One Man's Fish Is Another Man's Poisson

No sensationalism, please, no hoaxes. No phony "Fierce French Fish (Bites the Hand that Feeds It)" headlines. Seriousness must prevail, even when Seattlest is posting dispatches from the west coast of France.

Turns out that it all began here in France, they say, this tradition of calling the first of April "April Fool's Day." Something to do with the old Julian calendar (that started the year on April 1), perhaps, a day to play practical jokes on those a bit slow to catch on. The French call it poisson d'avril, April fish, as do the Italians, pesce d'aprile. Slap a dead fish on your buddy's back: like calling him dumb as a post.

Anyway, at the fish market in Biarritz, it's business as usual. Nobody messing with these guys.