odditudes-and-weirdities

Holidays today cover subjects like the National Organization for Women, social media, full moons, and meteors: Full Moon Day Meteor Day National Organization For Women Day Social Media Day The National Organization for Women was founded on this date in 1966. (This is probably more of an anniversary than a pure holiday.) Personally I think it would be better to tie Full Moon Day to the occurrence of an actual full moon rather than a date, but the creators of the holiday went in a different direction. On this date in 1908 an  asteroid or comet struck  near the  Podkamennaya Tunguska River in Russia. NASA, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Holidays today are about hugging people who need attention, waffle irons, almond buttercrunch, and taking pictures: Camera Day Hug Holiday Day National Almond Butter Crunch Day Waffle Iron Day Given today's holidays, perhaps you should be taking pictures of waffle irons ... Photo by Owen Young on Unsplash

Holidays occurring today are about home caregivers asking for children to be brought to work, a folkloric giant lumberjack, being aware of the importance of insurance, body piercing, tapioca, shouting, perfect numbers, and the number tau: CAPS LOCK DAY Insurance Awareness Day International Body Piercing Day National Tapioca Day Paul Bunyan Day Perfect Day Please Take My Children to Work Day Tau Day The holiday Take Your Daughters/Sons to Work Day inspires some satire, including today's plea for someone to take their children to work. CAPS LOCK DAY sorta makes it look like you're shouting, and this rendition of the holiday is intended to honor the pitchman Billy Mays, known for his shouting sales pitches. Perfect Day is about perfect numbers, like 6 and 28. (Perfect numbers are numbers where the sum of the divisors is equal to the number itself, like 6 = 1 + 2 + 3 and 28 = 1 + 2 + 4 + 7 + 14.) Some math nerds believe that we should be using tau - pi X 2 - in...

Today's observances are about awareness of PTSD issues, HIV testing, sleeping saints, sunglasses, the flowers of orange trees, and log cabins: Sunglasses Day Seven Sleepers Day PTSD Awareness Day National Orange Blossom Day National HIV Testing Day Log Cabin Day The Seven Sleepers are a legend of saints who avoided persecution by sleeping nearly 2 centuries. There is also a weather related aspect to the holiday in that the weather occurring today is supposed to be the weather we have for the next 7 weeks. For much of the American frontier days, log cabins and similar structures were a staple for homes. Photo by Viktor Talashuk on Unsplash

Observances today address subjects like considering the world we want to leave for our descendants, industrial workers, teaching kids about American history, marriage, the Happy Birthday to You song, the life of Helen Keller, and ragweed: International Ragweed Day Industrial Workers of the World Day Helen Keller Day Descendants' Day Decide To Be Married Day America's Kids Day "Happy Birthday To You" Day The long-copyrighted song we typically sing at birthday parties gets celebrated today. A symbol of overcoming disabilities, Helen Keller was born on this date in 1877. International Ragweed Day was created in Europe, where ragweed not only causes allergic reactions in many people but is also an invasive wildflower there. Photo 55276055, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

Observances today cover subjects like providing support for victims of torture, "camping out" in your backyard, beauticians, bartenders/mixologists, tropical cocktails, chocolate pudding, canoeing, and the Pied Piper myth: Bartender and Mixologist Day Beautician's Day Great American Backyard Campout International Day in Support of Victims of Torture National Canoe Day National Chocolate Pudding Day Ratcatcher's Day Tropical Cocktails Day The Pied Piper of Hamelin myth has 2 holidays. This rendition uses the date given by the Brothers Grimm .  Though I guess you can canoe whenever you have open water, I'm thinking it's a lot more pleasant during warm weather. Photo by Anthony Cantin on Unsplash

A skin pigmentation disorder, supporting those involved in maritime trade, being halfway to Christmas, a captain of ocean documentaries, goats cheese, strawberry parfait, catfish as food, food trucks, color television, and an influential rock band are all getting our attention today: Color TV Day Cousteau Day Day of the Seafarer Global Beatles Day Goats Cheese Day LEON Day National Catfish Day National Food Truck Day National Strawberry Parfait Day World Vitiligo Day Noel spelled backwards is Leon, and June 25 is 6 months before/after Christmas, inspiring LEON Day. On this date in 1967 The Beatles performed the song All You Need Is Love for the first time. Today is a day to honor this iconic band. "Beatles"   by  Ricard Lopez 1  is licensed under  CC BY-NC 2.0

