January 16 is National Nothing Day, especially if you're an atheist

According to nearly all the Usual Suspects, Wednesday will be National Nothing Day, a day that really has nothing to do with anything. In other words, it doesn't specifically have nothing to do with religion because, if it did, then it would be a day that had to do with something even if those observing it didn't believe in it, or, rather, believed in the Nothing they were observing instead of the Something they were trying to ignore.

Confused?

Don't be. The reason we mentioned atheists in particular as likely to celebrate National Nothing Day on Wednesday has to do with the fact that Wednesday is also Religious Freedom Day, marking the 227th anniversary of the enactment, by the Virginia Legislature, of Thomas Jefferson's Statute for Religious Freedom.

Although... a smart atheist would be in favor of religious freedom because the right to choose one's religion necessarily includes the right to choose no religion at all.

But atheists hate to be preached at... so let's change the subject.

Wednesday will also be Appreciate a Dragon Day, International Hot & Spicy Food Day, and the 75th anniversary of Benny Goodman's Carnegie Hall Concert.

The Carnegie Hall website notes that the concert was important in social history as well as the history of music because it was one "of the first public concerts to feature a racially integrated group."

Count Basie appeared as a guest on the program, and members of Duke Ellington's band also sat in.

And the drum solo on Sing, Sing, Sing inspired a generation of imitators -- on rock 'n' roll records in the 1960s.

Our crack research staff also wanted to mention that, on January 16, 1581, the British Parliament outlawed Roman Catholicism -- but that would get us back into that whole religious freedom thing again, so we'll skip it.