Happy April Fools’ Day! Here’s a brief look back in time for this day, April 1.
In ???, April Fools’ Day becomes engrained in Western culture through the usage of practical jokes and whimsy. As implied, the origins of the day are not fully known. Some debate that it started in 1508 as a means to make fun of European towns who celebrate New Year’s Day on January 1. During this period, New Year’s Day was on March 25 in the majority of European towns; meanwhile, some villages in France celebrated it on April 1. Another proposed origin year was 1686 when English philosopher John Aubrey coined the day as “Fooles Holy Day”. No matter what, be on your guard. You could be the fool on this day for fools.
In 1984, famed Motown musician Marvin Gaye is gunned down by his own father following an argument. Both father and son had a very tumultuous relationship since Marvin’s childhood, in which Marvin Sr. was a strict disciplinarian: a stark contrast considering his reputation as a healer during his time as a Pentecostal minister. However, Marvin Jr. reportedly never stopped loving his father, as he had made multiple attempts to make amends. During one Christmas, he gifted his father a .38 Special as a means to protect himself from intruders. However, the elder Gaye was still very distrustful of his son. One day, an argument broke out between Gaye’s parents over an insurance policy, prompting Marvin Jr. to intervene. It got to a point to where he began physically hitting his father: something that the elder Gaye made a vow to murder any of his children who would dare strike at him. Using the same .38 Special his son gifted him, he charged into his room and fatally shoots Marvin Jr. in the heart. He was declared dead on arrival to the hospital.
In 2004, a secret project devised by Google developers gets released. Known today as Gmail, the application was a pioneer in simplifying instant communication via the Internet. Citing the day it was released, the public was skeptical upon release. Today, over 1 billion users rely on Gmail for personal and professional usage.