Tuesday is Chocolate Mint Day

The Usual Suspects are unusually unanimous in proclaiming Tuesday, February 19 as Chocolate Mint Day. Inasmuch as the Girl Scouts are in the process of distributing millions of boxes of Thin Mints even as you read this, perhaps the selection of February 19 for this microminiholidayette is not entirely random.

Or, more likely, it's just a happy coincidence.

Image obtained from this site.

On February 19, 1878, Thomas A. Edison patented the phonograph.

You didn't necessarily need a phonograph to hear Smokey Robinson's records. These were in heavy rotation on all the best radio stations back in the 1960s and early 70s. Smokey was born on February 19, 1940.

But, depending on where you lived, you might have needed Mr. Edison's invention if you wanted to listen to Lou Christie's "Rhapsody in the Rain," or at least the original version thereof, back in 1966. Lou Christie was born on February 19, 1943.

Monday, February 18 is President's Day -- but it's also...

Monday is President's Day this year, but February 18 is Battery Day every year, for reasons we can't begin to fathom. Our crack research staff was, as usual, of no use in ascertaining why this might be so. Instead, the research staff noted that Monday is also Drink Wine Day -- and they volunteered to research that. We turned them down.

Monday is also Pluto Day because astronomer Clyde W. Tombaugh discovered Pluto on February 18, 1930.

Poor Pluto. From the time of its discovery until August 24, 2006, Pluto was recognized as the ninth planet in our Solar System -- but, on that dark day, the International Astronomical Union officially adopted a definition of planet the demoted Pluto from "planet" to "dwarf planet." Appeals are still pending.

Photo of Elm Farm Ollie, the flying cow, obtained here.

Also on February 18, 1930, Elm Farm Ollie, alias "Nellie Jay" and "Sky Queen," became the first cow to fly -- and be milked -- in a fixed wing aircraft. The stunt was staged to promote an air show in St. Louis; the milk obtained in flight was put into commemorative paper cartons and dropped, by parachute, to spectators below. A glass was supposedly served to Charles Lindbergh as well. For this reason, Usual Suspect Checkiday.com calls Monday Cow Milked While Flying In An Airplane Day.

How literal.

According to Wikipedia, on February 18, 1979, in the Sahara Desert in southern Algeria, snow fell for the first and only time in recorded history. Two great American actors from the Golden Age of Hollywood were born on February 18, 1890 -- Edward Arnold and Adolphe Menjou. No American President was actually born on February 18, but 1940 Republican nominee Wendell Wilkie was born on February 18, 1892.

Random Acts of Kindness or My Way?

The two top competitors for Sunday, February 17 are Random Acts of Kindness Day and My Way Day. These may seem contradictory in a way -- doing acts of kindness for others is selfless, doing things your own way might be seen as selfish. But it ain't necessarily so: Your way could be to perform random acts of kindness for friends or strangers. It's probably easier than being nice to grouches anyway.

Alexander Hamilton's unlikely support of Thomas Jefferson helped break the stalemate in the House of Representatives on February 17, 1801, finally ending the presidential election of 1800. With Hamilton's quiet support of Jefferson as the lesser of two evils, Hamilton was set on a collision course with Aaron Burr, the man who became Jefferson's Vice President. Their paths would cross for the final time on the Heights of Weehawken on July 11, 1804.

In addition to being the First Sunday of Lent, Sunday is also World Human Spirit Day. (We've got spirit, yes we do. We've got spirit, how about you?)

Saturday, February 16: Do a Grouch a Favor Day

It's not necessarily easy to do a grouch a favor. One is not always highly motivated to be nice to grouches, and grouches are not always receptive even to acts of kindness. Nevertheless, most of the Usual Suspects agree that Saturday, February 16 is Do a Grouch a Favor Day.

Proceed at your own risk.

Usual Suspect Brownielocks.com is among those who offers Innovation Day as an alternative microminiholidayette for Saturday. We didn't know innovation could be scheduled, but someone thinks so.

