Rugby Country

Taihape-Mokai Patea rugby League Teams Haka HIKO HIKO

Why does it bother people mostly from UK that Canada and USA play their own version of football?

I will never understand why so much wasted time is spent on this forum in being so concerned with what countries play what sports.

http://greycup.cfl.ca/page/grey-cup-history-timeline-1860

Does it bother you that some countries play team handball, but rugby isn’t very big in those countries such as Germany, Poland Denmark, Sweden and Iceland?

Or that Cuba , Dominican Republic , Venezuela, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Canada, Aruba and Netherlands Antilles, Puerto Rico, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan play baseball and really at all cricket?

India and China have two of the largest populations in the world yet not much success at all in football (soccer) as they rarely qualify for the World Cup.

It’s called Nationalism, there is nothing wrong with believing your country is best as long as you can respect others while doing it. There lies the problem, people no longer have respect for anyone’s views.

Sport Matters to Sheila Turner

The history of football boots

football, or at least a version of it – a ball game involving the use of feet has been played from back in the day. Literature provides evidence that the ancient Greeks and Romans used to play a game that resembled rugby football. Similarly, evidence of football being played by ancient Chinese, Japanese and Koreans has been documented. There are a number of references of ancient ball games being played by indigenous peoples in many different parts of the world – the Eskimos in Greenland, Native Americans in America, Aborigines in Australia and Maoris in New Zealand. Truly, football is a universal game!

 

However, the main sources of modern football, that is, the football code that we know of now, appear to lie in Western Europe, especially England. One early protagonist included one of the most famous figures of British history, King Henry VIII (1509-1547). In fact, the earliest recorded football boots belonged to him, and were made by his personal shoemaker Cornelius Johnson in 1525, at a cost of 4 shillings, the equivalent of £100 in today‘s money. These boots were known to have been made of strong leather, ankle high and were heavier than football boots that we see today. Back then, football boots were worn to protect feet.

 

Fast forward 300 years to the 1800s. Players would wear their hard leather work boots as their football boots, which would also have metal studs or tacks hammered into them to increase grip and stability. In the late 1800s, laws became integrated into the game, and the football boots shifted to a slipper style shoe. Players of the same team started to wear the same boots. Leather studs (cleats) were also incorporated. These boots were 500g in weight, and made up of thick hard leather.

 

By early 1900s, entrepreneurs capitalised on the football boot craze, and started producing boots. In 1925, the first football boots with replaceable studs were produced. From the early 1900s to the end of the Second World War, there was not much emphasis on football boots, and not many changes occurred.  After the Second World War, as air travel became cheaper, the Europeans were intrigued by South American players who wore much lighter and flexible boots, and were fantastic players as a result. Football boot production then shifted to producing a lighter football boot, which helped kicking and controlling.

 

From then on, football boot development hit the roof. From interchangeable screws made of plastic and rubber, and shoes being produced of a mixture of synthetic materials and leather – new designs and features were constantly being thought up. With advances in technology, shoes were becoming lighter, and more flexible. Nowadays, the market for football boots is phenomenal. Many massive companies and brands are producing and selling high quality football boots that help improve performance, speed, kicking and so on. How things have changed from back in the day!

 

 

 

About the Author

Click http://www.lovellsoccer.co.uk/ to buy the latest football boots.

 

adidas Predator Powerswerve rugby Boots 2008

Andrea Masi scores for Italy in Paris Rwc 07

rugby Cleat Rules / Regulations?

Well, I’m in the market for a pair of rugby cleats, around here its mostly football and soccer cleats. i play second row and im not sure exactly what im looking for. rules / advice would be greatly appreaciated.
Also, I’m looking for places online that ship to canada that sell rugby cleats aswell.

When my sons started playing rugby as well as soccer, I asked advice on this, hoping one pair of boots would be okay for both games!
The advice I got was, the further back in rugby they play the more soccer boots would be apt.

High cut boots (covers all the ankle) are best for No8, locks and props.
Mid cut boot (covers half the ankle) are best for hooker, flanker, scrum half, centres, and full backs!
Low cut, (covers none of the ankle) best for as above, the mid cut, but NOT a scrum half but definitely for a winger!

