Celebrate Every Day

Do You Know That Everyone Has A Doppleganger?

Welcome to April 20, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate notorious imposters and aloha in a cake.  More after the break.

Felix Dadaev may not be a name you know, but if you ever studied World War II, you’ve probably seen him and didn’t know who he was. And that was the point. When Felix was injured while serving in the Russian army, someone noticed that he looked a lot like the country’s leader: Joseph Stalin. Over the next several years, Felix studied with actors to learn how to move like the dictator. He acted as a stand-in for security purposes, but also made media appearances and posed for news photos and film. People say he got so good that sometimes even Stalin’s family and friends got them mixed up. On National Look Alike Day celebrate the doppelgangers who may be pulling a fast one. 

Pineapples are a symbol of hospitality.  The problem is that not everyone knows how to carve this spiky fruit.  Pineapple upside down cake to the rescue!  With its sweet caramelized topping and cherries peeking through the golden rings, your guests will know you thought of them and baked a perfect cake. This dessert goes back hundreds of years to when folks cooked in cast iron skillets.  A simple way to bake was to line the skillet with fruit and pour batter over the top.  When the cake is done it is inverted on a platter and the results bring an instant smile to camp chefs and home cooks alike.  On National Pineapple Upside Down Cake Day celebrate friendship with cake that says Aloha, no matter where you live.

I’m Anna Devere and I’m Marlo Anderson.  Thanks for joining us as we Celebrate Every Day.

How Many Nicknames Can One State Have? Apparently, As Many As It Likes!

Welcome to April 19, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate strong seasonings and the Peace Garden State. 

For date nights, it’s best to avoid eating anything with garlic in it. Unless your date involves hunting vampires. Folktales and superstitions vary around the world, but one of the things most everyone agrees on is that garlic is a good vampire deterrent. These blood suckers supposedly have heightened senses, which would explain why they would hate the smell so much. But there may be more to the legend. Garlic has medicinal properties and traditionally has been pretty easy to come by, even for the poor. So what better way to keep people from freaking out about monsters than to tell them some everyday item could keep them safe? On National Garlic Day, enjoy some of this strong-smelling seasoning…stakes and crosses optional. 

Today we also celebrate the great state of North Dakota otherwise known as the Peace Garden State. The International Peace Garden, established in 1932 overlaps both the United States and Canada and was created to honor the lasting peace between the two nations.  North Dakota is also known as the Rough Rider state in honor of the cavalry brigade that fought in the Spanish American War alongside Theodore Roosevelt.  Roosevelt, himself would later say that he would not have been President had it not been for his experience in North Dakota. We are also known as the flickertail state after the squirrel that is prevalent here.  On National North Dakota Day take time to learn about all the things that make our state great and worthy of celebration! 

I’m Anna Devere and I’m Marlo Anderson.  Thanks for joining us as we Celebrate Every Day.

Did You Know That Only One Animal Cracker Is Depicted Wearing Pants?

Welcome to April 18, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate happy crackers and stringing it all together.

When animal crackers were first made by the Stauffer Biscuit Company in 1871, they came in barrels and had very little detail.  The fun shapes caught on in America, however, and were reimagined by the Nabisco Company in 1902.  The red box with a string handle became known as Barnum’s Animals after the iconic circus showman.  Originally, the box was made as a Christmas ornament and to this day they are made with a handle for hanging. Barnum’s Animals remain a fan favorite and perhaps that’s because the more than 37 different animals are stamped with impressive detail.  Only one of these stands out from the rest, as the only animal that’s depicted wearing pants.  Who knows why the monkey is special, but on National Animal Crackers Day we celebrate this sweet box of nostalgia that still has a place in our hearts.   

Songwriter Jimmy Webb was driving across rural Oklahoma, counting telephone poles that he passed. Then, in the middle of nowhere, he saw a lineman on a cherry picker, fixing the lines. That inspired him to write the song Wichita Lineman, which might be one of the most unlikely tributes of all time. We don’t often think about how electricity gets to our homes. In fact, we probably only think about power if it goes out and when the bill comes each month. But linemen have an important job and without them, we’d be sitting in the dark. Heck, we couldn’t even listen to that song. On National Lineman Appreciation Day, remember the folks who keep us connected the good old fashioned way.

I’m Anna Devere and I’m Marlo Anderson.  Thanks for joining us as we Celebrate Every Day.

Chances Are Good That You Have An Ancestor Who Came Through Ellis Island.

Welcome to April 17, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate tracing our family roots and cheesy poems. 

On New Year’s Day in 1892, Ellis Island opened as the point of entry for Europeans coming into the United States. Annie Moore, a 15 year old girl from Ireland, was the first immigrant to enter the country through Ellis Island. She and her two younger brothers began what would become a mass migration from Europe. Over the next few decades, people came to the United States from far and wide. Some were fleeing violence and political upheaval and others were looking to build a new life. By the time Ellis Island closed in 1954, more than 12 million people had come through its facility. It’s impossible to state the impact that this had on the growth and culture of this country. We celebrate National Ellis Island Family History Day by remembering these brave immigrants and tracing our own family histories. 

