The Truth Behind the UnTruth
Prof's 1983 April Fool’s trick lives on
The first of April is traditionally a day of good-natured trickery and deceit — April Fool’s Day. In 1983 the Associated Press ran an explanation of the holiday’s origin, attributed to Joseph Boskin, a professor emeritus of history in the College of Arts and Sciences. According to Boskin, during the reign of Constantine, the court jesters told the emperor that jesters could rule better than he could. Constantine appointed a jester by the name of Kugel as king for a day, and Kugel immediately declared it a “day for absurdity.” Boskin told the Associated Press that "it was the role of jesters to put things in perspective with humor.”
As it turned out, Boskin had pulled an April Fool’s prank on one of the largest newswire services in the world. He had made up the entire story.
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