April comes from the Latin word aperio, meaning “to open or bud,” because plants begin to grow this month. Enjoy the Almanac’s article all about April!
Daily Calendar for Saturday, April 1, 2023
The term “All Fools,” was probably meant as a deliberate stab at All Saints (November 1) and All Souls (November 2) Day.
Although the origin of playing practical jokes and pranks on this day is hazy, many folklorists believe it may go back to 16th-century France. At that time, New Year’s Day was March 25, with a full week of partying and exchanging gifts until April 1. In 1582, the Gregorian calendar moved New Year’s Day to January 1. Those who forgot or refused to honor the new calendar were teasingly called, “April Fool!”
Weather folklore states, “If it thunders on All Fools Day, it brings good crops of corn and hay.”
Question of the Day
Is there a “green flash” in the Caribbean at sunset? I have heard of it but never seen it.
On rare occasions, the Sun may look bright green for a moment as its last tip is setting. This green flash is caused by the greater refraction of the green wave band; the red rays of light are hidden below the horizon, and the blue and violet are scattered in the atmosphere. The flash is best seen when the air is cloudless and the horizon is well-defined, as on an ocean.
Advice of the Day
We have all been fools once in our lives.
Home Hint of the Day
Rubbing with a nail file will remove small spots from suede.
Word of the Day
Equinox
When the Sun crosses the celestial equator. This occurs two times each year: Vernal around March 21 and Autumnal around September 23.
Puzzle of the Day
Why did the chicken cross the playground?
To get to the other slide.
Born
- Edwin Austin Abbey (illustrator) –
- Sergei Rachmaninoff (Russian composer ) –
- Gordon Jump (actor) –
- Debbie Reynolds (actress) –
- Randy Orton (professional wrestler) –
- Courtney McCool (gymnast) –
Died
- Scott Joplin (ragtime musician & composer) –
- Marvin Gaye (singer) –
- Martha Graham (dancer & choreographer) –
- John Forsythe (actor) –
- Misao Okawa (Japanese woman who was recognized as the world’s oldest person at the time. She was born on March 5, 1898, and died at age 117.) –
- Dan Robbins (artist who created paint-by-numbers pictures) –
Events
- In Ohio, the Cincinnati Fire Department became the first full-time, salaried fire department in the U.S.–
- The U.S. invasion of Okinawa began (WW II)–
- The United States Air Force Academy is established–
- The satellite Tiros I was launched from Cape Canaveral and eventually transmitted thousands of photographs showing the distribution of Earth’s cloud formations–
- Steve Wozniak, Steve Jobs, and Ronald Wayne founded Apple Computer, Inc.–
- Nunavut territory created–
- The Netherlands legalized euthanasia–
- French acrobat Willy Martignon broke the world record for longest-distance somersaulting slam dunk–
Weather
- April Fool’s Day Blizzard in the Dakotas, heavy drifting snow–
- Houston, Texas, got its first natural waterspout as an April Fools Day joke from Mother Nature, when a high-velocity tornado hit the downtown area and broke into the water table.–
- April Fool’s cold, -34 degrees F in Bergland, Michigan, and 16 degrees F in Georgia–
- 27 degrees F, Atlanta, Georgia–
- Blizzard left 37 inches of snow in East Jewett, New York–