Yesterday I got an email from my fellow collector Jari Kampala in Finland. He told me they recently have found five (5) Kakola marked handcuffs in an old storage at the Kakola prison in Åbo, Finland. My friend is now offering to sell them for $300 each.
Just like my own personal set, they are clearly marked KAKOLA and in very good condition with one original key each. My email server is down right now; if you are interested in purchasing a pair post your name here and Jari will contact you for payment and shipping details.
Lars
www.holstcollection.com
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The Calendar-Change Theory
The most widespread theory about the origin of April Fool's Day involves the Gregorian calendar reform of the late sixteenth century.
The theory goes like this: In 1582 France became the first country to switch from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar established by the Council of Trent (1563). This switch meant, among other things, that the beginning of the year was moved from the end of March to January 1. Those who failed to keep up with the change, who stubbornly clung to the old calendar system and continued to celebrate the New Year during the week that fell between March 25th (known in England as Lady Day) and April 1st, had various jokes played on them. For instance, pranksters would surreptitiously stick paper fish to their backs. The victims of this prank were given the epithet Poisson d'Avril, or April Fish. Thus, April Fool's Day was born.
The calendar change hypothesis might provide a reason for why April 1st specifically became the date of the modern holiday. But it is clear that the idea of a springtime festival honoring misrule and mayhem had far more ancient roots. In addition, the process by which the observance of the day spread from France to protestant countries such as Germany, Scotland, and England is left unexplained by this theory. These nations only adopted the calendar change during the eighteenth century, at a time when the tradition of April Foolery had already been well established throughout Europe. Finally, it is not clear what evidence, besides conjecture, supports the theory. For which reason, while there's certainly a possibility that the calendar-change hypothesis contains a germ of truth, it should not be regarded as fact.
