Honestly Jazzy Hair

What a busy Day!! 

Hairstyle Appreciation Day

& Honesty Day

& International Jazz Day

Honestly,

I do not appreciate

these crazy hairstyles!

(I appreciate the effort

that went into creating them...

just not the styles...) 

Now... Jazz. 

Jazz Day was set up by UNESCO,

which immediately gives it

more credibility than

most of the days

I have blogged so far this year...

  2012 is the first year

International Jazz Day

will be celebrated. 

Woohoo! 

We get to celebrate the first day! 

 UNESCO want to promote Jazz –

 for the music

and for how

it can bring people together

in a beautiful way. 

They say that Jazz

breaks down barriers...

builds tolerance...

is a means of freedom of expression...

 is a symbol of peace...

reduces tensions...

fosters gender equity...

encourages the involvement

 of today’s youth...

encourages innovation

 and improvisation...

and so on and so on... 

 (And it sounds good!) 

 If jazz is what will

eventually create a peaceful

and harmonious world,

 lets play it loud today!!! 

Don’t have any jazz? 

Listen to this band:

Short and Horny.

 

Photos from here,

here and here.

Zip It!

Today is a day to recognise

the creation of

Mr Whitcomb L Judson. 

 Mean anything to you? 

Perhaps not...

Mr W.L. Judson invented the....

zipper! 

It’s Zipper Day!

(Have a quick think...

How many zippers

have you zipped up

and unzipped today?) 

So, a friend of Judson’s

had a stiff back

from trying to tie his shoes...

 and Mr Judson wanted

to fix that problem... 

He created a “clasp locker”. 

 This was used mostly on shoes,

 tobacco pouches and mailbags.

  (I’m not sure what year this happened...)

  In 1913, an improved version

 hit the market. 

Swedish Gideon Sundback

used metal teeth instead of

 the clumsy hook and eye method. 

 By 1917, he had patented his

“separable fastener”. 

When it was changed

so that you only needed

one hand to work it,

it became the zipper. 

The zipper was now being used

 in boots and galoshes. 

By the 1940s,

the first interlocking brass coils

 were introduced,

but later ditched

after the coils were found

 to bend out of place,

stopping the zipper

from working... 

It took another 20 years

for coil zippers

to finally hit the market! 

 

In 1934

Yoshida Kogyo Kabushililaisha

was founded. 

I know you are wondering

why I have added

this little fact...

well, check your zipper...

go on...

I’ll wait... 

Are there three letters

 on your zipper? 

If so, are the letters YYK? 

If so...

the YYK comes from

the company responsible

for the manufacture

of over 60%

of the zippers we use today!  

I’m curious...

I wonder how many zippers

are in my home??

Photos from here and here.

Information from here.

Is Kissing in Cubicles Safe?

Busy Day 

Kiss your Mate Day

& Cubicle Day

& World Day for Safety

and Health at Work

Ok, I don’t mind what you do

 with your mate

in your own work cubicle...

but World Day for Safety

 and Health at Work

 is important... so,

lets look at that a little more. 

 This day has been celebrated

since 2003.

The day promotes

Occupational Health and Safety

(but, wait... there’s more!)

 in a green economy. 

So...

before we jump in and create jobs

 to build our green economy

 (water recycling plants,

solar panel factories...)

we need to make sure

that our “green” workers

have safe working conditions. 

 (Not like the standards

 in some countries...) 

I thought about

posting facts and figures

on work injuries,

but that seemed

a little depressing...

so, do this instead:

head out and

kiss your mate in a cubicle!

Photos from here, here,

here, here and here.

Dots & Dashes

Morse Code Day

Now you can

learn morse code!

  Test yourself! 

Morse code is just

dots and dashes. 

It’s beeping noises

and I just didn’t see

how words could be understood

from the noises...

And then,

I saw a picture

and I kinda get now,

I think. 

A name which has to be

mentioned today

is Samuel Finley Breese Morse.

  You know what he did, right? 

He was born in 1791

and became a successful

oil painting artist. 

In 1835, he built the

first American telegraph –

which was also being

developed in Europe. 

What’s a telegraph? 

Simply, it sends

 messages through wires. 

 By 1837, Morse’s working

telegraph machine was patented. 

Originally, Morse used

a dots and spaces code,

but this was later changed

 to the dots, dashes

 and spaces code

we “know” now. 

In 1838, Morse could

send 10 words a minute,

using morse code. 

On May 24^th, 1844

Morse sent the first

telegraphic message

from Washington DC

to Baltimore. 

I imagined morse code

was really difficult....

but it’s not, really

(I would hate

to risk my life

on my ability to use it, though!)

  Go test your own skills!

Photos from here and here.

Information from here.

Hugable Aussies

Hug an Australian Day

Love it!

Origins? 

The Kiwis started this...

That smaller island

to the side of us...

the ones we love to hate

but will defend like a brother... 

And they created

 Hug An Australian Day?

  What? 

 Why?  

It was all about the Rugby. 

 The Aussie team,

the Wallabies

were playing the Russian team

in NZ. 

Apparently, a few Kiwis

 were overly excited

about cheering for the Russians

and not the Aussies...

In stepped the local mayor,

 Aldo Miccio. 

He knew that lots of Aussies

 like to holiday in New Zealand...

He knew that there

would be about 10 000 Aussies

 in the area to watch

the Rugby

and he wanted the Aussies

 to feel welcome...

So, the mayor declared

today to be

Hug An Aussie Day. 

(We’re still allowed

to tease each other,

so long as we remember

that it’s all in fun....)

Hugs are fun!

(And these are all Aussies!)

Information from here.

Photo from here, here,

 here and here.

Penguin Day

World Penguin Day

  (Why?) 

Because the 25^th of April

 marks the day 

when the Adelie penguins,

start their migration. 

(Fair enough.) 

 They move north to escape

the wintery conditions

 of Antarctica. 

They only travel

about 600 kilometres,

but they do head

 north for the winter!

The little Adelies can’t

 see too well in the dark,

so they need the extra

 slithers of light

 from the Northern parts

of Antarctica to help them

find food. 

Something cool about

the cheeky little Adelie...

They make a nest

for their egg from rocks. 

 Often, they will steal rocks

 from other penguins

instead of finding their own! 

Even cooler...

Adelie penguins get their water

 by eating snow...

(“So what?” I hear you say.)

  Well...

there is a gland

in their nose that removes

the salt from the sea water

 that is swallowed

while they are trying

to catch fish in the water...

 A desalinisation plant,

 if you will. 

 How could you not

love Adelie penguins

after hearing that! 

 Happy Penguin Day!

Photos from here,

here, here and here.