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April 5 is National Caramel Day

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Today is National Caramel Day, one of the most delicious holidays of the year.

national caramel dayThe name has a long history. The English word is cadged from the French caramel, which has roots in 18th-century Spain’s caramelo, which in turn dates back to the Late Latin calamellus. The granddaddy of them all comes from the Greek κάλαμος. 

But who really cares about the name? Buy some caramels or make your own caramel sauce. Put a little spice in your life with the salted version. (We don’t know who came up with that, but thank you, whoever you are!)

Why not try this recipe?

Salted Caramel Sauce

Ingredients

1 cup white sugar
5 Tbsp. butter, cut into slices
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 Tbsp. heavy whipping cream
1 pinch sea salt to taste

Directions

Prep time:5 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes

Place sugar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan set over medium-high heat. Stir continuously until sugar begins to melt. Continue stirring until the sugar melts completely, begins to darken and all the chunks are dissolved, about 10 minutes. Stop stirring and continue to cook until the sugar begins to smoke and turns a dark shade of amber, 3 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat and wait 30 seconds.

Whisk in butter until melted and combined. Slowly pour in 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon cream, taking care not to let it bubble over. Sprinkle in salt and stir to combine. Transfer sauce to a jar and cool completely before refrigerating.

Maybe you’d prefer a tasty libation instead:

Salted Caramel Martini

Ingredients

2 Tbsp. grated chocolate
Sea salt
2 Tbsp. caramel sauce
6 ounces Bailey’s Caramel Irish Cream

Instructions

  1. Grate chocolate with cheese grater and place in circle larger than glass on a piece of parchment.
  2. Add a dash of salt to the chocolate.
  3. On another piece of parchment put a circle of caramel sauce.
  4. Dip glass into caramel, then dip into chocolate.
  5. Refrigerate glass to chill.
  6. Pour Bailey’s Caramel flavored Irish Cream into a shaker with ice to chill.
  7. Pour into cold glasses. Serves 2.

However you decide to celebrate it, have a happy National Caramel Day!

 

Copyright © 2017 Worldwide Weird Holidays

March 29 is Smoke and Mirrors Day

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Today is Smoke and Mirrors Day. It is sometimes referred to as National Smoke and Mirrors Day or the Festival of Smoke and Mirrors although, perhaps fittingly, we know of no festival occurring today.

smoke and mirrors day

Magicians have long used distracting bursts of smoke to mask the extension or retraction of mirrors. The props help them make objects seem to appear and disappear. When the illusion is successful, audience members respond with childlike wonder. They may have come, in part, to try to figure out how it’s done but they’ve also bought the ticket hoping to be tricked. They are delighted at the deception.

These days, “smoke and mirrors” refers to the political practice of making unsupported, deflective statements calculated to garner favor, obscure incompetence and discourage serious inquiry. While this also requires showmanship on a grand scale, there is nothing delightful about it, as everyone but its promoters and beneficiaries would agree.

According to Phrase Finder, the latter usage dates back to journalist Jimmy Breslin’s 1975 book, How the Good Guys Finally Won: Notes from an Impeachment Summer. In it, he detailed the process which led to the U.S. House of Representatives’ vote to impeach Richard Nixon. Breslin wrote:

“All political power is primarily an illusion… Mirrors and blue smoke, beautiful blue smoke rolling over the surface of highly polished mirrors… If somebody tells you how to look, there can be seen in the smoke great, magnificent shapes, castles and kingdoms, and maybe they can be yours.”

“The ability to create the illusion of power, to use mirrors and blue smoke, is one found in unusual people.”

By June 4, 1975, an article in the Lowell Sun flipped the words into their more familiar order:

“Jimmy Breslin alluded to with images, of blue smoke and mirrors in his recently published book on an impeachment summer.”

How can you tell the difference between a magician and a politician? The magician will give you your dollar back after he’s done tricking you. Have a happy and magical Smoke and Mirrors Day!

Copyright © 2017 Worldwide Weird Holidays

National Joe Day

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national joe dayToday is National Joe Day. We have been unable to track down the source of this unofficial observance but that shouldn’t keep you from having fun with it.

Is your name Joe? Congratulations. Inform your friends, family and coworkers about today’s holiday, then sit back and wait for the accolades to come your way. If not, you could become “Joe for a Day.”

Did you know that Joe (or Jo) means “sweetheart” in the Scottish language? In Hebrew, Joe roughly translates to “he will increase.” According to etymology site Behind the Name, Joe ranked #20 in 1880, the first year it reports statistics. It has since dropped in popularity, coming in at #565 in 2014.

Here’s a fun National Joe Day game based on 20 Questions. Have everyone pick Joe nametags from a basket and—without looking—stick them to their foreheads so everyone else can see the name. A player must then ask the others questions to figure out which Joe he or she is wearing. The person who guesses correctly after the fewest questions is a cheater. (The law of averages dictates that there’s one in every group.)

The game continues until one last straggler is still desperately trying to figure it out. At this point, someone whispers, writes a note or otherwise helps the person finish. (This is known as mercy cheating.) Finally, everybody wins the same prize just for participating: a cup of coffee, a jelly bean or something else insignificant yet sure to gratify the losers and ignore the efforts of the winners. (We’re still talking about “average,” right?)

Here are some suggestions for nametags:

  • Joe Six-Pack
  • G.I Joe
  • Joe Blow
  • Joe Cool
  • Joe Palooka
  • Joe Schmoe
  • Holy Joe

If you’ve got a large group, you could add some real-life Joes:

  • Joe Namath
  • Joe DiMaggio
  • Joe Montana
  • Joe Guidice
  • Joe Stalin
  • Joe Biden
  • Joe Frazier

Extra credit for Stephen King fans:

  • Joe King (and no, we’re not joking)

Have a happy National Joe Day!

 

Copyright © 2017 Worldwide Weird Holidays

March 23 is Cuddly Kitten Day

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Today is Cuddly Kitten Day. We have been unable to locate its creators and can only assume they felt there were not enough photos, videos, books, magazines and websites dedicated to felines already. Perhaps our profile of National Cat Day on October 29th fell short of their expectations, too.

A day like this can be very stressful at Worldwide Weird Holidays, requiring hours and sometimes days of in-depth research and debate about what renders a kitten irresistible. We have concluded that nearly everything except their hairballs and stinky litter is cute, although there are some statistical outliers who think even hairballs qualify if the kitten barfs them up them in an endearing way.

We present, for your enjoyment, a small selection of kitties:

Since it just happens to be National Puppy Day, too, we’re throwing in kittens with puppies. Awwww!

Happy Cuddly Kitten Day and National Puppy Day!

Copyright 2016 Worldwide Weird Holidays