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Wednesday 20 April 2016

Banana Day



Banana Day is a bit like a heady mix of April Fool’s Day and Halloween (without the sweets or vandalism) and with a helpful portion of healthy eating thrown in for good measure.

The origins of Banana Day, which is aimed at celebrating bananas in every conceivable sense of the word, are murky.

However it’s known that every year students at many prestigious American universities use Banana Day as a way of celebrating this humble lunchbox standard.

They eat and share weird and wonderful banana concoctions (banana punch, anyone?), they dress as bananas and they generally go a bit…well…nuts. And bananas too, of course.

There aren’t many days in the year when you can legitimately goof off and have a little fruit- based fun, so why not take a (banana) leaf out the students’ book and go a little bit bananas today?

And

Happy 420


Statue of Louis Pasteur at San Rafael High School, said to be the site of the original 4:20 gatherings.


420, 4:20, or 4/20 (pronounced four-twenty ) is a code-term that refers to the annual consumption of cannabis and by extension, as a way to identify oneself with cannabis culture.

Observances based on the number 420 include smoking cannabis around the time 4:20 p.m., as well as smoking and celebrating cannabis on the date April 20 (4/20 in U.S. form).

Origins A group of people in San Rafael, California, calling themselves the Waldos because "their chosen hang-out spot was a wall outside the school", used the term in connection with a fall 1971 plan to search for an abandoned cannabis crop that they had learned about.

The Waldos designated the Louis Pasteur statue on the grounds of San Rafael High School as their meeting place, and 4:20 p.m. as their meeting time.

The Waldos referred to this plan with the phrase "4:20 Louis". Several failed attempts to find the crop eventually shortened their phrase to simply "4:20", which ultimately evolved into a codeword that the teens used to mean marijuana-smoking in general.

Mike Edison says that Steven Hager of High Times was responsible for taking the story about the Waldos to "mind-boggling, cult-like extremes" and "suppressing" all other stories about the origin of the term.

Hager wrote "Stoner Smart or Stoner Stupid?" in which he called for 4:20 p.m. to be the socially accepted hour of the day to consume cannabis.

He attributes the early spread of the phrase to Grateful Dead followers, who were also linked to the city of San Rafael.

Signs bearing the number "420" have been frequently stolen. In Colorado, the Colorado Department of Transportation replaced the Mile Marker 420 sign on I-70 east of Denver with one reading 419.99 in an attempt to stop the thievery.

The Idaho Department of Transportation replaced the Mile Marker 420 sign on U.S. Highway 95, just south of Coeur d'Alene, with Mile Marker 419.9.

In Goodhue County, Minnesota, officials have changed "420 St" street signs to "42x St".

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Thursday 21 April 2016

Poem in Your Pocket Day



Every April, on Poem in Your Pocket Day, people celebrate by selecting a poem, carrying it with them, and sharing it with others throughout the day at schools, bookstores, libraries, parks, workplaces, and on Twitter using the hashtag #pocketpoem.

Poem in Your Pocket Day was originally initiated in 2002 by the Office of the Mayor, in partnership with the New York City Departments of Cultural Affairs and Education, as part of the city's National Poetry Month celebration.

In 2008, the Academy of American Poets took the initiative to all fifty United States, encouraging individuals around the country to join in and channel their inner bard.

In 2016, the League of Canadian Poets will extend Poem in Your Pocket Day to Canada.

Poem in Your Pocket Day 2016 will be held on April 21.

And

Kindergarten Day



Nearly 150 years ago, the first kindergarten was started in Germany. Kindergarten, which literally means 'garden for the children' in German, was created by Friedrich Fröbel in 1837.

Fröbel was born April 21st, 1782. In his honor, April 21st has been declared National Kindergarten Day.

National Kindergarten Day provides a perfect time for young students to show appreciation for their kindergarten teachers.

I wouldn't dare go near a kindergarden with the current climate i'd probably be accused of being a peado,sad aint it,my mate was stuck in traffic outside an infants school,couple of kids started talking to him,next thing women start yelling at him saying thay will call the cops,total madness,thats the influence our media has here.I would eat many bananas though,i'd leave smoking til much later in the evening mind..

Where do you find all this stuff Ice?

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Oh yeah,heard Canada is making pot legal,hope more countries follow suit.

Friday 22 April 2016

Earth Day



Each year, Earth Day—April 22—marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970.

The height of counterculture in the United States, 1970 brought the death of Jimi Hendrix, the last Beatles album, and Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”

War raged in Vietnam and students nationwide overwhelmingly opposed it. At the time, Americans were slurping leaded gas through massive V8 sedans. Industry belched out smoke and sludge with little fear of legal consequences or bad press.

