National Joe Day

national joe dayToday is National Joe Day. We have been unable to track down the source of this unofficial observance but that shouldn’t keep you from having fun with it.

Is your name Joe? Congratulations. Inform your friends, family and coworkers about today’s holiday, then sit back and wait for the accolades to come your way. If not, you could become “Joe for a Day.”

Did you know that Joe (or Jo) means “sweetheart” in the Scottish language? In Hebrew, Joe roughly translates to “he will increase.” According to etymology site Behind the Name, Joe ranked #20 in 1880, the first year it reports statistics. It has since dropped in popularity, coming in at #565 in 2014.

Here’s a fun National Joe Day game based on 20 Questions. Have everyone pick Joe nametags from a basket and—without looking—stick them to their foreheads so everyone else can see the name. A player must then ask the others questions to figure out which Joe he or she is wearing. The person who guesses correctly after the fewest questions is a cheater. (The law of averages dictates that there’s one in every group.)

The game continues until one last straggler is still desperately trying to figure it out. At this point, someone whispers, writes a note or otherwise helps the person finish. (This is known as mercy cheating.) Finally, everybody wins the same prize just for participating: a cup of coffee, a jelly bean or something else insignificant yet sure to gratify the losers and ignore the efforts of the winners. (We’re still talking about “average,” right?)

Here are some suggestions for nametags:

  • Joe Six-Pack
  • G.I Joe
  • Joe Blow
  • Joe Cool
  • Joe Palooka
  • Joe Schmoe
  • Holy Joe

If you’ve got a large group, you could add some real-life Joes:

  • Joe Namath
  • Joe DiMaggio
  • Joe Montana
  • Joe Guidice
  • Joe Stalin
  • Joe Biden
  • Joe Frazier

Extra credit for Stephen King fans:

  • Joe King (and no, we’re not joking)

Have a happy National Joe Day!

 

Copyright © 2017 Worldwide Weird Holidays

Make Up Your Own Holiday Day

Today is Make Up Your Own Holiday Day, created by Thomas and Ruth Roy of Wellcmake up your own holiday dayat Holidays and Herbs. Thomas is an actor perhaps best known for his role as a preacher in 12 Monkeys. Ruth is the proprietor of Wellcat Herbs, selling her own products online and at Pennsylvania Renaissance Faires.

Together, they have invented more than 80 holidays featured in Chase’s Calendar of Events, the bible of unofficial celebrations. Despite reports the Roys are co-authoring a book about practical wellness and expanding holiday information, their website looks like it hasn’t been updated in years.

We can’t say more without infringing on their copyright. So, when it comes to planning today’s festivities, you’re just going to have to make it up on your own. Have a happy Make Up Your Own Holiday Day!

Copyright © 2017 Worldwide Weird Holidays

March 25 is Pecan Day

Today is Pecan Day, not to be confused with National Pecan Day (April 14) or National Pecan Month (also April). As the only nut tree native to North America, the pecan has been a source of pride since the founding of the United States.

pecan day

photo credit – Corey Leopold

The pecan tree was declared the State Tree of Texas in 1906; the pecan became State Nut in 1919. Ninety years later, Arkansas also named the pecan as its State Nut. Interestingly, the two states also share the same State Historic Cooking Vessel: the Dutch oven. (We would’ve chosen the George Foreman Grill. That thing is amazing.)

The story behind Pecan Day is this: On March 25, 1775, George Washington planted pecan trees on his grounds in Mount Vernon, NY. They were a gift from Thomas Jefferson, who had transplanted a number of the trees from the Mississippi Valley to his home in Monticello, NY.

A few of those trees still stand today as a reminder that, even as they geared up for war, the founders could still make time for a little agriculture. (Having slaves to do the manual labor probably helped, too, but that’s a story for another time.)

Happy Pecan Day!

Copyright © 2017 Worldwide Weird Holidays

 

National Chocolate Covered Raisin Day

Today is National Chocolate Covered Raisin Day.

In 1927, the Blumenthal Brothers Chocolate Company had the brilliant idea of covering dried California grapes with chocolate. It named the results Raisinets and they’ve been a favorite of moviegoers and vending machine gourmands ever since. The formula changed hands several times before being purchased by Nestlé in 1984.

According to Nestlé, more than one million Raisinets are produced each hour. They’re coated, then machine-polished in large batches to achieve their round shape and high shine. In 2015, the company released this graphic:

national chocolate covered raisins day

They state on their website that if you lined up the number of Raisinets made in one year end-to-end, they would stretch around the globe twice, adding, “Every man, woman and child in the United States would receive 17 Raisinets if the amount made in a year were shared with all.”

Until then, keep buying them yourselves and have a happy National Chocolate Covered Raisin Day!

Copyright © 2017 Worldwide Weird Holidays

 

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