April 22 is known as National Jelly Bean Day. I couldn’t find any evidence of who invented the jelly bean. But many believe that it was derived from the Turkish Delight. The Turkish delight is a soft chewy candy who’s texture is similar to the center of a jelly bean.

There is evidence that jelly beans were even sent to soldiers fighting the Civil War because of the their shelf life. In the early 1900’s they were bagged and sold by weight. And throughout the years they have been a popular penny candy item.

In the 1970’s the jelly bean was transformed by the Herman Goelitz Candy Co. They began making gourmet jelly beans by producing some unusual flavors. They also began coloring the center of jelly beans to match the color of the bean.

They were also a favorite of president Ronald Regan. It is said that during his administration, you could find jelly beans in almost every room in the White House.

Another little known fact is that jelly beans have even gone into space. One of the space shuttles took jelly beans with them for the astronauts to snack on.

Although this is not a true national holiday, the jelly bean truly deserves its own day.

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Food on a stick

Something on a stick day! OK, now that is a fun day. I have a bunch of skewers and popsicle sticks that I can use to come up with some fun snacks today.

When I think about something on a stick day, I immediately think of food at fairs. It seems that when you go to a fair, you can get pretty much anything on a stick. Another place that loves food on a stick is Hong Kong. If you have ever been there, you know that you can get pretty much anything on a stick.

I have quite often joked with my brother-in-law about food on a stick, coming up with what we thought were some of the most ridiculous ideas for this. However, anymore, some of our ideas aren’t quite so ridiculous. Some of the more “interesting” items that you can actually get on a stick (that I found) are:

• French Fry Encased Hot Dog on a stick
• Sea Horses on a stick
• Chocolate Dipped Cheesecake on a stick (mmmm… yummy)
• The Spamcicle
• Pie on a stick
• Sausage and Pancake on a stick

This day also reminds me of a bit that Jeff Dunham does with his character, Jose (jalapeno on a stick). Very funny.

All this talk about food on a stick is making me hungry! I think I’ll make some French Toast on a stick. Then maybe later I’ll try the Spamcicle.

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I Love (Plaid Heart) Pocket Protectors
by geekme
cheap coffee mug at Zazzle

Most people don’t know that we should be celebrating the Pocket Protector on March 18th. It was on this day in 1947 that Hurley Smith received a patent on his invention. It was called the “Pocket Shield or Protector.”

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Hurley first used a stiff clear colorless plastic. He had tall, thin rectangles of this material made, then used a Pitney-Bowes letter folder to fold it twice, once approximately in half and once on one end to produce a flap that would extend over the top edge of the shirt pocket.

Originally, from the side, it looked like a check mark, unsealed at the sides. But it was just wide enough to fit into a shirt pocket with the back extending high enough to protect the back of the pocket and shirt above the pocket, and the flap fitting over the front of the pocket.

His first prototype was made in the attic of his house where he had modified his wife’s iron to heat the plastic enough to bend the plastic properly. Throughout the years, he modified the equipment to perfect the Pocket Protector.

Throughout the years, he realized that other companies were infringing on his patent but he decided not to pursue legal action. So the question is, if you have one of these handy devices, is it the original Pocket Protector?

Don’t have the cash to shell out for one of these amazing gadgets? Here are some great instructions for creating your own! Check it out on Instructables!

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I bet you didn’t know that March 11 was Worship of Tools Day. I find this really funny. Tool worship has always been considered a guy thing. But many women love their tools just as much as men. I have many power tools that I use for my various projects and working around the house.

I think my favorite tool is my Dremel tool. My kids know that they aren’t even allowed to touch my Dremel tool! When I go to a hardware store, the first thing I do is start looking at tools and I can’t forget to stop by the Dremel tool attachments!

Did you know that the Dremel tool was originally invented by Albert Dremel and that the name of the company is Dremel tools, founded in 1932?

Albert J. Dremel held a wide range of patents, 55 in all . They included everything from electric erasers to the first design of the now standard walk behind rotary lawn mower. He started the company with the electric razor blade sharpener. Before the advent of disposable razors, this tool was a real money saver.

Other inventions of Albert Dremel include the electric shoe polisher, an electric screwdriver, a whole line of power sanders and scroll saws, an electric fish scaler and even a device to keep automatic tabs on a chicken’s egg production.

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Funny Caffeine Mousepad by ChiaPetRescue
See other Coffee Mousepads

We all do it. We panic over things. Well, if you are going to panic, March 9th is the day to do it. Panic day, is a light-hearted holiday about the panic and stress we all experience from time to time in our everyday lives.

I couldn’t find any information on the origins of this day, so I thought I would look for ways we could all celebrate this funny holiday. Here is a great schedule for your day:

• 7 am: Gear up with seven cups of espresso to get nice and jumpy.
• 8 am: Hide in a wardrobe chewing your fingernails at the thought of Global Warming and ninjas.
• 9 am: Two more cups of espresso.
• 10 am: Check under and behind every item of furniture in your house for ninjas.
• 11 am: Shopping. Run away from an old lady who looks like she might be a ninja in disguise.
• 12 noon: More espresso.
• 1 pm: Sit in a chair in the very middle of my empty living room, periodically turning around quickly to check for ninjas sneaking up on you. (you can’t be too careful, they are everywhere)
• 2 pm: Panic break. Take a few deep breaths and try to stop your heart from racing.
• 2:15 pm: More espresso.
• 3 pm: Dive into cupboard under the stairs when a delivery guy knocks on the door, he could be a ninja.
• 4:00 pm: Emerge cautiously, checking the doors and windows.
• 4:27 pm: Back into cupboard for the rest of the day.

So, if you need more, here is a funny Zombie Panic video:

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