Why April Fool’s Day Exists

Learn about what the “frenemy effect” can teach us about bullying; the surprising ability of marmosets to eavesdrop on each others’ conversations; and why April Fool’s Day may have originated from an out-of-date calendar.

The "frenemy effect" says bullying happens most between friends by Kelsey Donk

• Most Teen Bullying Occurs Among Peers Climbing the Social Ladder. (2021, February 17). UC Davis. https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/most-teen-bullying-occurs-among-peers-climbing-social-ladder
• With Friends Like These: Aggression from Amity and Equivalence | American Journal of Sociology: Vol 126, No 3. (2012). American Journal of Sociology. https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/712972#_i8

Marmosets eavesdrop on each other's conversations — and understand what's said by Steffie Drucker

• Eavesdropping marmosets understood other monkeys’ conversations - and they judged. (2021). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-02/aaft-emu020121.php
• Marmoset monkeys eavesdrop and understand conversations between other marmosets. (2021). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-02/uoz-mme020321.php
• Brügger, R. K., Willems, E. P., & Burkart, J. M. (2021). Do marmosets understand others’ conversations? A thermography approach. Science Advances, 7(6), eabc8790. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abc8790

April Fools' Day May Have Originated From an Out-of-Date Calendar by Reuben Westmaas

• Winick, S. (2016, March 28). April Fools: The Roots of an International Tradition | Folklife Today. Loc.gov. https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2016/03/april-fools/
• Wills, M. (2016). Why New Years Falls on January 1st | JSTOR Daily. JSTOR Daily. https://daily.jstor.org/new-year-january-1st/
• Britanniae, B. (2014, April). Origins of April Fools Day. Latin Language Blog | Language and Culture of the Ancient Latin-Speaking World. https://blogs.transparent.com/latin/origins-of-april-fools-day/

Podcasts referenced in this episode:

• Introduction: https://tim.blog/podcast/
• First story: https://songexploder.net/
• Second story: https://www.alieward.com/ologies
• Third story: http://www.wtfpod.com/
• Recap segment: https://serialpodcast.org/
• Special thanks to the HiHo team for their assistance: https://hiho.link/c/curiosity

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Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/why-april-fools-day-exists

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