As long as they are 6 or 8 stud boots,metal or steal, have no sharp edges and not worn down, no law is broken!

During research, it was found that Backs preferred Mizuno brand, forwards preferred Patrick mondials whilst some of both liked reebok visigoths!

Hope this helps!

As for buying them, I sure you will find a place in the link below!

http://uk.search.yahoo.com/search?p=rugby++Cleats&rp=rugby+cleats&ei=UTF-8&rd=r1&fr=fptb-msgr&fr2=sg-rc&pstart=1&b=21

Rugby Rules for Beginners

NBC USA Sevens Collegiate rugby Championship Promo

Unusual, Weird & Interesting Scholarships

Unusual, weird and interesting scholarships

Many students believe that they won’t be eligible for scholarships unless they’re the valedictorian or a star athlete or got a perfect score on their SAT. What these students don’t realize is that today there are scholarships for almost any skill or unique quality you can think of. You no longer have to break the state track record or win a national science fair to get money for college. Now you can earn scholarship money simply for having an unusual hobby or distinctive trait, for anything from knitting to being left-handed and from duck-calling to being interested in space and science fiction! Take a look at these weird, interesting, and fun scholarships we found and remember that applying for scholarships, just like the whole college admissions process, isn’t about being the world’s most perfect student but about highlighting your personal strengths and abilities.

Scholarships just for being you:

Tall Clubs International (TCI) Scholarship 
This scholarship is for those who have always been asked to get things down from the top shelf. Tall Clubs International (TCI) offers a $1,000 scholarship for tall people, the Kae Sumner Einfeldt Scholarship. Women who are at least 5’10” and men who are at least 6’2” are eligible. Candidates must be under 21 years old and plan to attend college in the fall.

Little People of America Scholarship
By contrast, The Little People of America scholarship is an award given to future and current students who are 4?10? or less in height attending a college or vocational school. Prizes range from $250 to $1,000—sometimes more. Although one does not have to be a little person to apply, the greatest preference is given to LPA members who have been diagnosed with a form of dwarfism. Students with dwarf-diagnosed family members and those who demonstrate financial need are also given preference.

Scholarship for Left-Handed Students
For those in the company of greats like Albert Einstein, Picasso, and Jimmi Hendrix, Juniata College offers the Frederick and Mary F. Beckley Scholarship of up to $1,000 for left-handed students.

Vegetarian Resource Group Scholarship
Do you delight in finding new ways to cook tofu? Do your parents roll their eyes at your “meat is murder” bumper sticker? If so, you might be eligible for the Vegetarian Resource Group Scholarship. High school seniors who promote vegetarianism in their schools and communities are eligible to win one of the group’s two $5,000 scholarships.

National Beef Ambassador Program
For those fonder of big macs than veggie burgers, a few lucky award winners will get the chance to represent the beef industry, and will receive a college scholarship. The National Beef Ambassador Program (NBAP) is a speech and interview competition for students between the ages of 16 to 19. Winners can earn between $250 and $2,500.

Twins Who Don’t Mind seeing Each other for 4 More Years
Several schools offer scholarships for twins: Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Georgia, waives tuition for one twin when both enroll, Lake Erie College in Painsville, Ohio, offers half-off tuition for each twin, Wilson College in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, has 45% discounts available on tuition for female twins only, Carl Albert State College in Oklahoma offers the Paula Nieto Twin Scholarship, George Washington University in Washington, DC gives a 50% discount for the second sibling, Randolph-Macon Women’s College in Lynchburg, VA gives a 15% discount, Sterling College in Kansas offers a 50% discount for each twin, and West Chester University of Pennsylvania offers the Bonnie Evans Feinberg Scholarship for twins.

