June 1, 2021 – National Pen Pal Day | National Heimlich Maneuver Day

These Pen Pals Were So In Sync, They Passed Away On The Same Day!

Welcome to June 1st, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate bridging the gap in a single stroke and a life saver that stands the test of time. 

Presidents Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were what you might call frenemies. They were very close as they worked on the Declaration of Independence, but had a big falling out after the presidential election in 1800. For the next 12 years, they didn’t speak. But when a mutual friend died in 1813, Jefferson wrote a letter to tell Adams the bad news. Adams wrote back to say thank you and shared some of his memories. They slowly rebuilt their friendship over the next 13 years, corresponding until the day they died. And, ironically, they passed on the same day—July 4th 1826. On National Pen Pal Day, take some time to reach out to a friend or strike up a correspondence with someone new.

It’s hard to say how many lives have been affected by Dr. Henry Heimlich.  Some estimate that his abdominal thrust technique has been performed successfully over 50,000 times since 1974!  This procedure is so simple that even young people with very little training have been able to save choking victims.  Dr. Heimlich did not use the method himself until he was 96 years old, when he saved a woman that lived in his nursing home. What an amazing testament to the power of a method that can still be used by both young and old. On National Heimlich Maneuver Day, we celebrate this life saving technique and the man who invented it.  

I’m Anna Devere and I’m Marlo Anderson.  Thanks for joining us as we Celebrate Every Day.


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