Where does the "kick me" sign come from?

The "kick me" sign may be an invention of Scottish people who were celebrating April Fool's Day. The recognition of April Fool's Day as a day for jokes and pranks started in the 16th century and caught on in the British Isles during the 1700s, meaning the "kick me" sign joke could be a few hundred years old.

Scots apparently enjoyed April Fool's Day so much that they extended the celebration to encompass two days. The second day apparently focused heavily on jokes involving the human rear end, which explains why the presence of a violent invitation attached to someone's back may have been seen as a good idea.