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October 23 is National Mole Day

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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.)national mole day

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), a unit of measurement in chemistry. Mole Day originated in an article from The Science Teacher in the early 1980s. Inspired by the article, a chemistry teacher in Wisconsin created the National Mole Day Foundation on May 15, 1991.

In 1811, Lorenzo Romano Amedeo Carlo Avogadro di Quaregna e di Cerreto—Amadeo Carlo Avogadro to his parents—proposed a law stating that equal volume of all gasses, at the same temperature and pressure, have the same number of molecules.

Avogadro contradicted better-known scientists of his time, didn’t publish his work in highly regarded journals and hailed from Italy, which had fallen out of favor as a site of scientific innovation. It took almost a hundred years for the scientific community to catch on. Chemist and Nobel laureate Jean Baptiste Perrin proposed in 1909 that the total number of particles contained in one mole be called the Avogadro Constant.

6.02×10^23

One mole is a mass (in grams) whose number is equal to the molar mass of the molecule. Because atoms are so small, they can only be measured in enormous numbers, on the scale of Avogadro’s number.

1 Mole = ∼ 602,200,000,000,000,000,000,000

It ‘s hard to imagine such a large number. Oklahoma State University has some useful analogies to help envision it:

  • Astronomers estimate that there is a mole (6.02 x 1023) of stars in the universe.
  • Water flows over Niagara Falls at about 650,000 kL (172,500,000 gallons) per minute. It would take 134,000 years for one mole of water drops to flow over Niagara Falls.
  • One mole of marbles, each 2 cm in diameter, would form a mountain 116 times higher than Mount Everest. The base of the marble mountain would be slightly larger than the area of the USA.

National Mole Day has always been about fostering interest in chemistry. It has been celebrated by teachers, students and schools for decades and inspires participants to create activities, thought experiments and even music videos to make learning about Avogadro’s Number fun.

Avogadro would be so proud!

Copyright © 2017 Worldwide Weird Holidays

August 29 is National Chop Suey Day

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national chop suey dayToday is National Chop Suey Day. It honors the popular Chinese-American dish of uncertain provenance.

Legends abound regarding the origin of chop suey. Some say it was invented in the 1860s by a Chinese cook in San Franciso who, fearing he would be beaten by a rowdy bunch of miners demanding food after hours, served them a stir-fry made of leftovers.

Others claim the dish was created in 1896 for Qing Dynasty statesman Li Hongzhang (romanized name: Li Hung Chang) when he visited the U.S. and, disliking a banquet’s offerings, had one of his chefs go into the kitchen and prepare something from the ingredients he found there. This myth was perpetuated by the publication in 1913 of Memoirs of Li Hung Chang, which was exposed as a forgery ten years later.

Chinese history shows that chop suey has roots there under various names: za sui in Mandarin and shap sui or tsap tsui in Cantonese, which translate to “mixed bits.” The recipe seems to have originated with residents of the Taishan, (also known as Taisan or Toisan) area of Canton, many of whom immigrated to the U.S.

It was originally composed of entrails such as chicken livers, gizzards and tripe mixed with bamboo shoots, fungi and bean sprouts in a brown sauce. Chinese cooks later adapted these ingredients for American tastes
by replacing organ meats with the chicken, pork, beef or shrimp.

Today is a great day to set aside the debate about who deserves credit and order chop suey or break out the wok and stir-fry a batch. After all, General Tso had nothing to do with the chicken dish that bears his name, but that doesn’t stop anyone from enjoying it.

Happy National Chop Suey Day!

Copyright © 2017 Worldwide Weird Holidays

August 28 is National Bow Tie Day

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Today is National Bow Tie Day, inaugurated on August 28, 2012, to celebrate the quirky neck accessory.

Croatian mercenaries of the 17th century tied scarves around their necks to hold their shirt tops together. French soldiers brought the style home after the end of the Thirty Years’ War. They called it the cravat, derived from the French word for “Croat.”

It was fashionable throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. It’s unknown when the scarf evolved into the bow tie. One unlikely legend states that tobacco magnate Pierre Lorillard introduced it in the U.S. when he wore one to his Tuxedo Club.  We’d like to think he looked like this guy:

national bow tie day

There are three types of bow ties: pre-tied, clip-on and traditional “self-tie.” The first is popular these days for its ease of use and uniformity coupled with myriad fabric and pattern options. A clip-on conjures the idea of waiters and prom dates. A traditional tie takes more work  but begs to be casually untied like this:

national bow tie day

Admittedly, there aren’t many people who can pull off the bow tie. It takes the attitude and confidence of a woman like Marlene Dietrich or the devil-may-care rebellion of someone like Pee Wee Herman:

national bow tie day

While few of us live up to these cool images, we can all bring our own style to the bow tie. Check out the holiday’s official website for more ways to proclaim your love, read media articles from the last four years, get information on tying tips, and participate in its Twitter campaign.

Have a Happy National Bow Tie Day!

Copyright © 2017 Worldwide Weird Holidays

August 27 is National Petroleum Day

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national petroleum dayToday is National Petroleum Day, also known as Oil and Gas Industry Appreciation Day.

Crude oil was first pumped from the ground in China’s Sichuan Province 2,500 years ago. Its discovery in the U.S. is credited to Edwin L. Drake who, on August 27, 1859, struck oil 70 feet below the surface of Titusville, PA.

The word “petroleum” translates as “rock oil,” derived from the Greek word petra (rock) and oleum (oil). The combination of liquid crude oil and natural gas is called a fossil fuel because it has been created by the decomposition of organic matter over millions of years, formed in sedimentary rock under intense heat and pressure.

Petroleum is an integral part of modern life. Some of the world’s largest businesses extract and process it while others create products that use hydrocarbons or are petroleum-based: asphalt, plastics, fertilizers, car tires, candles, ammonia, CDs, crayons, perfumes, deodorant, heart valves, pharmaceuticals, synthetic fabrics and bubble gum, to name a few.

Saudi Arabia produces 8.1 million barrels of oil per day and has the largest amount of reserves at 267 billion barrels. The U.S. consumes 19.4 million barrels per day, more than any other country. It has the 11th largest reserve at 21 billion barrels—enough to last for up to eight years at current consumption levels.

The U.S. has 4 percent of the world’s population but uses 25 percent of the world’s oil. Approximately half of that is utilized by the transportation industry. U.S. drivers use almost twice as much oil as drivers in China and India combined.

Because fossil fuels have taken millions of years to form, they are a non-renewable resource. Eventually, we will run out. Petroleum use has had a negative impact on the environment as carbon is released into the atmosphere, increasing temperatures and accelerating global warming. Many products made with petroleum derivatives don’t biodegrade quickly, while fertilizer runoff can damage the water table.

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, the largest in history, spilled 4.2 million barrels into the Gulf of Mexico. But spills account for only about 5 percent of the oil that enters the world’s oceans. According to the Coast Guard, sewage treatment plants discharge twice as much oil into U.S. waters each year as tanker spills.

On National Petroleum Day, let’s consider all the ways petroleum has enhanced our lives while coming to terms with the fact that it won’t last forever. The strides we make now toward finding alternatives will make a better world for our children, their children and their children’s children.

Happy National Petroleum Day!

Copyright © 2017 Worldwide Weird Holidays