Saturday is also the 110th anniversary of the birth of legendary ventriloquist Edgar Bergen (born in Chicago on February 16, 1903). Radio was the perfect medium for Bergen: You couldn't see his lips move when Charlie McCarthy or Mortimer Snerd talked. But, whatever his technical shortcomings as a ventriloquist, Bergen's characters, especially Charlie McCarthy, became real enough to millions of Americans. If Bergen's lips moved, who cared? He made Charlie talk, and we loved to listen.

Charlie McCarthy, Marilyn Monroe and Edgar Bergen. Photo obtained here.

And, since you are reading this online, you probably ought to know that Saturday is a red-letter day in the development of the technology we so take for granted today. On February 16, 1978, 35 years ago, in Chicago, Illinois, the very first computer bulletin board service, CBBS, was established. Originally "a computerized answering machine and message center, which would allow members to call in with their then-new modems and leave announcements for upcoming meetings," computer bulletin boards developed into all the team productivity tools and time wasting blogs we enjoy today.

February15: Remember the Maine

Happy birthday, Galileo.

The USS Maine blew up in Havana Harbor on February 15, 1898. Why exactly this happened, or even whether the explosion was an accident or a deliberate act of sabotage, is still uncertain -- but it didn't stop the American press, especially, the Hearst newspapers from demanding that America declare war on Spain because of the disaster. War did follow, and Teddy Roosevelt rode up San Juan Hill and into national office. Many of the Usual Suspects proclaim Friday Remember the Maine Day as a result.

Friday will also be Singles Awareness Day, originally a day for those who were shut out on Valentine's Day to meet and mingle and perhaps pair up for next Valentine's Day. If you disregard our advice in yesterday's post and celebrate Jack Benny's Birthday today, you may be painfully aware tomorrow that you are now single. Don't say we didn't warn you.

Friday is also National Gumdrop Day and the birthday of Galileo Galilei (born on February 15, 1564).

Yes, but besides Valentine's Day, what is Thursday?

You may be feeling like an unworthy sinner today on Ash Wednesday, but you'll really be penitent tomorrow if you forget St. Valentine's Day -- which is strange, really, because, according to Wikipedia, the Catholic Church more or less has forgotten the St. Valentine whose feast day was February 14 (there are, the article tells us, "about 11 other" St. Valentines in the calendar of the Roman Church, but none with a feast day on February 14). The possibly apocryphal St. Valentine, the one who may have been martyred on February 14, A.D. 269, is still approved by the Catholic Church for "local veneration" -- a definite downgrade -- but he remains firmly established in the calendars of the Anglican and Lutheran churches on February 14.

Legal Disclaimer: The Blog of Days is unconditionally not responsible for any bodily injury or property damage that may (and probably would) result if you tell your sweetie that you don't have to buy flowers or candy today because there's doubt over whether St. Valentine ever existed.

We also wouldn't advise trying to weasel out of getting a present for your valentine tomorrow because you just hate to spend money on the birthday of America's favorite miser, Jack Benny.

But Thursday will be the 39th birthday -- again -- of Jack Benny, born in Chicago, Illinois (as Benjamin Kubelsky) on February 14, 1894. (Benny grew up in north suburban Waukegan and is more commonly associated with that town.)

The list of alternatives to Valentine's Day is lengthy -- and most of them have Valentine tie-ins anyway. Thus, Thursday is also National Organ Donor Day, National Have A Heart Day, National Cream-Filled Chocolates Day, National Call In Single Day, and (so much for romance) National Condom Day.

On the other hand, there's no obvious Valentines tie-in for Frederick Douglass Day, League of Women Voters Day, or Library Lovers Day. Yet these will also be observed on Thursday.

Remember, man, that thou art dust

And unto dust thou shalt return.

Cheery sentiment with which to start the day, isn't it?

And yet that is the message for tomorrow, Ash Wednesday, the start of the Christian penitential season of Lent.

Wednesday, Catholics will fast -- only one meatless meal will be permitted for most healthy adults. Now do you understand why they are partying today with such fervor in Rio and on Bourbon Street?

Some of the Usual Suspects call Wednesday National Tortellini Day or Get a Different Name Day. You could combine things, possibly, and change your name to Tortellini... but do you think you look sufficiently Italian?

OK, besides Lincoln's Birthday, what is Tuesday?

