Celebrate Every Day

Welcome to August 28th, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate cheesy shows and seeing red. If you’re a fan of Zordon or Rita Repulsa, then you know exactly what we’re celebrating today. Although this kid’s show was pieced together with old footage from a Japanese TV show, Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers was a huge hit in 1993. Five teenagers transformed into...well, Power Rangers, wh...

Welcome to August 27th, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate getting to the good stuff and doing things “just because.” Pots of cream may not sound delicious but pots de creme deserves its own celebration. Think of it as a cousin to crème brûlée. Both are made with simple ingredients of cream, eggs and flavorings, which are baked into pots or individual ramekins for a super rich a...

Welcome to August 26th, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate women’s rights and man’s best friend. On this day in 1920 the United States Congress passed the 19th Amendment to the Constitution granting women full and equal voting rights. While it may sound preposterous to our young women today, this amendment was 80 years in the making, if you take into account that the seeds of un...

Welcome to August 25th, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate the great outdoors and one successful apprentice. After serving in the Union Army during the Civil War, Ferdinand Hayden did geographical surveys of the Grand Canyon and what would become the Western United States. One particular region of Northwestern Wyoming caught his attention and he petitioned the government to expl...

Welcome to August 24th, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate a tasty debate and Summertime’s freshest pie. There are two kinds of people: pancake people and waffle people. Sure pancakes are delicious, but if you like to pile on the toppings, waffles are just built better for the job. It was likely this feature that encouraged Cornelias Swarthout to patent the waffle iron in 1869....

Welcome to August 23rd, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate challenging new heights in the kitchen and on the runway. If you enjoy a good baking challenge, set your sights on the airy rise of a perfect sponge cake. One of the most difficult cakes for bakers to master, sponge cake makes the perfect backdrop for berries and cream or even a simple dusting of powdered sugar. And if y...

Welcome to August 22nd, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate food that takes a bow and magical dentistry. During the Three Kingdoms era of China, a general and his troops found their way home was blocked by a raging river. The river god told the general that passage would only be granted if he cut off 50 of his soldiers’ heads and threw them into the river. Instead, the general or...

Welcome to August 21st, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate an industrious insect and dessert Italian style. If you think the humble honey bee is just another bug, think again! While they seem to be aimlessly buzzing from flower to flower, they’re actually performing a valuable task. It’s estimated that over one third of our United States food production depends on bees pollinati...

Welcome to August 20th, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate amazing mashups in the kitchen and in the lab. Few things are as sweet as the Southern favorite pecan pie, but when someone decided to add chocolate, this candy-like dessert went over the top. Pecan trees are native to the American South, and this classic pie sprung up in the region around the late 1800s. Though sugar pi...

Welcome to August 19th, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate playing with our food and more than a century in the wild blue yonder. For as long as anyone can remember, parents have told their children to not play with their food. But Mr. Potato Head changed that. In the late 1940s, Mr. Potato Head—or at least parts of him—were included in cereal boxes. Kids would collect the body...

Welcome to August 18th, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate fussy grapes and a satisfying sizzle. Pinot noir grapes are notoriously hard to grow. Too much weather variation can ruin a crop very quickly. Plus, the grapes grow in tight, cone-like clusters, which can be a problem because the fruit is extremely thin-skinned. This growth pattern is what gives the grape—and the wine—it...

Welcome to August 17th, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate cool cats and doing something good. Perspective is everything. Take, for example, the black cat. In Ancient Egypt, cats were considered a sign of good luck. This is because felines helped to keep rats and mice away from food in storage. But in Europe, the same animal was seen as unlucky. As you’ve no doubt heard, a black...

Welcome to August 16th, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate the need for speed and the spirit of the islands. Roller coasters attract adrenaline junkies to amusement parks around the world. These rides are thrilling and sometimes scary. But oddly enough, they were invented to keep people away from drinking and gambling. LaMarcus Adna Thompson built the first roller coaster in Con...

Welcome to August 15th, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate kicking up our feet and a cheerful pastry. The world seems to go a million miles an hour and we all need time to ourselves to decompress. For some, it’s meditation. For others, it’s getting a massage. And for a select few, it’s putting your feet in water and letting small fish chew away at dead skin. No really. That’s a...

Welcome to August 14th, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate a game with a checkered past and a code that changed the game. In the 1830s and 40s, officials in Connecticut passed a law to ban bowling. Apparently, the excessive gambling associated with the sport made it a threat to public welfare. Bowling at the time consisted of 9 pins, which is what the state outlawed. As a way to...

Welcome to August 13th, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate left handed compliments and celebrity Southpaws. If you’ve ever wondered, “Where’s the beef?” after being served a filet mignon, then it’s probably not the steak for you. Mignon means “cute” in French and while filet refers to the most quality cut of the tenderloin, beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder. The Fr...

Welcome to August 12th, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate rocking the world and rocking around the clock. What do Abraham Lincoln, Walt Disney, and Thor have in common? Go ahead. Take a second to think about it. Give up? They’re all middle children. Well, not the actual Thor. It’s Chris Hemsworth—the actor who plays him. And oddly enough, so is Tom Hiddleston, who plays Loki ri...

Welcome to August 11th, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate desserts of mass destruction and the Commanders in Chief who are not afraid to bomb. When something is really great, we say it’s the bomb. But back in the day we called a bombe dessert. This molded confection that’s layered with ice cream, fruit and nuts gets its name from its resemblance to a cannonball. These beauties...

Welcome to August 10th, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate a trying sport and tried and true dessert. Few pastimes have inspired so much anger and frustration as golf. For something so popular, it sure makes people angry. Take, for example, Winston Churchill, who called the sport “…a game whose aim is to hit a very small ball into an even smaller hole, with weapons singularly il...

Welcome to August 9th, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate leaders who make a contribution for better or worse. Julius Caesar made many important contributions to Western civilization. But he also set the world of books back by thousands of years. During his siege of Alexandria, he accidentally set fire to the world’s largest library. Another historical figure is at the opposite...

Welcome to August 8th, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate an overzealous fruit and well traveled bill. Backyard vegetable gardens can be difficult to maintain. Carrots, tomatoes, beans…you never know what kind of harvest will come from weeks and months of care and cultivation. One summertime vegetable that’s easy—almost too easy—is the zucchini. This squash seems to grow no matt...

Welcome to August 7th, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate an age-old condiment and the oldest military honor. On this day we celebrate one of the oldest condiments in the history of the world. No, it’s not that long-forgotten bottle of ketchup in the back of your fridge. It’s mustard. The ancient Romans ground mustard seeds into a powder which they combined with vinegar to make...

Welcome to August 6th, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate the beer melting pot and frosty dreams. When German immigrants arrived in the United States, they introduced America to lager beers, a traditional German style. So it’s ironic that lagers became popular during World War II at a time when our country hated everything German. American soldiers serving in Europe discovered t...

Welcome to August 5th, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate dogs and beers that go the distance. Before snowmobiles and airplanes, the best way to get around in snow country was via dog sled. This method of transportation is rare today, but once a year in Alaska, racers and their teams of dogs keep the tradition alive with a race called the Iditarod. Sleds travel from Anchorage to...

Welcome to August 4th, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate a portable meal and one smart cookie. John Montagu was obsessed with gambling. So much so that he played cards for hours on end, even forgetting at times to eat. Then one day, he devised a meal that could be eaten with one hand. He requested that a servant bring him some meat between two pieces of bread, and thus the Earl...