April Fool's Day, 1915

Do Not Kick! (1915) A prankster placed a hat on Philadelphia's Girard Avenue. On the front of the hat he pinned a note that read, "Do not kick. Brick inside." Raymond Perrott, a University of Pennsylvania student, saw the hat while walking along with a friend. Reportedly, he said to his companion, "Huh, that's a joke within a joke; watch me wallop that hat." He gave the hat a strong kick, then fell to the ground, crying out in pain. The hat flew away, revealing a brick. Perrott was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital with a broken right toe. [Trenton Evening Times, Apr 2, 1915.]

A Brand New Stunt Up His Sleeve (1915)

The Boston Globe Price Cut (1915) Readers of the Boston Morning Globe could have purchased their papers for half the cost on April Fool's Day, if they had been alert. The price listed on the front page had been lowered from "Two Cents Per Copy" to "One Cent." But almost 60,000 copies of the paper were sold before anyone noticed the unannounced price change. When the management of the Globe found out about the change, they were just as surprised as everyone else. The new price turned out to be the responsibility of a mischievous production worker who had surreptitiously inserted the lower value at the last minute as the paper went to print.

Candy Surprise (1915) Chow Lamb, a Chinese-born laundryman, bought some candy at the confectionery store of James Constantino. Unfortunately, Mr. Lamb did not read English. Therefore he did not understand the sign beside the candy that said, "April Fool Candy—Fool a Friend." The candies were cotton balls dipped in chocolate. After consuming two of them, he became very sick. He later filed charges against Mr. Constantino, under section 7, chapter 38 of the criminal code, which prohibits the sale of confections adulterated with a substance injurious to health. The outcome of his lawsuit was not reported. [Chicago Daily Tribune, Apr 1, 1915.]

Fatal Shooting (1915) James Pooley, a bartender in Evansville, Indiana, shot and killed Frank Stein, a saloon porter. Pooley claimed he thought the gun was unloaded and was playing an April Fool joke on Stein. Walter Schmidel, owner of the saloon, later admitted that he had removed an old weapon that had been behind the bar and had replaced it with a loaded revolver. [The Indianapolis Star, Apr 2, 1915.]

No Fool Like an April Fool (1915)
• Scoop - knock me out about a colyum april fool story - sumpin' new an' funny!
• Scoop's copy: Here's a new and funny april fool story. (One col of blank space)
• Aw nix now boss, have uh heart!

Compressed Air (1915) In what appeared to be an April Fool's prank gone badly wrong, Harry Zahrichs of Lackawanna, New York had to be rushed to the hospital after his fellow workmen injected compressed air into his body, tearing and dislodging some of his internal organs. [Trenton Evening Times, Apr 2, 1915.]

All Fools’ Day - The War Spreads (1915)

Tony Maloney, aka Babe Webster (1915) A San Francisco woman was charged with "masquerading in male attire" and giving a false name because she had walked around the city dressed in a man's suit of tweeds, introducing herself as "Tony Maloney." She told the judge that her real name was Mrs. Babe Webster, and that she had dressed up as a man as an April fool joke. The judge released her on the condition that she return to the courthouse the next day dressed in feminine attire. [Oakland Tribune, Apr 2, 1915.]

Bombs Away! (1915) The Geneva Tribune reported that on April 1 a French aviator flying over a German camp dropped what appeared to be a huge bomb. The German soldiers immediately scattered in all directions, but no explosion followed. After some time, the soldiers crept back and gingerly approached the bomb. They discovered that it was actually a large football with a note tied to it that read, "April Fool!" [The Atlanta Constitution, Aug 2, 1915.]

Help Wanted (1915) An ad placed in a Chicago paper brought over 300 job seekers to Proviso Township High School in Maywood, Illinois. The ad read, "WANTED—100 Laborers; bring shovels; good pay. Apply High School, Room 9, 1st av. and Madison st., Maywood, bet. 9 and 10 am." Some of the job seekers walked over twenty miles to get there, not having access to a car. School officials had to turn them away, explaining that the ad was a joke, but not of their doing. Seventy-five of the men ended up sleeping in the school yard. Eight members of the senior class were subsequently accused of having placed the ad and were punished "by denying them certain privileges." Their parents protested the punishment, but Principal Witmer said, "I'd do the same thing if they did it again." [Chicago Daily Tribune, Apr 2, 1915.]