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If you're new to Now I Know, you'll notice that today's format is different than the rest of the week. On Fridays, I take a pause to do a "week in review" type of thing or share something else I think you may find interesting. Today, I'm looking (briefly) back at an old article I wrote in the fall of 2018 before hitting that week in review. Thanks for reading! -- Dan

Today Actually IS National Doughnut Day

Hi!

If you listened to a morning radio show today, there's a good chance that the hosts will mention that today is National Doughnut Day in the United States. And the radio programs are probably sharing that news because, if you're in the U.S., there's actually a good chance you can score a free doughnut (or a really cheap one). In fact, Marketplace has a quick article up right now articulating the offers from Dunkin, Krispy Kreme, and others -- you can check that out here.

Most of these odd celebrations are based on nothing more than the dreams of a marketer trying to create a story. And a few years ago, on November 5, 2018, I wrote an article titled "Today Isn't National Doughnut Day." According to a lot of the "National Day Of" Or "Fake Holiday of the Moment" calendars, November 5th is National Doughnut Day in the United States, which is weird because today is June 3rd, not November 5th. And, as you can already infer from the title of that article and the title of this note, November 5th Doughnut Day is a made-up holiday and, the wisdom of make-believe Asgardian god aside, June 3rd Doughnut Day isn't. There's an actual history behind the holiday, so I think it's totally reasonable to celebrate with a free cruller or the like.

Oh, that actual history? That's what I wrote about in the "Today Isn't National Doughnut Day" article three-plus years ago, so just click that link to read it. I don't have anything else to add to the topic, so let's get to the week in review!

The Now I Know Week in Review

Monday: Memorial Day -- no Now I Know!

Tuesday: Why You Don’t Want to Eat Blackbird Pie: The story of the blackbird pies from Sing a Song of Sixpence, the nursery rhyme.

Wednesday: How to Turn Donuts into Dough?: A good way to find a job, maybe. More importantly, while researching this, I re-discovered that today is National Doughnut Day, which is why I shared the note above.

Thursday: It’s Peeback Time!: Hydrophobic walls aren't scared of water, but drunk people who need to go should be scared of them.

And some other things you should check out:

Some long reads for the weekend.

1) "It's Time to Bring Back the AIM Away Message" (Wired, 7 minutes, May 2022). Disconnecting from being online and always available -- via text messaging specifically -- is a luxury we typically don't take advantage of. That's in part because there's no mechanism or norm to communicate that we're in do-not-disturb mode. This argues we need to bring that back.

2) "Trial Diary: A Journalist Sits on a Baltimore Jury" (ProPublica, 19 minutes, June 2022). The subhead: "Could 12 strangers agree on justice in Baltimore, a city riddled with killings and distrust of the police, in a shooting case where the victim was an actor on the legendary drama 'The Wire'?"

3) "The Sit-Up Is Over" (The Atlantic, 7 minutes, May 2022). The sit-up was a staple of many workout routines even as recently as a few years ago, but it's mostly gone to the wayside since. Here's why, and why that's probably for the better.

Have a great weekend!

Dan

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Now I Know: Today Actually IS National Doughnut Day!

Today Actually IS National Doughnut Day

The Now I Know Week in Review

And some other things you should check out:

Older messages

Now I Know: It's Peeback Time!

Now I Know: How to Turn Donuts into Dough?

Now I Know: Why You Don't Want to Eat Blackbird Pie

It's the Now I Know Weekender!

Now I Know: When North Dakota (Briefly) Tried to Secede From the United States

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