Pretty much everyone knows that Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12. Some may also know that Charles Darwin was also born on February 12, too -- but even some of these may not realize that Darwin and Lincoln were born on the exact same February 12 -- February 12, 1809.

Alice Roosevelt Longworth was born on February 12, 1884. The eldest daughter of President Theodore Roosevelt, Alice was a national celebrity when her father was in the White House. The color "alice blue" was associated with her; the song "The Alice Blue Gown" was inspired by her.

Alice married a Republican congressman, Nicholas Longworth, who rose to Speaker of the House before his death in 1931. Alice would survive her husband by nearly half a century, dying at the age of 96, in 1980.

During much of that time, Mrs. Longworth was among the most prominent hostesses in the world's biggest company town. She was famed for her caustic wit. On a settee in her living room was a pillow embroidered with one of her most famous sayings, "If you haven't got anything good to say about anybody, come sit next to me." When she died, President Jimmy Carter wrote, "She had style, she had grace, and she had a sense of humor that kept generations of political newcomers to Washington wondering which was worse — to be skewered by her wit or to ignored by her." (She'd refused to meet Carter, according to the linked Wikipedia biography, because she thought him lacking in social grace.)

Tuesday is also Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras, the last day before Lent starts on Ash Wednesday. In Chicago, we also call it Paczki Day.

February 11: Satisfied Staying Single Day and lots more

If you dumped your 'significant jerk' recently -- and we've highlighted a couple of opportunities for you to do so here at The Blog of Days -- you may have already found your new Valentine.

On the other hand, you may not have found your new Valentine -- and Monday offers some possible consolation: February 11 is Satisfied Staying Single Day.

Don't worry that your friends aren't buying it.

And, whatever you do, don't cry over spilt milk. According to Usual Suspects Hallmark and Punchbowl (among others), Monday is also Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk Day. Again, we'd have spelled spilled spilt -- say that ten times fast -- but we must learn to be more tolerant of these variations as we here at The Blog of Days try to bring order to the calendar. The point is, what's done is done. Move on. Don't look back.

Instead, focus on just making a new friend. Monday, February 11 is also Make a New Friend Day. We can all use as many friends as we can get.

Schnozz Day, Plimsoll Day, Umbrella Day -- and a very Happy Year of the Snake to all of you

Image obtained here.

Usual Suspect American Greetings says that Sunday, February 10 will be Schnozz Day -- and we didn't even need to wake the crack research staff to figure out why: Sunday is the 120th anniversary of Jimmy Durante's birth (he was born on February 10, 1893). In the accompanying illustration, Mr. Durante is attempting to shield his co-star in Billy Rose's Jumbo. And small wonder. How often did the Great Durante get to work with a co-star with a bigger beak than his own prodigious proboscis?

February 10 is also Plimsoll Day because it is the anniversary of British politician and social reformer Samuel Plimsoll (born February 10, 1824), best remembered today for the Plimsoll Line, "also known as the International Load Line or water line (positioned amidships), that indicates the draft of the ship and the legal limit to which a ship may be loaded for specific water types and temperatures in order to safely maintain buoyancy, particularly with regard to the hazard of waves that may arise."

And February 10 is deemed by most of the Usual Suspects to be Umbrella Day. No, none of them adequately explain why. You'd think Umbrella Day might be better celebrated in April... if April showers bring May flowers... but here we are.

Finally, February 10, 2013 marks the beginning of the Chinese New Year. Wikipedia tells us that the traditional Chinese calendar does not use consecutively numbered years. However, scholars have taken a stab at figuring this out and, depending on who you ask, you may be told that this is the beginning of the year 4711, 4710, or 4650 (scholars traditionally disagree on the finer points). There is agreement, however, that Sunday marks the beginning of the Year of the Snake.

February 9: Read in the Bathtub Day

Image obtained here.

At first we thought Read in the Bathtub Day might be in steep decline, given the increasing popularity of e-readers... and the incompatibility of almost any significant quantity of water and most electronic devices.

Will people buy duplicate copies of books just so they can be read in the tub? (Not that paper is particularly waterproof... but the odd drip here and there won't short out a paper book.)

