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.
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