MDBCs 02 Jan 2024

Want to hit the buffet table one last time before you start your New Year’s resolution? Then Buffet Day on January 2 is the fun food holiday for you.

How to Celebrate?

Visit your favorite buffet restaurant for lunch or dinner and try every dish on the buffet table. Just make sure you have time to nap after your meal.
Get together with friends to host a buffet lunch or dinner at home.
Host a themed potluck buffet where everyone brings a dish or 2 that fits the theme. Here are some ideas: sandwich buffet, salad buffet or a bacon buffet - where all dishes have to have bacon in them.

Did You Know…

…that the idea of a buffet table originated from an alcoholic beverage serving system in Sweden?

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Run It up the Flagpole and See If Anyone Salutes It Day

January is the month of new beginnings, so it is only fitting that January 2 is Run It Up The Flagpole And See If Anyone Salutes It Day.

The name of the holiday comes from the English language expression, run it up a flagpole and see if anyone salutes it, which means putting new ideas and ventures to test and to see if they gain acceptance and popularity, just like a flag would have respect by people saluting it.

Advertising Term

It is commonly used in advertising and is a popular phrase in the United States. The day encourages people to be creative and to implement their ideas.

How to Celebrate?

Have a great idea? Run it by your friends and family to hear what they think.
Want a style makeover? This may be the day to do it - ask your closest friends what you think of your new style.
Want to start a new business? Go out and do your market research today.

Did You Know…

…that the world’s highest free-standing flagpole is located in Dushanbe, Tajikistan? Standing at 541 feet (165 meters), the flagpole is known as the Dushanbe Flagpole.

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Science Fiction Day

Science fiction fans around the world celebrate January 2 as Science Fiction Day. It celebrates science fiction writer Isaac Asimov's official birthday.

The day was widely celebrated for the first time in 2012 and is usually known as National Science Fiction Day in the United States.

Set in the Future

The holiday focuses on a genre of literature that explores the effect of imaginary change through technological innovations, scientific discoveries, natural events and disasters and evolution on people and their relationships. Usually, works of science fiction (sci-fi) are set in the near or distant future, and unlike fantasy, sci-fi tends to stay away from the supernatural and the magical.

Part of Popular Culture

Many scholars of the genre believe that the first piece of recorded fiction - the Epic of Gilgamesh - was also the first work of science fiction. Others believe that sci-fi became a legitimate genre of fiction during the late 16th and 17th century with the emergence of modern science. Today, science fiction is a well-read genre of literature and a huge part of popular culture also in movies and TV-series.

Father of Modern-Day Science Fiction

Isaac Asimov is considered to be one of the fathers of modern-day science fiction. A prolific writer, he is thought to have edited and written about 500 books and hundreds of short stories. Considered to be one of the most influential science fiction writers of all times, Asimov is credited with coining the word robotics and for introducing the Three Laws of Robotics. While he grew up in the United States, Asimov was born in Russia sometime between October and January 1920. He officially celebrated his birthday on January 2.

How to Celebrate?

Read your favorite science fiction authors, watch science fiction movies and hold science fiction themed parties.
Attend a short story and book reading that bookstores and libraries hold to showcase the works of classic and new science fiction authors.
Encourage young readers in your life to pick up a science fiction book or short story to read.

Did You Know…

…that Asimov had a fear of flying? According to some sources, he flew on an airplane only twice in his life. In addition to being aviophobic, he was a claustrophiliac - he loved to be in enclosed places.

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Six Dumb Questions Real Lawyers Asked In Court

“How many times have you committed suicide?”

“Were you alone or by yourself?”

“Was it you or your brother who was killed?”

“Without saying anything, tell the jury what you did next.”

“Was that the same nose you broke as a child?”

“Now, doctor, isn’t it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn’t know about it until the next morning?”

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If you’re interested in becoming a lawyer, you’ll need a degree. But as these court transcripts reveal, the question is, in what?

Attorney: "How was your first marriage terminated?"
Witness: "By death."
Attorney: "And by whose death was it terminated?"
Witness: "Guess."

Attorney: "Doctor, how many of your autopsies have you performed on dead people?"
Witness: "All of them. The live ones put up too much of a fight."

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Justice isn't just blind—it's snickering at these real courtroom give-and-takes:

Judge (to young witness): Do you know what would happen to you if you told a lie?
Witness: Yes. I would go to hell.
Judge: Is that all?
Witness: Isn't that enough?

Q: Isn't it a fact that you have been running around with another woman?
A: Yes, it is, but you can't prove it!

Q: Have you ever heard about taking the Fifth?
A: A fifth of wine?
Q: No, the Fifth Amendment.

Q: What did your sister die of?
A: You would have to ask her. I would be speculating if I told you.

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I was walking along a back road when two bunnies suddenly leapt into the air and landed one on top of the other. To my astonishment, I saw that one had pushed the other onto a stout groundhog.

In disgust, he lifted his nose with a grunt and a distinct  snarl, as if to say, “These rabbits nowadays! What do they teach their children?”

After the startled and likely embarrassed bunnies scuttled away, the groundhog stayed in the same position for a few moments before waddling off, still in a huff.