Mutts' Day

Puppy Melting Pot

Some people prefer the class, status and mild inbreeding of purebred dogs (Dalmatians, for example have polka dots because of breeding, they also tend to be deaf or blind thanks to that same breeding). Others on the other hand prefer the healthy vigor of a mongrel aka a Heinz 57 aka an All American, but perhaps best known as a Mutt! Mutt’s come in all shapes, sizes and colors thanks to the crossbreeding of their parents. Not only do Mutts come in a slue of shapes, sizes and colors, they may be healthier than purebreds who, like the Hapsburg’s and their unfortunate jaw, thanks to inbreeding/selective breeding frequently pass on genes that can lead to health problems (as we see in the Dalmatian). For someone looking for a great pet and unconcerned about its ancestry, Mutts make loving companions, and that’s why we today’s zany holiday exist, Mutts’ Day, in celebration of the Mutt their friendship, loyalty and character!

For the Mutt owners out there, today’s outrageous holiday is the day to pamper your dog. A nice day at the dog park or a long game of fetch with a new tennis ball or Frisbee are nice ways to spend the day together. If you don’t have a Mutt but are dog lover (perhaps someone you live with has allergies), spend the day volunteering at your local animal shelter! Lots of homeless dogs (and other animals) need love and care. Who knows, you might even find a new friend to take home there, so this time next year you’ll have someone (or some mutt) with whom to celebrate today’s wacky holiday!

Parents' Day

Sundays and Parents

We’re celebrating today’s Zany Holiday a little early, because technically today’s celebration falls on the fourth Sunday of July. But we think it’s important to celebrate this holiday, Parents’ Day, so we’re writing about it prematurely!

Today’s wacky holiday was introduced by Bill Clinton, to stress the importance of “recognizing, uplifting, and supporting the role of parents in the rearing of children.” And what a role parents play. They care for us, shelter us, feed us and love us (and sometimes they even give us money!). Parents do so much, and are often taken for granted. Today’s the day to show your parents or guardian that you’re really thankful and appreciative of everything they do (even if you’re all grown up and no longer living at home). Plan a nice dinner or family picnic; offer to do both the cooking and cleaning. Remember, thought and consideration are what count most on holidays like this.

NASA's 50th Anniversary

Over the Hill

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, better known as NASA, hits the big FIVE-ZERO today. That’s right, 50. NASA was formed on July 29, 1958 under the National Aeronautics and Space Act, “For the Benefit of All” (that’s their motto), but also because the Soviet Union launched its own space program a year before. 11 years later (July 16, 1969) NASA and the Apollo 11, with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, successfully achieved a manned moon-landing (the famous, “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” was thus uttered).

The thought of space travel was once believed to be zany and outrageous. However, thanks to the hard work of great thinkers that’s no longer the case. The next big step for NASA is another Moon Landing, and then working towards a manned mission to Mars. NASA hopes to put a man on Mars by 2037.

Who knows? Perhaps by July 29, 2108 we’ll be living on Mars or planning intergalactic space travel!

Lasagna Day

Delizioso

Today’s zany holiday is most likely Garfield the Cat’s favorite (unless of course there’s a sleep 18 hours a day-day holiday, but I am pretty positive there isn’t). Why? Well because today’s outrageous holiday celebrates Garfield’s favorite food. It’s whacky holiday Lasagna Day!

Lasagna is a popular Italian dish made of alternating layers of cheese, tomato sauce and pasta. It is commonly made with either ricotta or mozzarella, but the traditional recipe, Lasagna alla Bolognese, uses only Parmigiano-Reggiano. However, lasagna has been modified to create many different and interesting dishes, including an Eastern European variation called Łazanki which dates back to the sixteenth century.

In the spirit of weird holidays celebrate Lasagna Day by creating your own variation on the dish. Try for example a Cajun crawdad lasagna. You’ll need the ‘‘holy trinity” of Cajun vegetables Onions, Bell Peppers and Celery; crawdad (instead of meat) spicy red sauce (sauce piquante) flavored with cayenne pepper sauce and cajun spices (spices are essential in Cajun food). As for cheese, try a ricotta and parmigiana. Or to keep with the spicy-theme, a spicy jack cheese! Create your own interesting variation, or keep it traditional. It’s up to you how to celebrate this bizarre holiday!

