National Scotch Day - Scotch is a kind of whiskey that is made in Scotland. It dates back probably 200 years or more and is typically served by itself in a glass, or over ice. I’m sure there are some recipes that make more elaborate beverages using Scotch as one of the ingredients, but I don’t know what they are. You’ll have to ask your friendly neighborhood bartender.
Cross Atlantic Communication Day - On this day in 1866, the first sustained trans-Atlantic telegraph cable was finished. This allowed almost instantaneous communication between Newfoundland and Ireland. It had been attempted several times before, but the cables always failed in some way. Although in 1858 it lasted long enough for the first message to be sent. But it wasn’t until 8 years after that first message that a strong enough cable was invented to do the job right. Celebrate today by communicated with someone overseas by whatever method you find easiest. Phone, text, email, skype...whatever you want, because now we are fortunate enough to have many different options available to us.
Take Your Pants For A Walk Day - This is a day for exercise, which is easier to do if you wear pants, hence the name of the day. The more often you put your pants on to exercise, the better your pants will fit you, after all. Walking is the easiest exercise to do since most people have their legs with them all of the time. So put on your pants, and get those legs moving.
Bagpipe Appreciation Day - This day celebrates bags of air with pipes sticking out of them. Bagpipes are a very old instrument. They are even mentioned in the Bible, or so I am told, I haven’t finished reading it yet. They have been used in Scotland since before the 1700’s (different types of bagpipes began to appear there around this time) and are typically associated with that country although they are used in countries all over the world and have been for hundreds of years. They used to be used in weddings, wars and funerals. They are probably still used for weddings and funerals and are certainly heard from during parades as well.
Walk On Stilts Day – This is a day to practice walking on stilts. Stilt walking is an old and very entertaining method of transportation. Once you get good at it, you can cover distance faster than your regular old feet because you can take much longer strides. And, until you get good at it, it is a great source of entertainment for those who are watching you learn how to walk on them.
National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day – Declared by the President of the United States of America, this is a day to commemorate the 61st Anniversary of the Korean War Armistice. There will be a special ceremony by the Department of Defense in Washington D.C. at 8am at the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C.
National Barbie-in-a-Blender Day – This is an interesting day created by freeculture.org. This is an organization that “promotes the public interest in intellectual property and information & communications technology policy.” It was created when an artist, Tom Forsythe, was sued by Mattel for taking a picture of a Barbie doll in a blender. Mattel lost that one. And today you can celebrate your right of free speech by taking your own picture of a Barbie in a blender.
National Chili Dog Day – Celebrated on the last Thursday in July, this is a day to celebrate chili dogs. I don’t know about this one….chili dogs do not quite qualify as food in my house, although my children disagree. If you agree with them, celebrate by eating one today. If you look around, you may find some restaurants that will give you one for free if you purchase something else.
