April Fool's Day, 1902

Leno and Campbell Edit the Sun (1902) As a publicity stunt, the popular British comedians Dan Leno and Herbert Campbell were given free rein to edit the April 1 edition of the London Evening Sun. The resulting paper sold close to 3 million copies, although it received mediocre reviews from readers who complained that the jokes were stale. Later that same year, the duo recreated their day spent as editors for a film, titled "Dan Leno and Herbert Campbell Edit the Sun," which was shown around the world. This marked the first time that April Fool's Day pranks were recorded on film.

A Premium for Pennies (1902) A New York newspaper reported that, due to a "fault in the die," pennies minted in 1894 were being recalled by the U.S. Treasury, which would pay a premium of 50 cents for each coin returned. As a result of this story, Treasury offices soon had to start turning away numerous people who showed up wanting to redeem their pennies. One woman reportedly came with a bagful of pennies that she said she had paid 20 cents each for, insisting that they be redeemed for the full advertised premium.

An April Fool Temptation and Its Just Penalty (1902) Cartoon published in the Boston Post - Mar 30, 1902.