According to Joseph Boskin of Boston University, April Fools’ Day began under the rule of Constantine. A group of court jesters told Constantine they could do a better job of running the empire, and he allowed a jester named Kugel to be king for one day. Kugel passed an edict calling for absurdity on that day and the custom became an annual event.

An aggregation of jellyfish is called a “smack.”

According to one biographer, David Bowie recorded Station to Station while subsisting on a diet of red peppers, cocaine, and milk.

According to the Library of Congress, Louis’ Lunch in New Haven, Connecticut, is the birthplace of the hamburger. In 1900, a rushed traveler wanted a quick meal from a lunch truck owned by Louis Lassen. Lassen took steak trimmings and put them between two pieces of toast.

On April 1, 1918, Great Britain founded the Royal Air Force.

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