Toothache Day
A toothache is no reason to celebrate. If you have a toothache and are waiting for your dental appointment, you might want to pray (if you're so inclined) to the Apollonia, the "patroness of all those employed in alleviating dental pain" (Georgetown University). She was a martyr who was seized during a local uprising against Christians in Alexandria. She was beaten and her attackers broke all her teeth, according to The Original Catholic Encyclopedia. "The Roman Church celebrates her memory on Feb. 9, and she is popularly invoked against the toothache because of the torments she had to endure."
Bagels and Lox Day
If you don't have a toothache, chew on this: One piece of food lore theory claims bagels have a hole because it saves on ingredients, making it an economical food for poor people, according to "The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink." In New York at the turn of the 20th century, that same hole enabled bakers to stack bagels on long sticks, making them easier to deliver to customers. The hole is not the only feature that makes the bagel distinct.
A true bagel is boiled, then baked. Boiling the bagel creates that sheen associated with the round bread, not often seen on other baked goods. The bagel resembles anise-flavored bread from France that was also boiled. Bagels and toppings such as butter and smoked salmon gained popularity in the 1950s in the U.S., in part thanks to the Broadway comedy, "Bagels and Yox" and a recipe in "Family Circle" magazine, according to "The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink."
Enjoy bagels with or without lox to celebrate the holiday:
* Bread machine bagel recipe
* Vegan bagels
* Bagel, lox and egg strata
War Time: 70th Anniversary
People might complain about springing forward and falling back to accommodate daylight saving. It's better than changing the clocks to war time, though. On Feb. 9, 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt signed a "daylight saving" bill as a way to save electricity. It was World War II and the "War Time bill instituted year-round daylight saving time," according to IDEA.
Read in the Bathtub Day
Read in the Bathtub Day will soon join the dusty vault of outdated holidays. Novel readers enjoy their e-readers too much to bring them into the tub. You could celebrate by reading a magazine in the tub. Magazines are cheap and disposable when wet.
Tips for reading in the tub:
* Be careful getting in and out, as the highest rate (65.8 per 100,000) for nonfatal injuries in the bathroom involved the bathtub according to that occurred in or around the tub or shower according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
* Don't read by candlelight in the tub; you could set your magazine ablaze.
* Set up an audio recording on speakers away from the tub instead.
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