Iced Tea Day – A delicious, refreshing, cold summer beverage that can be sweetened or unsweetened and practically any flavor at all that you can think of. It's a drink that has been around for quite some time with the oldest written recipes dating back to the mid 1800's in the United States, however it is not found just in the United States. You can get this beverage in almost every country. Just be wary in the countries where you are advised to not drink the water.
National Herb & Spice Day - This is a day to add some flavor to your food with fresh herbs and spices. The dried variety will work in a pinch, but fresh is definitely better and more flavorful. A word of caution if you are new to using one or the other and you want to try something new...they do NOT have a 1 to 1 substitution ratio. For example, 1 teaspoon of dried basil is NOT equal to 1 teaspoon of fresh basil. Check your recipe or search your particular spice on the internet to find out what the substitution ratio should be.
Alcoholics Anonymous (Founders) Day – On this day in 1935, Alcoholics Anonymous was founded by Bill W. and Dr. Bob (I couldn't give you their full names even if I had them due to the whole “Anonymous” portion of the program.). These two men devised and demonstrated the primary purpose of the program which is to stay sober and help other alcoholics become, and stay, sober as well. It is not the only program out there, and doesn’t work for everyone, but it has been successful enough that it is the most commonly known and easily found alcoholic support group around today.
Ball Point Pen Day – Well, it is pretty obvious that this is the day to celebrate the invention of ball point pens. However, I was unable to discover for sure why this particular day was important for the pen. I know that hundreds of people tried to invent a workable ball point pen and the original idea came from John Loud in 1888, but his design was flawed and went nowhere. Hundreds of others submitted, and received, patents for their equally flawed designs. Then, in 1935, Ladislas Biro (sometimes known as Lazlo) and his brother Georg Biro (a chemist) created a better pen with a much better ink. It took some tweeking over a few years to get it right, especially since they lived in Hungary and had to contend with the whole World War II distraction. Ultimately, they moved to Argentina for a little peace to work on it. The idea eventually filtered into the United States and Eberhard Faber Co. which bought the rights and over the next few years the design was refined even more and eventually became the pens we enjoy today. In Europe, these pens are still known as Biros in honor of their original inventors.
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