A is for April Fools

Today, there will be many posts about April Fools Day. Where did it start? What are the most outlandish pranks? Who likes the pranks and who detests them? I will let someone else write about those questions. I am here to tell you about one great prank that actually made it into a book.

First, let me remind you that many of the posts during April will be about the Isle of Man and my first novel, The Manx. In case you didn’t know, the Isle of Man is a tiny place that sits in the middle of the Irish Sea. It is only 221 square miles (32 miles long and 14 miles wide), and home to over 82,000 people. Half the population are Manx who are native born to the Isle of Man.

The April Fools joke? It was about a bridge and the Handbook of International Bridge Engineering. In 2008 the Liverpool Echo announced that a bridge would span the Irish Sea from Liverpool to Isle of Man’s capital city, Douglas.  According to the HIBE, The Alf Priolo bridge would be 432,960 feet long and the third longest in the world.

The 82 mile expanse would be named after a well known 19th Century Manx engineer by the name of Alf Priolo. However, the engineer did not exist, and the name is actually an anagram for April Fool.

I have it on reliable authority the bridge was recently completed. The Little People, also referred to as Themselves, completed construction just a few weeks ago. My source explained that the Little People were tired of the small bridge they had been relegated for so many centuries. Besides, they wanted to get out and see the rest of the world so only they can use it.  It spans from somewhere near Peel Castle, Isle of Man, to Ballyhornan, Northern Ireland. Don’t bother trying to find it. It’s invisible.

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This post inspired by: “A”

B — Buggane