Our crack research staff did some nosing about and found several references to schemes and devices for waterproofing your e-readers. A site called Mashable.com shows a number of choices. Amazon also has a supposedly waterproof product. The Blog of Days does not endorse any of these, of course, but apparently the transition from paper to screens is no bar to the continuation of Read in the Bathtub Day.

Saturday will also be National Bagels and Lox Day. You can presumably bring your bagel to the tub along with your paperback.

No consensus for February 8, but lots of choices

Usual Suspect Brownielocks.com suggests that February 8 is Opera Day. As you learned here yesterday, others suggested that today (February 7) is Ballet Day. Maybe this is the week to get any cultural impulses out of your system before pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training.

Tomorrow will also be one of Charlie Brown's least favorite days: National Kite Flying Day.

The Boy Scouts of America were founded on February 8, 1910. Several of the Usual Suspects proclaim February 8 Boy Scouts Day to commemorate that anniversary.

February 8 will also be National Molasses Bar Day, but by far the best suggestion we've seen for the 8th is Laugh and Grow Rich Day.

We have the laughing part down.

On February 8, 1942, the Japanese invaded Singapore. Unlike Sir Thomas Raffles, however, the Japanese didn't turn right around and leave.

Wave All Your Fingers At Your Neighbors Day

Most of the Usual Suspects agree that Thursday, February 7 is Wave All Your Fingers At Your Neighbors Day. This is supposed to promote harmony among neighbors, and it probably would, at least when compared to waving only one finger at your neighbor, if you know what we mean.

Usual Suspect Gone-ta-pott.com says Thursday will be Dump Your Significant Jerk Day. Others, as you will recall, observed this on February 3. Either way, ladies, Valentine's Day is close upon us, and, if you're presently seeing a jerk, you may not want to be obliged to celebrate VD with him now, would you?

Other nominees for February 7 are National Fettuccine Alfredo Day and Ballet Day. If you enjoy too much the former, you'll not do well at the latter.

Wikipedia tells us Sir Thomas Raffles left Singapore on February 7, 1819 -- after just officially founding it the day before.

'Don't overstay your welcome' is a fine motto by which to live, but this seems a bit extreme, doesn't it?

Usual Suspect History.com, tells us that the Beatles first landed in New York on February 7, 1964; they'd make their famous first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show just a couple of days later.

February 6 is Lame Duck Day -- and there's no good reason for it, either

The Usual Suspects are pretty much agreed that Wednesday, February 6, will be Lame Duck Day, a day set aside to honor the defeated officeholder or term-limited officeholder in the waning stages of his or her political career.

There's nothing illegal, immoral or fattening about Lame Duck Day, in our opinion, but the placement of this microminiholidayette on the calendar in February strikes us as particularly dumb.

The American elections were in November. The new Congress was sworn in in early January. Most of your newly elected state legislators took office somewhere around the same time. In other words, most of your lame ducks are already out working as lobbyists, er, looking for work. If lame ducks are worthy of a microminiholidayette to call their own, it should be in late November or December.

A better call for Wednesday might be to celebrate the life of George Herman Ruth, Jr. You may know him better as 'Babe Ruth,' the Sultan of Swat, the Bambino. Babe Ruth was born on February 6, 1895.

You may have forgotten, however, that Ruth was a pretty darn good pitcher before he became a full-time hitter.

Ruth was on his way to becoming an everyday player in 1918, when the Boston Red Sox beat the Chicago Cubs in the World Series -- but Ruth started and won Games 1 and 4 of the 1918 Series, tossing a complete game shutout in Game 1. (Of course, there is a rumor that the Cubs threw the 1918 Series, inspiring some on the 1919 Black Sox to try the same thing a year later. The "Eight Men Out," however, forgot that Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, the new baseball commissioner, was a die-hard Cub fan... and wasn't likely to make an example of them. He may have had less difficulty making examples out of members of the hated cross-town rivals.)

Singapore was founded on February 6, 1819 by Sir Thomas Raffles.

February 5: Weathermen, Nutella, and the birthdays of Hank Aaron and Andrew Greeley

We can make short work of Weatherman's Day and Nutella Day, two of the micro-est of microminiholidayettes ever, and both slated for Tuesday, February 5.

