InkFreeNews photo by Lasca Randels

By Lasca Randels
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — We start this month off with a holiday — April Fools’ Day (also known as All Fools’ Day). April Fools’ Day is an annual custom that takes place on the first day of April consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes, often followed by the prankster yelling “April Fools!”

TRIVIA:

• April is a feminine given name taken from the month of the same name. It was the most popular “month name” given to girls in the United States between 1960-2000. 
• The diamond is the traditional birthstone of April.
• Zodiac signs are Aries, March 21– April 20, and Taurus, April 21- May 20.
• April birth flowers: Daisy and Sweet Pea. 
• April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. If you suspect abuse or neglect, please call the Indiana Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline at 1-800-800-5556.

HOLIDAYS:

• April 1 — April Fools’ Day

THIS MONTH IN MUSIC:

Billboard Top 10 Hits the week of April 1, 2000:

1. Say My Name – Destiny’s Child
2. Maria Maria – Santana featuring The Product G&B
3. Breathe – Faith Hill
4. Amazed – Lonestar
5. Bye Bye Bye – NSYNC
6. Show Me The Meaning Of Being Lonely – Backstreet Boys
7. Get It On Tonight – Montell Jordan
8. Smooth – Santana featuring Rob Thomas
9. That’s The Way It Is – Celine Dion
10. Thong Song – Sisqó

Songs About April:

1. April In Paris – Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong
2. April Come She Will – Simon & Garfunkel
3. April Fools – Aretha Franklin
4. April Again – Dean Martin
5. April 29, 1992 (Miami) – Sublime

HISTORICAL EVENTS IN APRIL:

• April 9, 1959 — America’s first astronauts were announced by NASA on April 9, 1959. The Mercury Seven were the group of seven astronauts selected to fly spacecraft for Project Mercury. They are also referred to as the Original Seven and Astronaut Group 1.  Their names were publicly announced by NASA on April 9, 1959; these seven original American astronauts were Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard, and Deke Slayton. The Mercury Seven created a new profession in the United States, and established the image of the American astronaut for decades to come. All of the Mercury Seven eventually flew in space. They piloted the six spaceflights of the Mercury program that had an astronaut on board from May 1961 to May 1963, and members of the group flew on all of the NASA human spaceflight programs of the 20th century – Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and the Space Shuttle. Shepard became the first American to enter space in 1961, and walked on the Moon on Apollo 14 in 1971. Grissom flew the first crewed Gemini mission in 1965 but died in 1967 in the Apollo 1 fire; the others all survived past retirement from service. 
• April 15, 1912 —RMS Titanic was a British passenger and mail-carrying ocean liner that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on April 15,1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers and crew members aboard, about 1,500 died, making it the deadliest sinking of a single ship up to that time. The disaster drew public attention, spurred major changes in maritime safety regulations and inspired many artistic works.Titanic was under the command of Captain Edward J. Smith, who went down with the ship. Titanic was equipped with 16 lifeboat davits, each capable of lowering three lifeboats, for a total of 48 boats. Despite this capacity of 48, the ship was only equipped with a total of 20 lifeboats. Fourteen were regular lifeboats, two were cutter lifeboats and four were collapsible and proved difficult to launch while the ship was sinking. Together, the 20 lifeboats could hold 1,178 people—about half the number of passengers on board, and one-third of the number of passengers the ship could have carried at full capacity (a number consistent with the maritime safety regulations of the era). The British Board of Trade’s regulations required 14 lifeboats for a ship 10,000 tonnes. Titanic carried six more than required, allowing 338 extra people room in lifeboats. When the ship sank, the lifeboats that had been lowered were only filled up to an average of 60%.

EVENTS:

• April 5 — Teen Battle Laser Tag, 6-8 p.m., Pete Thorn Center, 907 N. Park Ave., Warsaw
• April 8 — WACF Eclipse Watch Party, 2:30 p.m., 11586 N. SR 13, Syracuse. 
• April 20 — American Legion Post 49 Auxiliary 2nd Annual Spring Bazaar, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., 301 N. Buffalo St., Warsaw.