Anti-Boredom Month

I'm Booooooored

Feeling bored? You shouldn’t. Not when you consider that being bored is the antithesis of today’s zany holidays, a month long outrageous holiday in fact. It’s Anti-Boredom Month! When summer starts everything’s great no school, warm weather and lots of activities; however, all that fun wanes as the summer goes on and all those previously fun activities start to feel, well, stale. But, you don’t have to let it get stale.

Fight boredom head on, celebrate this whacky holiday by being whacky. The best way to fight boredom is to be creative. Try new things, go on an exploration. Have a neighborhood beach ball volleyball tournament. Everyone can join in; it can become a competitive neighborhood event complete with heckling and trophies. Flex your artistic muscles and draw a masterpiece. Ride your bike someplace you’ve never been before. The world's too expansive and too weird to get boring, it’s just about knowing where to look!

Candles on a Cake Day

How Old are You Now?

Nothing like celebrating a birthday with a big chocolate ice cream cake covered in flickering candles! The sweet treat is delicious and there’s the added bonus of making a wish when the candles are blown out. And, of course, it’s funny when your mom or dad or friends put those trick candles on the cake that just refuse to blow out. Birthday cake candles are great, and they’re the focus of today’s zany holiday, Candles on a Cake Day!

The tradition of placing candles on cakes goes back a couple of centuries! The 18^th century to be exact; the German celebration Kinderfest (children’s birthday celebration) featured candles to mark the age of the person, plus a few more that represented the years to come. The tradition of burning candles came to the Western Hemisphere as German’s emigrated from their homes to North America.

If today happens to be your birthday then chances are you’re already getting a cake with candles, so celebrating this outrageous holiday is easy. If it’s not your birthday, then it’s your unbirthday and as we all know from Alice in Wonderland that’s just as great a reason to celebrate. So, bake yourself a delicious cake, buy some candled and celebrate this whacky holiday!

Instant Coffee Day

An Interesting Day for an Interesting Taste

Today’s zany holiday is the zaniest yet, because I cannot fathom why anybody would want to celebrate it, but in the 107 years since its creation it has played a role in America’s history. Today’s outrageous holiday celebrate a similar, but not the same, coffee product. Celebrates the product of dehydrated coffee been granules that are rehydrated in hot water to make Instant Coffee!

Instant Coffee Day is all about instant coffee, a coffee-product invented by Japanese scientist Satori Kato in 1901 and popularized by inventor and capitalist George Washington (not the president, this Washington was born in Belgium).

Instant Coffee isn’t really known for its flavor now, and it wasn’t known for its flavor back at its inception. However, its quick brewing time and stimulant proprieties made instant coffee a popular choice amongst American men serving in the First World War.

Today instant coffee is still around, despite still tasting pretty gross (especially when compared to the real deal). I feel like I’d be doing my readers a disservice by telling you all to drink instant coffee straight in celebration of today’s whacky holiday. Rather, see if you can find ways to improve instant coffee. Make mocha by melting chocolate and mixing it with the instant coffee. Who knows, maybe it’ll taste good.

National Hot Dog Day

Mystery Meat

Today’s zany holiday honors an item shrouded in mystery. The exact contents are often a source of whispers, speculation and outrageous claim, but to the authorities are known as “specially selected meat trimmings” which come wrapped in cellulose, or, sometimes more traditionally, animal intestines. You know this item better as the Hot Dog, making today’s weird holiday National Hot Dog Day!

If you were totally grossed out by the above description of today’s outrageous holiday’s focus, don’t frankenfret (ha!), thanks to the FDA ingredients used are much improved and hot dogs are made from much leaner cuts when compared to the contents of yore. However, if hot dogs aren’t your thing either because A, you’re still not 100 percent comfortable with the ingredients, or B, you’re a vegetarian, there’s an alternative whacky holiday sponsored by Compassion over Killing, National Veggie Dog Day.