Marlo:

Oh delicious cheese

Shaped into heavenly globes

Bring me some crackers.

Anna: Did you just make up a haiku about cheese balls?

Marlo: Of course I did. I love cheese balls.

Anna: I don’t know what to say. That’s pretty cheesy, but actually a really nice haiku. Well done.

Marlo: Thank you, Anna. I love cheese, no matter what shape it takes. And today is National Cheeseball Day and National Haiku Poetry Day, so I am celebrating through poetry and of course by eating some cheeseballs.

Anna: You’re a cheeseball.

What Is Your Favorite PJ Style?

Welcome to April 16, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate staying comfy on the job and a breakfast fit for a Pope. 

Anna: Marlo, what are you wearing?

Marlo: My pajamas.

Anna: Uh…why?

Marlo: It’s National Wear Your Pajamas To Work Day.

Anna: I guess I missed the memo on that one.

Marlo: Your loss. I’m super comfy.

Anna: I never really pictured you as a footy-jammy kinda guy.

Marlo: What? You don’t like my Star Trek PJs?

Anna: Oh! Is that what they are? From here, I thought the pattern was a bunch of ducks. 

When something is top notch, people love to claim it.  Take the Cadillac of breakfast foods, Eggs Benedict.  Some say the name comes from Pope Benedict XIII, who liked an egg dish so much he requested it often.  Then there’s the story of Lemuel Benedict. The Wall Street Broker ordered buttered toast, two poached eggs, bacon and hollandaise sauce. Apparently, it was such a winning combination that it went on the menu at the Waldorf hotel. But before that there was Mrs. LeGrand Benedict who was having trouble deciding what to order while dining at Delmonico’s in New York.  The chef came up with a similar recipe to the other two, which begs the question.  Which Benedict came first?  On National Eggs Benedict Day, there’s no need to quibble. Enjoy this dish that is fit for anyone with eggstraordinary taste.

Did You Know That Bananas Nearly Caused A War?

Welcome to April 15, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate fruits that come out on top and strange coincidences. 

One of our favorite fruits is so popular that people actually went to war over it. In the early 1900s, bananas became a hot commodity. The United Fruit Company owned plantations across Central America and the demand for this fruit helped them to build a huge empire. The company got so big that it was more powerful than the government in these countries. So when United Fruit and the government of Honduras began to argue over who controlled the fruit trade in that country, war broke out. Ultimately, with an assist from the US army, the corporation came out on top. On National Banana Day, enjoy one of these delicious fruits, but there’s no need to fight over them. There’s plenty to go around. 

Around 1900 the largest ship in the world struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic and sank.  The lives of countless passengers were claimed in the disaster.  This story sounds familiar to anyone who has seen the film Titanic, but it’s actually the plot of a novel by Morgan Robertson called The Wreck Of The Titan.  Astonishingly, this book was written 14 years before the real life sinking of the Titanic and the similarities are eerie to say the least!  Both ships were about the same size.  They sank in the same part of the Atlantic during the month of April and many passengers died in the icy waters due to the lack of available lifeboats.  On National Titanic Remembrance Day, we honor the memory of the 1,500 souls who perished and continue to marvel at the unusual coincidence that makes it all the more somber.

I’m Anna Devere and I’m Marlo Anderson.  Thanks for joining us as we Celebrate Every Day.

Did You Know That Dolphins Are Known To Rescue Humans In The Open Waters?

Welcome to April 14, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate the dogs of the sea and a view of the big sky. 

Few things in the animal kingdom inspire the spirit of playfulness more than the dolphin.  These mammals display super intelligence and an affinity for their human counterparts.  But even more remarkable, are the countless stories of wild dolphins saving humans in open waters.  A young boy in Southern Italy was saved from drowning by a dolphin known locally as Filippo. A pod of dolphins circled a shark bitten surfer, until he was able to make it back to the California shore.  And a group of 12 divers who found themselves surrounded by sharks in The Red Sea, were attended to for 13 hours by a pod of wild dolphins.  Not only did the dolphins keep the sharks at bay, they also showed the rescue boat where each diver was until all the humans had been saved. On National Dolphin Day, we celebrate these aquatic wonders that appear to be man’s best ocean friend. 

Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s—well, all of the above, probably. During the course of the day, it’s easy to focus on what’s at eye-level. But there’s so much going on overhead as well that we never notice. Well, most of us, anyway. The sky has been a source of inspiration for artists and musicians as far back as anyone can remember. There’s Lucy up there in the sky, and ice cream castles floating overhead. And don’t get us started on those starry, starry nights. Sometimes it’s nice to lie back and watch the world above. Take some time to see what you’ve been missing today or later tonight as we celebrate Look Up at the Sky Day.

