesitant on that one because "Bromance" is not really a corresponding synonym to "same-sex relationship". A bromance is a non-sexual relationship, where a same-sex relationship may be. And at the same time, a bromance may involve a relationship between heterosexuals too.

1945 - An Iceberg also known as "Steel Rain" hits Okinawa. Orville Eastland (talk) 04:22, 29 March 2010 (UTC)

Battle of Okinawa#Civilian losses is currently tagged with {{POV}}, , which makes it ineligible under normal OTD conditions. Zzyzx11 (talk) 02:20, 30 March 2010 (UTC)

1234 - An Englishman lost the Battle of the Curragh in Ireland, at the same place where an Australian would lose the 1297 Battle of Stirling Bridge in Scotland more than 700 years later.

I know this is late, but I think it's good. The original battle is real, I just created the article. The point here is that the location was used to film the battle scene in Braveheart. Lampman (talk) 23:56, 31 March 2010 (UTC)

2011

1998: The World Wide Web Consortium deprecates the Font tag, resulting in a world-wide shortage of HTML.Jarhed (talk) 00:37, 24 July 2010 (UTC)

1995: The World Wide Web Consortium proposes HTML 3.0 and the Arena web browser, starting the Browser wars and leading to many alternative implementations.Jarhed (talk) 00:58, 24 July 2010 (UTC)

As stated above, we should only feature "factual events occurring on 1 April". What article does it specifically say that the W3C deprecated the font tag on April 1? Which page does it mention that they released their proposals for HTML 3.0 and Arena on April 1? Thanks. Zzyzx11 (talk) 18:10, 24 July 2010 (UTC)

Both happened in April, date not specified, otherwise factual, have a great day!Jarhed (talk) 19:06, 24 July 2010 (UTC)

• Another article: Convention of 1833. Any takers on a suggestion for this one? Zzyzx11 (talk) 04:21, 4 August 2010 (UTC)

• And another to "translate":

English cricketer Wally Hammond set a record for the highest individual Test innings of 336 not out, during a Test match against New Zealand. Zzyzx11 (talk) 06:35, 5 August 2010 (UTC)

1933: Wally is found in the sports stadium, right in front of the cricket stumps -- 575Revolve Number and Word 14:32, 13 February 2011 (UTC)

Nice. How about Wally is found in (whichever ground it was) having run 336 times, more than anyone else in recorded history or something to that effect—that way we actually get the notable event in. 86.6.193.43 (talk) 22:02, 16 February 2011 (UTC)

• United Kingdom corporation tax, enacted on 1965. Zzyzx11 (talk) 06:59, 5 August 2010 (UTC)

• 1871: opening of the Brill Tramway Zzyzx11 (talk) 04:33, 12 August 2010 (UTC)

The Metropolitan line of the London Underground is extended into rural Oxfordshire—okay, so it's very anachronistic and if you don't know your English geography that well it's probably not that arresting, but it's a start... 86.6.193.43 (talk) 22:06, 16 February 2011 (UTC)

A Few suggestions....

• 1854 - Hard Times begins in England.
• 1949 - Something about Canada Freeing the Japanese.
• 1976 - A noticeable short-term reduction in gravity on Earth was reported due to the Jovian-Plutonian gravitational effect.

--Found5dollar (talk) 17:23, 20 February 2011 (UTC)

Don't think the Jovian-Plutonian gravitational effect should be done as that was an April Fool's hoax in the first place, but how about: 1854 - England is at the forefront of some hard times.-- 575Revolve 13:19, 27 March 2011 (UTC)