Have you ever been the last person to learn about a change at the office or the newest neighborhood gossip? Yeah, us too.

Imagine this: It’s 1582 in France, and the calendar has undergone a controversial switch from Julian to Gregorian, which moved the start of the new year from April 1st to January 1st.

Many folks didn’t get wind of the news (the internet was still a ways away) or disagreed with it and ignored the change. These two groups of people became known as the “April Fools”, and were subject to pranks and ridicule.

While the story is not confirmed, it’s as good an explanation as any as to why we mercilessly play pranks on each other on April 1st.

It really started to catch on with the dawn of radio and television, allowing pranks to reach new heights of publicity.

One of the earliest examples was in 1957, when the BBC ran a report on farmers harvesting spaghetti noodles (watch the clip here).

In 1996, Taco Bell announced that it was buying Philadelphia’s Liberty Bell with the intent to rename it “Taco Liberty Bell” (you can catch a clip about that here).

Before the internet, the pranks pulled were usually very targeted, like shaking up a can of soda before your family member gets to it or leaving a whoopie cushion under their seat in anticipation of that hilarious moment where they finally sit down.

Now in our social media-driven world, we’ve come to expect news articles and posts from our friends that are entirely fabricated, with our newsfeeds overrun with fake news and announcements. Everything from pregnancy announcements to new and insane product launches, nothing is off the table in this free-for-all.

We’ve all been trained through years of exposure to not take anything seriously on or around April 1st for this reason! It’s usually a good idea to wait until after April Fool’s Day to make any big announcements, especially if they might be dismissed as outlandish.

We don’t play pranks when it comes to your finances, even though we have a sense of humor. With me on your side, you’ll be safeguarded against the financial market making a fool out of you.

Give me a call today at 513-563-PLAN (7526) or go online to arrange a quick chat to talk about all I can do to help you plan out your future.

Regards,
Nikki Earley, CFP®