What You Think Upon Grows Day
In an earthy twist of the sentiments behind "The Secret." It's sort of like "Field of Dreams" applied to positive thinking. If you think it, it will grow. Whether you buy into that philosophy or not, know that the holiday has a real world connection. A proponent of the "positive thinking/positive confession philosophy," Norman Vincent Peale, was born on May 31, 1898. Peale wrote "The Power of Positive Thinking" In 1945 Peale and his wife published the religious magazine, "Guideposts," which is still in circulation.
Macaroon Day
The term macaroon is applied to a variety of different types of cookies with different origins. The French cookie made with egg whites, sugar and almonds is the "macaroon." The earliest American cookbooks contained recipes for similar cookies according to Food Timeline. The Italian version dates back earlier than both the French and American recipes, to 1792.
Carmelite nuns made the cookies to pay for their housing when they needed asylum during the French Revolution. They believed, "Almonds are good for girls who do not eat meat. ... They became known as the 'Macaroon Sisters,'" according to What's Cooking America.
Macaroon is also used to describe the coconut macaroon, the cookie celebrated on May 31. The coconut macaroon is a rich combination of almond paste, shredded coconut, condensed milk and egg whites. The cookie can be dipped in chocolate or drizzled with melted chocolate for a touch of elegance.
World No Tobacco Day
Step away from the tobacco and nobody will get hurt. The World Health Organization observes World No Tobacco Day annually. The theme for 2012 is "tobacco industry interference" and focuses on exposing "the tobacco industry's brazen and increasingly aggressive attempts to undermine the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control because of the serious danger they pose to public health," according to the WHO.
Chew on these numbers from WHO:
1: Tobacco use is number one leading cause of preventable death.
6 million people each year: Number of people who die from tobacco.
12: Hours after quitting the carbon monoxide level in blood drops to normal
'Seinfeld' and 'Survivor' Debut: Anniversary
It would be difficult to ignore two entertainment powerhouses that made their debut on May 31. "Seinfeld" was a show "about nothing" that was still believable, relatable and funny because in essence, it was about everything. If you rewatch episodes of the show, which ran from May 31, 1990, to May 14, 1998, you will still laugh. The genius of the show remains.
Another big show hit the airwaves on May 31, two years after we said goodbye to "Seinfeld." "Survivor" was marketed as the "Real World" on an island where the cast eats rats. There was no way you could skip watching this show which took unscripted TV to a whole new level, by adding the competitive element. "Survivor" has been on the air for 22 years with Jeff Probst at the helm. The locations and the game has changed but the prize has not. The winner has always received $1 million. Time for a raise?
