Fooling about

When did the tradition of 1 April pranks begin? One theory is that it derives from the ancient Roman festival of Hilaria, which involved games and pranks – although that was held on the spring equinox, which falls more than a week earlier than 1 April. 

— In Chaucer’s ‘Nun’s Priest’s Tale’, a fox fools a cockerel ‘since March began thirty days and two’. Another explanation is that ‘All Fools’ Day’ referred to backward country folk in 16th-century France who didn’t realise that the adoption of the Julian calendar had moved New Year’s Day from 25 March (a week’s festivities used to end on 1 April) to 1 January. However, the first reference to a ‘poisson d’Avril’ was in a poem from 1508, before the calendar change was made. 

Price wars

The price of which food and drink products has risen most in the past 12 months?

Oils/fats 32%

Milk/cheese/eggs 31%

Vegetables 18%

Coffee/tea/cocoa 17%

Bread/cereals  16.7%

Meat 16.3%

Fish 16%

Sugar/jam/chocolate/confectionery 15%

Fruit  7.7%

Beer 7%

Wine 4.1%

Source: Office for National Statistics

Take out the trash

The government wants to standardise waste and recycling collections across the country. Have we made any progress in recycling – and cutting waste – over the past decade? 2011 2021

2011

Total household waste 421kg

Recycling rate 43.3%

Dry recycling rate 30.9%

Total residual waste to landfill or incineration (tonnes) 12.5m

2021

Total household waste 409kg

Recycling rate 44.1%

Dry recycling rate 31.6%

Total residual waste to landfill or incineration (tonnes) 12.8m

Source: Defra

Tip off

A tweet by a New York waitress went viral after she announced ‘I hate Europeans sometimes’ because diners had left only a 10 per cent tip on their $700 bill. Which countries tip the most and the least?

– According to Western Union, the countries where tips are highest are the US, Canada, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE – in each, tips of 15% to 20% are expected.

– A 2022 survey suggested New Hampshire has the most generous tippers of all, with 20% of diners leaving 25% or more.

– Tips are least common in China, Japan and Singapore, according to Western Union.