Loomis Day

Look Ma, No Wires!

It’s hard to imagine a world without wireless conveniences such as cell phones and high speed wifi internet, but less than 150 years ago wireless communication was just the wild dream of a New York born dentist. Mahlon Loomis (1826-1886), whose accomplishments are celebrated on zany holiday Loomis Day, believed it was possible to harness the upper atmosphere’s electrical currents to successfully transfer telegraph messages without wire.

Armed with 2 kites tied to copper string Loomis set out to prove his hypothesis. Loomis flew the kites at equal height 14 miles away from one another atop Virginia’s Massanutten Mountain. Each kite was tied to copper string, which were then attached to galvanometers. Loomis found that he could use one kite to move the other kite’s meter; the first known form of wireless communication! Loomis patented his idea, titling it “An Improvement to Telegraphing,” and tried to get government funding to further study and possibly to set-up a network of wireless communication. In the end the government decided not to fund Loomis’ research. Loomis did not give up on his idea, and by the late 1870s there were rumors he was working on a wireless telephone. During his lifetime Loomis was accused of being a crank, and ultimately dismissed as a fraud.

Loomis was perhaps a little too zany for his own time, but he hoped that one day people would utilize his findings. Now-a-days there’s an abundance of wireless technologies and accessories that connect us to one another and probably far-surpass Loomis’ expectations! So a special thanks to Mahlon Loomis for daring to think outside the box. Happy Loomis day!

National Hamburger Month

Where do these holidays come from?

Thankfully, you don't need a degree from the Hamburger University to find out that May is National Hamburger Month. Don't expect to walk into McDonald's or White Castle and eat for free, though - the main underlying purpose is to get people motivated for the approaching summer cookout season.

So go and eat a hearty hamburger!

Slugs Return from Capistrano Day

Creepy, Crawly, Slimy

La Misión de San Juan Capistrano de Sajavit, or the Anglicized The Mission of Saint John Capistrano of Sajavit, is perhaps best known for its swallows. Every year on March 19^th flocks of migratory cliff swallows return to this SoCal chapel. Flash forward two months and instead of swallows coming it is slugs going. Zany holiday Slugs Return from Capistrano Day celebrates the slugs’ return to lawns and gardens.

While slugs do play an important role in the ecosystem some people prefer to keep these slimy mollusks out of their yards. As you celebrate the spring and summer seasons, and the animals these seasons bring (such as swallows and slugs), in your garden there are several ways to keep your plants slug-free: crushed up eggshells work as a slug deterrent, lining your garden with copper tape (though this might be a bit pricey) or you might want to try sprinkling leftover coffee grounds (regular, not decaf) in your flowerbeds. Caffeinated coffee is a scientifically proven slug repellent.

Whatever method you pick happy gardening, and a happier Slugs Return from Capistrano Day!

Eliza Doolittle Day

Just you wait, 'enry 'iggins! Just you wait!

Today is Eliza Doolittle Day, which is most likely a meaningless event for anyone but film buffs and Audrey Hepburn fans. For the uninitiated of the musical and film adaption of George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion, this holiday is derived the scene in which Eliza, angered at her teacher, fantasized about the day she'll have her revenge:

One day I'll be famous, I'll be proper and prim,
Gone to St. James so often I will call it St. Jim.
One evening the King will say, "Oh, Liza, old thing,*
I want all of England your praises to sing.

Next week on the twentieth of May, da-da-da-da-da-da-DA,
I proclaim Eliza Doolittle Day!

All the people will celebrate the glory of you,
And whatever you wish or want I gladly shall do."
"Thanks a lot, King," says I in a manner well-bred,
"But all I want is 'enry 'iggins 'ead!" dum-da-dum

(Watch the entire scene here)

If cutting off the head of your elocution teacher is not your cup-a-tay, perhaps you can celebrate by eating a lot of chocolates or impersonating a duchess. I wouldn't recommend the whole mouthful of marbles thing though, choking hazard and all that ;)

National Smile Month

Say cheese!

The British have long been maligned as a group with rather nasty dental hygiene and it seems that the British Dental Health Foundation (BDHF) has decided that it's time to start changing that perception. National Smile Month is a the biggest non-profit dental health event in the United Kingdom. Originally National Smile Week, it has expanded in scope over the years and now reach millions of people annually, providing important oral health information.

Strangely, this event is not actually dedicated to one particular month but rather spans the months of May and June, beginning in two days on May 18th. This year, Oral Health America is joining in to bring the event across the pond with the tagline 'Brush for Health.' We hear that there may be street theater and tasting sessions involved and can't wait to see what that entails. One can only hope that it involves sampling various different bouquets of mouthwash à la wine tastings.

National Salsa Month

Cause we all love a saucy date

Heads up people, today we're serving up a spicy one here at Zany Holidays (or we can do mild, if that's your thing)! May is National Salsa Month and I must admit it's one of the tastiest celebrations around. For those who don't know much about salsa to begin with, it translates literally to "sauce" and has origins that can be traced back as far as the Aztec civilization! Thanks to its fresh and healthy ingredients, salsa replaced ketchup as the top selling condiment in North America in 1997. Pretty impressive!

Take some time to make your own homemade salsa at least once during National Salsa Month. There are plenty of great recipes to be found online if you're culinarily-challenged like myself. Or, if you'd rather take the easy way out, just pick up a jar or two of your own and get to dippin'! Now where did I leave those chips...

Limerick Day

Wherein we learn much about a man from Nantucket

There was an old man from Bombay
Who didn't do much every day
But on May the 12th
He took a pen from his shelf
And began to celebrate Limerick Day!