Whether you’re a carnivore, omnivore, or herbivore there’s something for everyone to celebrate today. Try jazzing up your hot dogs and veggie dogs today using interesting condiments, spices and sauces. Make the weirdest or most delicious dog combo you can!

Hammock Day

Swingin'

If longevity measures greatness, the hammock is pretty much the greatest piece of furniture you can get for outdoors because it’s been in popular use for more than 1000 years. Hammocks are comfortable to sleep in, comfortable to read in, and comfortable to do just about nothing in. In all truth, there’s nothing like spending a lazy summer afternoon in a hammock. To ensure everyone gets the chance to enjoy a lazy lifestyle every year we honor the hammock on July 22^nd, designated zany holiday Hammock Day!

Today’s outrageous holiday encourages you to get outside and get some R&R (rest and relaxation). All that’s needed to make the most of this whacky holiday is a hammock! However, you can accessorize accordingly. Good accessories include a news paper, an enjoyable book or your most comfortable pillow. Set-up shop under a shady tree and forget all your troubles for a couple of hours.

National Junk Food Day

Calorie Free Day

Why do the worst things taste so good? People often ponder this question over a bag of potato chips or a bar of chocolate, normally ridden with guilt about their unhealthy splurge. But such actions are not allowed today because today is zany holiday national junk food day!

Junk food is aptly named. Junk foods not the healthiest choice, it very rarely contains anything of nutritional value or substance. Dieters often deprive themselves of small, unhealthy snacks only to binge on those same snacks later. Leaving dieters to feel as empty on the inside as the bag of Doritos they just ate. However, outrageous holiday National Junk Food Day doesn’t want you to deprive yourself of brownies, chips, and chocolate. Give in today. Have a bowl of potato chips, because one bowl won’t kill you! Just remember the rule of moderation. Enjoy the junk, but enjoy the junk wisely!

Sidewalk Frying Day

Sizzlin'

Today’s high temperatures according to weather channel: New York City, 94; New Orleans, 92; Washington DC, 94; Phoenix, 109. Obviously it’s hot out there. So hot, you might say, that you could fry an egg out there! And today’s zany holiday, Sidewalk Frying Day, encourages us to do just that!

You’ll need some tools to help you celebrate this outrageous holiday. First off eggs, obviously, what else would you fry? Pavement doesn’t conduct heat super well, and heat transfer will lead to a cooler sidewalk once the egg is cracked, but if you feel like cracking an egg right onto the side, go ahead! Other options include using aluminum foil or frying the egg on a manhole. Next, even though it might feel as hot as an oven out it’s still probably not hot enough to substantially cook an egg all the way through! Try using a magnifying glass or mirror to adjust the sun’s light over the egg.

If you’ve never fried an egg on a sidewalk before today’s whacky holiday gives you the chance. Do like they do in Oatman, Arizona and have an egg frying contest with your friends. See who can fry an egg best in 15 minutes!

Have fun, but just don’t eat the eggs you fry, cause that supersedes whacky and is not a wise idea! Also, don’t forget to clean up any mess that’s made!

Wrong Way Day

Don't Get Lost

I sure hope I am writing this the right way, but chances are I’m not considering today’s zany holiday is Wrong Way Day. Today’s outrageous holiday isn’t really about doing things the wrong way, but rather about an American pilot who “accidentally” flew in the wrong direction and landing at a destination where he wasn’t supposed to arrive, but had always wanted to visit!

Douglas “Wrong-Way” Corrigan flew for the first time at age 18. The flight changed his life, influencing his decision to take flying lessons and construct planes (he helped in the construction of the Spirit of St. Louis). Corrigan purchased his first plane in 1933, and inspired by Charles Lindberg decided he wanted to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. More specifically, Corrigan wanted to be the first person to fly from New York to Dublin (Corrigan was Irish American). The government, however, wasn’t as keen on the idea and refused to give Corrigan the ok to go, eventually revoking his pilot’s license. In 1938, Corrigan again had a license and a desire to fly from LA to New York. If he successfully flew non-stop, he would be able to fly non-stop back to LA from New York. Corrigan made it to New York and was all set to head back. On July 16^th his plane, complete with a gas tank leak, took off. However, he wasn’t head west like he was supposed to. Instead his plane took off in an easterly direction; 28 hours he landed in Dublin, Ireland.

