Darwin the victim of an April Fool’s joke

April 1, 2019 • 8:00 am

I’m not going to perpetrate any April Fool’s pranks today, but I wanted to point out (thanks to Matthew) that Darwin was victimized by one about three months after he set out on his five-year Beagle voyage.

The tweet below, from the “Friends of Darwin”, gives the link, and I’ll reproduce the prank below:

Darwin wrote this in his Beagle diary the same day:

April 1st

All hands employed in making April fools. — at midnight almost nearly all the watch below was called up in their shirts; carpenters for a leak: quarter masters that a mast was sprung. — midshipmen to reef top-sails; All turned in to their hammocks again, some growling some laughing. — The hook was much too easily baited for me not to be caught: Sullivan cried out, “Darwin, did you ever see a Grampus: Bear a hand then”. I accordingly rushed out in a transport of Enthusiasm, & was received by a roar of laughter from the whole watch. —

However, looking up “grampus“, I find that it is indeed the name given to several sea creatures, as well as other animals.

Grampus may refer to:

So perhaps Darwin knew what a grampus was, and the trick was not like the American “snipe hunt” where a nonexistent creature is touted. According to another site, Darwin was probably expecting to see an orca.

13 thoughts on “Darwin the victim of an April Fool’s joke”

  1. The “snipe hunt” thing never made sense to me, since there really is such a thing as a snipe.

    1. In Idaho the bag limit for Wilson’s snipe is eight, which is ridiculous because shooting even one on the wing would be a miracle.

    3. Just as there WAS such a thing as a grampus.

      The classic American snipe hunt [early 20th C version] was for a group of boys to take the gullible one — younger, or a city lad, in any event someone who had no idea what a snipe was — on the hunt. At night, in the woods. The contrivance was that the mark was to wait in the woods with a big cloth bag, while his friends drove a “snipe” toward him and he was to bag the snipe. Of course the confederates, after some initial beating and whooping noise, crept away, leaving the gull in the dark and “holding the bag”.

  2. That’s wonderful and it gave me the opportunity to read more of his journal entries from this trip (I did not know this journal existed online). Thank you for this resource! What a joy it is to be reading this right now.

    If anyone else is interested, go to the website link Jerry has provided and click on the journal date link directly below the title and above the reproduction of the journal entry. It will bring you to Darwin’s journal of the entire trip, beginning some way down the page at April 1st, so you can scroll back and read from the beginning if you like, or read on from April 1st. I would particularly suggest the passages directly after April 1st, which regard the joy of reaching the harbor, the sights, and his descriptions of Rio de Janeiro (and they’re also the only entries I’ve read so far, so…I guess I’m recommending reading the entire journal, assuming it’s similarly beautifully written and imbued with Darwin’s excitement and enthusiasm).

    What a lovely style of writing he possessed. It’s great fun to read this journal. Thanks again, Jerry.

      1. You know, I’ve never listened to an audiobook in my entire life, but the journal is very long and this might be a good opportunity to try something new. Thanks very much for the link.

  5. Mastigoproctus giganteus – what a beautiful scientific name! Literally a giant anus shaped like a whip.

  6. I always thought thst the Grampus was that anti-Santa Claus guy who dispensed coal to naughty children.

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