It's a Jolly Holiday in July! Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Roswell Incident

In 1947, something fell from the sky in Roswell, New Mexico. The U.S. Army identified it as a high-altitude weather balloon -- but that was too mundane! Conspiracy theorists and ufologists some thirty years later promoted the idea that the Federal Government had covered up a the crash-landing of an alien spacecraft. Footage appeared depicting the autopsy of an apparently extraterrestrial being, but this was proved to be a hoax. Nonetheless, World UFO Day persists for many as a time to wonder if we Earthlings are really alone out there.

Some folks celebrate World UFO Day on June 24, the anniversary the first American sighting of a UFO -- nine flying disks by pilot Kenneth Arnold, also in 1947.

Answer: False

The truth may surprise you. If you visit Independence Hall, the National Park Service rangers will tell you in no uncertain terms that the Declaration of Independence was NOT signed on July 4. In fact, they will make you repeat it back to them!

The document was not signed until August 2. All right, so July 4 was when Continental Congress voted to declare independence from Britain? No, that was on July 2 (which some might argue is the real Independence Day). Was it when the Revolutionary War began? No, that was back in 1775!

On July 4, 1776, Thomas Jefferson's document, the Declaration of Independence, was formally adopted or approved as a final draft to be sent to the printer! Yet the July 4 date is what is on the fancy handwritten copy, signed by John Hancock et al., that sits in the National Archives in Washington, D.C. And so by that quirk it is July 4 and not July 2 that is the national holiday in the USA (but now you know better).

Answer: World Emoji Day

Emojis are pictograms, often smileys but not always, that convey emotion and other ideas wordlessly. Shigetaka Kurit invented them in 1999, and they quickly became very popular throughout Asia. The word 'emoji' means "pictogram" in Japanese.

Why July 17? That is the date shown on the calendar emoji on Apple devices. In fact, it was North American users who jokingly called it "World Emoji Day" after Apple released i06 in 2012, and they discovered they could activate the emoji keyboard (which was actually intended for the Asian market). Jeremy Burge, author of 'Emojipedia', the Web encyclopedia of emojis, made it "official" in 2014.

How do people celebrate? They might have an emoji-only conversation or create their own emojis. The U.S. Army even released a video in 2018 with soldiers' faces replaced with grimacing emojis.

In 2015, the OED selected the 'Face with Tears of Joy' emoji the Word of the Year, the first time that an ideogram or pictogram was chosen for such an honor!

Answer: UK

International Kissing Day, also known as World Kiss Day, started in the UK, but by 2006 it had become worldwide, although it seems to get the most notice in its British homeland.

Strangely enough, anthropologists at the University of Nevada reported in 2015 that a majority of cultures around the world do NOT engage in kissing, but rather do things like exchange breath or sniff each other.

July 6 is also National Fried Chicken Day in the USA, which just to be different has its own National Kissing Day on June 19.

Answer: World Population Day

On July 11, 1987 the population of Earth had grown to approximately 5 billion. Two years later, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) created World Population Day to raise awareness of urgent global population issues, including family planning, migration, and mothers' rights and health.

The theme of each year varies; for example, in 2016 it was "investing in teenage girls". In many cultures, once girls reach puberty they are forced to leave school and enter into arranged marriages, with devastating physical consequences for their immature bodies. A long-term goal has been to eradicate obstetric fistula, a childbirth injury, the effects of which cause girls to be shunned by society. So the message was to let girls finish their education and grow up to be fully human before they become wives and mothers, and have children only when and if they are ready.

Answer: London

Oh, to be in Paris to witness the largest military parade in Europe, not to mention the fireworks behind the Eiffel Tower! The night before, a themed dance at the Place de la Bastille (the site of the demolished prison) boasts some pretty elaborate costumes. The fire stations even open up for demonstrations and dancing!

If you can't make it to Paris, you can find celebrations around the world. The Borough Market in London holds a realistic French produce market and a demo kitchen where Parisian chefs showcase their talents. Prague also has a French market, and they drape the French flag over the Charles Bridge. Bastille Day caps a two-months' festival in Tahiti, so you find a mish-mash of traditional Polynesian dance and European military pomp. The walled Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia is an exact replica of the Bastille, and there is a spectacular re-enactment of the 1789 revolt.

Answer: Annual Hot Dog Lunch on Capitol Hill

Since the 1970s, this picnic has become quite a summer social event for those who work in or around Capitol Hill. Assorted frankfurter vendors serve their wares -- from basic wieners to bratwurst to cheese-stuffed franks -- from traditional pushcarts. Because of the cultural connection between baseball and hot dogs, retired major-league baseball players turn up to sign autographs.

National Hot Dog Day in 2018 was on Wednesday, July 18. Other hot dog festivals include the Boston Hot Dog Safari and the West Virginia Hot Dog Festival in the last Saturday in July. It's not just an American thing, though: Canada, Britain, and Australia also have their own Hot Dog Days!

Answer: Casual Pi Day

Pi is usually represented as 3.14..., and so Ultimate Pi Day is March 14, based on how dates are written in the USA (and elsewhere). However, pi is sometimes represented as 22/7 (this is the nearest fractional approximation), so in Europe and the Commonwealth, 22 July becomes Casual Pi day! So if you missed it in March, you get a second chance.

The Max Planck Society is especially fond of Casual Pi Day and recommends everyone celebrate with pi(es). I couldn't make this up if I wanted to.

Answer: Dharma Day

Buddhists believe Prince Siddhartha Gautama discovered the way to Enlightenment and became the Buddha, or "the Awakened One". His first sermon on how to follow this path, and become awakened like him, is referred to as "turning of the wheel of the Dharma" (that is, the ultimate truth). Dharma Day is extremely important, therefore, to Buddhists as it is the anniversary of the founding of Buddhism in the 6th century BC, and while there are no boisterous celebrations, they make many offerings at temples on this day.

Answer: The first landing on the moon by human beings

Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins comprised the team of U.S. astronauts who made the world's first manned lunar landing. Long a romantic ideal of science fiction, this feat was achieved on July 20, 1969.

On the 49th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 mission, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) released "secret" audio recordings never before heard by the general public. The tapes, preserved for decades in a climate-controlled vault, were digitized and posted online. In one little gem, you can just hear Buzz Aldrin through the static asking Mission Control to adjust the home planet for a better view: "Hey Houston, I thought you could turn the Earth a little bit so we can get a little bit more than just water?"