UNDATED – Today we celebrate one of the most iconic pop culture characters from the past 100 years with National Barbie Day.
In 1959, an 11-inch tall bombshell made her debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York. Designed by Ruth Handler, the co-founder of Mattel Inc., Barbie was created to allow girls to imagine what their lives could be like in the future. She’s had a slew of careers, from a registered nurse to an astronaut.
Barbie was a single lady for all of 2 years. But in 1961, overwhelming demand caused Handler to release a boyfriend for her — Ken.
Today is also National Meatball Day and what better way to celebrate than to eat a dish whose first recipe can be traced back over 2,000 years. Early recipes for meatballs are found in ancient Chinese, Arabic and Roman texts and every culture seems to have their own version. Beef, pork, and veal are most popular, but they can be made with chicken, fish or even vegan.
On Wednesday we celebrate National Mario Day The friendly mustached Mario character was initially released by Nintendo in 1985. Since then, Mario has appeared in around 200 different games. The Mario games have claimed the title of the best selling video game series in history, beating out popular competitors, like Pokemon.
On Wednesday we also get a heavy dose of nostalgia while celebrating National Landline Telephone Day. For those of you who remember the pain of expecting a call from your friend but missing it because another family member was hogging the line, this day is for you.
In 1876, another inventor, Elisha Grey, actually filed a patent for the telephone within hours of Alexander Graham Bell, but Bell’s patent was approved first.
March 10 remembers the heyday of the landline phone in all its glory and makes a strong case for its re-adoption.
Wednesday is also National Pack Your Lunch Day.
Remember the good ol’ days when your mom used to pack your lunch in a little brown bag or your favorite lunch pail? You would trade kids for the best snacks at lunchtime and eat three bites of your healthy food before throwing the rest away. Recapture the magic on Wednesday, March 10 with National Pack Your Lunch Day.
Whether your favorite flavor is minty Thin Mints or gooey Tagalongs, we can all agree that Girl Scout cookies make the world go round. Thursday is National Girl Scout Day.
Part of Girl Scout Week, National Girl Scout Day commemorates the anniversary of the first Girl Scout meeting. In 1912, Juliette “Daisy” Gordon Low organized the meeting in Savannah, Georgia.
On Saturday we honor hard-working dogs who have served our country on National K9 Veterans Day
K9 dogs have been around ever since 1942 when an organization called Dogs for Defense was founded to train dogs to be sentries for supply depots. The program was approved by the U.S. Army in March 1942. The U.S. Army K9 Corps was founded on March 13, 1942.
We finish the week on Sunday by eating potato chips and recognizing National Pi Day which celebrates the mathematical constant that most of us know as 3.14.
Information from National Today.
