It’s the day when pranksters get their adrenaline rushes, and those who are gullible walk around in terror. That’s right, folks, it’s April Fools’ Day. From telling their parents before they’ve had their coffee that their shoelaces are untied, to putting “kick me” signs on each other’s backs, everyone is familiar with the first of April. Fitting to the nature of the holiday, no one knows the true origins of April Fools’ Day, although there are many different theories and marks in history that show how the holiday has been celebrated. April Fools’ Day is believed to have begun around the 16th century in northern Europe and then grew so popular that it made its way to Great Britain.

Since the first of April was so close to the vernal equinox, Romans and Hindus in ancient days would use this day as the mark of the New Year. In 1582, the start of the year changed to January 1 under the Gregorian Calendar. Some didn’t like the idea that the first of April was considered the beginning of the year, so they made it “fools’” day to make fun of those who didn’t switch to the new calendar and were clinging to old traditions.

In Europe, there was a celebration called the Feast of Fools where jokes would be played on other people, similar to what happens here in America. Today, Europeans typically refer to the holiday as “Poisson d’Avril” or “April Fish.” Kids are notorious for running around and taping pictures of fish on their friends’ backs.

One theory of the origin of this holiday is credited to a history professor at Boston University; according to the professor, a group of jesters challenged the Roman emperor and said they could run the empire better than he could. After being printed in multiple papers by the Associated Press, it was discovered that this was an April Fools’ joke played by the professor that made it all the way to print media.

In Great Britain, legend has it that there was a town named Nottinghamshire that was known for having a clan of fools hanging around. When a king was claiming property for his territory, he travelled through the town. The fools met the soldiers when they came into town for the king to force entry, but the soldiers found these crazy people wreaking havoc in the town, so the king declared the town was too silly to claim.

Some say that spring is pulling a prank on humans by giving the world unpredictable weather during the season. Those who are superstitious say that if pranks continue past noon on April 1, bad luck will ensue for whoever continues to prank. Here’s one for the fellas out there: if a guy is tricked by a pretty girl, according to these superstitions they will end up married.

While there are many intriguing theories of how April Fools’ Day started, the one backed with the most evidence shows that it all started at Camp Walden when a couple of teenage girls put their friends’ beds on top of their roofs. In retaliation, on the night of April 1, the victims covered their pranksters and the floor next to their beds with honey while they were sleeping, covered the room with spider webs made out of yarn and set up a booby trap filled with water balloons to fall down and splatter all over everyone. From this pranks continued to ensue every April 1, which eventually gained the name of April Fools’ Day.

Sources: Britannica.com, Hoaxes.org, Infoplease.com, Wilstar.com

Towards the end of 2014, every time Americans turned on the news, it seemed as if every broadcast was about increasing outbreaks of Ebola. Then, as 2015 rolled around, the disease suddenly disappeared. Many individuals have found themselves wondering about the effects of the disease.

The main problem is in West Africa, which is where the disease originated. Through travelling, the disease made its way over to America which is when the media exploded, specifically about a case of it in Dallas, Texas. As of now, the two nurses who were diagnosed with Ebola were cured of it.

The main areas of concern are in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone (which are all in West Africa), which is where the disease hit the hardest. Things are finally starting to look up however, as death cases of Ebola are steadily declining. In fact, the travel restrictions set on these areas are beginning to be lifted, signifying a new hope, and maybe an Ebola-free world very soon.

The World Health Organization has admitted that there is no set treatment for Ebola. However, a lot of progress is being made towards making sure that a vaccine comes out quickly. These vaccines are being tried in the US and the UK, and will eventually be tested in Europe and Africa.

As of Jan. 25, 2015, there were a total of 8,810 deaths, only one of which took place in the United States, while more than ninety-nine percent of these deaths occurred overseas.

While it looks like Ebola has taken its final bow for Americans, there’s a new contender to watch out for. Starting at Disneyland in Southern California, a staggering sixty-seven cases of measles in seven different states have broken out. This disease has spread to states including Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. Some fear that the recent skepticism of parents towards vaccinating their children will lead to a quicker spreading of illnesses, such as the measles.

The measles is a virus that is spread by sneezes or coughs. The last time Americans saw the measles, they suffered a large amount of casualties, surpassing four-hundred deaths in 1963. For more information about measles and its symptoms, go to www.cdc.gov for more information.

Sources: CNN, NY Times, BBC

It’s the time of year when snow starts falling, people chop down trees in their natural habitats to put in their houses and cover them with lights and children wake up to see oversized socks over their fireplaces filled with candy. It’s Christmas, everyone! While in America these traditions are widely accepted as normal, other countries across the globe have completely different traditions.

In Pakistan, much like in America, people are known to go Christmas caroling from house to house, collecting money along the way to donate to charity. They go a little crazy on decorating by decorating their baby cribs; sometimes Pakistanis have crib competitions! Along with this, choirs sing hymns, and fireworks start off Bara Din, or “the big day.”

Haitians are similar to Americans in that they also cut down Christmas trees and have nativity scenes to go along with them. While Americans use giant socks, Haitians clean their shoes, fill them with straw, and place them outside in hopes of seeing them overflowing with presents in the morning. Children and adults of all ages are allowed to partake in drinking on this holiday. The most famous drink is anisette, which is made by putting anise leaves in rum, making it taste sweeter.

For the 15 percent of Christians that reside in Egypt, Christmas is celebrated on Jan. 7. During the time leading up to Christmas, called Kiahk, Egyptians partake in a vegan diet in preparation for the giant feast on Christmas Day, when they can indulge in all of the foods they restrained from.