Corrigan faced questions regarding how he ended up in Dublin as opposed to Las Angeles, all he could say is that he had gone the wrong way, on account of the foggy weather. Corrigan, and his plane Sunshine, returned to America a hero. Corrigan lived until 1995, and up until the last years of his life claimed his actions were accidental before finally admitting he had always intended to fly to Dublin.

Wrong Way Corrigan never gave up on his goal to be the first person to fly from New York to Dublin, and he achieved his goal. Today’s whacky holiday is about perseverance and following your dreams. Whether your dreams are artistic, academic, athletic, big or small make sure to follow through, even though there might be consequences, because in the long run you’ll be happier.

Fresh Spinach Day

"I'm strong to the finich, Cause I eats me spinach"

Pop-eye loved spinach, and with good reason; spinach is jam packed with vitamins, iron and calcium. Knowledge of spinach’s superior nutrient qualities has made this veggie, much to the dismay of children everywhere, a dinner table staple since the 1920s. However, despite its status as healthful there are people out there who are wary and ambivalent about the food, but today is the day these people should give spinach a second chance because today’s zany holiday is Fresh Spinach Day.

Spinach, a dark green vegetable, which means one of two things: first, it’s very healthy and that’s great, and second, eww gross. But spinach isn’t gross, especially if you know how to serve it the right way! Celebrate outrageous holiday Fresh Spinach Day by experimenting with your spinach. Try scrambled eggs Florentine (Florentine denotes food made with spinach) with feta cheese. Sauté spinach with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper for a delicious mid-noon snack! Improvise; use hot sauce or garlic or whatever you prefer. Make something weird on this whacky holiday! Or, to utilize spinach to the max, have your own private Iron Chef competition with a friend, no secret but the secret ingredient of the day is SPINACH!

I Love Horses Day

Neigh if You Love Horses

I love horses, don’t you! And there are so many different breeds to love, ranging from towering, heavy workhorses like Clydesdales and Belgians, to lighter riding horses like Arabians, to playful and mischievous ponies and down to tiny miniature horses! But those animals merely represent Equus caballus. Equidae, or the horse family, includes other species including: donkeys, zebras, kiangs, onager, and Przewalski's horse (the only remaining true wild horse, mustangs are considered feral). We mustn’t forget the hybrids: mules, hinnies, zebroids etc. So, if you are a horse fan then you’ll enjoy today’s zany holiday I Love Horses Day!

Domesticated horses, ponies and donkeys are integral parts of society and have been for thousands of years, from pulling their weight on farms, riding into battle or acting as companions. Given all the help horses have been over the years (and years and years) it only makes sense that they have their own whacky holiday!

How does one exactly celebrate this outrageous holiday? Well, by hanging around horses! Spray on some bug spray and spend your day showing a horse some love! Go riding either by yourself or with friends. Help clean and feed the animals at a barn. Volunteer at a nearby horse rescue. Just don’t forget to store away a few apples in your pocket.

Gummi Worms Day

Yummy Gummi

Today’s zany holiday is serving up something sweet, sticking, creeping and crawly! Also, completely delicious! A popular gummi treat, actually the most popular gummy treat it deserves a whacky holiday of its own, and that’s why today is National Gummi Worms Day!

The first gummi worms were manufactured in 1981 by the German company Trolli (later purchased by Farley’s & Sathers Candy Company). Gummi Worms came in a fruit variety, featuring translucent, multi-colored, and 2-inch long candy Lumbricus terrestris. A sour variety also exists. These gummi worms are opaque, come in shocking neon colors and a covered in sugar!

Make sure you celebrate the day with lots of gummi worms! Or try your hand cooking with gummy worms (Gummi Worm Dirt Cake is always a popular desert)! But, if you’re feeling very adventurous (and when better to be adventurous than when celebrating a whack holiday) make your own gummy worms!