Granted, the science of meteorology has advanced significantly in recent decades, especially once satellites were devoted to watching weather develop and move. However, the bride who picks a June date has no way of knowing more than a couple of days in advance whether to expect sunshine or rain; the folks who draw up high school baseball schedules in Illinois can't avoid rainy -- or even snowy -- days. Celebrate weathermen? These are the men and women who tell us -- too late to change our plans -- that Saturday's barbecue is likely to be washed out. Phooey. And, besides, 'meteorology' is just too darned hard to spell.

As for Nutella Day, who the heck eats that stuff anyway? Usual Suspect Days of the Year tells us Nutella is a paste made from chocolate and hazelnut. Apparently on purpose.

Celebrate at your own risk.

For our part, we'd rather remember Hammerin' Hank Aaron. Henry Aaron was born on February 5, 1934; he turns 79 Tuesday. That's his Hall of Fame plaque shown here.

Fr. Andrew Greeley turns 85 on Tuesday. Usual Suspect History.com tells us Greeley was born in Oak Park, Illinois on February 5, 1928.

An unusual combination of academic (professor of sociology at the University of Arizona and a Research Associate with the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago) and popular author, Fr. Greeley has been in poor health since a taxi accident a few years back. Some Catholics find that their blood pressure skyrockets at the mention of Greeley's name: His newspaper columns were often stridently partisan and his popular books contained steamy passages that some though inappropriate for a priest to write (or even imagine). However, we've always liked the disclaimer (credited to Rev. Ron Rolheiser, O.M.I) on so many of Greeley's book jackets: "Nobody has ever left the church because of an Andrew Greeley novel, but many have been attracted back to it by him."

That's not a bad legacy for a gadfly.

February 4: Rosa Parks Centennial

Monday, February 4 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks (pictured here in 1955; that's Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the background).

According to Wikipedia, California officially commemorates Rosa Parks Day on February 4. (Ohio also has a Rosa Parks Day, but it is observed on December 1, the anniversary of the day Ms. Parks was arrested on the bus in Montgomery.)

Monday, February 4 is also World Cancer Day, a day, according to the linked website, "to raise our collective voices in the name of improving general knowledge around cancer and dismissing misconceptions about the disease."

Some of the Usual Suspects (Punchbowl Holidays, for one, but also Days of the Year) proclaim Monday to be Thank a Mailman Day. However, Usual Suspect Gone-ta-pott.com insists that Thank a Mailman Day should be observed on February 5. We'll let you decide when (or whether) to thank your friendly neighborhood letter carrier. The choice between days is probably insignificant; according to Wikipedia, "The United States Post Office (USPO) was created in Philadelphia under Benjamin Franklin on Wednesday, July 26, 1775, by decree of the Second Continental Congress." And that's neither Monday nor Tuesday.

So what have you got for us on Sunday besides the Super Bowl?

Anybody who was old enough to listen to the radio in the early 1970s probably still knows all the words to Don McLean's "American Pie." It was played to death on the radio. Deejays would host 'specials' to analyze the lyrics, trying to parse out all the references to performers or events in McLean's words. (You can still find some of these analyses on line, such as this one, posted on Yahoo! Music just this past July.)

While some interpretations conflicted, all agreed on one point: "The Day the Music Died" was a reference to the airplane crash on February 3, 1959, outside Clear Lake, Iowa, which killed Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper. A young and not-yet-famous Waylon Jennings was part of Holly's backup band on that tour, and he was supposed to be on that plane, but he gave up his seat at the request of J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, who'd been recovering from the flu and wanted to avoid the bus trip to the tour's next stop in Minnesota.

Just about all the Usual Suspects set aside February 3, therefore, to commemorate The Day the Music Died. (In other words, kids, The Day the Music Died has nothing whatsoever to do with how badly the Super Bowl Halftime Show turns out. Probably.)

The Iowa crash site was documented in a number of photos by investigators; these are collected at a site called The Day the Music Died: Crash Site Photo Archive. Here's one:

The crash victims had not been removed when these photos were taken.