Air pollution was commonly accepted as the smell of prosperity. “Environment” was a word that appeared more often in spelling bees than on the evening news.

Although mainstream America largely remained oblivious to environmental concerns, the stage had been set for change by the publication of Rachel Carson’s New York Times bestseller Silent Spring in 1962.  The book represented a watershed moment, selling more than 500,000 copies in 24 countries, and beginning to raise public awareness and concern for living organisms, the environment and links between pollution and public health.

Earth Day 1970 gave voice to that emerging consciousness, channeling the energy of the anti-war protest movement and putting environmental concerns on the front page.

And

National Jellybean Day



You now have an excuse to eat tons of these sugary candies.

Here are 9 fun facts that you may have not known about Jelly Beans according to Jelly Belly.

01. It takes 7 to 21 days to make a single Jelly Belly jelly bean.

02. Very Cherry flavored jelly beans have been the most popular flavor since 2003. Before that Buttered Popcorn was the top spot since 1998.

03. Enough jelly beans were eaten in the last year to circle the earth more than five times.

04. The first jelly bean was created by an unknown American candy maker in the 1800s.

05. The original eight flavors of Jelly Belly beans were Very Cherry, Root Beer, Cream Soda, Tangerine, Green Apple, Lemon, Licorice and Grape.

06. Blueberry flavored beans were made for Ronald Reagan's presidential inauguration. Over three tons of jelly beans were eaten during the celebration.

07. During the Civil War, advertisements were made recommending people send soldiers jelly beans.

08. Jelly Belly beans were the first jelly beans in space when they were sent on the space shuttle Challenger in 1983.

09. 288,000 Jelly Belly beans of 47 different flavors were donated to make "In Your Arms" by Kina Grannis, the first jelly bean stop-motion animation music video. The video was released in November 2011.

What are your favorite types of jelly beans?

I don't remember Jimi Hendrix alive, I do remember his music. He was left handed and turned all his strings upside down on the opposite side, and played the guitar so well that way

Saturday 23 April 2016

National Lost Dog Awareness Day



Today is National Lost Dog Awareness Day. This awareness day brings attention to all lost dogs each year and celebrates the thousands of dogs that have been successfully reunited with their families.

Not all stray dogs are lost, some are missing, with loving families that are searching for them. But getting the word out about a missing dog can be difficult. That’s why we strive to spread awareness about lost dogs.

If you find a dog who looks lost, contact your local humane society officer or Lost Dogs of America. Sharing the dog’s information on social media channels, such as facebook, has also been very effective in reuniting dogs with their families.

Search facebook to find out if your location has a “lost dogs” page, many communities have special facebook pages to share information about lost and found animals in your area.

And

International Marconi Day



Amateur radios, point-to-point contacts, high- frequency wave transfers, a mysterious yet attractive prize which are more connected stations… All this seems like the start of a cool yet adorable B-movie. The truth is, it's the essence of International Marconi Day, a 24- hour amateur radio event which remembers the job of Italian wireless communications pioneer Guglielmo Marconi. The big event happens yearly around the Saturday nearest to his birthday (April 25, 1874).To commemorate the Nobel laureate’s accomplishments, fans use HF radio to create direct point-to-point contact between stations, depending on a single technology Marconi developed and found in his time. Although nowadays the web may be the medium of preference for global communications, the concept behind International Marconi Day would be to keep your spirit of invention alive. The big event offers a thrilling throwback towards the days whenever a connected the world was but a bold dream and just a couple of exceptional people, for example Marconi, saw the worth inside it.



On Sunday night, November 25, the tests began with the English broadcasts. All around the United States people tuned their sets, straining to hear the transatlantic signals. Radio Broadcast had special six-tube receivers at their headquarters in Garden City, Long Island, and many other publications, radio stations, and manufacturers set up listening posts. Radio Broadcast wrote about its experiences during the first week. For the first fifteen minutes nothing was heard. Then faint, unintelligible speech was heard. A cable, using a special direct line installed at Garden City, was sent to the BBC asking for a piano solo. Three minutes later the notes of a piano were heard, followed by the words "Hello, America". " Peace..................."

Such a sad picture of the wee doggie.

I would never have known without ur articles, Ice. thank you.

That does look like a sad photo. I lost my dog once and never got it back. Seems like you lose a piece of yourself. You never quite get over it

No. I just can never go back to that place in my mind.

Oh, you are so close to fifty posts. I fear you got a few in this, the lounge. They don't count.

So, if you are at fifty, it takes cleaning out ur browser and an hour or so, and u can see the private area and PM people. U may have to make a few more posts. Just not in welcome thread or lounge.

Congratulations!

Today also marks the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death.  (RIP--and he may have even written that)

Spanky