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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

National Corndog Day

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national corndog day

Corndog

National Corndog Day is an unofficial holiday celebrated each year on the first Saturday of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

Lauded as a gustatory miracle on par with Jesus’ loaves and fishes, National Corndog Day commemorates the day in 1992 when a box of meat-on-a-stick magically appeared in the freezer of two hungry basketball fans.

This eliminated their need to leave home to buy food and enabled them to continue watching March Madness uninterrupted. To this day, they insist they have no idea how the corndogs got in the freezer and attribute it to a higher power.

For those of you unfamiliar with the corndog or, as it is known in some circles, the corn dog, here is the Merriam-Webster dictionary’s definition:

a frankfurter dipped in cornmeal batter, fried, and served on a stick

There you have it, folks. Stock up on antacid and have a happy National Corndog Day!

Copyright © 2017 Worldwide Weird Holidays

 

Fun Facts About Names Day

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Fun Facts About Names Day is one of the holidays comprising International Celebrate Your Name Week (CYNW), always observed during the first full week of March.

fun facts about names day

CYNW was established in 1997 by Jerry Hill to share his interest in onomastics, the study of the origins and usage of proper names. The six other days celebrate Namesake Day, Discover What Your Name Means Day, Nametag Day, Middle Name Pride Day and Descendants Day.

Barbie’s full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts.

Test your knowledge of trivia about the names of famous characters and historical figures. Take time to ask if you were named after an ancestor; if so, what was that person like? Find out if your name is associated with a day of the year on Behind the Name.

The Bronx is misnamed after the Bronck’s River,
which abutted settler Jonas Bronck’s property.

The American Name Society (ANS), founded in 1951 to promote onomastics, decides the most influential names each year. 2015’s Fictional Names were Rey, Finn and Poe of Star Wars. Place Name went to Denali, formerly known as Mt. McKinley. Charlie Hebdo, the satirical magazine attacked by terrorists, was honored as Trade Name. Caitlyn Jenner was awarded both Personal Name and overall Name of the Year for advancing transgender issues.

Take some time today to research your name, read up on the craziest celebrity baby names, listen to a few songs—especially if your name happens to be Angie, Nigel, Jolene, Peggy Sue, Roxanne, or Ziggy. No matter what you call yourself, have a happy Fun Facts About Names Day!

Copyright © 2017 Worldwide Weird Holidays