Joseph Boskin's 1983 origin hoax said that the jester Kugel became king for a day.
Boskin, a Boston University historian, invented the story during a telephone interview with Associated Press reporter Fred Bayles. He claimed that April Fools' Day began during the reign of the Roman emperor Constantine, when court jesters persuaded the emperor to let one of them run the empire for a day. The chosen jester, he said, was named Kugel.
The name was an intentional clue: kugel is a Jewish noodle pudding. Bayles did not realize the account was a joke, and the story was distributed over the AP wire and reprinted by newspapers on April 1, 1983.
The hoax was exposed weeks later when Boskin retold it in a class. Journalism student Bill Swersey reported the revelation in Boston University's Daily Free Press, which published the story on April 14. Kugel was never a genuine historical king or the documented origin of the holiday.