# April Fools Day: Origin story

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-fools-day-origin-story/716497>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [April 1, 2015, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-fools-day-origin-story/716497 "2015-04-01T14:26:34Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-fools-day-origin-story/716497/1 "2015-04-01T14:26:34Z")

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April Fools Day goes back to the 1350s when Pope Gregory XI faked his death for a week before re-emerging and shocking the Roman Curia, who were at that point assembling a conclave to pick a new pope… on April 1. He then became known as “Stultus Aprilis,” or the April Fool.

Do I have that right? Can anyone clarify or flesh out the story a bit? Thanks! I have a homework assignment on this due tomorrow!

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**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-fools-day-origin-story/716497/2 "2015-04-01T15:52:45Z")

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I can neither confirm or deny that I discussed the above in any of my e-mails. It wasn’t against the law and that’s all that matters.

(Just in case I do decide to run for President)

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**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-fools-day-origin-story/716497/3 "2015-04-01T17:23:07Z")

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Sounds too cool to be altogether false, to me. Go with it until somebody like Snopes calls it a lie. Would be neat though, if it were prehistoric!

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**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-fools-day-origin-story/716497/4 "2015-04-01T17:57:43Z")

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Another (similar) version: [10 Greatest Internet April Fools’ Day Jokes of All Time](https://www.yahoo.com/tech/10-greatest-internet-april-fools-day-jokes-of-all-115162420899.html)

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**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-fools-day-origin-story/716497/5 "2015-04-01T18:28:55Z")

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Absolutely 100% true.

You could also note that afterward he changed his family crest and motto to read “Tu Stultus Est”

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**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-fools-day-origin-story/716497/6 "2015-04-01T19:06:44Z")

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Another twist: President William McKinley, a great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great (not sure how many “greats,” actually) nephew of Pope Gregory XI, passed an executive order making April Fools Day a federal holiday for one year, 1901.