odditudes-and-weirdities

The problem of hairballs, abstaining from spanking as punishment for children, the importance of honesty in all parts of life, the Mr Potato Head toy, oatmeal cookies, raisins, and Walpurgis (the other Halloween) are part of today's observances landscape: Walpurgis Night Spank Out Day National Raisin Day National Oatmeal Cookie Day National Mr. Potato Head Day National Honesty Day National Hairball Awareness Day Another rendition of National Oatmeal Cookie Day is on March 18. April 30 is basically a half-year from Halloween, and just as spooky. Maybe seasonal transitions bothered our ancestors, since both autumn and spring have scary holidays associated with them. Photo by  Kimi Albertson  on  Unsplash

People who work in childcare, accepting/appreciating children, hairstyles, jazz music, a popular cartoon rabbit, adopting a pet from an animal shelter, advocating for the protection of animals, and trees are each a part of today's holidays: Adopt a Shelter Pet Day Bugs Bunny Day Childcare Professionals Day Children’s Day Hairstyle Appreciation Day International Jazz Day National Animal Advocacy Day National Arbor Day This celebrates the first cartoon in 1938. The Bugs Bunny name doesn't appear until 1940 on July 27, an alternative Bugs Bunny Day. If birds are our fine feathered friends, trees are our fine leaved friends. Let's celebrate our trees today. Photo by  Rene Bieder  on  Unsplash

Trying to fulfill the wishes of terminally ill children, making a positive impact on other people's lives, remembering chemical warfare victims, encouraging dance participation/education, shrimp scampi, a breed of rose, videos that go viral, and zippers are topics for today's observances: Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare International Dance Day National Peace Rose Day Pay it Forward Day Shrimp Scampi Day Viral Video Day World Wish Day Zipper Day The light yellow or cream colored Peace Rose was cultivated just prior to WWII. The zipper was patented on this date in 1913 in the US by Gideon Sundback. Photo by Tomas Sobek on Unsplash

Occupational safety, people who have been killed/injured/sickened by their jobs, cubicle workspaces, the problems/dangers of a noisy world, kissing a romantic partner, circadian rhythms, reading poetry, combating sexual violence, blueberry pie, superheroes, and guide dogs are involved in today's observances: Biological Clock Day Denim Day Great Poetry Reading Day International Guide Dogs Day International Noise Awareness Day Kiss Your Mate Day National Blueberry Pie Day National Cubicle Day National Superhero Day Workers Memorial Day World Day for Safety and Health at Work Today we're supposed to wear denim to draw attention to sexual violence. Biological Clock Day doesn't sound like people suddenly deciding to have children; it's more about sleep/awake cycles. Superheroes are like modern mythology; today we pay homage to that genre of print & screen. Alex Schomburg, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Telling stories to others (especially kids), school bus drivers, prime rib, the most prolific early home run hitter, Morse code, tapirs, and hyenas: Babe Ruth Day International Hyena Day Ma ntanzas Mule Day Morse Code Day Prime Rib Day School Bus Drivers' Day Tell A Story Day World Tapir Day Samuel Morse was born on this date in 1791. Babe Ruth's number was retired on this date in 1947. On this date in 1898 the Mantanzas Mule was the only casualty when the US Navy attacked the Cuban village of Mantanzas. (It's possible this was more propaganda than unbiased truth, of course.) Though tapirs are pretty photogenic, let's show some hyenas today. Photo by S Gensicke on Unsplash

Raising awareness about patents/copyrights/trademarks/designs, remembering your first kiss, the relationship between children and pets, pretzels, raising awareness about the struggles of equines, embracing an Australian, embracing a friend, the blooming of the pink flower Creeping Phlox, measuring the strength of earthquakes, and considering the plight of birds comprise today's holiday topics: Audubon Day Full Pink Moon Hug a Friend Day Hug An Australian Day National Help a Horse Day National Kids and Pets Day National Pretzel Day Remember Your First Kiss Day Richter Scale Day World Intellectual Property Day The Full Pink Moon is also known as the Breaking Ice Moon, Moon When the Streams Are Again Navigable, Budding Moon of Plants and Shrubs, Moon of the Red Grass Appearing, Moon When the Ducks Come Back, Moon When the Geese Lay Eggs, and Frog Moon, and the Sucker Fish Moon. Charles Richter , who would go on to develop the Richter Scale to measure the strength of earthquakes, was ...