Blueberry Picking Day

False Berry, Real Zany Holiday

Indigenous to only North America but now cultivated internationally, the blueberry is a popular fruit. It’s bright color, delicious flavor and “superfruit” status have garnered this small little berry some good press and national favor; the Blueberry is the state fruit of New Jersey, Maine and North Carolina (all three states cultivate the fruit, New Jersey being the first state in the nation to cultivate blueberries commercially) and the Blueberry Muffin is the state muffin of Minnesota and Washington.

Blueberries are popular and versatile, there are lots of ways to utilize blueberries in cooking, but without a doubt the best way to eat a blueberry is freshly picked off the vine, and today’s zany holiday encourages this action. It is outrageous holiday Blueberry Picking Day!

Blueberry picking is perfect on a nice summer day, and after an hour in the warm sun, this cool fruit (after they’ve been washed off, of course!) will be a refreshing and sweet treat! Just remember to slather on the sunscreen before going out, because no amount of blueberry juicy goodness will make you feel better after an awful burn, and you certainly don’t want to celebrate this whacky holiday bright red when it’s all about being blue!

Town Crier Day

Oyez Oyez Oyez

Before Gutenberg came around, basically changing the course of human literacy with his Printing Press, most people were ignorant. Not by choice, rather due to situation and circumstance. It’s hard to learn new ideas without access to books or the ability to read, and literacy rates back in the day were low. Really low, so when members of the ruling class (aka “the man” aka Royalty, nobility, fuedal lords, etc.) needed to inform the common folk of news rather than send out a flyer they sent out the town crier!

Much like Catholic Dogma belief that the Pope is God’s physical spokesperson, Town Criers spoke on behalf of Rulers. The protection was extreme, too (i.e. don’t shoot the messenger). Killing a Town Crier was deemed treason, and subsequently punishable by death. Unfortunately, time is a little too abstract to behead for treason, and time ultimately led to the decline in Town Criers. However, Town Criers are a hearty bunch, and despite some setbacks (an 82% global literacy rate, and 97%+ in most developed nations) they’ve not gone down quietly. Town Criers can still be seen (distinguished by their fetching tricorne hats and other generally anachronistic fashions) and heard (OYEZ, is the usual greeting. There’s also the bell). Perhaps the best time to find a Town Crier would be on their own special day, their own zany holiday, Town Crier Day.

Being loud is a key, so to celebrate this outrageous holiday make sure you’re loud. Spend your day making announcements. Dinner time? “OYEZ OYEZ OYEZ. By official decree of [name here] it’s Dinner time.” Make sure to keep a megaphone on hand, this whacky holiday might leave you a little hoarse.

Teddy Bear Picnic Day

Fuzzy Friends

More than 100 years ago the Teddy Bear was released and found instant success. Now in another century the stuffed animal’s success continues to thrive. The Teddy Bear might not be every child’s most beloved toy (others might prefer a stuffed animal pig, for example) but it’s pretty safe to say that a lot of children, at some point in their life, have had a Teddy Bear and have probably loved said bear very much! Today is the day to really show your Teddy Bear how much you care, because today is zany holiday Teddy Bear Picnic day!

Make your Teddy Bears favorite food, invite all your friends and their teddy bears and have the most rockin’ neighborhood outrageous holiday Teddy Bear bash ever known! It’s easy; all you really need are some picnic supplies and food! If you’re a more private person you can throw a more low-key picnic for you and several of your favorite bears.

The Teddy Bear has always been around to help us through our tough times and lend comfort when needed, so make sure you use this whacky holiday as a way to say thanks!

Intern Appreciation Day

"Is There Some Reason My Coffee Isn't Here? Has She Gone to Rwanda for the Beans?"

Known for their willingness to perform mundane filing tasks, to work for little to no money, and their superior coffee fetching skills, the life of an intern isn’t always the most exciting (or so the media from time to time informs us). The point is, interns are important at any office, and so that’s why there’s a celebration for them, outrageous holiday Intern Appreciation Day.

On this zany holiday, let your intern get their OWN cup of coffee as opposed to getting YOUR cup of coffee! Just kidding! Celebrate this whacky holiday with a nice treat or two, like brownies or chocolate as well as a heart-felt “I appreciate you,” which are all nice gestures. Take 21+ year old interns out for a drink of appreciation (this will be a well received gesture I can assure you)! Just remember, interns are people! Use today’s weird holiday to take the time and remember that!