Last Name Scholarships
A number of schools offer scholarships for students with particular last names. The Zolp Scholarship is restricted to students at Loyola University in chicago who are Catholic and whose last name is Zolp. The good news is, the scholarship provides full tuition for four years; the bad news is, have you ever heard of anyone named Zolp? Texas A&M University pays full cost of attendance at for anyone whose last name is Scarpinato by birth or marriage. The John Gatling Grant provides scholarships for students who were born with a surname of Gatling or Gatlin to attend NC State University. The scholarship provides up to $9,000 for in-state students and $18,000 for out-of-state students. The Van Valkenburg Memorial Scholarship awards $1,000 to students with the Van Valkenburg name or a similar variation . Even Harvard University has several scholarships based on the student’s last name, including Baxendale, Hudson, Thayer, Downer, Bright.

Money for that unique hobby you never thought would pay off:

Chick and Sophie Major Memorial Duck Calling Contest
Students who can quack their hearts out for 90 seconds using four calls: hail, feed, comeback and mating and can win big ducks, I mean, bucks for higher education (we couldn’t resist a least one bad pun). Seriously though, The Duck Calling Contest awards $1,500 to the best duck-calling high school student. The first runner-up receives $500, the second $300 and the third $200 in scholarship money.

Patrick Kerr Skateboard Scholarship
Now how to land a kickflip? Could you do Ollies in your sleep? The Patrick Kerr Skateboard Scholarship awards one $5,000 and three $1,000 scholarships to skateboarders who are high school seniors with a GPA of 2.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale and submit an essay on how skateboarding has had a positive impact on their lives. Recipients must enroll as a full-time undergraduate at an accredited college or university the fall after high school graduation.

Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contest
In our first scholarship for sci-fi enthusiasts, student authors and artists can submit science fiction stories and/or illustrations to be considered for this award of up to $4,000. An entry consists of three black and white works illustrating a science fiction or fantasy story with no recurring theme. Entries may not have been previously published. Should the artist win the Illustrators Contest with their first entry, he is then sent a story from the companion L. Ron Hubbard Writers of The Future Contest for which to render an illustration. This illustration then becomes his or her entry in the yearly Grand Prize competition. Three winners are selected each quarter and are awarded $500 each; the yearly Grand Prize winner is awarded $4000.

American Welding Society Scholarships
Student welders familiar with trade skills such as allied joining, brazing, soldering and thermal spraying are eligible for this scholarship. The American Welding Society Foundation offers numerous scholarships to students interested in welding-related education or training programs. Award sizes depend on the scholarship.

SPAACSE Scholarships
The Society of Performers, Artists, Athletes and Celebrities for Space Exploration, Inc. (SPAACSE) offers two $1,000 scholarships: The SPAACSE Galaxy music Scholarship for graduating high school seniors who are pursuing an interest in space music as a means of expressing the beauty and inspiration of the universe and The SPAACSE Liliane Webb Art Scholarship for graduating high school seniors who have an interest in space art.. The music submission must be recorded on either a cassette or CD and should be 4-6 minutes in length.
Candidates for the art scholarship must provide an original two-dimensional space artwork to be considered for this award. Candidates must also include a 1-2 page description of prior artistic and other school activities and awards.

knitting
If you know the different between a knit stitch and a purl stitch and your friends make fun of you for having a grandma-hobby, you may be able to get scholarships. The American Sheep Industry Association sponsors four scholarships for applicants who submit a sample of an article of clothing they created completely with wool. Philadelphia University also offers the Bernard Steur Scholarship for textile engineering students with an interest in knitting. Also, The National Make It Yourself with wool (NMIYWW) competition awards $2,000 and $1,000 scholarships for knitting wool garments. Winners are selected based on the appropriateness to the contestant’s lifestyle, coordination of fabric/yarn with garment style and design, contestant’s presentation, and creativity.

David Letterman Telecommunications Scholarship
Because David Letterman was a C student at Ball State University, he established a scholarship at his alma mater that is awarded to telecommunications majors based strictly on the creativity of a submitted project, rather than a student’s GPA. The awards are intended for average students who nevertheless have a creative mind. Projects may involve a variety of media, including written work, research, audio, video, graphics and film. The winner receives a $10,000 scholarship. The first runner-up receives $5,000. The second runner-up receives $3,333.

Aspiring Children’s television Stars
Similarly, The Academy of television arts & Sciences awards three $10,000 scholarships annually in the name of the late Fred Rogers (yes, Mr. “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood” Rogers) to college students pursuing a career in children’s media.