The problem of children manipulated to resent one of their parents, pet owners who act a little like their pet's parents, preventing/detecting/treating malaria, an organization for women over 50, pinhole photography, and penguins are topics for today's observances: Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day World Penguin Day World Malaria Day Red Hat Society Day Pet Parent's Day Parental Alienation Awareness Day Geeks and nerds may be tempted to celebrate a flavor of Linux on Red Hat Society Day, but it's really a social organization of women who literally wear red hats. Pinhole photography involved a pinhole in front of photosensitive material that creates an image. This is approximately the date that Adelie Penguins leave Antarctica for their (Southern Hemisphere) winter, though it sounds like we can celebrate all penguins today. Photo by Pam Ivey on Unsplash

Manicures/pedicures, families with deaf parents, zucchini bread, expressing appreciation to plumbers, the day eastern and western Allied troops met during WWII, the telephone, and DNA get celebrates today: DNA Day East Meets West Day Hug A Plumber Day Mother, Father Deaf Day National Mani-Pedi Day National Telephone Day National Zucchini Bread Day East Meets West Day commemorates Soviet Union and American troops meeting at the Elbe River in 1945 and thus representing the impending defeat of Nazi Germany. On this date in 1953 the discovery of DNA was published in Nature magazine. Image by  liyuanalison  from  Pixabay

Holidays today are about taking risks/chances, the Spanish language, and laboratories: National Picnic Day Quark Day Saint George's Day  AKA  Lover's Day Spanish Language Day Take a Chance Day World Laboratories Day On this date in 1616  Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra   died, which is why Spanish Language Day is celebrated on this date. Saint George, who died on this date in 303 AD, has his day celebrated similar to St Valentine's Day in parts of Spain, which gave rise to Lover's Day. In 1994 the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory announced the discovery of the top quark, inspiring Quark Day. It's also a day to celebrate our laboratories. Sieuwert Otterloo on Unsplash

The English Language, promoting reading/publishing/copyrights, abstaining from writing for free, cherry cheesecake, lost dogs, talking like Shakespeare, and a popular Dr Who storyline are focused upon today: English Language Day Impossible Astronaut Day International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day National Cherry Cheesecake Day National Lost Dog Awareness Day Talk Like Shakespeare Day World Book Day The Impossible Astronaut was a Dr Who multi-episode storyline; if you see someone with tally marks on them, they could be celebrating. The mysteriously arcane International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day is mostly about writers getting paid for their work rather than doing anything for free. On this date in 1616 William Shakespeare died. (His exact birth date isn't known.) This had triggered days relating to the English language, speaking like Shakespeare, and books/copyrights.

It's Quark Day, the anniversary of the announcement of the discovery of the top quark in 1994. This was the last of the quarks to be discovered; it joined up quark, down quark, charm quark, strange quark, and bottom quark. This discovery was pretty important to physicists. The Standard Model of particle physics - which explains the electro-magnetic force, the strong nuclear force, and the weak nuclear force (sorry gravity) - predicted the existence of the 6 quarks, so the discovery helps to support the correctness of this model. Ranjithsiji, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Exposing your children to your workplace, encouraging girls to pursue STEM careers, the leaders of Girl Scout troops, the proverbial April rain shower, jelly beans, and environmental protection are on our minds today: April Showers Day Earth Day Girl Scout Leader Appreciation Day International Girls in ICT Day Jelly Bean Day Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day Hope you have a conservationally friendly, ecologically wise, environmentally responsible Earth Day. Image by  OpenClipart-Vectors  from  Pixabay

Creativity/innovation, the final battle of the Texas Revolution, keeping off the grass, kindergarten, chocolate covered cashews, and bulldogs get our attention today: Big Word Day Keep Off the Grass Day Kindergarten Day National Bulldogs Are Beautiful Day National Chocolate Covered Cashews Day San Jacinto Day World Creativity and Innovation Day On this date in 1837 Friedrich Froebel, creator of kindergarten, was born. On this date in 1836 the Texan Army won the Battle of San Jacinto and hence the Texas Revolution over Mexico. The creator of Keep Off the Grass Day hints it might be related to either yesterday's marijuana holiday or tomorrow's Earth Day. Here's wishing you a very hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian Big Word Day. And we end with the beauty of bulldogs. David Manning on Unsplash

Volunteering, finding a celebrity you resemble, the Chinese language, pineapple upside down cake, lima beans, marijuana, and cheddar fries are things to celebrate today: 420 Weed Day Chinese Language Day Lima Bean Respect Day Look Alike Day National Cheddar Fries Day National Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Day Volunteer Recognition Day Many people want to celebrate marijuana on the March 28 Weed Appreciation Day. That's fine, but today is the day that's specifically for the marijuana weed. Something that's legal everywhere (and almost as addictive) are cheddar fries. "shake shack cheese fries"   by  goodiesfirst  is licensed under  CC BY 2.0

