The History of Practical Jokes
Throughout history, people have loved to play practical jokes on each other. It wasn't until fairly recently, however, that it became a lucrative business. From exploding cigars to the wide range of April Fool's Day pranks, the history of practical jokes is filled with interesting moments and hilarious incidents.
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April Fool's Day
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No one is exactly sure how we came to play practical jokes on April Fool's Day. Some people think it may have originated during one of several changes in the way the calendar was organized in the 1500s, while others think that the tradition might have existed as far back as the time of Chaucer. A fairly clear reference to playing jokes on April 1st is alluded to in 1539 in a poem by Eduard de Dene.
Soren Sorenson Adams
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Adams was born actually Soren Adam Sorensen in Denmark in 1879. He later moved to New Jersey, and went on to found a practical joke empire that sold sneezing powder, itching powder, the "Snake-in-a-Can" and the dribble glass. In 1928, he created the Joy Buzzer, and in later years also sold the squirting nickel and fake plastic ice cubes with bugs in them. He was considered the industry leader in the field of practical jokes and died in the 1960s.
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Exploding Cigars
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Exploding cigars have been around for quite some time, with one of the earliest advertisements for the product dating to 1917. S. S. Adams was a major producer of these items, as was rival jokester Richard Appel. A "real" exploding cigar was at the center of a 1960s plot to assassinate Fidel Castro.
The Paris Turtle Prank
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In H. Allen Smith's 1953 work "The Compleat Practical Joker", he recalls a practical joke that took Paris by storm in the 1920s. The American painted Waldo Peirce gave his concierge a pet turtle, and over the course of several weeks, replaced the turtle with increasingly larger specimens, and then reversed the process. The concierge was completely fooled, and could not explain the turtle's rapid growth. This story inspired a short story written by beloved author Roald Dahl.
The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest
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On April Fools Day in 1957, the BBC program Panorama aired a prank segment about "Swiss Spaghetti Farmers". Thousands of people were fooled by the prank, and many people even called the BBC to ask about obtaining spaghetti trees of their own.
The Whoopie Cushion
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The Whoopie Cushion was first introduced 1930 by the JEM Rubber Co. of Toronto, Canada. At first, the company tried to sell the idea to S. S. Adams, but he turned them down. JEM sold the idea to the Johnson Smith Company, where it sold very well. When Adams realized he had turned down a best-seller, he created his own version of the product, called a Razberry Cushion.
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