Welcome to Worldwide Weird Holidays, where you’ll find a new reason to celebrate every day of the year.
November 17 is National Unfriend Day
On November 17, 2010, comedian and late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel inaugurated National Unfriend Day with an advisory about fairweather Facebook friends. Test them by asking for help with a move, he said. The people who respond are your friends. No one else. He capped off the proceedings with a public service announcement by […]
November 16 is National Button Day
National Button Day Today is National Button Day. How did it get its start and why should we celebrate it? We use this humble fastener every day but how much do we really know about it? National Button Day may never have existed were it not for Otto Lightner, publisher of Hobbies magazine, who democratized […]
Chaos Never Dies Day: Part Two
In Which I Inadvertently Prove that Chaos Never Dies Chaos Never Dies Day proved all too true for me today, November 9, 2017, when I was briefly interviewed by Michael S. Robinson on Microbin Radio. I had been invited to be a guest on the radio show only the day before so I dutifully spent a […]
November 5 is Guy Fawkes Day
Today is Guy Fawkes Day. It celebrates the day a traitor to the King of England was thwarted in his attempt to blow up the entire government while it met upstairs. The plot developed as a way to end state-sanctioned religious persecution by killing James I and replacing him with a Roman Catholic monarch. Guy Fawkes, […]
November 4 is Use Your Common Sense Day
Use Your Common Sense Day celebrates the birthday of Will Rogers, who once remarked, “Common sense ain’t common.” He was a witty self-made gentleman whose homespun wisdom still resonates today. He was born William Penn Adair Rogers on November 4, 1879, in Oolagah, Cherokee Nation, now known as Oklahoma. His official website lists him as […]
November 3 is National Sandwich Day
Today is National Sandwich Day. On November 3, 1762, John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, invented the—you guessed it!—sandwich. But why, where, how and who? Why? He was hungry. That’s just about the only subject upon which everyone agrees. Where? He was either working long hours at his desk or playing poker in a gambling hall. […]
October 28 is National Chocolate Day
Today is National Chocolate Day. There are thirty “national” chocolate-themed holidays celebrated every year in the United States: dark, bittersweet, milk, white, cream-filled, to name a few, with Chocolate Covered Anything Day taking care of whatever else may have been lost in the shuffle. While it’s unclear if these holidays originated with a candy manufacturer, it […]
October 24 is World Tripe Day
If dedication and effort are any indication, the holiday known as World Tripe Day is as real as it gets. Since 2012, the Tripe Marketing Board (TMB) has campaigned tirelessly to raise awareness of the hidden virtues of consuming, or at least discussing, the stomachs of ruminant mammals. The TMB was set up in 1992 to replace the […]
October 23 is National Mole Day
National Mole Day is not a time to pay tribute to cute furry diggers, secret agents, Mexican sauces, freckles or skin tags. (By the way, you really ought to have that thing checked out.) Once a year on October 23 from 6:02 a.m. to 6:02 p.m., National Mole Day celebrates Avogadro’s Number (6.02 x 1023), […]
INTERNATIONAL CAPS LOCK DAY
Today is INTERNATIONAL CAPS LOCK DAY, celebrated on June 28 and October 22 each year. Derek Arnold created the unofficial holiday in October 2000 to bring attention to those who abuse the caps lock key and, by extension, everyone who receives their emails, texts, and Internet screeds. Arnold claimed he had a higher purpose in mind, stating: […]