Welcome to Worldwide Weird Holidays, where you’ll find a new reason to celebrate every day of the year.
February 14 is National Ferris Wheel Day
Today is National Ferris Wheel Day, a holiday that celebrates the birth of George Washington Gale Ferris on February 14, 1859. At age 33, he designed the first Ferris Wheel, which was introduced at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. The exhibition was also known as the Chicago World’s Fair and commemorated the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ […]
February 13 is Get a Different Name Day
Today is Get a Different Name Day. Why did Ruth and Tom Roy of Wellcat create this holiday? “For the pity of millions of us who hate our birth names. On this day, we may change our names to whatever we wish and have the right to expect colleagues, family and friends to so address us.” […]
February 12 is National Lost Penny Day
Today is National Lost Penny Day but its timing is no accident. Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809. In 1909, President Theodore Roosevelt introduced a one-cent piece to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Great Emancipator’s birth. It was the first American coin to bear the likeness of a real person. Fifty years […]
February 11 is Pro Sports Wives Day
Today is the 11th annual Pro Sports Wives Day, a national day of recognition for the contributions of pro sports wives to their husband’s careers and the community. According to Statista, which gathers statistics from more than 18,000 sources, 2014 revenue of U.S. sports markets totaled 60.8 billion dollars. Pro Sports Wives Day was instituted in […]
February 10 is Plimsoll Day
Today is Plimsoll Day. It celebrates the birth of Samuel Plimsoll (Feb. 10, 1824— June 3, 1898), a British merchant, politician, author and reformer whose tireless efforts saved many sailors’ lives. Plimsoll realized that the power to bring ship owners to account rested with the government. So he ran for a seat as a member of Parliament (MP) […]
Love May Make the World Go ‘Round, But Laughter Keeps Us from Getting Dizzy Day
Today is Love May Make the World Go ‘Round, But Laughter Keeps Us from Getting Dizzy Day, the first day of a weeklong celebration lasting through Valentine’s Day. It is the brainchild of Joel Goodman, who in 1977 founded The Humor Project, the first organization in the world to focus full-time on the positive power […]
February 5 is World Nutella Day
Today is World Nutella Day. It seems pretty straightforward, right? In 2007, fangirl Sara Rosso declared February 5th a holiday to honor the delicious chocolate hazelnut spread. Nutelladay.com became a place for people to celebrate, swap recipes and share tales of devotion. As of May 2013, the World Nutella Day Facebook page had 40,000 likes. […]
Ice Cream for Breakfast Day
Today is Ice Cream for Breakfast Day, a holiday invented in 1966 by a mother desperate to amuse her children while they were snowed in during a blizzard in Rochester, NY. Unsurprisingly, it was a hit. Since then, its popularity has grown exponentially, circling the globe. As Florence Rappaport explained to the Washington Post in 2004, […]
February 4 is Liberace Day
Today is Liberace Day. It commemorates the death of Władziu Valentino Liberace (May 16, 1919 – February 4, 1987), the American pianist, singer and entertainer known as Mr. Showmanship. He had begun playing piano at four years old and by the age of thirty became the highest-paid entertainer in the world, touring internationally, releasing albums, […]
February 3 is the Day the Music Died
On February 3, 1959, musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson were killed when their plane crashed in an Iowa cornfield. The tragic accident became known as “The Day the Music Died,” after a lyric in singer-songwriter Don McLean‘s 1971 anthem American Pie. At the time, they were on their way to […]