Today is...

[IceWizard]

Thusday 15 Dec 2016

National Cat Herders Day



You’ve probably heard the saying that something is as impossible as “herding cats,” used in reference to a seemingly futile or difficult task.

Granted, if you have actually attempted to literally herd a bunch of cats for some reason or the other, you would know exactly how impossible this task actually is.

All of that said, as far as we know, there’s no one out there who’s actually a professional cat herder. If there were, this day would actually be for those folks. This is a day for everyone who has to face the frustration of trying to manage the unmanageable, anyone whose day to day life involves insurmountable tasks.

History of Cat Herders’ Day

While the idiom that something impossible is “like herding cats” is a popular saying now, the phrase has relatively recent origins – one story has it that IT expert Dave Platt popularized the phrase when he said that “managing senior programmers is like herding cats”.

What we can say is that the phrase is pretty suitable for what it describes. And while cats are independent, solitary, and easily distracted, many humans also share this characteristic. So you may well have to complete tasks that are in fact as difficult as herding cats, even if you’ve never seen or heard of a cat until now.

Anyway, we know that Cat Herders’ Day was invented sometime in the last decade, and is basically one of those cheeky holidays that you can celebrate however you want.



And



Lemon Cupcake Day



On December 15th, it’s time to pay special attention to cupcakes – one specific type, in fact. Lemon is a favorite flavor in the cake and sweets world, and this day is the perfect excuse to enjoy a sweet treat with that distinctive citrus twang.

Lemon in cakes can give them a refreshing kick, and when added into the miniature treat of a cupcake, it’s especially tasty. That’s why lemon cupcakes deserve their own day!

The History of Lemon Cupcake Day

Exactly when Lemon Cupcake Day started popping up is under some debate, but there’s no doubt that cupcakes themselves have been around a good long time.

The first written record we have of what would become a cupcake is in the 1796 book ‘American Cookery’ by Amelia Simmons, the first American to write and publish a cookery book. One of the recipes called for the use of small cups to bake a small, light cake. The term ‘cupcake’ was first printed in ‘Seventy- five receipts for Pastry, Cakes and Sweetmeats” by Eliza Leslie in 1828.

The term came about thanks to them being baked in their small molds or ramekins, and soon enough they became popular as a snack cake. And of course, their bite size would help people monitor their cake intake a little better, if you were diet-conscious.

Cupcake flavours are endless – no matter what your sweet tooth craves, there’s a cupcake for that. From chocolate to all kinds of fruit, simple vanilla or maybe a twist of peanut butter, these little cakes have the potential to be flavoured any way you like.

But one of the most delicious has to be the humble lemon cupcake.