In The Oxford Companion to the English Language, the term for foolscap puts its origin at "[17c: from a watermark showing a fool's or jester's cap and bells]", in Britain this would be about 17 x 13.5 inches, whereas in the Colony, we are used to the yellow writing paper of 8.5 x 14, also commonly known as 'legal size'.
Why yellow? There may not be an exacting reference to the use of yellow, but, if we are to follow common sense, the yellow, and a darker one with brown accouterments, is to ease laboriousness on the eyes. Those over the age of 27 will remember that most paper is seldom stark white. The brightness of the paper is harsh for any long period of study or writing. With yellow, especially in the litigious arts, the color enables feeble-eyed law students the ability to pull an all-nighter. I also find that the size, with that added 'height' of 3 inches, is just enough to keep even the largest hands the ability to rest on the pad without tiring. Either way, it has lasted over 100 years in its current state (low grade paper, in the larger size, bounded, with a left margin drawn on its side).
Why was it named foolscap? If we are to take the "unsubstantiated qualifier in wikipedia, it was introduced by a 'Sir John Spielmann' in 1580 at his established papermill in Dartford, Kent. Having the name spielmann basically means "wandering fool" in German, so it could be attributed to his surname. However, wikipedia than pushes the date to a "firm" 1479. Either way, the size and the watermark became one and the same. This 'folio' size and the imprint, fantastically done with thread sewn into the paper, became matter mixed.
The beauty of the pad is its ability to be scratch and/or finery, depending on what context it is. It can be torn away, or all pages saved like a functional journal. The tried and true yellow, with its light colored blue lines is ingrained in our tactile memories. They have paved the way for the tablet, which roughly follows the form and its function.
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