Welcome to Worldwide Weird Holidays, where you’ll find a new reason to celebrate every day of the year.
January 16 is National Nothing Day
Today is National Nothing Day, created by journalist Harold Pullman Coffin and celebrated every year on January 16th since 1973. Its purpose is “to provide Americans with one national day when they can just sit without celebrating, observing or honoring anything.” In 1983, a law was passed declaring the third Monday of January to be […]
January 15 is National Hat Day
Today is National Hat Day, celebrating headgear in all its crowning glory. Hats have a long, rich history and are worn for warmth, status, religious and ceremonial reasons, or fashion. A tomb painting in Thebes, Egypt, dating back to around 3200 BC shows a man wearing a conical hat. Many well-to-do Egyptians shaved their heads and […]
January 14 is Caesarean Section Day
Today is Caesarean Section Day. (Cesarean is a popular alternate spelling.) It commemorates the first recorded successful caesarean delivery in the U.S. On January 14, 1794, Dr. Jesse Bennett performed the operation on his wife, in his home, with no antiseptics or medical equipment. Dr. Bennett, 24, did not intend to deliver his own baby. He […]
January 13 is National Rubber Ducky Day
Today is National Rubber Ducky Day, also known as Rubber Duckie Day. It is always celebrated on January 13th. While we could find no official birth certificate, we discovered some cool facts about the classic bath toy. In the late 19th century, the burgeoning rubber industry introduced rubber tires, bouncy balls and all manner of […]
January 13 is International Skeptics Day (or is it?)
Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, still exists. Philip K. Dick I’m not sure how he’d feel about International Skeptics Day since there’s no evidence that it’s an official holiday anywhere. If you consider the number of skeptical organizations worldwide, almost 100 according to one source, maybe it should be. The sticklers […]
January 12 is Kiss a Ginger Day
Today is Kiss A Ginger Day, celebrated by kissing a redhead. (We advise you to ask permission first, especially if it’s Prince Harry; his security detail might misinterpret your enthusiasm.) Derek Forgie created Kiss A Ginger Day on Facebook in 2009 as a “karmic counter-event” to the Kick a Ginger Facebook campaign originated in November 2008. The […]
January 10 is Peculiar People Day
Today is Peculiar People Day. The day itself is peculiar and raises several questions. We’ll try to help you answer them with our handy-dandy Peculiar People Day Quiz. How should you celebrate? 1. Do you consider yourself peculiar? Yes [ ] No [ ] (If you answered No, proceed directly to Question # 2.) […]
January 9 is Aviation in America Day
Today is Aviation in America Day and commemorates the first balloon ride in the U.S. on January 9, 1793. Frenchman Jean-Pierre Blanchard, aeronaut extraordinaire, had previously ascended 44 times in cities around the world. He launched his balloon from the prison yard of Walnut Street Jail in Philadelphia, PA, and landed in Deptford Township, NJ, 46 […]
January 8 is Show and Tell at Work Day
Today is Show and Tell at Work Day, created by Thomas & Ruth Roy of Wellcat Holidays & Herbs. Remember those halcyon days of youth when you’d take something to school and show it to the class, getting jeered at for being lame or reprimanded by the teacher for bringing something mucus-related? Relive the good old days […]
January 7 is National Pass Gas Day
Today is National Pass Gas Day. Hot on the tail, if you will, of National Bean Day comes this celebration of all things flatulent. A 1995 study–yes, there have been studies–estimates that we pass gas 13.6 times a day. (Perhaps the remaining .4 refers to those that were smelt but not dealt.) Farts: What are they good for? […]