Several of the Usual Suspects also proclaim Sunday to be Dump Your Significant Jerk Day. With Valentine's Day coming up, do you really want to keep on going out with that loser who treats you badly and is rude to your friends and family? Dump him now (we suspect that this microminiholidayette is directed primarily at women) -- and find somebody better to be your Valentine.

We also have one uplifting observance for February 3, even if it is also a sad one.

Sunday, February 3 is Four Chaplains Day, remembering the heroic sacrifice of four U.S. Army chaplains, the "Immortal Chaplains," who gave up their life belts and their places in the rescue boats because there weren't enough to go around. The four clergymen were on the USAT Dorchester on February 3, 1943, when the ship was torpedoed by a German U-boat. They were Methodist minister the Reverend George L. Fox, Rabbi Alexander D. Goode, Roman Catholic priest the Reverend John P. Washington, and Reformed Church in America minister the Reverend Clark V. Poling. As the linked Wikipedia article relates, "The chaplains joined arms, said prayers, and sang hymns as they went down with the ship."

Groundhog's Day and Candlemas

Our crack research staff was all set to dump all over Usual Suspect Days of the Year for calling Saturday Hedgehog Day instead of Groundhog Day, but Usual Suspect Hallmark explains that the "meteorological rodent tradition [of Groundhog's Day] began as Hedgehog Day in England. Early settlers brought the tradition across the Atlantic, but it turns out there were no hedgehogs in America, so they had to settle on the lowly groundhog."

You can amaze your friends and family tonight at your own Groundhog's Day gatherings with this fast fact: According to Usual Suspect History.com, the first Groundhog's Day celebration at Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania took place on February 2, 1887. On the other hand, according to Wikipedia, the first Groundhog's Day celebration at Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania took place in 1887... or maybe 1886. OK, forget that one. But the Bill Murray movie, Groundhog Day, though ostensibly set in Punxsutawney, was really filmed mostly in Woodstock, Illinois.

If you work your way through the Wikipedia article on Groundhog's Day you'll discover the historic linkage between this observance and Candlemas.

Candlemas is also known as the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus, that is, the presentation of Jesus at the Temple in Jerusalem 40 days after His birth (yes, it's been 40 days since Christmas already) in accordance with Jewish custom.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops complicates things further by noting that, in 1997, "Pope John Paul II instituted a day of prayer for women and men in consecrated life. This celebration is attached to the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord on February 2nd. This Feast is also known as Candlemas Day; the day on which candles are blessed symbolizing Christ who is the light of the world."

Bottom line is this, folks: Christmas is absolutely, totally, finally over. Take down the lights already.

February 1 is Working Naked Day

You may think our disreputable research staff has invented this one, but, seriously, Friday, February 1 is Working Naked Day. This microminiholidayette is the brainchild of a Texas woman, Lisa Kanerek, who operates WorkingNaked.com, offering help and advice to persons who work from home, or who want to. If you work from home, Kanerek writes, you are "stripped of any support you may have had in your corporate job, including an administrative assistant, technical staff and co-workers to help you brainstorm. In other words, you’re left naked."

Not to bust our research staff's bubble or anything, but this is the sense in which Kanarek uses the word 'naked' on her site (thus the disclaimer on every single page of her site, "Everyone who works on this site is completely clothed...even in the shower!")

On the other hand, Kanarek notes, she has heard tell of other folks who've taken the concept literally, or near enough.

If you do choose to work naked Friday, please don't come into the office.

And if you go out for a cocktail after work, put on some clothes first, OK?

If you are inclined to wear clothes Friday, you may wish to wear red. Some of the Usual Suspects note that Friday has been designated as Wear Red Day, in recognition of the heart-health theme of this Valentine's month. (Usual Suspect American Greetings says Friday is Women's Heart Health Day.)

Some schools may be observing Bubble Gum Day on Friday as well. The idea is that kids can chew gum in school on this one day only -- provided they bring some money in (50 cents is the amount suggested by the linked site) for the school to donate to the charity of its choice.

This is a nice idea -- if your local school is in on the idea. The Blog of Days takes no responsibility for kids who get caught chewing gum in school Friday in those schools not observing this microminiholidayette.

