Hunting the Gowk

Praise Cruise & Travolta that March is over. That means that today is April Fool's Day. When I woke up this morning I felt like playing a joke on someone, but then I came to work and got bombarded with work and now I feel like taking lunch even though it's just barely past 9:30. I guess the fact that it's (Tuesday, Mangal-waar, Seshanbeh, yawm-ath-thalatha, Fidal, Sweetmorn) doesn't help matters any. The only thing that makes the day seem manageable is the promise of Spring. It's also worth noting that the NFL Draft is coming up. There's no better way to spend a weekend than sitting in front of a TV watching the cattle call. (Ok, there may be a few better ways to spend a weekend.)

In 1789 the US House of Representatives held its 1st quorum and elected Fred Muhlenberg as the 1st House Speaker. In 1826 Samuel Morey patented the internal combustion engine. In 1873 the SS Atlantic sank in the Atlantic Ocean killing 547. In 1891 the Wrigley Co. was founded. In 1918 the RAF was created. In 1924 Adolf Hitler was sentenced to five years in jail, but only served nine months- early parole is never a good idea. The same day the Royal Canadian Air Force was created. In 1933 the Nazis staged a one-day strike against Jewish owned businesses. In 1939 the Spanish Civil War ended. Five years later US bombers accidentally bombed Schaffhausen, Switzerland- whoops. In 1946 a tsunami hit Hawaii killing 159. Three years later the Republic of Ireland was formed. In 1954 the US Air Force Academy was created. In 1963 "General Hospital" debuted. In 1970 Pres. Nixon signed the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act which required warning labels and banned tobacco advertising. In 1976 Apple Computer was formed. In 1999 Nunavut became a Canadian territory. The largest city is Iqaluit which has 6200 residents. The territory is the size of Western Europe. Seven years ago the Netherlands became the first country to legalize same-sex marriages. The Dutch are so progressive. And two years ago, the British government created the Serious Organized Crime Agency by merging the Not-So-Serious and the Completely Ridiculous Organized Crime Agencies.

In ancient Rome, today was the Veneralia in honor of the goddess Venus. This was primarily a festival in which women would seek divine help in their relations with men. They would also bathe publicly which actually worked quite well in bettering their relations with men.

Happy Birthday: Otto von Bismarck, who had a donut and a battleship named after him; one of the greatest college football coaches ever, Bo Schembechler; and M-E-T-H-O-D Man.

Enjoy the day... if you are in France, beware of people putting dead fish down the back of your shirt which is apparently what they do on April Fool's Day in that godforesaken country.