The Daily Telegraph reports that British April Fool’s jokes have been banned this year under an archaic parliamentary order, amid warnings the public can no longer tell the difference between reality and farce.
The statute from 1653 states that the issuing of false reports is strictly prohibited and punishable by the splitting of an offender’s ribs.
Officials in the Cabinet Office have taken the unusual step of asking media outlets to refrain from publishing the traditional stories on April 1 in case they trigger panic buying or spark riots.
The original statute was imposed by Oliver Cromwell when he became convinced that the public’s mocking of his warts was undermining attempts to crush royalists after the civil war.
In the government’s original Brexit plans April 1st would have been the first business day following Brexit and UK remanufacturers were expecting a relaxing of rules to allow them to manufacture toner from pixie dust and to reprocess aluminium drinks cans into OPCs. Ink manufacturers were also planning to release a range of edible inks made from squashed fruits and vegetables. Melanie Talkalot from the Society of Organic Reusers told The Recycler “It is disappointing that our members could not launch these products today and benefit from bringing these exciting new products to the market.” Alb Rexit, a political commentator at the Monday Politics club said “this is typical of the government interfering in the daily lives of people and businesses.
Today in Parliament the Government is planning a series of indicative votes to see if there is a consensus on restoring the April fools traditions.