Friday, February 1 is also Groundhog's Day Eve. But you knew that, didn't you?

January ends with Backwards Day and a bubble wrap controversy

Our crack research staff has let us down -- again. We confidently assured you that Monday, January 28, was Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day and, admittedly, several of the Usual Suspects concurred.

But our less than thorough researchers concealed from us (or failed to note themselves) that Usual Suspect Gone-ta-pott.com fixed January 30 as Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day and that Usual Suspect Hallmark puts Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day on Thursday, January 31.

The good news, we suppose, is that, if you failed to appreciate bubble wrap on Monday, you still have at least two more opportunities -- today and tomorrow.

But The Blog of Days tries to shy away from controversies like this; we don't want to be accused of taking sides.

Assuming also that you might like something besides bubble wrap to celebrate Thursday, we can advise that January 31 is Backwards Day. Proponents of Backwards Day suggest that you can walk backwards, wear your clothes inside out, drive in reverse -- or, if you'd like to stay out of jail or a padded cell -- perhaps do something a little safer, like skip to the last page of a book and read backwards from there. (The Blog of Days is not responsible for any headaches or confusion you may experience as a result.)

Some of the Usual Suspects state that January 31 is Appreciate Your Social Security Check Day on Thursday. Actually, this could be the last time this microminiholidayette can be observed: The Social Security Administration is trying to move all recipients into direct deposit. In other words, soon, there will be no more Social Security checks. (If you're under 30, there probably won't be any direct deposits either by the time you're old enough. Sorry, kids.)

If you are a fan of Steven Spielberg's Lincoln (and, if you haven't seen it yet, you really should) you will be interested to know that it was on January 31, 1865 that the U.S. House of Representatives passed the 13th Amendment, the measure that finally, and once-and-for-all, abolished slavery in America.

Almost.

You see, the 13th Amendment only abolished slavery until some evil genius dreamed up the idea of unpaid internships....

January 30: Death of Gandhi and birth of FDR lose out to "Inane Answering Message Day"

M.K. Gandhi.  Image obtained from Wikipedia.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was assassinated on January 30, 1948. In India, Gandhi's death is remembered on January 30 as Martyrs' Day.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born on January 30, 1882. Most of the Usual Suspects recognize one or both of these anniversaries.

But neither worthy observance gets top billing on most sites. Rather, the consensus among the Usual Suspects is that Wednesday will be Inane Answering Message Day. Apparently the idea is to record a silly message on your voice mail for the amusement of the bill collectors and telemarketers who call your number Wednesday.

Even if you are inclined to observe this microminiholidayette, we would strongly recommend that you not put a silly answering message on your work telephone, Inane Answering Message Day or not. Potential customers may not have the same sense of fun that you do. Usual Suspect Punchbowl.com suggests that Tuesday may be celebrated as National Croissant Day. That's probably safer -- and certainly harder to spell.

January 29 is Puzzle Day, Freethinkers Day, Curmudgeons Day

The Usual Suspects proclaim Tuesday Puzzle Day, but we've been unable to puzzle out why.

The Usual Suspects also proclaim Tuesday Freethinkers Day, largely because January 29 is the anniversary of Thomas Paine's birth (in England, in 1737). Paine was the author of the pamphlet Common Sense, a work that was deemed inspirational to so many in the revolutionary generation. A later pamphlet, The American Crisis, so impressed George Washington that he ordered it read to his troops. You will recall the opening lines:

These are the times that try men's souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like Hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.

But Paine was a man who could get along with no one for long, and when he wore out his welcome in this country, he moved to France to help incite their revolution -- only to wind up arrested and condemned to death. He was saved from the French 'National Razor' (the guillotine) in 1794 only by the personal intervention of the American Minister to France, James Monroe.

W.C. Fields image obtained from Wikipedia.

Paine showed his gratitude to his adopted country by turning on George Washington. (According to his Wikipedia biography, Paine became convinced that somehow Washington had conspired with Robespierre to have Paine imprisoned.) In an open letter to Washington, published in 1796, Paine wrote, "the world will be puzzled to decide whether you are an apostate or an impostor; whether you have abandoned good principles or whether you ever had any."

