One pop-culture historian fooled the nation with a fake origin story of April Fools' Day

In 1983, Joseph Boskin, a professor at Boston University, was interviewed by the Associated Press to discuss the history of April Fools'. Boskin shared a made-up story about a jester who took over Rome for a day and proclaimed that April 1 would henceforth serve as 24 hours of silliness. AP published the fib about "King Kugel," creating buzz and confusion for news outlets around the country.

'Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.'

- Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) in "Elenora"

'I can’t go back to yesterday–because I was a different person then.'

- "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" author Lewis Carroll (1832 - 1898)

Clemens' pen name 'Mark Twain' is a nautical reference

Samuel Clemens became a steamboat pilot’s apprentice in 1857 while writing a travelogue for a small newspaper, and earned his pilot’s license two years later. During that time, he learned the term “mark twain,” which meant 12 feet, something shipworkers would yell when they were approaching shallow waters. In 1861, he signed a travel letter under the pseudonym “Mark Twain” and used it for the rest of his career.

He made a name with a short story about jumping frogs

Twain’s first big break came with “Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog,” a fictitious story that appeared in a 1865 edition of the New York Saturday Press. (When it was republished elsewhere, the title was changed to “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.”) That year, American poet James Russell Lowe called it “the finest piece of humorous literature yet produced in America.”

Read the works of Mark Twain

Twain's books are in the public domain, meaning they can be freely distributed. Digital versions of his classic novels—including "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court"—as well as many of his short stories and satirical essays can be accessed through Project Gutenberg.

'Remember, no man is a failure who has friends.'

- 1946 film "It's a Wonderful Life"

Mark Twain had many gripes with the US Postal Service

Twain often complained about the cost of postage and the service's inefficiencies, often sharing these criticisms in newspaper opinion pieces. Still, in 1907, the USPS issued a commemorative stamp featuring his face.

Many consider Twain 'the father of American literature'

In "Green Hills of Africa," Ernest Hemingway declared that all modern American literature sprang from Twain's "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." That's a sentiment shared by many scholars, who assert that Twain's book changed American fiction by challenging the country's racist history and incorporating a more realistic vernacular.

'Mockingbirds don't do one thing except make music for us to enjoy ... That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.'

-Harper Lee (1926-2016) in "To Kill a Mockingbird"

'(Kids) don't remember what you try to teach them. They remember what you are.'

- "Muppets" creator Jim Henson (1936-1990)

Mark Twain invented an unsuccessful board game

“Memory Builder” was based on pinning historical events in their correct chronological order. It was test-marketed in 1891, but never took off. One critic said, “The game looked like a cross between an income tax form and a table of logarithms.”

'All the world is birthday cake, so take a piece, but not too much.'

- Musician George Harrison (1943–2001)

'No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.'

-Charles Dickens (1812-1870), in "Our Mutual Friend"

'What each of us must come to realize is that our intent always comes through.'

- First African American Supreme Court justice Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993)

'And I knew that it was better to live out one's absurdity than to die for that of others.'

-Ralph Ellison, from "Invisible Man" (1913-1994)

'Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world.'

- Albert Einstein

'In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on.'

-Poet Robert Frost (1874-1963)

Twelve ways the world celebrates springtime

Celebrating the seasonal change is rarely filled with as much relief and hope around the world as spring. This list compiles some famous and lesser-known springtime traditions from diverse cultures.

'Knowledge will forever govern ignorance.'

- US President James Madison (1751-1836)

Well before the publication of 'Walden,' Henry David Thoreau nearly burned down his hometown with an unruly campfire.

Biographer Ron Chernow believes Twain's legacy embodies 'the best and worst of our culture'

Twain’s childhood hometown of Hannibal, Missouri, attracts countless tourists seeking Twain-themed reenactors and museums. Ron Chernow, author of a 2025 about the writer, argues that the ongoing interest in Hannibal and in Twain’s writing is because his work and life typify the American experience.

'All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost; the old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost.'

- "The Lord of the Rings" author JRR Tolkien (1892-1973)

A quote by award-winning actor Tom Hanks

"We are still in the position of waking up and having a choice. Do I make the world better today somehow, or do I not bother?"

Twain ruthlessly criticized other writers

The writer was known for lambasting popular writers of his time, including Jane Austen and Robert Louis Stevenson. One of his most famous takedowns is “Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offences,” an essay that simultaneously mocks Cooper’s popular adventure tales and satirizes the pretentiousness of literary criticism. Remarking on Cooper’s novel “The Deerslayer,” Twain wrote, “its conversations are—oh! Indescribable; its love-scenes odious; its English a crime against the language.”

'Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.'

- Judy Garland

Twain read (and lampooned) classic literature

Ever the ironist, Twain claimed to have “ no liking for novels or stories.” Obviously, that was untrue: He read widely, devouring books by Charles Dickens, slave narratives, and texts on astronomy. He also loved John Milton’s “Paradise Lost,” which he called “something everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read.”

'A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.'

- Jackie Robinson, the first Black MLB player (1919-1972)

'There cannot be mental atrophy in any person who continues to observe, to remember what he observes, and to seek answers for his unceasing hows and whys about things.'

-Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922)

Mark Twain was an early influence on stand-up

The writer’s live lectures looked a lot like modern stand-up comedy specials. Twain’s world tour in the 1890s featured 90-minute performances in which he stood alone on the stage, delivering long, comedic monologues with his hand perched on his chin.

'There's a hell of a distance between wise-cracking and wit. Wit has truth in it; wise-cracking is simply calisthenics with words.'

- Writer Dorothy Parker (1893-1967)

'You only go around once, but if you play your cards right, once is enough.'

- Frank Sinatra (1915–1998)

'The good ole days weren't always good, and tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems.'

- Billy Joel (1949-present)

'I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot ... The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.'

- Author Jack London (1876 - 1916)

'Real courage is when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.'

- Harper Lee from "To Kill a Mockingbird"

Mark Twain started writing 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' to distract himself.

The origins of World Laughter Day

Every first Sunday of May worldwide, World Laughter Day is observed, where people gather in public places and laugh. Dr. Madan Kataria developed the ritual based on the facial feedback hypothesis, which posits our facial expressions can affect our mood. The day, first started in 1998 in India, has grown exponentially in recent years. Meet the chortler-in-chief here.

'Let us learn to show our friendship for a man when he is alive and not after he is dead.'

Meyer Wolfsheim in F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby"