History of French Fries: Are They Really French?

French Fries

HISTORY OF FRENCH FRIES: NATIONAL FRENCH FRY DAY Today is National French Fry Day. While no one knows who began this celebration, placing it on July 13 is significant because the important French holiday is the next day, July 14, Bastille Day.   Origin of French Fries Some French people might call the delectable potato…

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History of Father’s Day: the Beginning

Fathers Day

HISTORY OF FATHERS DAY: the Beginning [NOTE: I wrote a more extended and serious version of this article for CBS.com several years ago. It has been published on their network of sites for major cities nationwide. You can find that article here.]   Origin of Father’s Day The celebration of Father’s Day goes all the…

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History of Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo

HISTORY OF CINCO DE MAYO Cinco de Mayo is frequently regarded as the Mexican equivalent of the United States 4th of July. This is incorrect: it is the equivalent of the “5th of May” in Spanish. Another misconception is that this has something to do with Mayonnaise. That too, is a bum spread, as the…

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History of May the Fourth (Be With You): Star Wars Day

  HISTORY OF MAY THE FOURTH May 4th or May the Fourth is a geek holiday that has gained popularity in recent years due to a popular film franchise. But where did it begin?   History of May the Fourth “May the Fourth” is taken from the benediction “May the Force be with you,” made famous…

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History of Earth Day

Earth Day

HISTORY OF EARTH DAY April 22 is called Earth Day because it commemorates and celebrates the observance of the anniversary of our discovery of planet Earth. By all accounts, there is general agreement that Earth is far superior to the planet from which we came, as I shall recount below. Meanwhile, several companies on Earth…

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History of April 19: Three Reasons Why It’s Significant

April 19

HISTORY OF APRIL 19 Many of my Facebook friends have asked me to write an article on the History of April 19th. Why? This date is slightly more likely to fall on a Tuesday, Thursday, or Sunday (58 in 400 years each) than on Friday or Saturday (57) and somewhat less likely to occur on…

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History of Tax Day: Still April 15?

Tax Day

HISTORY OF TAX DAY This year, in an unprecedented action not seen since 2021’s unprecedented action, or the unprecedented action of the year before, the Internal Revenue Service has extended the deadline for Federal Income Tax filing for individual tax filers. This year, instead of being due today, April 15, the new deadline for individual…

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History of April Fools’ Day

April Fools Day

HISTORY OF APRIL FOOLS’ DAY April Fools’ Day, or All Fools’ Day, is the name given to the custom of playing practical jokes on friends on that day or sending them on fools’ errands. The origin of this custom has been much disputed; it is in some way a relic of those once universal festivities…

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History of World Backup Day

World Backup Day

HISTORY OF WORLD BACKUP DAY There isn’t much history, as the first celebration of this geek holiday was in 2011. World Backup Day is barely a decade old. But the need is genuine, now more than ever before. Especially in light of this salient fact: April Fools’ Day. March 31, the day before, is an…

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History of St Joseph’s Day: Why not more popular?

St Joseph

HISTORY OF ST JOSEPH Today, March 19, is Saint Joseph’s Day, or the Feast of St Joseph. It is celebrated by the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran Churches worldwide. The terms feast and festival are often used interchangeably and often refer to a religious holiday. What is the history of the holiday and Joseph himself?…

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History of Daylight Saving Time: Why do we Spring forward?

2 am

HISTORY OF DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME It seems like only yesterday that we discussed the end of Daylight Saving Time, or DST, a brilliant campaign to convince us we’re getting more daylight each day when in reality, they’ve simply changed their clocks and then forgotten about it within two weeks. It was only back in November, four…

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History of the Avocado: The Super Bowl Food

Super Bowl Avocados

HISTORY OF THE AVOCADO: THE SUPER BOWL FOOD   Why are avocados, especially guacamole dip, considered a required food for Super Bowl Parties? What’s the background?   Californian Avocados California, which has 60,000 acres of avocado orchards, has an avocado growing season running from March through August… not exactly friendly to the date of the…

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