APRIL 6, 2014 – NATIONAL SORRY CHARLIE DAY – NATIONAL STUDENT-ATHLETE DAY – NATIONAL TEFLON DAY – NATIONAL CARAMEL POPCORN DAY

                  NATIONAL SORRY CHARLIE DAY

Do you remember Charlie the Tuna, the cartoon mascot and spokes-tuna for the StarKist brand?  In the advertisements, Charlie was depicted as a hipster wearing a Greek fisherman’s hat and coke-bottle glasses with a goal of being caught by the StarKist company.  He believed that his hip style and cultured way gave him “good taste” therefore he would make him the perfect tuna for StarKist however he was continually rejected. His rejection came in form of a note attached to a fish hook that said, “Sorry, Charlie.”   (StarKist wanted tuna that tasted good, not tuna with good taste, was their reason for his rejection).
Now about National Sorry Charlie Day, which is celebrated each year on April 6.  On this day, it is time for all of us to think about the times in our lives that we have been rejected.  It may have been from a boyfriend/girlfriend, from a college, from a job, from a loan application or etc., and then we can think about how we survived it, made it through it, grew from it and learned from it.
Charlie the Tuna was often rejected but would keep going on with a smile.  ”Sorry, Charlie” became closely associated with StarKist and was also a popular American catchphrase.  Rejection never stopped Charlie, do not let it stop you!
NATIONAL SORRY CHARLIE DAY HISTORY
Our research was unable to find the creator of National Sorry Charlie Day, an “unofficial” national holiday.
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NATIONAL STUDENT-ATHLETE DAY
April 6, 2014 celebrates the 27th year of National STUDENT-Athlete Day.
“National STUDENT-Athlete Day (NSAD), celebrated annually on April 6, provides an opportunity to recognize the outstanding accomplishments of student-athletes. National STUDENT-Athlete Day seeks to honor those student-athletes who have achieved excellence in academics and athletics, while making significant contributions to their communities. Organizations can celebrate NSAD by presenting student-athletes with award certificates, planning special ceremonies and presentations, connecting with young people in the community who support their athletics teams and more.”  (Wikipedia)
NATIONAL STUDENT-ATHLETE DAY HISTORY
National STUDENT-Athlete Day was created by The National Consortium for Academics and Sports (NCAS).  NCAS is an ever-growing organization of colleges and universities.  They have evolved in response to the need to “keep the student in the student-athlete.”  The NCAS was first established by Richard Lapchick in 1985 at the Center for the Study of Sports in Society at Northeastern University and was relocated to the University of Central Florida in 2001.
The mission of the NCAS is to “create a better society by focusing on educational attainment and using the power and appeal of sport to positively affect social change.”
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                           NATIONAL TEFLON DAY

National Teflon Day is celebrated each year on April 6th, honoring the accidental invention on April 6, 1938 by Dr. Roy Plunkett.
While working in his New Jersey lab that April day, Plunkett, along with his assistant, accidentally discovered polytetrafluoroethylene, which it today called, Teflon.   It is a slippery substance often used in non-stick skillets.

The Teflon trademark was registered in 1945.

In the United States, Kansas City, Missouri resident Marion A. Trozzolo, who had been using the substance on scientific utensils, marketed the first US-made Teflon coated frying pan, “The Happy Pan”, in 1961.

Dr. Plunkett was added to the Inventors’ Hall of Fame in 1985.

The word Teflon also became a pop culture word in the 1980′s as President Ronald Reagan was referred to as the Teflon president since none of the bad press would stick to him and he had the ability to avoid being tarnished by certain scandals.
Teflon can be found everywhere today, coating metals and fabrics, in the aerospace industry,  clothing and pharmaceuticals.

Teflon cookware remains as steadfast and reliable as ever.

NATIONAL TEFLON DAY HISTORY
Although we know the origin of today, we were unable to find the creator of National Teflon Day, an “unofficial” national holiday.
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                  NATIONAL CARAMEL POPCORN DAY

Each year on April 6, it is National Caramel Popcorn Day.  In January we celebrated National Popcorn Day, however, today we add  delicious caramel to the popcorn, which then becomes, to many people, an all time favorite American snack.  But yesterday, we all celebrated National Caramel Day, so then in essence, we might be in reverse, adding the popcorn to the caramel.
Caramel to popcorn or popcorn to caramel? 
Combining popcorn and caramel began back in the 1890′s with the strong molasses flavor of Cracker Jack, an early version of caramel popcorn, which was introduced at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893.
There are many commercial brands and forms of caramel corn that are available in grocery stores, cinemas and convenience stores.  There are also specialty brands available at specialty stores, gift catalogs and online.
Today would be a good day to make a homemade batch of caramel popcorn!
Try one of the following “tried and true” caramel popcorn recipe and enjoy!
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/caramel-popcorn/
http://candy.about.com/od/caramelrecipes/r/caramel_corn.htm
http://www.food.com/recipe/salted-caramel-popcorn-mud-cakes-507607