Rockwell indulged his imagination and his sense of humor in three “April Fool” covers for the Post. This one appeared on the March 31, 1945, issue, and claimed to have 45 “mistakes.” As with his other “Fool” covers, it launched a flurry of letters, with many correspondents claiming to have spotted mistakes Rockwell hadn’t included.
Newcomers to these covers were encouraged to spot the inconsistencies of such obvious errors as the skis and inverted fishing rod. But they’d need time, patience, and some esoteric knowledge to find the complete 45. For example, how many readers would know that’s a fly-casting reel on a bait-casting rod? And that those are 1. maple leaves, 2. apples (of different colors), 3. evergreen branches with pine cones, 4. grapes, and 5. horse chestnut leaves all on the same tree? And the lobster isn’t a mistake; blue lobsters actually exist.
This article is featured in the March/April 2025 issue of The Saturday Evening Post. Subscribe to the magazine for more art, inspiring stories, fiction, humor, and features from our archives.
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