Rodeo
At last those lasso skills can rope you some money. Institutional awards, like Colorado State University’s rodeo scholarships, are usually reserved for students on the school’s rodeo team. Private awards, like the San Angelo Rodeo Scholarship, give students more flexibility in their college choice, but often have other requirements, like county of residence.

Puppetry
The Connecticut Guild of Puppetry offers the Margo Rose Scholarship for students involved in puppetry who wish to attend the National Puppetry Conference. The American chapter of the theatre organization Union Internationale de la Marionette, offers scholarships for students with experience in puppetry to study at the Institut Internationale de la Marionnette in Charleville-Mezieres, France. Since puppetry degree programs are rare, most scholarships in this field are for private programs or for puppetry studies within a theatre arts department. Pinocchio would be proud.

Chess
Chess stars could turn their winning moves into money for college. Several colleges, including Texas Tech University, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) and the University of Texas at Dallas, offer promising chess players up to four-year, full-tuition scholarships. The United States Chess Federation provides information on chess tournaments and available chess scholarships, both college and privately-sponsored. Casual chess players, be warned, these scholarship programs are often very competitive.

rugby
Rugby may not be an official sport at most U.S. universities, but it can still help pay your college costs. Rugby scholarships are offered at New Mexico University, Texas A&M University, Saint Bonaventure University and many other colleges. Playing rugby can also send you abroad. The Center for International Studies offers a rugby study abroad program for students to study for one or two semesters in Wellington, New Zealand and play in a local rugby club. A $500 scholarship is available to make this program more affordable. Check with USA Rugby for more rugby scholarships.

United States Bowling Congress (USBA) Scholarships
Yes, bowling congress. And each season, bowling associations, councils, tournaments and proprietors offer over $6 million in scholarship money. Some of these programs include the Chuck Hall Star of Tomorrow Award for $1,500 per year for three years, the Annual Zeb Scholarship for $2,500, the Alberta E. Crowe Star of Tomorrow for $1,500 per year for three years, the Youth Ambassador Award for $1,500, and the Gift for Life Award for $1,000.

Bagpipe Majors at Carnegie Mellon
One of the least competitive scholarships in the U.S.—it’s not unusual for there to be zero applicants—is the Carnegie Mellon University Bagpipe Scholarship. It offers $7,000 per year to a student who intends to major in bagpiping. You even get a kilt subsidy.

Just plain unusual scholarships:

Duck® brand duct tape Stuck at Prom® Contest
The Duck Brand Duct Tape Stuck on Prom Contest is open to students ages 14 years or older who are attending a high school prom in the spring. Entrants must enter as a couple and attend a high school prom wearing complete attire or accessories made from duct tape. The submission must include a color photograph of the couple together in prom attire. The winning couple gets $3,000 each towards college and some cash for their school to boot. Other prizes include $1,000 for second place, $500 for third, and Duck Tape sportswear for honorable mentions. The winning couple will be selected based on a variety of criteria, including originality, workmanship, quantity of Duck Tape used, use of colors, and creative use of accessories.

Scholar Athlete Milk Mustache of the Year (SAMMY) Award
If you demonstrate excellence in academics, athletic performance, leadership and community service, and like to sport a milk mustache, this is the scholarship for you. Candidates must also be a resident of one of the 48 contiguous states or the District of Columbia. Each of 25 winners receives $7,500 in scholarship money, a designated place in the Disney Wide World of sports Complex and a role in a USA today Milk Mustache special.

Students for Organ Donation Youth Leadership Award
Candidates of this awardmust have made a commitment to raising awareness of organ donation and transplantation. Selection is based on effectiveness, leadership, creativity and sustainability of efforts. Applications may be based either on a report of previous events that have successfully raised organ donation awareness, or a detailed and realistic plan to raise donor awareness. One or two $500 to $1,000 scholarships will be awarded.

Evans Scholars Foundation Scholarship
Where would golfers be without their caddies? Not very far. For all of their help, caddies are finally being rewarded by the Evans Scholars Foundation. Each year, the Western golf Association awards scholarships to more than 200 student caddies. Scholarship winners are required to reside in the scholarship house at each participation college. They must also demonstrate academic merit, financial need, exceptional character and, of course, a great caddie record.

