Holidays by Month Archives - Page 41 of 90

Test Tube Baby Day

July 25, 2017/1 Comment/in July

Today is Test Tube Baby Day. On July 25, 1978, in Oldham, England, Louise Joy Brown became the first person born after being conceived outside her mother’s body, in a revolutionary process now called in-vitro fertilization, or IVF.

In IVF, egg and sperm are placed together in a liquid with some smooth jazz and Bacardi 151; after the egg has been fertilized, it is transplanted into a woman’s uterus. (We’re kidding about some of that.)

The media’s description of Louise as a “test tube baby,” evocative of heretical work performed by mad scientists, was widely adopted but technically inaccurate. Her conception took place in a petri dish.

At the time, her parents knew the procedure was experimental but were unaware that it had never resulted in a baby. This called into question their ability to give informed consent and the ethics and motives of the doctors involved. Disciplinary action might have been taken had Louise not been born.

IVF has become an accepted treatment for infertility. By 2006, the World Health Organization reported that more than 1.5 million children had been conceived via the process. In 2010, Robert Edwards, one of its developers, received the Nobel Prize in Medicine.

Happy birthday, Louise!

July 24 is Amelia Earhart Day

July 24, 2017/0 Comments/in July

image – history.com [since scrubbed from site]

Today is Amelia Earhart Day, celebrating the aviation pioneer’s birth on July 24, 1897. In 1932, she became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic, for which she received the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross. A member of the National Woman’s Party and an early proponent of the Equal Rights Amendment, Earhart’s self-confidence and spirit of adventure made her an inspiration to young women.

Earhart vanished without a trace on July 2, 1937, during her attempt to circumnavigate the globe. Despite the likelihood that the plane was never found because it crashed into the Pacific Ocean and sank, theories about her disappearance persist to this day, running the gamut from midair abduction by aliens to a secret move to New Jersey to live under an assumed name.

One popular hypothesis claims the Japanese captured Amelia Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan, torturing and executing them or holding them in secret for the rest of their lives. Some claim Earhart was a spy for the U.S. Others say she was one of many English-speaking women forced to make radio broadcasts as Tokyo Rose, although propagandists wishing to demoralize American servicemen surely would have seen the benefit in using her real name.

On July 9, 2017, the History Channel aired Amelia Earhart: The Lost Evidence, featuring a photograph that showed two Caucasian people on a dock at Jaluit Atoll and a vessel carrying something that looked like plane wreckage in the background.

A military history blogger scouring archival images son found the photo had been taken in 1935, two years before the crash. This revelation called into question the veracity of the entire documentary. The cable channel has since canceled reruns and deleted streaming video of its program. It also released this statement:

“HISTORY has a team of investigators exploring the latest developments about Amelia Earhart and we will be transparent in our findings. Ultimately, historical accuracy is most important to us and our viewers.”

As of January 2024, I have been unable to find any information regarding the investigation’s conclusion. Please let me know if you’ve seen any so I can update this post.

No matter the truth of her death, we should all celebrate the life and accomplishments of this extraordinary woman.

Happy Amelia Earhart Day!

July 23 is Gorgeous Grandma Day

July 23, 2017/0 Comments/in July

Today is Gorgeous Grandma Day, created by author Alice Solomon. After graduating from Wellesley College in 1984, at age 50, she felt she and her generation had been written off and branded “senior citizens” by society.

Solomon believed this occurred the moment she hit the half-century mark. “In an instant and only one day older, I was thought of as over the hill, no longer sharp, strong, vital, useful, sexy, hip, interesting, or worthy of hiring; in other words finished, kaput,” she explained in a 2007 interview. The concept of Gorgeous Grandma was born.

For months, I tried to think of a name for our group, one that would be upbeat, fun, catchy and grab attention. Finally, ‘gorgeous’ was selected because it presents a snappy, ‘notice me’ image, while ‘Grandma’ instantly defines an age group and stage of life regardless of whether a woman is actually a grandmother.

Using that definition, Solomon created Gorgeous Grandma Day to celebrate women over 40. She wrote two books on the subject, became a motivational speaker, a part-time radio host and launched Gorgeous Grandma Communications in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Nowadays it’s hard to imagine labeling any 50-year-old as a senior citizen. For that matter, the term “senior citizen” no longer carries the stigma it once had. Thanks to Alice Solomon and many other women like her, today’s generation doesn’t have to worry about that.

Have a happy Gorgeous Grandma Day! (You know who you are.)

National Day of the Cowboy

July 22, 2017/1 Comment/in July

Today is the National Day of the Cowboy, always observed on the fourth Saturday of July. On March 18, 2016, Idaho became the 11th state to pass a law recognizing the holiday.

The National Day of the Cowboy Organization created this day in 2005 to acknowledge the contributions of the cowboy (and cowgirl) to the history of America.

Celebrate today by watching a classic Western movie, taking in a rodeo, putting on a pair of boots and kicking up your heels or learning how to throw a lasso.

Have a happy National Day of the Cowboy!

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