Holidays today cover subjects like swimming laps, appreciating our senses, shaking hands, pop bombs, praline candies, Native American names for a June full moon, museums, and fairies: Celebration of the Senses Day International Fairy Day Museum Comes To Life Day National Bomb Pop Day National Handshake Day National Pralines Day Swim a Lap Day Strawberry Moon aka Berries Ripen Moon aka Blooming Moon aka Birth Moon aka Egg Laying Moon aka Hatching Moon aka Honey Moon aka Mead Moon Handshakes go back at least to ancient Egypt and Babylon, and possibly prehistoric times (though admittedly they're problematic during a pandemic). Fairies and similar creatures pervade much of our mythology and folklore; today is a day to celebrate them. Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Public servants, letting go of emotional baggage, advocating for societal support for widows, the color pink, flamingo lawn ornaments, pecan sandie cookies, and typewriters are involved in today's observances: International Widows’ Day Let It Go Da y National Pecan Sandie Day National Pink Day Pink Flamingo Day Public Service Day Typewriter Day I personally prefer real flamingoes, but today is about the popular pink flamingo lawn ornament. On this date in 1868 Christopher Latham Sholes was granted a patent for a typewriter. Photo by Florian Klauer on Unsplash

Guys who do stupid things, abstaining from wearing panties, a river that was so polluted that it could catch fire, onion rings, chocolate eclairs, and camels are what today's observances are about: Burning River Day National Chocolate Eclair Day National Onion Rings Day No Panty Day Stupid Guy Thing Day World Camel Day Stupid Guy Thing Day is mostly about the recklessly stupid things guys do without hurting others, and frequently without hurting themselves (even if a little lucky was involved in the latter). On this date in 1969 the extremely polluted Cuyahoga River caught fire, and the subsequent publicity helped raise awareness for environmental protection. Camels may look a little odd, but they're well adapted to some environments. Today we celebrate this interesting animal. Photo by Sebastian Laube on Unsplash

Observances today are about riding motorcycles as a transportation alternative, peaches and cream as a food treat, taking selfies, symbolically shaking hands wit the world, spreading positive information on humanism, solidarity with allowing atheists their place in society, and appreciating daylight: World Humanist Day World Handshake Day Ride to Work Day National Selfie Day National Peaches and Cream Day National Daylight Appreciation Day Atheist Solidarity Day The theory of World Handshake Day is to represent shaking hands with everyone on the planet by "handshaking" in the ocean. It sounds like using a body of water that leads to the ocean is also allowed. If you can't do either of these, properly celebrating this holiday may be difficult. National Daylight Appreciation Day celebrates the summer solstice, when daylight is at its peak here in the Northern Hemisphere. Photo by Benjamin Kraus on Unsplash

Holidays today are about recognizing the cultural importance of the Baby Boom generation, practicing yoga, going skateboarding, enjoying Lambrusco wine, playing music, and giraffes: World Giraffe Day Make Music Day International Lambrusco Day International Day of Yoga Go Skateboarding Day Baby Boomers Recognition Day The Baby Boom generation in the US is considered to be the people born between 1946 and 1964.  Giraffes are the world's tallest land animal; don't overlook them. Photo by Sian Cooper on Unsplash

The threats posed to refugees and displaced people, staying productive, a storyteller who created a world around the quasi-fictional town of Toad Hollow, fathers, ice cream sodas, vanilla milkshakes, and Bald Eagles attract our attention today: American  Eagle Day Father's Day Ice Cream Soda Day National Vanilla Milkshake Day Toad Hollow Day of Thank You World Productivity Day World Refugee Day A little while ago we had a holiday celebrating the brown cow, basically a root beer and vanilla ice cream treat. I think the main difference between that day and Ice Cream Soda Day is that today we celebrate all the soda and ice cream flavor combinations. Today is best known for being for fathers. Do you know who else has fathers? Bald Eagles! Photo by James Newcombe on Unsplash

Emancipation, raising awareness about sickle cell anemia, martinis, surfing, sauntering, pets who appear in movies, eating Oreo cookies, and a cartoon cat get our attention today: Garfield the Cat Day International Surfing Day Juneteenth National Eat an Oreo Day National Martini Day National Pets in Film Day World Sauntering Day World Sickle Cell Day On this date in 1865 the Emancipation Proclamation was enforced in Texas, freeing any slaves there. Juneteenth isn't a new holiday, but recognition of it has grown a lot in the last couple of years. Rushing, scurrying, and scampering are discouraged today; today is for sauntering. The first Garfield comic was published on this date in 1978. (At 43, Garfield is much older than most domestic cats.) John Margolies, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Observances today cover things like the Battle of Waterloo, splurging on yourself/others, celebrating neurodiversity, being excessively worried/concerned about things, fishing, sushi, flip-flop footwear, picnics, and math: Autistic Pride Day Go Fishing Day International Panic Day International Picnic Day International Sushi Day National Flip-Flop  Day National Splurge Day Phi Day Waterloo Day Some parts of the British Army celebrate the British victory at Waterloo in 1815. The number phi (aka the Golden Ratio) and with a relationship to the Fibonacci sequence gets celebrated today.