Klingon language Institute Award
Don’t worry, you don’t need to be a Klingon-loving Trekky to apply. The Klingon language Institute (KLI) awards this $500 scholarship award to one graduate or undergraduate student each year. The scholarship was created to encourage the study of and achievement in the area of language. Applicants must be nominated by a school department and must demonstrate academic merit. Submissions should include the nomination letter, two recommendation letters, a resume and a statement of future intent.

The National candy Technologists Scholarship
The American Association of candy Technologists (AACT) awards a $5,000 scholarship to sophomore, junior and senior students who demonstrate an interest in confectionary technology. The award is paid in two $2,500 installments to winners who attend an accredited four-year college or university. Applicants must earn a 3.0 GPA and be majoring in food science, chemical science, biological science or a related field, and, of course, be a bit of a chocoholic.

National Marbles tournament Scholarship
This isn’t your friendly game of marbles—this game is for keeps for the eight to fourteen-year-old players who compete. The King and Queen of Marbles (yes, that’s what they call the winners) will each receive $2,000, and, to calm things down a bit, a sportsmanship award of $1,000 will also be granted. The eight pages of rules, albeit in large child-like print, will show you just how serious these competitors are.

The Spirit of the Hiram College Hal Reichle Scholarship
Here is some chicken soup for the college student soul. This scholarship is administered by the Secret Society of Serendipitous Service to Hal, otherwise known as SSSSH. Hal Reichle had a history of secretly surprising people with sweet gifts. He was a modern-day Santa Clause and SSSSH is convinced that Hiram College has more of them. It’s about time being nice got you some cash!

 

About the Author

James Maroney, the author of this article, is the founder of First Choice College Placement, an educational consulting firm located in Milford, Connecticut. He has been working with students and families for over 10 years helping them find, apply to, and finance the college of their dreams. FirstChoice College Placement is a full service educational consulting firm located in Milford. For more information, contact James Maroney at 203-878-7998

Beyond Average Bosses – We Aint Got All Night (2010 HOT NEW RNB)

April Fools Day

 

April Fools’ Day

All Fools’ Day, although not a Festival in its own right, is a notable day celebrated in many countries on April 1. The day is marked by the commission of hoaxes and other practical jokes of varying sophistication on friends, family members, enemies, and neighbors, or sending them on fool’s errand, the aim of which is to embarrass the gullible. Traditionally, in some countries, the jokes only last until noon: someone who plays a trick after noon is called an “April Fool”.  Another origin is that April 1 was counted the first day of the year in France. When King Charles IX changed that to January 1, some people stayed with April 1. Those who did were called “April Fools” and were taunted by their neighbors.

Any how the quest of origin and the date from which the day is being celebrated is still haunting to many today. The origin of April Fools’ Day is obscure. One likely theory is that the modern holiday was first celebrated soon after the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar; the term referred to someone still adhering to the Julian Calendar which it replaced. In many pre-christian cultures May Day (May 1) was celebrated as the first day of summer, and signalled the start of the spring planting season. An April Fool was someone who did this prematurely.

Almost every culture in the world has some kind of festival in the first months of the year to celebrate the end of winter and the return of spring. Anthropologists call these “renewal festivals.“ Often they involve ritualized forms of mayhem and misrule. The wearing of disguises is common. People play pranks on friends and strangers.

April Fool’s Day has all the characteristics of a renewal festival. For one day forms of behavior that are normally not allowed (lying, deception, and playing pranks) become acceptable, and yet the disorder is bounded within a strict timeframe. Traditionally, no pranks are supposed to be played after 12 o’clock noon of the first. Social hierarchies and tensions are exposed, but hostility is defused with laughter.

