|
|
|
|
Valentine's Day Trivia
It was on Valentine's Day in 1876 that Alexander Graham Bell first applied for a patent on his invention, the telephone. He called it an "improvement is telegraphy," which it certainly was!
Most of the roses sold on Valentine's Day are imported from South America. Of American roses, three fifths of them are produced in the state of California. Most of the 110 million roses sold in the United States for Valentine's Day are red. An estimated 3% of women will get themselves roses.
Only recently did the hill people in the Ozarks begin to celebrate Groundhog Day on February second. For them, February 14 did double duty as both holidays because they thought the groundhogs, birds, and other creatures started mating on that day. It is also thought by some in this region to be the best day to plant leaf lettuce.
In 1858, publisher John McLaughlin introduced vinegar valentines. These were humorous cards with slightly derogatory or insulting messages. They were also called penny dreadfuls.
In Medieval times, the young unmarried people would draw names from a bowl. The name they chose would be their valentine. The name was to be worn on their sleeve for a week. This is probably where the term "wears his heart on his sleeve" comes from. This saying refers to someone letting every one know how they feel instead of hiding their feelings.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
|
|
|
|
|