Joseph Boskin, a scholar of humor, was asked by Boston University for information on the origin of April Fools’ Day. He knowingly made up a story about the Roman emperor Constantine appointing a jester named Kugel as king for a day, who then declared April 1 a holiday for absurdity. The university issued a news release announcing him as the authority on the subject. An Associated Press reporter, Fred Bayles, wrote an article about Boskin’s “research” and included a quote where Boskin said the holiday was a serious occasion. However, two weeks later, a student from the campus newspaper revealed the truth, and the A.P. published an article stating that the university had shown a lack of humor. Boskin said he made up the story to fit in with April Fools’ Day and didn’t see what the big deal was. The incident made headlines and was a recurring media story every year on April 1. In 2004, Bayles joined the journalism department at Boston University and met with Boskin for lunch. He had bought a coconut cream pie to throw at Boskin as a prank, but ultimately decided not to, realizing that Boskin felt hurt by the mistake.
Source link