Be a Kid Again Day

I Don't Wanna Grow Up

Peter Pan never grew up, but despite clear directions Never-Never Land isn’t very accessible and growing up is apart of the life cycle. However, aging doesn’t mean getting old, so goes the saying “you’re only as old are you act,” and today’s zany holiday lets you act as young as you want! It is outrageous holiday Be a Kid Again Day!

Pick an age, how old do you want to be on today’s whacky holiday; 5, 8, or 10? Just so long as you are a kid again. Try playing with fun board games and puzzles. If the weather is agreeable a massive game of manhunt, capture the flag, or hide and seek would be great! Don’t forget to play with your food, binge on chocolate and unapologetically say and do what you want; that’s what being a kid (and this wacky holiday, too) is about!

Chocolate Day

A Sweet Holiday

Chocolate is a classic, delicious treat enjoyed by many people around the world. So beloved, in fact, that there’s a day for chocolate celebrations, zany holiday Chocolate Day!

There’s a long and rich history surrounding chocolate. The earliest known consumption of chocolate is dated around 1400-1100 BCE! About 3,000 years ago. Indigenous people of Central and South America such as the Aztec and Maya would cultivate cacao trees (the vegetable from which chocolate is extracted) and use the seeds to create xocolatl, a chocolate beverage that literally means “bitter drink.” Groups from these civilizations also used cacao beans as a form of currency, for example, a turkey would cost 100 cacao beans! When conquistadors “discovered” the Americas in the 1500s they were introduced to the cacao plant, and brought xocolatl back to Spain where the recipe was slightly altered and gained popularity amongst royalty and nobles. Chocolate was consumed as a drink until the 1800s; it was during the industrial revolution that the chocolate we know and love today come to be!

The industrial revolution saw a major shift in society and the advent of new technology. New machinery of the time was able to press cocoa butter out of the beans, making a harder chocolate substance. 1828 saw the invention of the Dutch Process, by Coenraad Johannes van Houten, the extraction of cocoa powder treated with alkaloid salt, creating a less bitter powder. Van Houten’s process gave way to chocolate’s modern flavor. In 1847, Joseph Storrs Fry created the first candy bar, the following year a Quaker named Cadbury introduced his candy bar (the two companies later merged under Cadbury). The creation of easily produced chocolate bars made chocolate affordable for more than just the upper class. Widespread advertising led to the confections growing popularity, and the rest is history!

It probably won’t take much coaxing to get others to celebrate this outrageous holiday! Not with so many celebratory treat options! Chocolate of all types: Godiva, Ghirardelli, Cadbury, Hershey’s, Lindt to name a few! If you prefer something soft, chewy or gooey (and completely delicious) then brownies are the way to go! If this weird holiday is a source of diet anxiety allow yourself a small treat with peace of mind, heart-healthy dark chocolate. Of course, you could always go old school style to celebrate this whacky holiday and brew a batch of xocolatl.

Stay Out of the Sun Day

Zany Holiday Index 9

I get the feeling the creator of today’s zany holiday lived in Romania, more specifically in Transylvania! It’s outrageous holiday Stay out of the Sun Day, definiately the type of whacky holiday a vampire would celebrate!

Stay Out of the Sun Day is the type of weird holiday created to give skin some R&R. The Sun’s UVA/UVB rays are very damaging, and while the effects aren’t always immediately visible on the epidermis, the dermis tells another story! Unprotected exposure can lead to Skin Cancer, which is lethal in some cases. The Sun’s rays intensify during the summertime. Find a nice shady spot on unique holiday Stay Out of the Sun Day and set up shop there with a comfortable chair and a book, newspaper or crossword puzzle.

If you must go out into the Sun, remember to wear sunscreen! For some people, 15 minutes in the Sun is enough time to start burning.

Be Nice to New Jersey Week

If you don't have anything nice to say, then just don't

Today’s zany holiday is one very near to the heart of many. It’s a week long celebration trying to help a rather maligned state. It’s Be Nice to New Jersey Week.

