strange, bizarre and kooky holidays happening in July

International Joke Day

/2 Comments/in

international joke dayToday is International Joke Day. In 2001, Richard Wiseman enlisted the aid of the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BAAS), founded in 1831 and now known as the British Science Association (BSA), in conducting a yearlong study designed to discover the world’s funniest joke and learn about the psychology of humor.

They created the LaughLab website to enlist the participation of people around the world. Its survey asked each test subject to share their favorite joke, then collected demographic information such as age, sex, and country of residence, and finally asked them to rate a random selection of jokes submitted by others.

To elicit quantifiable results, the survey required all participants to rate the jokes’ funniness using a special “giggleometer” invented specifically for the study.

By the end of the experiment, LaughLab had received more than 40,000 jokes and 1.5 million ratings. After collating the results and taking into account which jokes made men laugh versus women, kids versus adults, and countries versus other countries, Wiseman and the BAAS determined the world’s funniest joke. It was submitted by Gurpal Gosall, a 31-year-old psychiatrist from Manchester, England.

Here it is:

Two hunters are out in the woods when one of them collapses. He doesn’t seem to be breathing and his eyes are glazed. The other guy whips out his phone and calls the emergency services. He gasps, “My friend is dead! What can I do?”. The operator says “Calm down. I can help. First, let’s make sure he’s dead.” There is a silence, then a shot is heard. Back on the phone, the guy says “OK, now what?”

You can read the full report and download 1,000 (clean) LaughLab jokes. Have a happy International Joke Day! What’s your favorite?

Share this:

July 9 is Rock ‘n’ Roll Day

/2 Comments/in

rock 'n' roll dayToday is Rock ‘n’ Roll Day. It marks an end as well as a beginning. On July 9, 1956, Dick Clark took over as the host of a show called Bandstand. Less than three weeks before, it had slipped through another man’s hands.

Bandstand premiered in 1950 on WFIL-TV in Philadelphia, PA, and consisted of short musical films—the precursor of music videos—interspersed with interviews of studio guests. Host Bob Horn lobbied to change the format to a TV dance party, with teenagers dancing live to the latest records. The revamped show debuted in October 1952 and was a huge success, making the station owners happy and Horn a wealthy man.

But on June 21, 1956, Horn was arrested for drunk driving. He was fired and producer Tony Mammarella filled in while a new host was chosen. Horn’s poor judgment proved to be the opportunity of a lifetime for radio DJ Dick Clark, who had narrowly escaped disgrace himself in the payola scandal that destroyed the career of Alan Freed, to whom National Disc Jockey Day (January 20) is dedicated.

rock 'n' roll day

Dick Clark, July 1956

Clark’s star rose as Horn’s plummeted: In November, Horn was again arrested for drunk driving, this time causing an accident that injured a small girl. He was indicted on the same day for statutory rape. (He was eventually acquitted.) His reputation in tatters, Horn moved to Texas and changed his last name to Adams.

On August 5, 1957, the show went national, changing its name to American Bandstand. Clark, the man who would become known as the “world’s oldest teenager,” whose birthday (November 30) is celebrated as Perpetual Youth Day, helmed the show for over thirty years.

Bob Horn died of a heat stroke-induced heart attack while mowing his lawn in Houston, TX on July 31, 1966, at the age of 50. He’s buried in Houston’s Forest Park Cemetery (as Bob Horn, not Adams) with “Bandstand” inscribed across the top of his headstone.

Dick Clark died of a heart attack following a medical procedure in Santa Monica, CA on April 18, 2012, at the age of 82. Clark was cremated on April 20, and his ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean.

Let’s have a dance party and remember them both on Rock ‘n’ Roll Day!

Copyright © 2017 Worldwide Weird Holidays