Don't Pity the Fool
Welcome to Dr. Bluetooth's Blog and we hope you enjoy our inaugural post! This is a monthly blog intended to alternatively educate, eccentrically entertain, and even promote some thought-provoking tunes. It will delve into the depths of my dental knowledge, explore the curious questions cascading off our patients' cuspids, and may even dive into the rabbit hole we call life. Thank you to my young friend Ryan H. who sat in my dental chair one day and spontaneously said, "if you paint that tooth blue, it would be Bluetooth!" Your keen eye and humor has inspired this blog and I hope that anyone reading it breathes in that same spirit of imagination and wonder. So, in the words of Pink Floyd, breathe, breathe in the air. Don't be afraid to care...
April Fool's Day is one of my absolute favorite junior varsity holidays, second only to Fat Tuesday! To say we know the origins of this day would be an April Fool's joke in itself. Some historians believe it has origins all the way back to the Romans' celebration of Hilaria during the March equinox. Others point to Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales of the 14th century: he possibly, but not probably, referenced March 32nd (i.e. April 1st) in The Nun's Priest's Tale. Still others believe it began after switching to the Gregorian calendar in the 16th century; some individuals didn't get the new calendar memo (no Twitter) and still celebrated the beginning of the new year on April 1st... they were affectionately referred to as April fools. Regardless of its unknown origins, it's a day full of finger-pointing "gotchas," brow-furrowing fury, hiccuping hilarity and a crescendo of "April Fools."
Consequently, the use of "fool" has always fascinated me because it has so many different historical contexts, purposes, and connotations. Today, a fool is usually used condescendingly attacking an individual's incompetence. However, historically speaking, a fool was one of the most revered entertainers and confidants in a noblemen's court. In Tarot card reading, the Fool represents a person with unlimited potential, not bound by ordinary rules. Eventually, this card gave way to the Joker in the modern deck of cards. And we all know that Jokers are always wild. Just think about the versatility of the word: The fool played his audience a fool by fooling them with a gooseberry fool made of blackberries. Dare I say there is no other word in the English language that can describe a jester making his audience look silly by tricking them with a wrongly made dessert!
I hope each and everyone of you has had some lighthearted fun today. I hope that you did not pity your inner fool, but entertained it, at least for just one day. And by now, I hope you are wondering where the dental theme is in all of this. To that I humbly say, April Fools!
The dental posts get rolling next month. Hope you enjoyed the teaser!
As always Go Bucks...George
Dr. George R. Williams is a general dentist in Canton, Ohio.
For questions or suggestions for blog posts, please feel free to contact him at drgrw@williamsdentalgroup.com
April Fool's Day is one of my absolute favorite junior varsity holidays, second only to Fat Tuesday! To say we know the origins of this day would be an April Fool's joke in itself. Some historians believe it has origins all the way back to the Romans' celebration of Hilaria during the March equinox. Others point to Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales of the 14th century: he possibly, but not probably, referenced March 32nd (i.e. April 1st) in The Nun's Priest's Tale. Still others believe it began after switching to the Gregorian calendar in the 16th century; some individuals didn't get the new calendar memo (no Twitter) and still celebrated the beginning of the new year on April 1st... they were affectionately referred to as April fools. Regardless of its unknown origins, it's a day full of finger-pointing "gotchas," brow-furrowing fury, hiccuping hilarity and a crescendo of "April Fools."
Consequently, the use of "fool" has always fascinated me because it has so many different historical contexts, purposes, and connotations. Today, a fool is usually used condescendingly attacking an individual's incompetence. However, historically speaking, a fool was one of the most revered entertainers and confidants in a noblemen's court. In Tarot card reading, the Fool represents a person with unlimited potential, not bound by ordinary rules. Eventually, this card gave way to the Joker in the modern deck of cards. And we all know that Jokers are always wild. Just think about the versatility of the word: The fool played his audience a fool by fooling them with a gooseberry fool made of blackberries. Dare I say there is no other word in the English language that can describe a jester making his audience look silly by tricking them with a wrongly made dessert!
I hope each and everyone of you has had some lighthearted fun today. I hope that you did not pity your inner fool, but entertained it, at least for just one day. And by now, I hope you are wondering where the dental theme is in all of this. To that I humbly say, April Fools!
The dental posts get rolling next month. Hope you enjoyed the teaser!
As always Go Bucks...George
Dr. George R. Williams is a general dentist in Canton, Ohio.
For questions or suggestions for blog posts, please feel free to contact him at drgrw@williamsdentalgroup.com
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