13 September 23

 International Chocolate Day is celebrated annually on 13 September, honoring the birthday of Milton Hershey (1857-1945). Yes, my tie for this occasion is plain solid brown, which might be considered boring, but it's entirely appropriate for International Chocolate Day. How will you celebrate?

6 April 21

Happy Teflon® Discovery Day! If you were alive around 1960 I am sure you remember the popularization of "No-Stick!" cookware, featuring the amazingly wonderful space-age coating called Teflon®. My tie is brown to match the original coloring of the cookware, and Beth suggested that the knot should be falling apart to symbolize easy slipping. Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) was discovered "by accident" on this date in 1938, when a container for tetrafluroethylene gas had the expected weight but showed zero pressure. Inside the cylinder, Dr. Roy J. Plunkett found a white waxy solid substance with very peculiar chemical properties, especially being "the most slippery material in existence." It took about twenty years of research and development to figure out how to make this incredibly non-sticky stuff stick to anything else! (I wore this solid brown tie today (2021), but the photos and story are repeated from this date in 2017.)

24 March 20

Today is Chocolate Covered Raisin Day! So, I'm wearing a chocolate-brown tie and "covering" my raisins with some chocolate.

13 September 18

Today is International Chocolate Day, celebrating the birthday of Milton Hershey (1857-1945). My nondescript plain tie is chocolate brown! (Another date "competing" for the title of World/International Chocolate Day is 7 July. I prefer the option to celebrate chocolate any day.)

6 April 17

Happy Teflon® Discovery Day! If you were alive around 1960 I am sure you remember the popularization of "No-Stick!" cookware, featuring the amazingly wonderful space-age coating called Teflon®. My tie is brown to match the original coloring of the cookware, and Beth suggested that the knot should be falling apart to symbolize easy slipping. Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) was discovered "by accident" on this date in 1938, when a container for tetrafluroethylene gas had the expected weight but showed zero pressure. Inside the cylinder, Dr. Roy J. Plunkett found a white waxy solid substance with very peculiar chemical properties, especially being "the most slippery material in existence." It took about twenty years of research and development to figure out how to make this incredibly non-sticky stuff stick to anything else!

13 September 16

Another day to celebrate chocolate! Today is International Chocolate Day, honoring the birthday (in 1857) of Milton Hershey, founder of The Hershey Chocolate Company and the "company town" of Hershey, Pennsylvania. I'm planning to consume both white and dark chocolate today!

19 May 16

Today is the 236th anniversary of New England's Dark Day (1780), when (according the Wikipedia entry) "an unusual darkening of the day sky was observed over the New England states and parts of Canada. The primary cause of the event is believed to have been a combination of smoke from forest fires, a thick fog, and cloud cover. The darkness was so complete that candles were required from noon on. It did not disperse until the middle of the next night." According to news reports, some groups of people believed the world was ending. My shirt and tie are celebrating a solid brown-out.

30 September 14

Taking advantage of "National Mud Pack Day" to wear my only Yves Saint Laurent tie, in solid brown. I am aware that facial mud packs are more often white, but I choose to remember the dark brown mud pies of my childhood. I have to wear very plain ties once in a while, to make people wonder what happened.

13 September 11

According to some calendars, September 13 is International Chocolate Day. Happily for me, there are many days designated for celebrating chocolate! I'm feeling deeply dark brown all over today, and it's sweet.