After wearing out his welcome with Napoleon, Paine was invited back to the United States in 1802 by President Thomas Jefferson. Paine survived until 1809.

Paine also wrote extensively -- and critically -- about organized religion; it is these writings that link him to Freethinkers Day.

William Claude Dukenfield was born on January 29, 1880. You may be forgiven for not recognizing that name; his fame was achieved under the name of W.C. Fields. According to Wikipedia, Woody Allen once said Fields was one of only six genuine comic geniuses in movie history. Charlie McCarthy's assessment of Fields was somewhat harsher.

Fields' on-screen persona was curmudgeonly in the extreme. The anniversary of Fields' birth therefore inspires some of the Usual Suspects to proclaim January 29 as Curmudgeons Day. Of course, the host and proprietor of Second Effort thinks that January 29 honors him. Let's not disillusion him, shall we?

January 28 is Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day and National Kazoo Day

You can't get much more frivolous than this -- Monday is Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day and National Kazoo Day.

Everybody loves to pop bubble wrap -- whether or not they admit it -- and most people like goofing around with a kazoo.

Unfortunately, these are activities that tend to be more appreciated in private than in public. If you and your mates break out kazoos tonight at your local and hummmmmm out Beethoven's "Ode to Joy," chances are you won't get halfway through your performance without getting beat up or thrown out. Maybe both. (The Blog of Days takes no responsibility for anyone silly enough to try and prove this prediction wrong.)

But all is not frivolity on January 28. On January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after liftoff, killing all seven astronauts aboard, including New Hampshire schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe. President Ronald Reagan, speaking to a stunned nation that night, quoted a poem, "High Flight," by John Gillespie Magee, Jr., "We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and 'slipped the surly bonds of Earth' to 'touch the face of God.'"

February brings us Super Bowl Sunday and Groundhog's Day. What else?

T.S. Eliot wrote, "April is the cruelest month," but we think February wins that prize, hands down. And that's even if you do have a valentine to call your own.

The days are dark and cold, without Christmas lights to pierce the gloom. Even those who find Winter brisk and invigorating at first tend to be sick of it by February.

And speaking of sick, while this year may be different, February is often the height of the flu season. Surely, this year, with the flu spread so early, it won't be worse in February, will it?

Well, it might.

For a month that is so short, February drags on pretty near forever.

But there are some things to look forward to in February.

February will Black History Month, Library Lovers Month, and Plant the Seeds of Greatness Month. No, we don't know of any catalog that offers to sell the Seeds of Greatness. We'd order them, too.

Some February observances have obvious tie-ins. We have Valentines Day in February and, so, a number of heart-related observances: American Heart Month, for example (sponsored by the the American Heart Association), or National Mend A Broken Heart Month (which is not sponsored by a group of cardiac surgeons, although maybe it should be).

Less obvious, perhaps, is the February tie-in for National Marfan Syndrome Awareness Month. But some think that Abraham Lincoln may have suffered from Marfan's. That would suffice.

We can't figure out why February might be Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and Low Vision Awareness Month, but it is.

February is also Sleep Safety Month. If you're coming home at night to sleep, you're probably observing sleep safety. If your neighbor frequently travels on business and you're staying over with your neighbor's wife instead, you are not properly observing sleep safety.

February is also Return Shopping Carts to the Supermarket Month -- although we have found no indication of any particular amnesty granted during this time. While you're at the grocery in February, you may wish to celebrate National Cherry Month, Grapefruit Month or Beans (Dried or Fresh) Month.

Usual Suspect Brownielocks.com includes Pull Your Couch Off the Wall Month in her list of February observances. Granted, February is a short month, but does one really need an entire month to accomplish this?

International Holocaust Remembrance Day

The United Nations designates January 27 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

It was on January 27, 1945 that the death camp at Auschwitz was liberated from the Nazis by the advancing Red Army.

On January 27, 1967, three American astronauts, Ed White, Gus Grissom and Roger Chaffee, were killed in the Apollo 1 fire. The trio had been scheduled to make Apollo's first manned flight in February.

We're supposed to mention that Sunday will also be National Chocolate Cake Day, but we won't. It just doesn't seem to fit.