5 Things To Know Today: April 1 (April Fools' Day)

Serious Answer To Fools' Day: There are many theories about why April 1 is known as April Fools' Day. In what we should assume is a serious entry on Wikipedia, at least two theories are offered:

• After the adoption of the Gregorian calendar that set New Year's Day as January 1, those who still celebrated the start of the new year on April 1 became the target of ridicule;
• Chantecleer the rooster, a character in The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer, was fooled by a fox on April 1, according to — funny enough — a misreading of the time reference in "The Nun Priest's Tale.

There are issues with each of these theories — but in the end, if good-natured fun is the goal, who really cares why?

Bored? Try Board Games: East Smithfield Public Library is hosting board games from 2 to 4:30 p.m. today — just enough time to win an accelerated round of Monopoly (deal out the properties first to make it faster — it's allowed under the original rules), or a long game of Parcheesi.

Storytime: Even though Mohr Library is closed, you can still fill your little one's storytime need at Oak Lawn Library today from 10:30 to 11 a.m. Open to 2- to 3-year-olds and the drivers what brung 'em.

Help The Autism Project: Elegant Reflections Salon on Plainfield Pike is hosting a Pampered Chef and Silpada handmade jewelry fundraiser for The Autism Project today at 5 p.m. A percentage of sales will go to support the Johnston-based nonprofit.

We Wouldn't Get The Joke This Time, Either: On this date in 1997, the Northeast was hit with a huge snowstorm — Boston tallied up 25.4 inches of snow between March 31 (which was Easter Sunday that year) and April 1. Especially after the 63-degree day on Sunday, not many people believed the forecast — until it became the "post-cast." (from thebostonchannel.com)