fun, strange holidays grouped by month

June 7 is VCR Day

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vcr day

Ampex VRX-1000, 1956

Today is VCR Day. It commemorates the date in 1975 when Sony Corporation supposedly released the Betamax videocassette recorder (VCR) made specifically for home use. Some historians place the release in November 1975. In any case, it beat JVC’s Video Home System (VHS) to market by a year.

A VCR records the analog audio and video of a television broadcast or other signal source onto a removable, magnetic tape videocassette for subsequent playback. A programmable timer allows the user to schedule the recording to initiate, run, and conclude while unattended. It can also play back prerecorded tapes.

The history of the VCR dates back to the Ampex VRX-1000, which was released in 1956. Due to its substantial size and prohibitive cost of $50,000, it was affordable only to television networks and the largest individual stations. Toshiba, Philips, and RCA joined the fray; Sony partnered with Ampex for a while to share technology.

In 1965, Sony introduced the reel-to-reel type CV-2000, which stands for Consumer Video, as its first home-use model. (One ad shows the price as $695.) Despite Sony’s marketing efforts, it was primarily used for medical and industrial applications. Companies jockeyed for position for another decade.

There are many theories about why Sony won the battle to beat JVC to market in 1975, only to lose the war. One irrefutable fact is that each videocassette format was compatible only with its own VCR, ensuring that VHS and Betamax would never be able to play nice.

Sony may have gambled on its customers’ desire for quality over quantity, offering higher-definition tapes that could only record up to one hour of programming. While we value that today, it was much less of a selling point in 1975, when simply being able to record a show and watch it was more of a priority than being able to parse every speck of dust on M*A*S*H in hallucinatory detail.

When JVC released its VCR a year later, it used VHS tapes that held two hours. By the time Sony caught up, it was too late. VHS had become the standard. In 1981, Betamax had only a 25% market share. By 1986, it had dropped to 7.5% and continued to decline. Although it began selling VHS recorders in 1988, Sony continued to manufacture Betamax recorders until 2002 and only stopped producing Betamax tapes as of March 2016.

Of course, VHS didn’t stay on top forever. JVC stopped manufacturing standalone VCRs in 2008, long after DVD and Blu-Ray players had supplanted them. Streaming services put another nail in the VCR’s coffin.

Can a direct neural interface be far behind? As long as it doesn’t require the skull drilling we see in science fiction movies and the monthly fee is good, we say bring it on!

Until then, let’s celebrate our technological past and have a happy VCR Day!

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National Doughnut Day

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Today is National Doughnut Day, also known as National Donut Day, celebrated in the U.S. on the first Friday of June.

In 1938, the Chicago chapter of the Salvation Army, an international charitable organization, hosted the first Doughnut Day event to raise funds for the needy during the Great Depression while honoring the women who had served doughnuts to soldiers during World War I.

After the U.S. entered the war in 1917, the Salvation Army conducted a fact-finding mission to France and concluded that American enlisted men would benefit from baked goods, writing paper, and mending services provided by canteens (called “huts”) set up in nearby abandoned buildings. Four of the six staff assigned to each hut were women, to help “mother” the men.

The reconnaissance team had failed to consider the difficulty of baking under those conditions. A couple of the 250 volunteers came up with the idea of frying doughnuts, which would eliminate the need for ovens. They were a big hit. Soon, the soldiers began to refer to the women as “Doughnut Girls.”

While the origin of National Doughnut Day is all but forgotten, bakeries across the nation continue the tradition by offering a free doughnut to customers today. Some places like Dunkin’ Donuts offer a free doughnut with the purchase of a drink, which is, of course, not free at all, but who’s going to complain? It’s still an excuse to have a doughnut!

Happy National Doughnut Day!

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Festival of Popular Delusions Day

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festival of popular delusions dayToday is Festival of Popular Delusions Day. It is said to have originated in Germany on June 5th, 1945. Let’s begin with some background information about this mysterious holiday.

On June 6th, 1944, over 160,000 Allied soldiers landed on a 50-mile stretch of beach in Normandy, France. Nazi troops heavily guarded the area to prevent enemy access to the country’s interior. Operation Neptune, which would become known as D-Day, aimed to break through the line and free continental Europe.

The assault was initially scheduled to take place in May but had to be postponed until more landing craft could be secured. It appeared that poor weather conditions on the morning of June 6th would cause another delay. General Dwight D. Eisenhower decided to proceed as planned.

Heavy cloud cover hindered air strikes, and some airborne troops who parachuted in missed their landing zones by miles. By the end of the day, an estimated 10,000 Allied troops had been killed, wounded, or were missing in action. The Allies fought to gain ground, ultimately breaking out of Normandy on August 15th. Ten days later, they liberated Paris. German forces retreated soon afterward.

On June 6th, 1944, German troops weren’t expecting an invasion. They assumed the Allies wouldn’t attack when the bad weather would put them at a disadvantage. June 5th, 1944, turned out to be the last day the Nazis could delude themselves that they would rule the Earth for a thousand years. One year later, this holiday was inaugurated to mark the first anniversary of that day.

Supposedly, that was the inspiration for the first Festival of Popular Delusions Day. Maybe we’re delusional for wanting to believe this legend. There are undoubtedly plenty of popular delusions to choose from these days. No matter which one you pick, have a happy Festival of Popular Delusions Day!

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June 4 is Old Maid’s Day

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old maid's day

Miss Dorothy Babb

Today is Old Maid’s Day. It all began in Denton, TX, when Dorothy Babb, a Latin professor at North Texas State College (NTSC) jokingly complained she was sick of spending money on gifts for weddings, baby showers and Mother’s Day when, as a single woman, she only received presents at Christmas.

The school’s news director wrote an article seeking recognition for women who either couldn’t or wouldn’t get married. The story was picked up by the Associated Press and appeared throughout the country. Denton Mayor Mark Hannah designated August 15th, 1950, as a day to honor unmarried women.

Although ostensibly more flattering names, such as “glamor girls,” “unclaimed jewels,” or “career girls,” were suggested, Miss Babb said she preferred to be called an old maid. She added that anybody who didn’t like the name could “just go and get married.”

The first year’s event included tea at the Denton Country Club, admission to a musical performance, and a screening of the Three Stooges film, “The Brideless Groom.” Gifts were distributed to any unmarried woman who admitted to being an old maid.

By 1953, the famous old maids had received so many gifts from all over the country that they asked folks to send them instead to Girlstown in Whiteface, TX. Knowing they might never have children of their own, the ladies chose to help homeless girls.

In 1954, the celebration included a screening of Gone with the Wind and a telegram from Clark Gable. Pat Boone performed. Babb flew to Chicago to appear on a television show called “Welcome Travelers.” She’d been escorted by motorcade to Love Field, where the college’s saber drill team formed an honor guard as she got on the plane.

The following year, Governor Allan Shivers issued a proclamation affirming August 15th as Old Maid’s Day. Over time, the celebrations grew smaller. The last documented event took place in 1965.  In recent years, the practice has been revived by fans of odd holidays and moved to June 4th.

In our research, we have been unable to determine why Old Maid’s Day returned. Perhaps it’s because the expectations of women that the holiday poked fun at 66 years ago haven’t changed much. Maybe the date has been moved forward so single teachers can clean up on gifts before the school year ends. Whatever the reason, have a happy Old Maid’s Day!

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