January 3, 2021 – National Fruitcake Toss Day | National Drinking Straw Day

Are You Ready To Launch Certain Holiday Leftovers?

Welcome to January 3rd, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate a final fling and the last straw.

One of the best-selling foods during the holiday season is fruitcake. It’s also one of the most disliked and chances are good, this eyesore is still staring you in the face. The people of Manitou Springs, Colorado have a solution. For the last 20 years they’ve hosted an event that gives folks a chance to work out their seasonal frustrations by hurling this leftover into the sky.  That’s right, people come from near and far to beat up on fruitcakes by flinging them either by hand, cannon, or giant slingshot. There are
even competitions to see who can propel them the farthest. The price of admission to this event is a non perishable food item which is donated to charity. Don’t worry, Aunt Ethel will understand if you launch her gift skyward on National Fruitcake Toss Day.

You’ve heard the expression, that’s the last straw!  But what about the first?  The very first straws were used by ancient Sumerians for drinking beer.  And because the beer barrels were too large to pass around, these long, communal drinking straws had to go the distance. The next ones were made from rye grass, which made beverages taste, well, grassy! Thanks to Marvin Stone, the paper straw replaced this kind, and folks began sipping in a more appealing way. We celebrate National Drinking Straw Day on January 3rd because that’s when Marvin received his patent in 1888.  But with more than 500 million plastic straws going to waste each day, some people celebrate with new and improved ways to do their part. If you see plastic as the last straw for the environment, try paper ones or reusable straws made of metal, glass or bamboo.

If you’d like to know more, be sure to follow us on Facebook and check out our website TheNationalDailyShow.com. I’m Anna Devere and I’m Marlo Anderson.  Thanks for joining us as we Celebrate Every Day!


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