Yes, we’ve all heard the trash talk: arm pit of America, America’s dump, “Dirty Joisey,” etc, etc, etc and just generally a bad place. A lot of people make a lot of claims about New Jersey they fully believe to be "true" based on first-hand experience (meaning, they’ve driven on the Turnpike) but these are pretty exaggerated (and cliche). New Jersey’s a scrappy little state with a lot going for it: conveniently close to New York City, Philadelphia and the Shore (please don’t confuse this with the beach), one of the top states for public education, home to Frank Sinatra, Debbie Harry, Thomas Edison, Kevin Smith, Tony Soprano, Meryl Streep, the two surviving members of Run DMC, and who could forget the Boss, Bruce Springsteen; not to mention the place where about 8 million people are proud to live there, despite what out-of-staters say they know about New Jersey!

Celebrate unique holiday Be Nice to New Jersey Week by, well, being nice first off (also, by now many Jersey jokes are a bit tired)! If you can’t visit Jersey to experience her wonders firsthand (and beyond the Turnpike), celebrate in different ways. Bake a blueberry pie, pour yourself a frosty mug of Ballantine and drive with the panache attached to those who frequent the Garden State Parkway! See what you can learn about New Jersey’s History and interesting facts: The Battle of Trenton was a decisive fight during the American Revolution; New Jersey is 47^th in size, 10^th in population, and the most densely populated state per square mile; New Jersey was first to cultivate blueberries, which happens to the state fruit, in the United States (what now, Maine?); New Jersey has more diners than any other state total and per square mile (and you’ve never really been to a diner until you’ve been to a Jersey diner); the first official baseball game recorded was played in Hoboken; the state flower is the violet; state bird, the Goldfinch; the state tree, the Northern Red Oak; the state insect, the European Honey Bee; the state animal, the Horse; and the state Vegetable, the Tomato!

If there was ever a place where the saying “never judge a book by its cover” applies, it’s Jersey. Take a week off from bashing, and learn what New Jersey is really about. If you don’t believe, come see for yourself.

However, if you decide to ignore this zany holiday and keep up the hatred, enjoy pumping your own gas!

I Forgot Day

Wait, What?

It’s July 2^nd, so you know what that means, it’s zany holiday…wait.

What was I saying?

Zany holiday. What zany holiday is it? I can’t seem to remember, for the life of me, what today’s outrageous holiday is. It seems I’ve forgotten. AH! I remember now! It’s whacky holiday I Forgot Day!

Today’s weird holiday is celebrated in two ways. First, many see whacky holiday I Forgot Day as a day to simply forget. Forget about something bad, or negative that brings you down. Just let it pass like it never happened. Others interpret I Forgot Day as a holiday where they can express regret or remorse for forgetting something important; a day to repair relationships.

If you’ve forgotten a date important to a friend or family member why not make amends. Send a small gift of apology. Perhaps flowers, or a book; however, the fastest way to a persons heart is with food, so also consider sending something yummy, like brownies!

Hopefully today’s unique holiday has positive lasting effects, and whatever nastiness has been left behind is forgotten about.

Creative Ice Cream Flavor Day

I Scream, You Scream

Do you have a totally unique and delicious ice cream flavor that you’ve always wanted to share with the world, but you haven’t yet had the chance? Well, today is the day to do what Ben and Jerry do for a living. It’s zany holiday Creative Ice Cream Flavor Day!

The first day of July and summer’s in full swing, what better time to celebrate a whacky holiday like Creative Ice Cream Flavor Day? Today’s outrageous holiday is all about letting the creative juices flow to create a sumptuous treat. For example, maybe you think Jon Stewart’s more deserving of an ice cream flavor than Stephen Colbert. Creative Ice Cream Flavor solution: Jon Stewart’s IcedDecision 2008 (half chocolate ice cream with white chocolate chunks and half vanilla ice cream with chocolate chunks, and a play on Indecision 2008).

Making ice cream is an easy and delicious task! Spend some time today making ice cream and make sure you’re inventive. That is, after all, the reason for weird holiday Creative Ice Cream Flavor Day! If you've got a creative ice cream flavor leave a comment and share your confectionery genius with everyone!