Humor
History of Black Friday: One Day Only?
What is the origin of Black Friday, and the modern practice around it.
Read MoreHistory of Daylight Saving Time – Fall Back
HISTORY OF DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME – ENDING Daylight Saving Time, or DST, is a brilliant campaign to convince us that we’re getting more daylight each day when in reality, we’ve simply changed our clocks and then forgotten about it within two weeks. DST begins each year at 2:00 A.M. on the second Sunday in March…
Read MoreHistory of November: That In-between Month
HISTORY OF NOVEMBER November is the penultimate month of the year, meaning “next to the last.” It was the ninth month (Latin: novem) until the ancient Romans shoehorned in January and February. November enjoys the distinction of being situated between the two biggest holidays in the American calendar. October has Halloween, the #2 candy revenue holiday…
Read MoreHistory of the World Series: For People Who Don’t Watch
HISTORY OF THE WORLD SERIES The World Series is over a hundred years old, starting in 1903 as a contest between the National League and the American League. This sporting event, usually held in October and sometimes called the Fall Classic, has already infringed upon the territory of the following athletic contest run-up with the…
Read MoreHistory of October 10: 42 Day
HISTORY OF OCTOBER 10: 42 DAY Question: What is the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything? Answer: 42 Question: What does that mean?
Read MoreHistory of October: the Pumpkin Spice Saga
HISTORY OF OCTOBER: THE PUMPKIN SPICE SAGA October, the tenth month of the year in both the older Julian and the current Gregorian calendar, used to be the 8th month (Latin octo) in the ancient Roman calendar. But with the addition of January and February, it got bumped to #10. This month is significant because,…
Read MoreHistory of Talk Like a Pirate Day: Avast Ye!
HISTORY OF TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY The International Talk Like A Pirate Day began not back in the “Golden Age of Pirates” in days of yore but in 2002. It was celebrated each year on September 19; though it started in the United States, it is now celebrated internationally across the Seven Seas.
Read MoreHistory of French Fries: Are They Really French?
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, for Bastille Day.
Read MoreHistory of Father’s Day: the Beginning
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 around the country. You can find that article here.] Origin of Fathers Day The celebration of Father’s Day goes…
Read MoreHistory of Towel Day: Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
HISTORY OF TOWEL DAY May 25 celebrates Towel Day as a day to honor Douglas Adams, the author of the five (or six) book trilogy Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Created in May of 2001 to mark the passing of English science fiction humor author Douglas Adams, the day is set aside for fans of his…
Read MoreHistory of Friday the 13th
HISTORY OF FRIDAY THE 13TH If you’re reading this article to learn the history of Friday the 13th, you’re in luck. Or perhaps bad luck. No one knows, with any certainty, when it began or why it’s to be feared. However, there are lots of entertaining speculative theories about the topic. What is…
Read MoreHistory of 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 the Spanish language. Another misconception is that this has something to do with Mayonnaise. That too is a bum spread,…
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