April Fool's Day, 1922

April Fool Preferred (1922) A new stock named "A.F.P." appeared on the bulletin board of the Detroit stock exchange. Little was known about it except that the initials were supposed to stand for "American Fire Protection." Despite the relative mystery, the new listing prompted lively trading. It opened at six, rose rapidly to 12, dropped down to 2, and finally climbed back upward to 8, where it remained. But eventually someone thought to contact the Michigan Securities Commission to ask if this new stock had been sanctioned by them. They responded that "A.F.P." was not authorized, so sales of it were illegal and each broker was responsible for his own losses. At which point, word got around that the initials actually stood for "April Fool Preferred." The identity of the prankster who listed it on the board was not known.

Capitol Dome Collapses (1922) Topeka, Kansas businesses headlined a page of ads in the local paper with a joke about the dome of the state capitol building collapsing. The collapse of capitol building domes (because of a buildup of hot air from politicians) was a recurring April Fool gag in papers throughout the 20th Century. The most famous instance of the joke ran in the Madison Capital-Times in 1933. [The Topeka Daily Capital - Apr 1, 1922]

A Daughter’s Confession (1922) After spending three nights in jail, Walter Gurach appeared before a Chicago judge to protest that he couldn't understand why he had been arrested for wife beating. His wife seconded his innocence, declaring that he had never laid a finger on her. At which point, the couple's 11-year-old daughter Agnes came forward and confessed, "I did it. Papa said he had never been arrested. I thought I would play an April fool joke on him so I called up the police and said he was beating mamma." The case was dismissed.