For as long as people have been speculating about April Fool’s Day, they have noticed the similarities between it and other springtime “renewal” festivals. Many historians have theorized that April Fool’s Day evolved directly out of some such festival practiced in ancient times. A direct connection between April Fool’s Day and any of the Roman-era festivals seems unlikely, though it is quite possible that the tradition evolved out of a medieval festival held around the time of the Vernal equinox (such as the New Year’s festivals at the end of March, as discussed above). Nevertheless, there is no agreement about which festival the tradition of April Foolery developed out of. Below is a list of some of the festivals that have most frequently been suggested as its forerunners.

References to April fool’s Day can be found as early as the 1500s. However, these early references were infrequent and tended to be vague and ambiguous. Many theories have been put forward about how the tradition began. Unfortunately, none of them are very compelling. So the origin of the “custom of making April Fools” remains as much a mystery to us as it was back in 1708.

 The most popular theory about the origin of April fool’s Day involves the French calendar reform of the sixteenth century. The theory goes like this:

French calendar reform

 In 1564 France reformed its calendar, moving the start of the year from the end of March to January 1. Those who failed to keep up with the change, who stubbornly clung to the old calendar system and continued to celebrate the New Year during the week that fell between March 25th and April 1st, had jokes played on them. Pranksters would surreptitiously stick paper fish to their backs. The victims of this prank were thus called Poisson d’Avril, or April fish—which, to this day, remains the French term for April Fools—and so the tradition was born.

The calendar-change hypothesis seems, on the surface, like a logical explanation for the origin of April Fools. However, the hypothesis becomes less plausible if we examine the history of calendar reform in more detail.

The Julian calendar

The Julian Calendar, established by Julius Caesar in 46 BC, made January 1 the first day of the year. But as Christianity spread throughout Europe, efforts were made to christianize the calendar by moving New Year’s Day to dates of greater theological significance, such as Christmas or Easter. Some countries continued to use January 1, justifying this as the date of Christ’s circumcision. As a consequence, by the 1500s the European calendar system was a mess. Not only had errors in the Julian calendar caused the solar year to diverge from the calendar year, but also countries were beginning the year on different dates.

Moreover, the French used Easter as the start of the year primarily for legal and administrative purposes. January 1, following the Roman custom, was widely regarded as the traditional start of the year, and it was the day when people exchanged gifts.

Sixteenth-Century Reform

The practice of starting the year on Easter Day caused enormous practical inconvenience, so around 1500 many people in France began to use January 1 as the start of the calendar year. For instance, in early sixteenth-century French books, it is common to see both forms of dating listed side-by-side (for titles published in January, February, or March). By the mid-sixteenth century, a calendar system beginning on January 1 was in wide use in France. In 1563 King Charles IX decreed January 1 to be the first day of the year, thus aligning legal convention with what had become the popular practice. His edict was passed into law by the French Parliament on Dec. 22, 1564.

Eighteen years later, in 1582, Pope Gregory issued a papal bull decreeing sweeping calendar reform. The Gregorian reform included moving the start of the year to January 1, as well as creating a leap-year system and eliminating ten days from the month of October 1582 in order to correct the drift of the calendar. The Pope had no formal power to make governments accept this reform, but he urged christian nations to do so. France immediately accepted the reform, although it had already changed the start of the year in 1564. (Many histories of April Fool’s Day mistakenly suggest that France only moved the start of the year in 1582 when it accepted the Gregorian calendar reform in its entirety.)

With this history in mind, it becomes clear that the calendar-change hypothesis is a problematic explanation for the origin of April Fool’s Day. The switch to January 1 did not occur suddenly in France. It was a gradual process, spanning an entire century. And even before the switch, the French New Year had no obvious connection to April 1st.

British Calendar Change

The calendar-change hypothesis is more plausible if applied to Britain, because it was the British, not the French, who observed New Year’s Day on March 25 (the date of the christian Feast of Annunciation), followed by a week of festivities culminating on April 1. In fact, the earliest version of the calendar-change hypothesis to be found in print, dating from 1766, does place the argument in a British context. As reported by a  correspondent to the Gentleman’s Magazine in April 1766 :

