Tattooing is the art of inserting pigment under the dermis layer of the skin to create a decorative, symbolic, or pictorial design, and on National Tattoo Day, July 17, we set time aside to learn more about the tattooing process and its societal importance and history. If you don’t have a tattoo, you’re likely to know someone who does, and if you’ve asked them how they knew at the time when they were getting inked whether they would still want that design on their skin years or decades later, you may have just gotten a peculiar look instead of an explanation. There is certainly a fraternal connection between people who bear tattoos, a connection that those without ink can never really understand. We asked one correspondent to try to address this phenomenon, and he said, “Tattoos began as a ceremony, and they’re still kind of like that. Once you’re under an artist’s needle, it’s a little like a religious experience. It’s like the ‘Aha moment’ people talk about having in business life. It illuminates something you didn’t see before.”
National Chocolate with Almonds Day
We look forward to National Chocolate with Almonds Day when it pops up on our calendar every July 8 and we celebrate one of the world’s most popular confections. We confess, this national day is not just another day we circle on our calendar. We also add this one to our to-do list for today so we don’t miss out. We know we really don’t need a special day on the calendar to indulge in one of our favorite guilty pleasures. But doesn’t having a day on the calendar to celebrate such a heavenly confection help negate the guilty part of a guilty pleasure? We think so. Today, we are indulging unashamedly because chocolate and almonds are incredibly satisfying. This makes us wonder if the reason we crave chocolate with almonds and find the combination so satisfying is because our bodies know what is good for us. Chocolate and almonds both are separately documented to have heart health benefits. Which makes this day even sweeter. Chocolate and almonds naturally complement each other’s flavors and have been paired together by confectioners for close to two centuries. Adding to the taste pleasure is solid research confirming that eating chocolate with almonds appears to have a positive impact on heart health. If only we could say that about other guilty pleasure pairings, like potato chips and dip, or pretzels and beer.
Library Lovers’ Day
Today is a day that celebrates love, yes, but it’s also Library Lover’s Day on February 14, dedicated to book lovers across the globe. The day honors libraries and the amazing life-changing books they hold within them. Before you ask why libraries need to be celebrated, digest this fact — there was a time when libraries didn’t exist! The word ‘library’ is actually a Latin word that literally means ‘a place that stores books.’ Therefore, libraries were simply places appointed by the state to ‘stock’ books and important manuscripts for the longest time.