I’m Anna Devere and I’m Marlo Anderson.  Thanks for joining us as we Celebrate Every Day.

Did You Know That Thomas Jefferson Was Quite The Inventor?

Welcome to April 13, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate a jack of trades and nerdy word play. 

If you’re a regular listener, you know that one of our favorite presidents is Thomas Jefferson. In addition to all his contributions to America’s democracy, he was also something of an inventor. He was an avid reader, sometimes reading many books at once. He got tired of setting each book down on a table and marking the page as he moved on to the next one. So he invented a revolving book stand, which was essentially a lazy susan with four tabletop lecterns——with an additional one on top for the book he was currently reading. It allowed each book to stay open to the page on which he’d stopped. Oh, and it all folded up for easy transport. Take that, IKEA. On National Thomas Jefferson Day, celebrate a man who shaped the future and at times seemed to be living in it.

The game of Scrabble was invented during the Great Depression by an out of work architect.  For anyone who grew up on Mars, Scrabble is played with two to four players who score points by forming words from individual lettered tiles on a game board marked with a 15 by 15 grid. Since its humble beginnings, Scrabble is now played in 121 countries in 29 different languages!  It was also featured as a television game show in the 1980s.  The highest scoring word ever recorded in a Scrabble tournament earned a whopping 392 points.  The word was spelled C A Z I Q U E S, pronounced caziques, which is a type of oriole. On National Scrabble Day, challenge someone you know to the classic board game or play online to bring out your inner word nerdiness. 

I’m Anna Devere and I’m Marlo Anderson.  Thanks for joining us as we Celebrate Every Day.

Everyone Knows There's Black and Red Licorice, But Have You Every Tried The Salty Kind?!

Welcome to April 12, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate an acquired taste and cheese glorious cheese. 

Licorice is one of those foods people either love or hate. Yes, there’s red licorice, but that’s really just cherry-flavored candy shaped into a long string. The real stuff is…an acquired taste. But there is another kind of black licorice that may turn off even hardcore fans. Salty licorice, a candy that’s very popular in Germany and Scandinavian countries. You may wonder what on Earth inspired someone to take a bitter candy and make it even more bitter. Salty licorice actually started as a cough remedy and for some reason, people liked it. Liked it so much that it’s not just found in licorice form. Hmmm On National Licorice Day savor your favorite flavor even if it’s an acquired taste.

The invention of the grilled cheese sandwich is arguably the greatest thing since, well sliced bread. And while folks have been toasting bread with cheese since Ancient Roman times, the American variety took off in the 1920s with the invention of the first bread slicer. Just prior to that J.L. Kraft & Brothers began making its processed cheese, or as the English called it, rat trap cheese.  They are, of course, partial to their cheddar.  But here in the States, the grilled cheese sandwich took off with these two inventions and today they’re considered classic comfort food. If you’re in the mood to be fancy, add some sliced apples, bacon or brie. But whatever you’re craving on National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day, enjoy a crunchy, melty morsel of comfort food deliciousness, with or without the rat trap cheese.  

I’m Anna Devere and I’m Marlo Anderson.  Thanks for joining us as we Celebrate Every Day.

Did You Know That The First Submarine Was Invented in 1620?

Welcome to April 11, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate oldies but goodies. 

Vinyl records have made a huge comeback in recent years and even cassette tapes are enjoying a revival.  But one piece of music equipment has been overlooked in this retro craze, the 8 track tape.  First introduced in 1966, 8 track cassettes quickly became popular for their convenience and portability. No longer confined to listening to vinyl, folks could now take the Beatles, Elton John and Bob Dylan on the road.  And fans of outlaw country seemed to prefer 8 tracks. The Man in Black, Johnny Cash released his live album in June 1969 and stayed on the 8 track charts for 21 weeks. While this format became all but obsolete in the 80s, the era of the 8 track still reigns supreme for those who remember it. On National Eight Track Tape Day, break out those bell bottoms and lava lamps and have yourself a party, Dancing Queen! 

We think of the submarine as a fairly modern invention, and with good reason. The technology involved in keeping a ship underwater while providing humans with air is pretty complicated. However, the first working model of a submarine was actually created in England in 1620. Cornelis Drebbel, a Dutch engineer, built what he called a “diving boat,” a wooden vessel that could travel underwater. It used greased leather to keep air in and was propelled by oars. He showed off this invention in London and traveled along the Thames River at a depth of 15 feet. The trip only lasted about 9 miles, but considering the technology, it was wildly impressive. On National Submarine Day, we celebrate an invention that still seems amazing!

I’m Anna Devere and I’m Marlo Anderson.  Thanks for joining us as we Celebrate Every Day.