by [pixie_shimmer]

* Approximately sixty circus performers have been shot from cannons. At last report, thirty-one of them had been killed.

* Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history. Spades - King David;
Clubs - Alexander the Great;
Hearts - Charlemagne; and
Diamonds - Julius Caesar.

* Excluding the joker, if you add up the letters in all the names of the cards in the deck, the total number of letters is 52, the same as the number of cards in the deck.

Acetwothreefourfivesixseveneightninetenjackqueenking

* Everyone can recognise a Jester by their colourful and inspiring outfits. However, not many people know how their outfits came to be so unique! They used to sew scraps of loose fabric together to make themselves a warmer outfit. Way back in the good old days, being a Jester was not such a profitable career, and many of them were mentally or physically handicapped and could only find work as a ‘Fool'.

* Medieval medicine considered human health to be largely governed by The four humours: Sanguine, Melancholia, Choleric and Phlegmatic.
When something went wrong, it was the Doctor, or the Court Jester that could bring things to amend.

* The three points of the Jester's hat, which we recognise at a glance, represent an asses' ears and tail worn by Jesters in earlier times. (They aren't so cool now are they…)

* The Jester's colourful costume, is called a ‘Motley'.

* In France, the tradition of having a Court Jester ended with the French Revolution.

* The Joker (Playing Card), often shows a court jester. The original version of this card, is The Fool card found in the Tarot card pack.

* April Fool's Day, is said to have been started in France, when Charles IX introduced the Gregorian Calendar. Previously, The New Year had been celebrated for 8 days, beginning on March 25th, and ending upon April 1st.
When the new calendar was introduced, New Year's Day was moved to January 1st. However, some people refused to accept the new calendar, and celebrated the New Year just as they always had. Other people had received the news of the calendar change several years after the fact. (darn Australia Post…)These people were considered “fools” or backwards, and so became the butt of many a prank or practical joke.

This months Trivia was found at the following sites.

Court Jesters
http://www.jester.net/CourtJs.htm

Fools Paradise
http://members.aol.com/pmichaels/glorantha//foolsparadise.html

Jester Links
http://www.thenoodlebowl.com/jesters/index.html

April Fool's Day
http://wilstar.net/holidays/aprilfool.htm

Court Jester
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jester

A special thank you to [irulan] for helping me find sites about Jesters!