Today is April 1, April Fools’ Day, the annual holiday that celebrates pranking, hoaxes, and all manner of horseplay and tomfoolery. But why? Where did this faux holiday come from? Why do we do this to each other, and when will we finally just stop?These are surprisingly tricky questions, and April Fools’ Day has been around for a surprisingly long time. As far back as 1708, the British newspaper Apollo asked, “Whence proceeds the custom of making April Fools?” and provided unconvincing answers. So we know the April Fools’ tradition goes back centuries, but the exact origins of the holiday are still a mystery. There are theories, but they all reek faintly of bullshit. April Fools’ Day origin story #1: The great French calendar switch of 1582The most popular (but still probably bullshit) April Fools’ origin story blames France. It goes like this: Back in 1563, The Council of Trent