Top 10 facts about April
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EASTER Monday, a new month and April Fool’s Day to celebrate. So let’s get on with the facts.
1. In Old English the month of April was also called SSLqEastermonad'.
2. Why the Romans called it ‘Aprilis’ is not clear. Some say it is connected to the verb ‘aperire’, to open, referring to the opening of flowers.
3. The phrase ‘April gentleman’ used to be applied to a foolish man, especially one newly married.
4. The birthstone of April is the diamond, and the flower is either the daisy or the sweet pea.
5. April is National Autism Awareness Month, National Pet Month and Jazz Appreciation Month
6. A judge in Melbourne, Australia, told two robbers they were a 'pair of fools' before sending them to jail for a crime committed on April 1, 2007.
7. Not only had they stolen a bag of bread rolls from a restaurant thinking it was full of money, but one robber shot the other in the buttocks by mistake as they were fleeing.
8. The earliest known reference to ‘April fools’ was in Congreve’s play The Old Bachelor in 1693.
9. In Italy, France and Belgium, an April fool is called an April fish.
10. “The first of April is the day we remember what we are the other 364 days of the year,” (Mark Twain).Ten things you never knew about... April WILLIAM HARTSTON