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In 1992, NPR published a story that Richard Nixon would be seeking a second term in the upcoming election. They used a voice actor to mimic Nixon’s vocal style, and the country began to explode in shock at the announcement. The date was April 1st. Unsuspecting listeners to the radio station had fallen for a classical April Fool’s Day prank.
The stories of the gullible continue each year, with unsuspecting victims reading and watching fake news stories created to trick the public. These stories date back to the change to the Gregorian calendar. The shift moved the New Year to January 1st, as decreed in the Council of Trent. Those who did not get word of the change continued to celebrate the New Year on the first of April and were quickly labeled “The April Fools.”
The lore of this day of fake news has been capitalized on by many, with my favorite occurring in 1957, when there was a story from the BBC stating the spaghetti crops were plentiful on the trees. Many looked at the image and those that had difficulty with processing in the reasoning lobe of the brain thought, “I was today years old when I discovered spaghetti comes from trees.”
Applying logic and reasoning capabilities to the stories that surround us is a critical task that only 7 out of 10 individuals are capable of accomplishing. The global IQ is 85, with the United States ranked at 98 in 2019. When researchers looked at verbal IQ, Republicans in 2014 scored higher than Democrats. In fact, socioeconomic factors contributed within the party and the ability to use logic.
Those who choose to question stories are labeled conspiracy theorists. This is often a defense of the low IQ, a self-preservation, because they lack the ability to ask questions they cannot comprehend.
Next time someone tells you to put on your tin foil hat, maybe check their back for an April Fools sign that says, “Kick Me.”
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