...and April Fools' Day

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Interior of high ceilinged room with chairs and desks in rows beneath chandelier and stained-glass dome
Act 343 of 1983 (April Fools' Day Act)
Act 343 of 1983, also known as the April Fools’ Day Act, made Arkansas the only state in the Union to recogn...
Arkansas Egg Men
The Arkansas Egg Men were a notorious band of chicken thieves who ruffled plenty of feathers in northeast Arka...
two story brick building with three images of clowns "Bartleby Clown College"
Bartleby Clown College
Bartleby Clown College in Jonesboro (Craighead County) was a short-lived institution for the training of clown...
Insects attacking white woman on town street
Boll Eevil
Boll Eevil is a 1973 horror movie set in Monticello (Drew County). Although poorly received at the time of its...
White woman with curly mustache and cigars in her shirt pocket with sheriff's office logo behind her
Breeches Panic (1910s)
What is now called the “breeches panic” of the 1910s centered upon the fear amongst some men in the state ...
White man in kayak in muddy ditch
Brownwater Rafting
“Brownwater Rafting” was the name given to the short-lived and ill-advised promotion of eastern Arkansas...
White man in kilt tossing a telephone pole as white spectators watch with tents in the background
Caber Toss
Caber toss was arguably the most popular sport in Arkansas in the 1920s and 1930s. Indeed, Arkansas, despite i...
Col. Corn and Little Vittles
Col. Corn and Little Vittles was a ventriloquist act and brainchild of Jasper Oscar Watts of Hogeye (Washingto...
Exterior view of a brick and mortar restaurant with sign "Whole Frog Cafe"
Garbecue
“Garbecue” is a catch-all term for a trend in aquatic-themed barbecue that was promoted by Arkansas touris...
collapsed white woman and men superimposed on concrete bridge
Gospel Bridges Relay Race of 2011
The Gospel Bridges Relay Race of 2011 was an attempt on the part of several Pulaski County churches to foster ...
Book cover with Swedish title in red and white lettering
Gösta von Fersens underbara resa genom de södra amerikanska delstaterna och bortom Mississippi floden, med berättelser om manga konstiga och gåtfulla händelser
Gösta von Fersens underbara resa genom de södra amerikanska delstaterna och bortom Mississippi floden, med b...
Skeleton smoking a lit cigarette on black background
Sturgis Williford Holmes Jr. (1936–1992)
Sturgis Williford Holmes Jr. was a famous Arkansas folk artist who specialized in the medium of paint-by-numbe...
Old-fashioned television screen showing black and white picture of breaded man in suit
KATV Broadcast Interruption of 1959
On April 1, 1959, the audio portion of the evening’s KATV news broadcast was overridden by a pirated signal ...
Portrait white man suit, tie, glasses, reading from paper by "KCHI" microphone
Dora G. B. Marcusben
Dora B. G. Marcusben was the pseudonym under which Missionary Baptist leader and Ku Klux Klan member Benjamin ...
White woman with tattoos and colored hair in short rainbow dress and black boots singing outdoors
Operabilly
Operabilly is a genre of music unique to the Ozark Mountains of northwestern Arkansas. The term “operabilly...
shirtless white man in overalls stands beside water buffalo in field and holds canned drink
Ouachitater Buffaloes
The Ouachitater Buffaloes are a group of approximately twenty-four water buffaloes, living on the banks of Lak...
Pinehill Paper Mill Fire of 1899
When a thick bundle of letters, written in the early 1900s, came to light during a house renovation near Waldr...
Five opossums in can on its side with hay bed on grass
Possum of Tomorrow Program
The Possum of Tomorrow Program was developed by the Arkansas Agriculture Department in the early 1950s to enco...
Five opossums in can on its side with hay bed on grass
The Possum
“The Possum” is an 1837 poem written by early Arkansas settler Gammon Lausch—apparently his only work. A...
Silhouette of man
Soto Voce
Soto Voce is an early draft musical written by composer Andrew Lloyd Webber in the 1960s about the expedition ...
Two whiskey jugs and large knife on computer screen below "The Southwest Trail" text
The Southwest Trail [Computer Game]
The Southwest Trail was a 1987 text-based computer game designed by the Minnesota Educational Computing Consor...
Old man with long hair and gun sitting in military uniform
Elija Caesar Swann (1848–1919)
Elija Caesar Swann was a Confederate soldier who achieved national fame for his refusal to surrender to federa...
White man with beard and hat milking a mother pig that is nursing piglets
Woo Pig Brie
Woo Pig Brie is a pig’s milk cheese produced in Arkansas starting in 1969. It is a product licensed with the...