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June 15 is Magna Carta Day

magna carta dayMagna Carta Day, explained in the style of Jeff Spicoli:

In 1215, the king of England was a total wad, so a bunch of rich baron dudes got together and decided his divine right was bogus, so they drew up some cool rules they called the Great Charter until somebody said it sounded way more righteous in Latin. They took it to the king on June 15th and told him, “Sign it, or you’ll never party again,” which was a gnarly scene for a minute, but then he signed it. 

The Pope was not cool with that and said, “Later, dudes!” and kicked all the baron guys out of the church. But none of it matters anyhow because Julius Caesar’s calendar was a mess so we use a different one now, which means the Carta got signed on June 8th, but then, like, did it even happen?

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Donald Duck Day

donald duck dayJune 9 is Donald Duck Day. It celebrates the date in 1934 when he first appeared in a Disney cartoon called “The Wise Little Hen.” His rise was meteoric. Only nine years later, in 1943, Donald won an Oscar for his role in a satire about Nazis, only to see the film shelved by Disney for the next 71 years.

In his 1941 authorized biography, The Life of Donald Duck, he revealed he’d been born on Friday the 13th. When he starred in “Donald’s Happy Birthday” in 1949, his car’s license plate number read 313, which many fans took to mean he was born on March 13th.

This has caused a schism between those who celebrate Donald Duck Day on June 9th and those who insist it should be observed on March 13th. Although his publicist has not returned our calls, we believe Donald Fauntleroy Duck would approve of at least two days dedicated in his honor.

His performance in “Der Fuehrer’s Face” helped it win the 1943 Academy Award for best animated short film. In it, he awakens in a nightmare world where he is a Nazi. (Its original title was “Donald Duck in Nutzi Land” but was changed to “Der Fuehrer’s Face” after the novelty song by that name became a runaway hit for Spike Jones and his City Slickers.)

Propaganda films weren’t unusual, but because Donald appeared as a Nazi, however unwillingly, the cartoon was considered objectionable and relegated to the Disney vault after the end of World War II. In 1994, a group of 1,000 members of the animation industry voted it one of the 50 greatest cartoons ever made. Ten years later, Disney finally released it in a set called “Walt Disney Treasures: On the Front Lines.”

In June 2025, the set could still be found on secondary markets, such as eBay, at high prices because Disney produced a limited edition of 250,000 sets in 2004. We can’t find it on the Disney YouTube channel, but if you’re curious, the cartoon is available through a few unofficial sources. Here’s one:

There are links here and here to a version that includes a short explanatory prologue.

We want to leave you with an observation made by Chandler Bing from the TV show “Friends.”

You know what’s weird? Donald Duck never wore pants. But whenever he’s getting out of the shower, he always puts a towel around his waist. I mean, what is that about?

It’s a question for the ages. May we all remain as ageless as our favorite waterfowl, and have a happy Donald Duck Day!

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June 3 is Repeat Day

Repeat DayToday is Repeat Day, an unofficial holiday of unknown provenance that celebrates the do-over. But does it imply that we must reenact this moment exactly as it is, in excruciating detail? Can we achieve that level of granularity or even comprehend it?

If we are able and willing to participate in this endeavor, must we start right now? (If so, must we keep reading the foregoing sentence over and over?) When is it acceptable to stop: at 11:59:59? How will we know if we can’t get past the preceding questions?

We feel the creator of Repeat Day didn’t fully consider the possible ramifications of this lighthearted holiday unless he or she is a disgruntled philosopher bent on destroying the world. We have attempted to avert an endless time-loop of navel-gazing existential paralysis by making this post so annoying that we would never be tempted to subject ourselves to a repeat reading.

Mission accomplished.

 

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No Pants Day – 1st Friday in May

no pants dayNo Pants Day is a holiday invented in the late 1990s by several University of Texas at Austin students. Calling themselves the Knighthood of Buh, the group claimed to have revived the ancient “contradictory” faith of Discordianism.

According to its Wikia page, “Discordianism recognizes chaos, discord, and dissent as valid and desirable qualities, in contrast with most religions, which idealize harmony and order.” The knights reasoned that the best expression of their belief would be to wear no pants on the first Friday in May.

In 2000, adherents began to spread the word, and No Pants Day quickly became popular on other campuses. It inspired the group ImprovEverywhere to stage its first No Pants Subway Ride in New York City two years later. The first World Naked Bike Ride took place in 2004. (Check here for upcoming clothing-optional rides in your area.)

So is Discordianism for real? The fifth and final commandment is this: “A Discordian is Prohibited from Believing What he reads.” So, yes and no.

Happy No Pants Day!

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