1...that a bulbous bow can increase a ship's fuel efficiency by as much as 15%? 2...that A Year in the Merde by Stephen Clarke is a humorous look at the tense Franco-British relations during the time of the 2003 invasion of Iraq? 3...that the BMT Sea Beach Line has at times hosted the fastest express train service between Manhattan and Coney Island, but now carries only local trains of the New York City Subway, and doesn't even reach Coney Island due to reconstruction? 

It's April Fools Day, and hoaxes and pranks abound. Sidd Finch and spaghetti trees were subjects of legendary April Fools Day hoaxes pulled on the general public. Some date April Fools Day as starting from when the Gregorian Calendar took effect in 1582, changing New Year's Day from April 1 to January

"There are certain queer times and occasions in this strange mixed affair we call life when a man takes his whole universe for a vast practical joke." -- Herman Melville

long stand: something used as a practical joke to harass apprentices

House of Representatives: 1st full meeting in NYC (1789) TIROS-1: first U.S. weather satellite was launched from Cape Canaveral (1960) Nunavut: established as independent territory (1999)

William Harvey: physician who discovered blood circulation (1578-1657) Sergei Rachmaninov: pianist, composer, conductor (1873-1943) writers: Jorge Isaacs (1837-1895), Edmond Rostand (1868-1918), Edgar Wallace (1875-1932), and Milan Kundera (76)