Not bad for my first limerick, eh? Limerick day celebrates the birthday of Edward Lear, the writer responsible for popularizing this fun form of poetry in his 1846 "Book of Nonsense." Sounds like my kind of book! Today, get your fill of limericks by reading as many as you can. Once you get a feel for the style and structure, try writing a few of your own!

Limericks are known for their often edgy or obscene humor content, but there are plenty of G-rated limericks floating around as well. I'm not going to tell you to keep your poems clean, but I will leave you with this advice:

The limerick packs laughs anatomical
Into space that is quite economical,
But the good ones I've seen
So seldom are clean,
And the clean ones so seldom are comical.

Happy Limerick Day!

Root Canal Appreciation Day

Out of all the Zany Holidays we've covered on this blog, Root Canal Appreciation Day has to be one of the zaniest. Apparently, a bunch of dentists claiming to be unbiased (yeah right) believe that the root canal is getting a bad rap. Now, they are spearheading efforts to reverse the negative image that has been unfairly cast on this "routine, comfortable procedure."

To do so, many dentists are planning public root canal demonstrations in communities nationwide. Chris Kammer, the dentist who created the celebration, plans to perform one on the home plate of his city's baseball stadium! I don't know about you, but I'd rather just take his word for it.

Aside from attending one of these demonstrations, I'm not exactly sure how one would show their support on Root Canal Appreciation Day. I recommend brushing your teeth extra well today to avoid ever needing one, no matter what these zany dentists say!

No Socks Day

It's toe-tal freedom!

Jeez, what's that smell? Oh yeah, it's No Socks Day! Every year on May 8th No Socks Day provides you the generous opportunity to free your toes from the confines of socks and stockings. While this zany holiday is one of the more comfortable ones out there, the creators of No Socks Day also claim that wearing less socks will reduce your laundry load, and therefore, it's healthy for the environment too!

The thoughtful people who came up with No Socks Day did include one important disclaimer: if you're going to participate, you must wash your feet the day before (sounds like a fair compromise to me). Anyway, join me in casting away your socks and freeing your feet from their soft cotton prisons on this day of toe-tal liberation!

Flexible Work Arrangements Week

Welcome to Flexible Work Arrangements Week! During this celebration we encourage all managers and HR departments to consider flexible work arrangements for their employees, even if it's just for the week. These type of dynamic schedules have a lengthy list of benefits, including reduced stress, more efficient use of space and equipment, overall greater productivity, higher morale, and improved employee retention.

There are many different types of flexible work arrangements, so get your research done during this week and see if you can't implement a few in your own office. Whether it be flextime, telecommuting, or reduced hours, there are all sorts of configurations you can play around with to satisfy your employees. I'm still waiting on what I like to call "Opposite Week"...you know, 5 days off, 2 days on. Something tells me I shouldn't hold my breath.

No Diet Day

Cause we all get the urge to pig out sometimes

Are you fed up with all of the rules and regulations of daily dieting? While I don't recommend abandoning your diet just yet, I do give you permission to take the day off on International No Diet Day, celebrated each year on May 6. The point of this day is not to promote unhealthy eating habits, but instead to celebrate the beauty and diversity of all of the natural sizes and shapes of the human body.

There are plenty of ways to celebrate No Diet Day, and some pretty good reasons to celebrate in the first place. However, the Council on Size & Weight Discrimination says that the number one reason to drop your diet for a day is that "learning to love and accept yourself just as you are will give you self-confidence, better health, and a sense of well-being that will last a lifetime." I agree. Now where did I stash that chocolate?

Totally Chipotle Day

As Paris Hilton would say: "That's hot!"

Heads up folks, we got a hot one comin' through! May 5th is Totally Chipotle Day (pronunciation hint: "chipotle" rhymes with "totally"), conveniently coinciding with Cinco de Mayo to honor the uniquely Mexican heritage of the chipotle pepper. Chipotles are a very popular kind of smoke-dried jalapeno chili that are found quite frequently in Mexican and Mexican-American cuisine.

On Totally Chipotle Day we pay tribute to this flavorful chili and cook chipotle-inclusive meals in its honor. And don't worry about reaching for that water bottle just yet -- the unique chipotle smoking process lessens the burn you might have experienced with other jalapenos peppers. But if spicy sauces are your thing, be my guest and include them in your wonderful chipotle meals today!

30th Anniversary of Email Spam

Spam spam spam spam. Lovely spam! Wonderful spam!

Here's one birthday I think we could all do without. May 3 is spam's birthday, and we can cry if we want to! Thirty years ago, an evil marketer named Gary Thuerk sent out 393 unsolicited e-mails to users of a government run network that would one day become the internet. And just like that, spam was born.

While Thuerk's spam caused the same outrage 30 years ago that it does today, I'm guessing that he had no idea that spam would one day become a multi-billion dollar industry. With almost 120 billion spam messages being sent per day, I think Thuerk might have reconsidered his actions if he knew what kind of monster he was creating. I'm not exactly sure how to celebrate spam's birthday, but something tells me that sending 950,000 unsolicited birthday cards might be a good start.

National Mother Goose Day

HEY TAKE A GANDER AT THIS, IT'S MOTHER GOOSE DAY!

When you think back to the stories and fairy tales you read as a child, the lovable old Mother Goose always comes to mind. On May 1st, join me celebrating National Mother Goose Day, a time to honor the stories that fascinated us as children, as well as a day to promote reading and literacy for our youngsters.

I'll admit, it's been quite some time since I heard my very first Mother Goose story. Luckily, there's plenty of booklights and magnifiers out there for old geezers like me. Nevertheless, you'll find me curled up on my favorite chair today as I re-read the old Mother Goose classics and transport myself to a magical time (when I had 20/20 vision).