The Japanese do not necessarily celebrate Christmas as the day of Christ’s birth. For them, it is a time to spread happiness and cheer. Christmas Eve in Japan is similar to Valentine’s Day; it’s a time to celebrate loved ones. Fried chicken is the indulgence for the Japanese on Christmas, along with Christmas cake, which is a sponge cake topped with strawberries and whipped cream. While lots of things differ, Americans get their tradition of sending and receiving Christmas cards and presents from the Japanese.

Austrians decorate Christmas trees, put them up in the middle of their towns, and listen to Christmas songs, just like Americans. Austrian children believe in the Christkind, which is a baby with blond hair and wings who is supposed to be like the newborn Christ. The Christkind is responsible for decorating the Christmas tree in some households.

Jamaicans love to spread Christmas cheer by spending time with family, listening to Christmas carols, and painting their houses along with adding new decorations. They are known for traditional fruitcakes, prepared months in advance by being doused in either red wine or white rum.

Christmas is a universal holiday filled with food, happiness and loved ones. Peering into the life of another country serves as a breath of fresh air and a good comparison to the traditions Americans hold dear on the most wonderful day of the year.

Source: WhyChristmas.com

A popular freshman at Marysville-Pilchuck High School in Seattle, WA openly fired at two of his friends and then pointed the gun back at himself on Oct. 24. The shooter had texted Gia Soriano, 14, and Zoe Galasso, 14, to sit with him at lunch; upon arriving, Jaylen Fryberg used a .40 caliber pistol in the cafeteria of the high school, leaving his two friends dead and four injured. Once he had completed this he put the gun to his own head and took his life.

Due to recent shootings like this, Missouri public schools are taking legal action to ensure that their future students will be safe from potential school shootings. A new law was signed in July that first-graders will now have a gun safety class along with the rest of their curriculum. In some cases, these courses will be taught through the National Rifle Association as part of an “Eddie Eagle” Gunsafe Program. In this program, students are taught about gun safety from an eagle mascot. Classes can start as young as pre-school and can run up to third grade. Guns will not be involved in the teaching of the course, and teachers are not allowed to state personal opinions to the students about their views on the issue. Dan Brown, a member of the NRA, claims that students who are raised around guns are less likely to play with them because they become just like an everyday appliance. The program is meant to teach children what they should do in response to seeing a gun: “Stop. Don’t touch. Leave the area. Tell an adult.”

This topic is very controversial, as some parents choose not to have guns in their household, and don’t want their children to hear about firearms in the classroom setting; others feel that the gun safety lessons would benefit the kids and help them make smarter decisions in the future.

A 2004 study from the North Dakota State University Psychology Department tested the “Eddie Eagle” program in which children were given guns in a fake scenario; the children were able to repeat back what the lesson taught them, but they did not put their words into action. The study stated that programs like these lack active learning approaches, and may not be effective.

Sources: CNN.com

While in the U.S. the average high schooler is moaning and groaning about waking up at 7a.m. to take the dreaded bus to school, many young men and women in developing countries never get the opportunity to do this. The hard truth, however, is in most countries, men are provided more schooling than women. Women today still are not getting the same opportunities as men when it comes to education, something most people in developed nations take advantage of as a free resource.

Malala Yousafzai, a 17 year old Pakistani girl, recently won the Nobel Peace Prize as an activist for equal educational opportunities for girls across the globe. Yousafzai, a blogger for BBC, had recognized the Taliban’s efforts to stop Pakistani girls from getting an education and was shot by a member of the Taliban in October 2012. Miraculously, she survived and recovered, eventually starting a fund to support girls’ education all across the globe called the Malala Fund.

In light of this ongoing struggle, here are some hard facts about education to consider. Girls from lower-income families who reside in Sub-Saharan Africa get, at most, two years of schooling on average. Also, in the Middle East and North Africa, there are over 50 million illiterate women, which is almost twice the amount of illiterate men. The number of illiterate women is doubled, and in some cases more than doubled, in Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Iran and Yemen. Education is typically not recognized in the lives of preteen girls; of those who are between 10 and 14 years of age, 45 percent have received no form of education. Compared to the 12 years American children spend from kindergarten through high school (without even considering if they go to college), this statistic is flooring. Out of the entirety of youth in the world that are unable to receive an education, girls make up over half of the 140 million total.

But women are not the only ones who suffer from the consequences of a lack of an education. School is not free everywhere. In over 100 countries, both men and women cannot afford the prices of education and may end up not going to school at all. Also, most teachers in developing countries volunteer themselves for the job, and if they do get paid, the sum is next to nothing. There isn’t a burning desire to go work as a teacher in these countries, and as a result, their children suffer.

Educational issues not only affect the students but also their families and even their countries. A woman’s education is often reflected in the dynamic of her family and increases their overall health and well-being. For instance, if the mother of the family is educated, her children will be more likely to reach for higher levels of education. In the larger scheme of things, a country’s tendency to not be as competitive as other countries stems from the gap in economic income due to unfair inequities between men and women.

While these facts and statistics are scary, there is hope on the horizon. One of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals is to make primary school available to all genders by the year 2015. There are also many programs, including World Education’s Ambassadors’ Girls’ Scholarship Program (AGSP), and organizations, such as Heifer International, whose aim is to help children get an education.

Before moaning and groaning and staring at the clock in that late night class, think twice about the opportunities the average student can take advantage of every day.

Sources: npr.org, prb.org, worlded.org