“The strange custom prevalent throughout this kingdom, of people making fools of one another upon the first of April, arose from the year formerly beginning, as to some purpose, and in some respects, on the twenty-fifth of March, which was supposed to be the incarnation of our Lord; it being customary with the Romans, as well as with us, to hold a festival, attended by an octave, at the commencement of the new year—which festival lasted for eight days, whereof the first and last were the principal; therefore the first of April is the octave of the twenty-fifth of March, and, consequently, the close or ending of the feast, which was both the festival of the Annunciation and the beginning of the new year.“

Britain only changed the start of its calendar year to January 1 in 1752. By this time April Fool’s Day was already a well-established tradition. So confusion about the calendar change could not have been responsible for the origin of the custom in Britain. But it is possible, as the correspondent to Gentleman’s Magazine speculated, that the festival held on April 1 (the “octave” of the March 25th calendar year change) evolved into April Fool’s Day. However, this is pure speculation, undermined by the lack of any other compelling evidence that the custom originated in Britain. The earliest unambiguous references to April Fool’s Day actually come from continental Europe, suggesting it is there that April Fool’s Day began.

Great Britain

British folklore links April Fool’s Day to the town of Gotham, the legendary town of fools located in Nottinghamshire. According to the legend, it was traditional in the 13th century for any road that the King placed his foot upon to become public property. So when the citizens of Gotham heard that King John planned to travel through their town, they refused him entry, not wishing to lose their main road. When the King heard this, he sent soldiers to the town. But when the soldiers arrived in Gotham, they found the town full of lunatics engaged in foolish activities such as drowning fish or attempting to cage birds in roofless fences. Their foolery was all an act, but the King fell for the ruse and declared the town too foolish to warrant punishment. Ever since then, according to legend, April Fool’s Day has commemorated their trickery.

Germany

On April 1, 1530 a meeting of lawmakers was supposed to occur in Augsburg in order to consider various financial matters. Because of time considerations, the meeting did not take place. But numerous speculators, who had bet on the meeting occurring, lost their money and were ridiculed. This is said to have been the origin of the tradition of playing pranks on April 1.

The Netherlands

On April 1, 1572 Dutch rebels captured the town of Den Briel from Spanish troops led by Lord Alva. This military success eventually led to the independence of the Netherlands from Spain. A Dutch rhyme goes: “Op 1 april / Verloor Alva zijn Bril.“ This translates to: “On April 1st / Alva lost his ‘glasses’”. “Bril” means glasses in Dutch, but is also a pun on the name of the town, Den Briel. It is claimed that the tradition of pranks on April 1st arose to commemorate the victory in Den Briel and humiliation of the Spanish commander

Chaucer

What is possibly the first reference to April Fool’s Day can be found in the work of Chaucer. Unfortunately, the reference is so ambiguous as to be worthless as historical evidence.

In the Nun’s Priest’s Tale (written around 1392), Chaucer tells the story of the vain cock Chauntecler who falls for the tricks of a fox, and as a consequence is almost eaten. Whatever Chaucer may have meant, we can’t conclude, based on these few lines, that he was aware of a custom of playing pranks on April 1st.

 Eloy d’Amerval

The next possible reference to April Fool’s Day we find is in a 1508 poem written by Eloy d’Amerval, a French choirmaster and composer. The poem is titled Le livre de la deablerie. In this poem he made the use of  phrase “poisson d’avril” (April Fish) is the French term for an April Fool, but it is unclear whether d’Amerval’s use of the term referred to April 1st specifically. He might have intended the phrase simply to mean a foolish person.

Eduard de Dene

The Flemish writer Eduard De Dene published a comical poem in 1539 about a nobleman who hatches a plan to send his servant back and forth on absurd errands on April 1st, supposedly to help prepare for a wedding feast. The servant recognizes that what’s being done to him is an April 1st joke

Escape of the Duke of Lorraine

According to legend, the Duke of Lorraine and his wife were imprisoned at Nantes. They escaped on April 1, 1632 by disguising themselves as peasants and walking through the front gate. Someone noticed them escaping and told the guards. But the guards believed the warning to be a “poisson d’Avril” (or April Fool’s Day joke) and laughed at it, thus allowing the Duke and his wife to escape. It is not known if any part of this legend is true. In the eighteenth century written references to April Fool’s Day became numerous and appeared throughout Europe.

