Snow Melt

Tom Fool, Tomfool, Tomfoolry

The April 1, 2013 prompt for the unofficial "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS"  by ember_rain is
Today is April Fool's day... Find out a bit about Tom Fool and the History behind April Fool's Day
then tell us about the best prank you ever pulled or ever had pulled on you.

Tom Fool brings back memories. That is name or rather a phrase which I have not thought about in decades. My Grandpa Newland would use that phrase when one or more of his grandchildren (my sibling or I) would act foolish or do something foolish. His phrase was, "Don't be such a Tom Fool!"

Tomfool, according to dictionary.com is derived from the old English phrase "Thome Fool" and means "Tom the fool"1. This phrase refers to a person who exhibits the attributes of a tomfool and also defined as "a grossly foolish or stupid person; a silly fool"2. As a side note, Tom Fool was also the name of a bay stallion, a thoroughbred racehorse, (1949-1976) whose dam was Gaga and sire Menow3.

Now that I have the tomfoolry over with, let me get on with the known or suspected history of April Fool's Day (also known as All Fools Day). April Fool's Day has a somewhat ambiguous history because it could have resulted from the switch, in 1852, from the Julian Calendar to the Gregorian Calendar4 or it could have another origin, such as the Roman festival of Hilaria5. The truth is that I do not think the origin of All Fools Day is as important as the pranks, the hilarity, or jokes that occur because this day is devoted to laughter and the human race does not laugh as much as it should. Humans are much too serious and a day devoted to laughter is a good way to overcome this problem.

What is the best prank I have ever pulled or has been pulled on me? I have already answered this question in an earlier entry today, so rather then rewrite what I have already written; I am going to post a link to "April Fools Day: To prank or not to prank" .

On April Fool's Day
go out and make someone laugh
or make a fool of yourself.

Food for Thought: "When in doubt, make a fool of yourself." - Cynthia Heimel

Footnotes
1  http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/tom+fool?s=t
2  http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/tom+fool?s=t
3  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Fool
4  http://www.infoplease.com/spot/aprilfools1.html
5  http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/holidays/p/april_fools_day.htm