UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — From medieval calendar quirks to famous media hoaxes, April 1 has inspired centuries of elaborate pranks and cultural curiosities
Q1. In the French April Fools' tradition, the term 'poisson d'avril' refers to which one of the following?
- A. The person who is the victim of the prank (the 'April fish')
- B. The paper fish a prankster secretly pins on his own back as a badge
- C. The royal edict that shifted the New Year to 1 January
- D. The springtime festival of disguises that preceded the day
Q2. With reference to historians' proposed precursors and origin theories of April Fools' Day, consider the following:
1. The ancient Roman spring festival of Hilaria
2. France's calendar change under the Edict of Roussillon
3. The vernal equinox around 20–21 March
4. The Roman winter festival of Saturnalia
Which of the above is/are correctly identified as proposed origins/precursors of the day?
- The ancient Roman spring festival of Hilaria
- France's calendar change under the Edict of Roussillon
- The vernal equinox around 20–21 March
- The Roman winter festival of Saturnalia
- A. 1, 2 and 3
- B. 2 and 4
- C. 1 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2, 3 and 4
Q3. With reference to the Edict of Roussillon, consider the following statements:
1. It was promulgated under King Charles IX of France.
2. It moved the start of the year from Easter to 1 January.
3. It was issued in 1564.
4. It introduced the Gregorian calendar across France.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?
- It was promulgated under King Charles IX of France.
- It moved the start of the year from Easter to 1 January.
- It was issued in 1564.
- It introduced the Gregorian calendar across France.
- A. 1 and 2
- B. 4 only
- C. 3 and 4
- D. 2 only
Q4. The Edict of Roussillon fixed 1 January as New Year's Day. In a common (non-leap) year, how many days separate this New Year's Day (1 January) and April Fools' Day (1 April)?
- A. 90 days
- B. 91 days
- C. 89 days
- D. 92 days
Q5. Which one of the following is regarded as the first televised April Fools' Day hoax?
- A. The BBC's 1957 spaghetti-tree harvest broadcast
- B. The 1835 Great Moon Hoax in the New York Sun
- C. Orson Welles's 1938 War of the Worlds radio broadcast
- D. The BBC's 1976 Jupiter–Pluto gravity announcement
Q6. With reference to the BBC spaghetti-tree hoax, consider the following statements:
1. It was broadcast by the BBC in 1957.
2. It depicted a spaghetti harvest in Switzerland.
3. It claimed the 'spaghetti weevil' had been eradicated, yielding a bumper crop.
4. It was narrated by the astronomer Patrick Moore.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?
- It was broadcast by the BBC in 1957.
- It depicted a spaghetti harvest in Switzerland.
- It claimed the 'spaghetti weevil' had been eradicated, yielding a bumper crop.
- It was narrated by the astronomer Patrick Moore.
- A. 1 and 2
- B. 3 only
- C. 4 only
- D. 2 and 3
Q7. In Britannica's account of the history of fake news, which one of the following is cited as the earliest example?
- A. Octavian's propaganda campaign against Mark Antony
- B. The 1835 Great Moon Hoax in the New York Sun
- C. Orson Welles's 1938 War of the Worlds broadcast
- D. The BBC's 1957 spaghetti-tree hoax
Q8. The 1938 radio dramatization of The War of the Worlds, later exaggerated as having caused mass panic, was produced and narrated by which one of the following?
- A. Orson Welles
- B. H.G. Wells
- C. Richard Adam Locke
- D. Richard Dimbleby
Q9. In Scotland, April Fools' Day is traditionally known by which one of the following names?
- A. Gowkie Day
- B. Tailie Day
- C. Hogmanay
- D. Hilaria
Q10. With reference to national April Fools' customs, consider the following statements:
1. In France the fooled person is called poisson d'avril ('April fish').
2. In Scotland the day is called Gowkie Day.
3. In Scotland the gowk, symbol of the fool, is the cuckoo.
4. In France the custom is to pin a 'kick me' sign to the victim's back.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?
- In France the fooled person is called poisson d'avril ('April fish').
- In Scotland the day is called Gowkie Day.
- In Scotland the gowk, symbol of the fool, is the cuckoo.
- In France the custom is to pin a 'kick me' sign to the victim's back.
- A. 1 and 2
- B. 4 only
- C. 3 and 4
- D. 2 only
Q11. Consider the following author–work pairings relevant to early literary references to April foolery:
1. François Rabelais — Gargantua and Pantagruel
2. Geoffrey Chaucer — The Canterbury Tales
3. François Rabelais — Pantagrueline Prognostication (a parody of the almanacs)
4. Geoffrey Chaucer — Pantagruel (1532)
Which of the above is/are NOT correctly matched?
- François Rabelais — Gargantua and Pantagruel
- Geoffrey Chaucer — The Canterbury Tales
- François Rabelais — Pantagrueline Prognostication (a parody of the almanacs)
- Geoffrey Chaucer — Pantagruel (1532)
- A. 4 only
- B. 1 and 2
- C. 3 and 4
- D. 2 only
Q12. Which one of the following was the first-published novel of Rabelais's Gargantua and Pantagruel series?
- A. Pantagruel (1532)
- B. Gargantua (1534)
- C. Le Tiers Livre (1546)
- D. Pantagrueline Prognostication (1533)