by history.com

   Photo by Jeff Peterson, Deseret News

On this day in 1700, English pranksters began popularizing the annual tradition of April Fools’ Day by playing practical jokes on each other.

Although the day, also called All Fools’ Day, has been celebrated for several centuries by different cultures, its exact origins remain a mystery.

Some historians speculate that April Fools’ Day dates back to 1582, when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, as called for by the Council of Trent in 1563. People who were slow to get the news or failed to recognize that the start of the new year had moved to January 1 and continued to celebrate it during the last week of March through April 1 became the butt of jokes and hoaxes. These included having paper fish placed on their backs and being referred to as “poisson d’avril” (April fish), said to symbolize a young, easily caught fish and a gullible person.

Historians have also linked April Fools’ Day to ancient festivals such as Hilaria, which was celebrated in Rome at the end of March and involved people dressing up in disguises. There’s also speculation that April Fools’ Day was tied to the vernal equinox, or first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, when Mother Nature fooled people with changing, unpredictable weather.

April Fools’ Day spread throughout Britain during the 18th century. In Scotland, the tradition became a two-day event, starting with “hunting the gowk,” in which people were sent on phony errands (gowk is a word for cuckoo bird, a symbol for fool) and followed by Tailie Day, which involved pranks played on people’s derrieres, such as pinning fake tails or “kick me” signs on them. In modern times, people have gone to great lengths to create elaborate April Fools’ Day hoaxes. Newspapers, radio and TV stations, and Web sites have participated in the April 1 tradition of reporting outrageous fictional claims that have fooled their audiences.

In 1957, the BBC reported that Swiss farmers were experiencing a record spaghetti crop and showed footage of people harvesting noodles from trees; numerous viewers were fooled.

In 1985, Sports Illustrated tricked many of its readers when it ran a made-up article about a rookie pitcher named Sidd Finch who could throw a fastball over 168 miles per hour.

In 1996, Taco Bell, the fast-food restaurant chain, duped people when it announced it had agreed to purchase Philadelphia’s Liberty Bell and intended to rename it the Taco Liberty Bell. In 1998, after Burger King advertised a “Left-Handed Whopper,” scores of clueless customers requested the fake sandwich.

1582 – Composer Thomas Simpson was born.

1735 – Handel’s “Organ Concerto in F major, Op. 4 No. 4” was performed for the first time.

1866 – Composer Ferruccio Dante Michelangelo Benvenuto Busoni was born.

1873 – Composer Sergei Vasilievitch Rachmaninov was born.

1956 – Elvis Presley filmed his first Hollywood screen test.

1961 – Troy Shondell recorded “This Time.”

1963 – Fats Domino signed with ABC-Paramount after his Imperial contract ended.

1964 – John Lennon was reunited with his father after 17 years.
– Today in Beatles History

1966 – The first single under just the name David Bowie was released for the song “Do Anything You Say.” The song was performed by The Buzz with Bowie as the lead singer.

1970 – The “Woodstock” movie premiered in Hollywood.

1976 – David Gilmour’s (Pink Floyd) house was broken into. Several of his guitars were stolen.

1977 – Elvis Presley was admitted to a Memphis hospital due to fatigue and intestinal flu. He stayed in the hospital for six days.
Today in Elvis History

1978 – The Philadelphia Fury soccer team made its debut. The team was owned by Paul Simon, Peter Frampton, James Taylor and others.

1983 – Kirk Hammett joined Metallica.

1984 – Marvin Gaye, at the age of 44, was killed by his father . Gaye’s father received probation after he pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter.

1985 – David Lee Roth left Van Halen to pursue a solo career.

1990 – Duff (Guns & Roses) and Mandy Brix (Lame Flames) were divorced.

1991 – Rod Stewart was surprised onstage by Elton John, who was wearing a dress.

1992 – Billy Idol pled no contest to punching a woman in the face. He was fined and told to make public service announcements against alcohol and drug use.

on-this-day.com

By 

Amy Morin, LCSW 

 Fact checked by 

Cara Lustik

A cult is an organized group whose purpose is to dominate cult members through psychological manipulation and pressure strategies.¹ Cults are usually headed by a powerful leader who isolates members from the rest of society.

Some individuals who join cults remain lifelong members. Others break free and share how it felt to be brainwashed by a charismatic leader. But there are also some individuals who leave a cult and report that their experience was positive.

Studying cults is difficult for a few different reasons. It’s nearly impossible to study active cult members due to their unwillingness to let others into their closed societies. Quite often, they are suspicious of outsiders.

Consequently, cults are usually examined from the perspective of former members. But sometimes, individuals are reluctant to talk about their experiences as cult members. For these reasons and others, it can even be tricky to agree on a solid definition of a cult, especially given many of the stereotypes presented in film, TV, and other media. Not all cults have to be high profile groups that make headlines.

How to Recognize a Cult

Sometimes individuals disagree about whether a group, such as a certain religious group, is actually a cult. Even researchers sometimes can’t agree on what constitutes a cult.

Most people can agree that cults have a leader. And the leader (or group of people who serve as leaders) is responsible for the rules that guide the members.

According to the Cult Education Institute, there are specific warning signs to look out for when considering whether a group might be a cult. Cults are characterized by:²

1. Absolute authoritarianism without accountability
2. Zero tolerance for criticism or questions
3. Lack of meaningful financial disclosure regarding budget
4. Unreasonable fears about the outside world that often involve evil conspiracies and persecutions
5. A belief that former followers are always wrong for leaving and there is never a legitimate reason for anyone else to leave
6. Abuse of members
7. Records, books, articles, or programs documenting the abuses of the leader or group
8. Followers feeling they are never able to be “good enough”
9. A belief that the leader is right at all times
10. A belief that the leader is the exclusive means of knowing “truth” or giving validation

Cults are dangerous because they typically rely on deceptive and authoritarian practices to make members dependent on and obedient to the group. Cults often cut members off from other forms of social and financial support and pose both physical and psychological risks to members of the group.¹

Source: verywellmind.com for the complete article