Forget weight expiration and cent - pinching , make a resolution to keep this year a little more improper . What better way to start than with a few far-out holidays and anniversaries you could easily observe ?
1. January 1: First Foot Day
A Scottish New Year tradition , the first person to tread into someone ’s home is call the “ first - footer ” and is reckon to represent expert fortune put down the household — in the form of gift including ember , whisky , cash , and/or Malva sylvestris and shekels . Sorry ladies and blond men — for be considered lucky the first - footer should always be a dark - hairy man .
2. January 1: 150th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation
On this date in 1863 , U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signedthis famous documentproclaiming to the Executive Branch of government that all enslave in Confederate territory were now gratis .
3. January 3: Fruitcake Toss Day
Although it may sound like a culinary Olympic upshot , Fruitcake Toss Day just marks the sentence when it is lastly socially acceptable to trash all of the vacation nut you receive . If you choose to turn the event into a throw competition , make trusted to have paper towels ready to hand .
4. January 4: National Trivia Day
Here ’s how we celebrated last year:119 Amazing Facts for National Trivia Day .
5. January 4: World Braille Day
The natal day of Frenchman William Louis Braille , after whom this tactile code is named , double as a celebration of his groundbreaking ceremony system which has provided with child adequate opportunity for the visually deflower worldwide since itsinventionin 1824 .
6. January 7: 225th Anniversary of the First U.S. Presidential Election
In 1788 , novel nation and future universe world power the United States of America kick off its very first Presidential election ( which end in January 1789 ) . As a surprise to no one , except perhaps opponents John Adams and John Jay , George Washington took the slipstream in a landslip .
7. January 8: Bubble Bath Day
If ever there were a mean solar day to decompress in a bath full of aerated water or foam , today is the one . Once a matter of luxury , the effervescent bathtub became a kid - friendly — and more affordable — treat in the mid-20th century thanks to companies like Mr. Bubbles .
8. January 10: League of Nations Day
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The rather poorly - fated predecessor to the United Nations , the outside peacekeeping organization League of Nations formally came to be on this date in 1920 . Though the vocal support of President Woodrow Wilson sure as shooting help its origin , the League cursorily fell into disarray , leaving it near powerless to prevent World War II . In 1946 , Woodrow Wilson ’s aspiration was formally dissolved .
9. January 10: 150th Anniversary of the Underground Railway
The London Underground , a.k.a . “ the Tube , ” a.k.a . the transportation scheme formerly known as the Metropolitan Railway , open up its doors in 1863 , making it the first cloak-and-dagger railway — or subway — in the world .
10. January 17: Kid Inventors Day
TheKid Inventors Day websiteattributes television , water skis , earmuff and the Popsicle to the intellect of brilliant nipper . Technically , the serviceman who invented the first working television , Philo Farnsworth , applied for the letters patent at age 21 in 1927 , but he exhibit an early design for his tv set to his instructor at years 14 . The function of Kid Inventors Day is to lionize and encourage the inventiveness of baby — so the Farnsworth blueprint counts !
11. January 18: Thesaurus Day
On this twenty-four hour period in 1779 , British lexicographer Peter Mark Roget was born . He is most notable for publishingThe Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases(aka “ Roget ’s Thesaurus ” ) in 1852 . This holiday is a day to honor , celebrate , extol , laud , extolment , revere , or toast his donation .
12. January 22: National Answer Your Cat’s Questions Day
If beast could tattle , what would they say ? We may never know the existent answer , but January 22nd is a day to remember the thought and feelings of your domestic feline . Do n’t vex if cat whispering is n’t your forte . bozo - tailor websites likeCat Channeloffer some great icebreakers to get the conversation started . For example , “ Are hairballs a usual malady ? What can my homo do to prevent them ? ”
13. January 23: 56th Anniversary of the Frisbee
After fight down in World War II , American artificer Walter Frederick Morrison come back to the States and designed what he thought would be the world ’s first flying disk . After a few iteration over the course of near a decade , he came up with his intention for the “ Pluto Platter . ” On this date in 1957 , he sold his right to this figure to the Wham - O toy company . Later that class , Wham - O decide to rename the plaything “ Frisbee , ” a condition that came from a Connecticut Proto-Indo European ship’s company distinguish Frisbie , whose empty pie tins had become ad - hoc toys .
Wham - O possess the earmark to the condition “ Frisbee , ” so any flying disc from any other manufacturer is technically not a Frisbee .
14. January 24: Beer Can Appreciation Day
Seventy - eight years ago to the day , the first beer was sold in cans . Since then , the beer can has become a barbecue staple , a collector ’s particular , and a maligned receptacle for some beer snobs . Today , pause before chug , shotgunning , or crushing , and take a moment to reflect on what your beer can means to you .
15. January 28: National Kazoo Day
Founded by Chaplin Willard Rahn of the Joyful Kazoo Band , National Kazoo Daycelebrates 162 years of this plastic or metallic element legal document . The organization behind the holiday , Kazoo America , hopes to one Clarence Day make the kazoo “ America ’s prescribed melodic instrument . ” They ask that you please call up the kazoo is definitelynotrelated to the Vuvuzela .
16. January 29: Thomas Paine Day
Thomas Paine , who was abide 276 years ago on this date , became a highly influential figure preceding the American Revolution with the publishing of hisCommon Sensepamphlets in the colonies . After print another serial calledThe American Crisis , and a little state of war known as the American Revolution , Paine actually returned to know in London . His revolutionary sprightliness could not be squelch though , and he got back into the activity , this time in France . After ruffling some feathers and facing possible execution — pardon our wholesale generalisation of chronicle here — Paine returned to the United States to live out his final Clarence Shepard Day Jr. .
While we do n’t commend a complete governmental overthrow , today why not honor the spirit of Paine by part a tiny revolution of your own ?
17. January 30: FDR’s 131st Birthday
Credited by many for pull the United States out of the Great Depression , Franklin Delano Roosevelt leave behind an indelible belief on American history . He also holds the eminence of being the only American President ever to be elect four clock time . So celebrate !

