April Fools: Notice Anything Unusual?

This April 1943 cover (known as April Fool, 1943, Checkers, or The Game) contained at least 45 errors. Can you find them?

Couple at table by fireplace, many comic errors in illustration

April Fool, 1943
Norman Rockwell
April 3, 1943

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April Fools’ Day is celebrated in many countries around the world, with roots dating back to 1582 when Pope Gregory XIII ordered the adoption of a new calendar. On the Gregorian calendar, New Year’s Day occurred on January 1st, rather than April 1st—the date previously hailed as New Year’s Day by the older Julian calendar. The Gregorian calendar was slow to catch on. Many countries—Norway, Germany, England, and Denmark—didn’t recognize January 1st as New Year’s until the 1700s. Many French people also did not accept the change, and their contemporaries began to play practical jokes on them for their ignorance of the calendar. The practice became popular in England as well as the American colonies, thus giving birth to April Fool’s Day.

As most of us can attest, there has been no lack of ingenuity in honoring this “foolish” holiday. Some notable nationwide hoaxes include the popular fast-food chain Taco Bell claiming they had purchased the Liberty Bell in 1996 with plans to rename it the Taco Liberty Bell. And then there was the time when, in 2007, Google announced that it had developed technology that could deliver the Internet via plumbing systems, rather than phone lines, at a much faster speed.

Someone who greatly enjoyed playing tricks was Norman Rockwell. In the 1940s, he created three unforgettable covers for the Post celebrating the holiday, each with “errors” left by the playful illustrator.

This April 1943 cover (known as April Fool, 1943, Checkers, or The Game) contained at least 45 errors. Can you find them?

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Comments

  1. Dear Friends, Happy April Fool’s Day!!

    An 80 year old couple were having problems remembering things, so they decided to go to their doctor to get checked out to make sure nothing was wrong with them. When they arrived at the doctor’s, they explained to the doctor about the problems they were having with their memory.
    After checking the couple out, the doctor tells them that they were physically okay but might want to start writing things down and make notes to help them remember things. The couple thanked the doctor and left.
    Later that night while watching TV, the old man got up from his chair and his wife asks, “Where are you going?”
    He replies, “To the kitchen.”
    She asks, “Will you get me a bowl of ice cream?”
    He replies, “Sure.”
    She then asks him, “Don’t you think you should write it down so you can remember it?”
    He says, “No, I can remember that.”
    She then says, “Well, I also would like some strawberries on top. You had better write that down ’cause I know you’ll forget that.”
    He says, “I can remember that, you want a bowl of ice cream with strawberries.”
    She replies, “Well, I also would like whip cream on top. I know you will forget that so you better write it down.”
    With irritation in his voice, he says, “I don’t need to write that down, I can remember that.” He then fumes into the kitchen.
    After about 20 minutes he returns from the kitchen and hands her a plate of bacon and eggs.
    She stares at the plate for a moment and says, “You forgot my toast.”

    Happy April Fool’s Day!

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