Dem
47
GOP
53
And now, our first set of answers and results:
1. December 5:
a. Sinterklaas (69.6%)
b. St. Swithin's Day (6%)
c. Lek Gifting Day (Albania) (13.4%)
d. Unification Day (Germany) (11.1%)
Comments: We had many readers write in to point out "errors" in our various multiple choice options. Part of the art of writing wrong answers (known, in technical terms, as "distractors") is including blatantly erroneous ones, so that test takers who are in the know can eliminate those choices. For the record, we knew full well that St. Swithin's Day is celebrated on July 15, while Germany's Unification Day is October 3. There is no such thing as Lek Gifting Day (though the Lek IS the official currency of Albania).
2. December 14:
a. Simchat Torah (0% of readers chose this answer)
b. Hanukkah (88.9%)
c. World Dreidel Championships (Final Round) (10.1%)
d. Rabbi Appreciation Day (1%)
Comments: Simchat Torah is typically in October, while Rabbi Appreciation Day is on June 13th (aka 6/13) because there are 613 mitzvot (commandments) in the Torah. There are no World Dreidel Championships, which seems like a missed opportunity.
3. December 15:
a. Founders' Day (Democratic Socialists of America) (19.4%)
b. Bill of Rights Day (70.5%)
c. Public Defenders' Appreciation Day (6.9%)
d. Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-VT) Birthday (3.2%)
Comments: Bernie was born on September 8, and it's actually National Public Defender Week, not Day (and it's in March anyhow). The DSA do not have a Founders' Day.
4. December 17:
a. Wright Brothers Day (66.7%)
b. International Aviation Week (23.6%)
c. North Carolina Heritage Day (5.6%)
d. Pilot Appreciation Day (4.2%)
Comments: Pilot Appreciation Day is April 26, there is no International Aviation Week (though there's a National one in August), and North Carolina Heritage Day does not exist officially, though there are unofficial celebrations with that name at various times across the state.
5. December 21:
a. Birthday of Anton LaVey (Founder of the Satanic Church) (10.6%)
b. Winter Solstice (72.2%)
c. Samhain (Druids) (16.2%)
d. International Heavy Metal Day (1%)
Comments: LaVey was born April 11, Samhain coincides with Halloween, and International Heavy Metal Day is not celebrated on December 21. Some prefer to commemorate it on December 12 (aka 12/12), while others have pushed to move it to November 11 (aka 11/11) in reference to Nigel Tufnel's amp in This Is Spinal Tap.
6. December 21, Also:
a. International Dalek Remembrance Day (81.9%)
b. Giving Tuesday (2.7%)
c. Ashura (4.6%)
d. Little Yule (9.7%)
Comments: We thought that a lot of readers would say "There's NO WAY there's an International Dalek Remembrance Day," but we were wrong. Giving Tuesday is the Tuesday after Thanksgiving (December 2 this year), Ashura was in June this year, and Little Yule (aka St. Lucy's Day) happens on December 13.
7. December 22:
a. Founders' Day (M.I.T.) (10.6%)
b. Nerd Appreciation Day (4.1%)
c. National Mathematics Day (U.S.) (80.6%)
d. Albert Einstein's Birthday (4.6%)
Comments: There is no Founders Day at MIT, and there's no Nerd Appreciation Day (though Geek Pride Day is celebrated on May 25, primarily because that is the day Star Wars opened in 1977, though it's also connected to Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy). Einstein was born on March 14.
8. December 25:
a. National Mental Health Awareness Week (Canada) (4.6%)
b. International Save the Reindeer Day (14.7%)
c. Christmas (78.3%)
d. Techno Day (2.4%)
Comments: Canada does not have a commemoration under that name, though it does have Mental Illness Awareness Week in October. Techno Day is celebrated on December 9, and there is no International Save the Reindeer Day. Note that we actually made up a lot of these answers (e.g., Techno Day), only to learn later that there are holidays for damn near everything.
9. December 26:
a. Kwanzaa (71.9%)
b. Umoja (Saudi Arabia and parts of Syria) (12.9%)
c. Klöpfleinsnächte (Knocking Nights) (8.8%)
d. Cat Appreciation Day (Egypt) (6.5%)
Comments: "Umoja" is Kiswahili for "unity." and is the first principle of Kwanzaa. It is not a holiday in Saudi Arabia, Syria or anywhere else. Knocking Nights take place on the three Thursdays before Christmas. And Egyptians do not celebrate Cat Appreciation Day. Maybe they did 5,000 years ago, but not today.
10. December 26, Also:
a. International Speech Impediment Awareness Day (6.9%)
b. Mike Tyson's Birthday (27.6%)
c. Procrastinators Day (0%)
d. Boxing Day (65.4%)
Comments: International Speech Impediment Awareness Day, more commonly known as International Stuttering Awareness Day, takes place on October 22. That's another one we didn't know about until after we posted this game. National Procrastination Week (not Day) is usually held in March, but is sometimes pushed back (really!). Mike Tyson was born on June 30.
11. December 28:
a. International Farmers Day (17.5%)
b. Eat Vegetarian Day (32.7%)
c. Veg Out After the Holidays Day (34.6%)
d. Ōmisoka (Japanese New Year) (15.2%)
Comments: Ōmisoka is actually Japanese New Year's Eve, and it takes place on the same day as New Year's Eve does in all other countries on the solar calendar. Shōgatsu is Japan's name for New Year's Day. Veg Out After the Holidays Day and International Farmers Day are completely made up.
12. December 30:
a. Surgeon Appreciation Day (3.7%)
b. Jurassic Park Week (the first film in the franchise was released on December 30, 1995) (4.6%)
c. Bacon Day (90.7%)
d. Roadkill Appreciation Day (1%)
Comments: There's no Surgeon Appreciation Day, though they're included in National Doctors' Day on March 30. There is no Jurassic Park Week, and even if there was, the original Jurassic Park was released on June 11, 1993 (at least, in the United States). Roadkill Appreciation Day is another one we THOUGHT we were making up, but it's actually celebrated on September 25. We do not want to know HOW it's celebrated.
There were 11 readers who got perfect scores. Here they are:
Tomorrow will be the answers to "Twelve Days of Christmas... Games, Part II: Christmas Movie Trivia," so if you want to play that one, click here now, because time's running out. (Z)