At last, what we have here is a fairly clear reference to a custom of playing practical jokes on April 1st. So we can say that April Fool’s Day dates back at least to the sixteenth century. Because of this reference (and the other, vague French reference), historians believe that April Fool’s Day must have originated in continental northern Europe and then spread to Britain.

The April Fools is full of hoaxes, humor, laughter and enjoyment. The frequency of April Fools’ hoaxes sometimes makes people doubt of real news. Here are some of the real news of april 1st which people took as hoaxes.

• The April 1, 1946 Aleutian Island earthquake tsunami that killed 165 people in Hawaii and Alaska resulted in the creation of a tsunami warning system established in 1949 for Pacific Ocean countries. The tsunami in question is known in Hawaii as the “April Fools’ Day Tsunami” due to people drowning because of the assumptions that the warnings were an April Fools’ prank.
• The death of King George II of Greece on April 1, 1947 when the news spread people took it as hoax..
• On April 1, 1984, singer Marvin Gaye was shot and killed by his father. Originally, people assumed that it was a fake news story, especially considering the bizarre aspect of the father being the murderer
• The 2005 death of comedian Mitch Hedberg was originally dismissed as an April Fools’ joke. The comedian’s March 29, 2005 death was announced on March 31, but many newspapers didn’t carry the story until April 1, 2005.
• The merger of Square and its rival company, Enix, took place on April 1, 2003, and was originally thought to be a joke.
• The announcement of the anime version of the Powerpuff Girls, Demashita! Powerpuff Girls Z, was on April Fools’ Day causing many to think it was a joke.
• The game Mario & Sonic at the Olympic games was announced only a couple days before April Fools’ Day. Forums were flooded because so many thought that the two rivals since the 90′s, Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog, appearing together in a video game as an official 2008 Olympics game was a joke.
• British sprinter Dwain Chambers joined English rugby league team Castleford Tigers shortly before 1st April 2008. The athlete was attempting a return to top flight athletics at the time following a high profile drugs ban, and his apparent unfamiliarity with rugby led many people to assume this was an April Fools’ Day prank.
• On April 1st, 2008, it was reported that UEFA would require the Swedish fast food chain Max to close their restaurant at the Borås Arena during the European Under-21 football Championship due to a conflict with official sponsor McDonalds and a requirement that only official sponsors may operate around the arena. The arena was later replaced as a tournament site.
• On April 1, 1984, singer Marvin Gaye was shot and killed by his father. Originally, people assumed that it was a fake news story, especially considering the bizarre aspect of the father being the murderer.
• On April 1, 2008, Christian Persch announced that the GNOME desktop web browser Epiphany would be switched from Mozilla’s Gecko engine to the WebKit engine used by Safari and KDE’s equivalent application Konqueror.

 

 

     Dr. Ashhiq Hussain

Lect. Govt. Degree College Kishtwar

E.mail:- drashiqhussain@rediffmail.com

About the Author

Bhalessa, Dr. Ashiq

Dieux du stade 2008

Do you agree with this list of the top sexiest celebrities…?

As decided by Channel 7, revealed in a 1-hour TV special (in Australia)?

I’ll give the top 15 for you… (sorry it’s really female dominated… shame a lot of the men made the list at lower numbers!)

15. Eva Longoria
14. Jenny McCarthy
13.Charlize Theron
12. Liz Hurley
11. Jennifer Lopez
10. Salma Hayek
9. Heidi Klum
8. Olivier Martinez
7. Kylie Minogue
6. Halle Berry
5. Scarlett Johansson
4. Paris Hilton (Eh!)
3. The entire male French ( I think!) rugby team
2. Brad Pitt
1. Angelina Jolie & David Beckham

Also on the list somewhere are Catherine Zeta-Jones, George Clooney. Matt Damon, Cameron Diaz, Brooke Burke, Johnny Depp, Kate Beckinsale, Jennifer Aniston, Lucy Liu, Ashton Kutcher, Keira Knightley and Madonna…
Well, tell us your thoughts on the list!

Most are very attractive, but I don’t agree with Paris Hilton, Matt Damon, and Madonna!

SA Anthem sung badly – again