vovat | Guild of Fools

Since I've been on kind of a clown kick this week, I would feel remiss if I didn't mention the Fools' Guild of Ankh-Morpork, an institution in the Discworld series. And

vilajunkie recommended that I try writing some more Discworld-related posts, so I guess I'm killing two birds with one stone. Or is that one custard pie?

The Guild is actually a very dreary place, where fools in training go through their routines with no sense of fun for themselves, and new jokes have to be approved by a council. The leader is Dr. Whiteface, a clown with (surprise) a totally white face. The Guild trains both court fools and clowns, the latter of which are so devoted to their profession that they lose all sense of non-clown personality, and even (as seen in Men at Arms) consider their false noses to be real. Clowns' faces are registered by painting them on eggs, which is an actual practice in our world. For more information on the Fools' Guild, consult your local Librarian (ook!), or maybe this Wikipedia page.