Turning degraded land into healthy land, avoiding driving gasoline powered vehicles, taking a workday to have fun, apple strudel, cherry tarts, eating vegetables, Stewart's Root Beer, author Judy Blume, the battle of Bunker Hill, and violins are subjects around today's observances: Blumesday Bunker Hill Day Dump The Pump Day Eat Your Vegetables Day Internati onal Violin Day National Apple Strudel Day National Cherry Tart Day National Stewart's Root Beer Day Recess at Work Day World Day to Combat Desertification And Drought Though I can see it improving morale, I have to admit I've never worked anywhere that supported Recess at Work Day. The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought on this date in 1775 at, oddly enough, Breed's Hill. Today's Blumesday, inspired by yesterday's Bloomsday, celebrates young adult author Judy Blume. International Violin Day is celebrated on the date of the birth of Igor Stravinsky in 1882. Photo by Lucia Macedo on Unsplash

Improving education for African children, celebrating the life of James Joyce, morticians, fresh vegetables, fudge, and honoring sea turtles are topics relating to today's observances: Bloomsday Day of the African Child Fresh Veggies Day Morticians Day National Fudge Day World Sea Turtle Day The life of James Joyce is celebrated today because his novel Ulysses  takes place on this date in 1922, and is called Bloomsday after the story's main character Leopold Bloom. Today is also a day to give some attention to those aquatic reptiles, the sea turtles. Photo by Olga Tsai on Unsplash

Today's observances are about giving to others, addressing all aspects of elder abuse, improving the lives of janitors, preventing head lice, smiling, eating lobster, the signing of the Magna Carta, wind as a source of power generation, flying a kite, and promoting the enjoyment of nature photography: Bug Busting Day Fly a Kite Day Global  Wind Day Justice for Janitors Day Magna Carta Day National Lobster Day Nature Photography Day Smile Power Day World Elder Abuse Awareness Day Worldwide Day of Giving On this date in 1990 LA janitors engaged in a peaceful protest to improve their living standards. On this date in 1215 the Magna Carta was signed, increasing rights for Britons. It's always a good time for nature photography, but today actually celebrates it. Photo by Amir Kalhor on Unsplash

Baths, family histories, a nursery rhyme, strawberry shortcake, donating blood, knowing your blood type, the US Army, the US flag, the Pledge of Allegiance, bourbon, and skunks draw our attention today: Family History Day Flag Day International Bath Day National Bourbon Day National Skunk Day National Strawberry Shortcake Day Pause For The Pledge Day Pop Goes The Weasel Day US Army Birthday Blood Type Awareness Day  aka  World Blood Donor Day The birthday of the US Army is celebrated on the anniversary of the Continental Congress authorizing companies of soldiers to be organized on this date in 1775. Two years later, the first rendition of the American flag was adopted. Photo by Bryan Padron on Unsplash

Racial unity, sewing machines, giving faith/hope/love/commitment to children, stopping domestic violence, celebrating the lives of deceased pets, people prone to breaking/spilling stuff in the kitchen, weeding your garden, and ax throwing are topics around today's observances: Abused Women and Children's Awareness Day International Axe Throwing Day National Children's Day National Kitchen Klutzes of America Day Race Unity Day Sewing Machine Day Weed Your Garden Day World Pet Memorial Day Apparently throwing axes at targets is a real activity, albeit one that works best if you have a safe place to do it. Image by  Morket  from  Pixabay

Opposing child labor, public knitting, peanut butter cookies, gin, rosé wine, rose flowers, and DC Comics main superhero are all involved in today's observances: World Wide Knit in Public Day World Gin Day World Day Against Child Labour Superman Day Red Rose Day National Rosé Day National Peanut Butter Cookie Day The roses and rosé wine holidays appear to have no connection to each other; the flowers are celebrated on June 12 while the wine is celebrated on the 2nd Saturday in June. Perhaps our most iconic superhero character, Superman, dates back to 1933. (Oddly the character was more villainous until around 1938.) "Superman"   by  HystericalMark  is licensed under  CC BY-SA 2.0