September, 1, 2013

Today we celebrate:

Emma M. Nutt Day – Emma Mills Nutt was born sometime in 1860 and became the world's first female telephone operator on this day in 1878. She worked 54 hours a week for the Edwin Holmes Telephone Dispatch Company with a salary of $10 a month. The company began hiring women for this job because the boys they had been employing showed poor attitudes such as a lack of patience and pulling pranks and bad language. A few hours after Emma was hired, her sister Stella Nutt was also hired. The customer response was so overwhelmingly positive that more women were hired to replace the men.

Building and Code Staff Appreciation Day – These are the people who work hard to keep our buildings safe for us to work and live in. Show them some appreciation today instead of getting mad if they find some violations to the building code.

Calendar Adjustment Day – In 1751, the British government passed the British Calendar Act of 1751. This meant that Britain and the American Colonies had to make the “Gregorian Correction” in 1752. The correction entailed the loss of 11 days. Life went as normal through Wednesday, September 2^nd, 1752 but the very next day became Thursday, September 14^th, 1752. This act also changed New Year's Day (and the number of the year) from March 25^th to January 1,1752 and every year after that. This caused the year 1751 to have only 282 days. 

Chicken Boy's Day – Today we celebrate the birthday of a giant statue of a person with a chicken head that used to stand on top of a fried chicken restaurant in Los Angeles from the 1960's until 1984. It was then given to Amy Inouye, an art director who kept it in storage until she found the right place for it. In 2007, it was moved to the top of her art studio in Highland Park, Los Angeles.

International Day of Awareness for the Dolphins of Taiji – Apparently in Taiji, Japan, they have dolphin hunts. This is a day to remember the dolphins that have been killed in these hunts, as well as the ones who will be killed in the future as they are still ongoing.

National No Rhyme (Nor Reason) Day – This is a day to celebrate words that do not rhyme with any other words in the English language like “purple”. Words like these are completely unique and therefore more creative on the part of the people who came up with them.

Toy Tips Executive Toy Test Day – This is an annual day celebrated in New York City where the senior executives of different companies get to gather together to play with toys. Well, they call it testing the toys, but we all know that it is really just playing. They are supposedly learning how to incorporate creativity into their workplaces.

To celebrate today, call a telephone operator, if you can find one, and thank her for her hard work in living up to Emma Nutt's example. Then ask her to find you a number for a Building and Code Staff person so you can thank them as well. Check your calendar to make sure today is still today and then dress up like Chicken Boy and go to Japan to protest the dolphin hunt. On the plane ride home make a list of all the words you can think of that do not rhyme with any other words and stop in NYC to join the executives “testing” the toys.