Table of Contents

• No Mr. Fish
• Undertakers Pranked
• Dr. Stransky’s Dinner Party
• Sell!
• Mme. Pompadour’s Metric Measure
• Critics of Catholicism receive Catholic medal
• Moon Mullins
• Gasoline Alley
• April First
• References

No Mr. Fish

In an effort to sidestep the flood of calls asking for Mr. Fish, the New York aquarium asked the telephone company to disconnect their service for the day.

Undertakers Pranked

Undertakers in Reno, Nevada reported that they received calls all day from people asking, “Someone there want me?” The undertakers soon began responding, “If you’re a dead one, yes.”

Dr. Stransky’s Dinner Party

Over thirty members of Washington’s social elite received invitations to attend a dinner at a Washington social club, to be hosted by Dr. Pavel Stransky, secretary of the Czechoslovak legation. Those who were invited included diplomats, debutantes, White House aides, and army and naval officers. Invitations were extended by telephone by a woman speaking with a French accent. She told them that the dinner was to be given by Dr. Stransky at 8 o’clock. “You weel come,” one invitee remembered her saying, “or Dr. Stransky weel be ver-ry disappoint. At eight. Au revoir, Monsieur!” Every one accepted. However many, noting the date, decided not to attend. Those who did show up discovered there was no host. Nor had any reservations been made. Dr. Stransky later protested that he was the main victim of the prank since he had organized no such event. He told the press, “I sent no invitations. I am astonished. People call me and say: ‘You are giving a dinner.’ Today is the 1st of April and I think it is all a joke. But why should they pick on me?”

Sell!

Pranksters attempted to deceive some of the larger brokerage offices on Wall Street. Several of the larger houses received telephone messages instructing them to sell large quantities of stock “at the market.” Doing so could have caused a collapse in stock prices. However, the brokers, who were familiar with the actual voices of their customers, realized they were being deceived and did not carry out any of the sell orders.

Mme. Pompadour’s Metric Measure

Merle Blanc, a humorous Parisian newspaper, laid a trap for André Perate, curator of the Versailles Palace. They sent him a letter, using the aristocratic signature “Madame de Mesnil-Heurteloup,” offering to donate a “double decimeter measure in rosewood” once used by Mme. de Pompadour. They suggested it could be placed in the recently reopened Pompadour apartments in Versailles.

Perate hand-wrote a reply, thanking “Madame de Mesnil-Heurteloup” for her gift, but questioning whether the relic was worthy of a place in the palace. He asked if the measure was mounted in leather and bore the Pompadour arms. He concluded by suggesting that she bring the measure to Versailles to allow him to judge its value.

Merle Blanc gleefully reproduced a facsimile of his reply, noting that the learned curator had failed to realize that Mme. Pompadour died thirty years before the metric system was invented. They suggested that they might seek space in French museums “for Napoleon’s automobile, a bracelet worn by the Venus de Milo, and an eyeglass belonging to Victory of Samothrace.”

Critics of Catholicism receive Catholic medal

The French government received a message from Athens, Greece, sent via official channels, announcing that three prominent Parisian critics of Catholicism had been awarded the Order of the Redeemer, the highest decoration awarded by the Greek government. The decoration is considered a high honor among Catholics, since it symbolizes the rebirth of the Greek nation through divine assistance. The three men who supposedly had been awarded the medal were M. Ferdinand Buisson and M. Aulard of the Sorbonne, and M. Victor Basch of the University of Paris. In reality, the decorations had been conferred on less controversial figures. It was not known who had found a way to use the Greek government to play such a joke. Ferdinand Buisson was later awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Moon Mullins

Gasoline Alley

April First

References

• “Social leaders fooled by invitation to dinner.” (Apr 2, 1925). The Washington Post.
• “April Fool joke on learned curator.” (Apr 12, 1925). The New York Times.
• “Mr. Fish has phone cut out for day.” (Apr 1, 1925). Oakland Tribune.
• “Undertakers busy answering calls of prank players.” (Apr 1, 1925). Reno Evening Gazette.
• “April Fool jokes go awry in Wall Street.” (Apr 2, 1925). The New York Times.
• “Anticlerical leaders get Christian medals.” (Apr 19, 1925). The Washington Post.

Categories

• April Fools Day
• Era
  • 1914-1949