Raising awareness about meningitis, tai chi & qigong, a 1980s boy band, tiny hotdogs in tiny rolls, veterinary care, curtailing testing on laboratory animals, and supporting our frog friends are all involved in today's observances: World Veterinary Day World Tai Chi And Qigong Day World Meningitis Day World Day for Laboratory Animals Save the Frogs Day Pigs-In-A-Blanket Day New Kids on the Block Day Frogs and their amphibian relatives are generally declining in numbers, probably due to habitat loss and pollution. If we can make a world that's healthier for frogs, it'll probably be healthier for us too. Photo by Zdeněk Macháček on Unsplash

Making home repairs for vulnerable families, the Armenian Genocide, a sense of smell, a Western swing musician/songwriter, independent bookstores, the birthday of a Winnie the Pooh character celebrated by Austin University of Texas students, physics, and bird watching are topics comprising today's observances: Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day Bob Wills Day Eeyore's Birthday Party Go Birding Day Independent Bookstore Day National Physics Day National Rebuilding Day National Sense of Smell Day A silly idea at the University of Texas's Austin branch to celebrate Eeyore the Donkey has evolved into an annual community event.  Before there was rock and roll, there was Western swing, and Bob Willis was one of the pioneers of that brand of music. The weather's getting warmer, migration season is underway, and there's probably an abundance of opportunities to see our bird friends. Photo by Rogean James Caleffi on Unsplash

Friendly relations between the US and the Netherlands, the captain of the Minutemen militia, remembering the domestic terrorist bombing of Oklahoma City, hanging clothes on a clothesline, the discovery of lysergic acid diethylamide, amaretto, an ancient Roman festival involving agriculture goddess Ceres, garlic, the primrose, and humor are topics on our minds today : Primrose Day Patriots' Day Oklahoma City Bombing Commemoration Day National Hanging Out Day National Am aretto Day John Parker Day Humorous Day Garlic Day Dutch-American Friendship Day Cerealia Festival Bicycle Day One of the more misleading holiday names is Bicycle Day, which isn't about bicycling as much as it's about the discovery of the hallucinogenic effects of LSD. National Hanging Out Day is also probably different than you'd think. It's about drying laundry by hanging it out on a clothesline, not about hanging around with people. Primrose Day is primarily about the flower, though it's celebr...

Promoting awareness of cultural heritage, adults with autism, regular people communicating via radios, linemen, jugglers, news columnists, candy-filled pinatas, animal crackers, pet owners, and velociraptor dinosaurs get our attention today: Adult Autism Awareness Day Day For Monuments and Sites International Jugglers Day National Animal Crackers Day National Columnists Day National Lineman Appreciation Day National Velociraptor Awareness Day Pet Owners Independence Day Piñata Day World Amateur Radio Day When thinking about National Lineman Appreciation Day, don't think about hulking football players; think about the people who maintain our electrical, telephone, and cable lines. The columnist Ernie Pyle lost his life on this date in 1945 while covering WWII. The Jurassic Park movies have shot up the popularity of dinosaurs in general, but velociraptors especially became fan favorites. Image by  Michael Wedermann  from  Pixabay

Record stores, auctioneers, providing help to those with hemophilia, the circus, dames, and haiku poetry are covered by today's observances: World Hemophilia Day Worl d Circus Day Record Store Day Nothing Like A Dame Day International Haiku Poetry Day National Auctioneers Day This year National Haiku Poetry Day transformed into International Haiku Poetry Day. Everybody likes a haiku they did not need to write by themselves. The term dame has evolved over time, and probably means different things to different people. I'm thinking the dames the holiday celebrates are probably a little blunter, feistier, and maybe with a bit of an edge compared to the average woman. As any Boomer can tell you, music used to be distributed mostly on thin vinyl disks that were subject to damage over time, and they would be purchased in the "record store". In a non-pandemic, now would be a great day to go to a circus. Becky Phan on Unsplash

Honoring the achievements of US immigrants and their descendents, showing appreciation to husbands, the Ford Mustang automobile, meaningless chatter/gossip, cheeseballs, an Argentine wine, and appreciating bats are all celebrated today: Bat Appreciation Day Blah, Blah, Blah Day Cheeseball Day Ellis Island Family History Day Ford Mustang Day Husband Appreciation Day Malbec World Day Perhaps getting a husband a Ford Mustang would be a good way to show you appreciate him? Buying said automobile to show appreciation for a bat, however, is unlikely to provide the intended effect. Try getting your bat a moth or some fruit (depending on species) instead. John Jacobson on Unsplash