St. Patrick's Day: Common Misconceptions

03/17/17 • 4 min

Today is St. Patrick's Day.

Here are some things you should know.

While a four-leaf clover may be lucky, it’s not a shamrock. Shamrocks have three leaves and are more common than their quad-leaved brethren. It’s said that St. Patrick used the three leaves of the shamrock to help explain the Christian Holy Trinity to the pagan Irish. St. Patrick is often depicted as holding a cross in one hand and a bundle of shamrocks in the other.

St. Patrick didn’t drive the snakes out of Ireland, as told in legend. There have never been snakes there, but the idea of snakes were likely used as a metaphor for the druids.

St. Patrick’s Day is a public holiday in Ireland, Northern Ireland, Newfoundland and Labrador, and the island of Montserrat. Montserrat is known as the “Emerald Island of the Caribbean” because it was founded by Irish settlers.

Corned beef and cabbage, an American tradition on St. Patrick’s Day isn’t an Irish tradition. While cattle have been raised in Ireland for centuries, most of the cattle farms were owned by British landlords who sold their product in Britain. The more common meat in traditional Irish cooking was pork. It’s thought that corned beef became associated with Irish-Americans because it was readily available from fellow immigrants who were Jewish.

Here’s a tip: Just call the holiday St. Patrick’s Day. If you must shorten it, it’s St. Paddy’s Day with D’s, not T’s.

Our question: Why doesn’t the dye used to turn the Chicago River green up in Lake Michigan?

Today is Children’s Day in Bangladesh.

It’s unofficially National Preschool Teachers Appreciation Day, World Sleep Day, and Campfire Girls Day.

It’s the birthday of musician Nat King Cole, who was born in 1919; musician Billy Corgan, who is 50; and soccer player Mia Hamm, who is 45.

Because our topic doesn’t have a specific year associated with it, we’ll pick a year at random.

This week in 1964, the top song in the U.S. was “She Loves You” by The Beatles.

The No. 1 movie was “Kissing’ Cousins,” while the novel “The Spy Who Came in from the Cold” by John Le Carre topped the New York Times Bestsellers list.

Links

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Please rate the show on iTunes by clicking here.

Subscribe on iOS: http://apple.co/1H2paH9

Subscribe on Android: http://bit.ly/2bQnk3m

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick%27s_Day

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick%27s_Day_in_the_United_States

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_River

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corned_beef

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Sanitary_and_Ship_Canal

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montserrat

http://www.rte.ie/tv/scope/SCOPE4_show03_snakes.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_17

https://www.checkiday.com/3/17/2017

http://www.biography.com/people/groups/born-on-march-17

http://www.bobborst.com/popculture/numberonesongs/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_1964_box_office_number-one_films_in_the_United_States

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times_Fiction_Best_Sellers_of_1964

Today is St. Patrick's Day.

Here are some things you should know.

St. Patrick didn’t drive the snakes out of Ireland, as told in legend. There have never been snakes there, but the idea of snakes were likely used as a metaphor for the druids.

Here’s a tip: Just call the holiday St. Patrick’s Day. If you must shorten it, it’s St. Paddy’s Day with D’s, not T’s.

Our question: Why doesn’t the dye used to turn the Chicago River green up in Lake Michigan?

Today is Children’s Day in Bangladesh.

It’s unofficially National Preschool Teachers Appreciation Day, World Sleep Day, and Campfire Girls Day.

It’s the birthday of musician Nat King Cole, who was born in 1919; musician Billy Corgan, who is 50; and soccer player Mia Hamm, who is 45.

Because our topic doesn’t have a specific year associated with it, we’ll pick a year at random.

This week in 1964, the top song in the U.S. was “She Loves You” by The Beatles.

The No. 1 movie was “Kissing’ Cousins,” while the novel “The Spy Who Came in from the Cold” by John Le Carre topped the New York Times Bestsellers list.

Links

Also, if you’re enjoying the show, please consider supporting it through Patreon.com

Please rate the show on iTunes by clicking here.

Subscribe on iOS: http://apple.co/1H2paH9

Subscribe on Android: http://bit.ly/2bQnk3m

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick%27s_Day

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick%27s_Day_in_the_United_States

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_River

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corned_beef

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Sanitary_and_Ship_Canal

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montserrat

http://www.rte.ie/tv/scope/SCOPE4_show03_snakes.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_17

https://www.checkiday.com/3/17/2017

http://www.biography.com/people/groups/born-on-march-17

http://www.bobborst.com/popculture/numberonesongs/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_1964_box_office_number-one_films_in_the_United_States

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times_Fiction_Best_Sellers_of_1964

Previous Episode

March 16, 2017: An Abbreviated Thursday Show

Today is Day of the Book Smugglers in Lithuania, and Latvian Legion Day.

It’s unofficially National artichoke heart day, national orange and lemon day, freedom of information day, and black press day.

It’s the birthday of former US President James Madison, I was born in 1751; actor and comedian Jerry Lewis, who is 91; and actor Erik Estrada, who is 68.

Now, let's spin the wheel to pick a year at random.

This week in 1980, the top song in the U.S. was “Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)” by Pink Floyd.

The No. 1 movie was “Coal Miner's Daughter,” while the novel “Princess Daisy” by Judith Krantz topped the New York Times Bestsellers list.

Now for our weekly question: Pluto was originally the pet dog of which Disney character?

Submit your answer at triviapeople.com/test and we’ll add the name of the person with the first correct answer to our winner’s wall ... at triviapeople.com. We'll have the correct answer on tomorrow's episode.

Links

Also, if you’re enjoying the show, please consider supporting it through Patreon.com

Please rate the show on iTunes by clicking here.

Subscribe on iOS: http://apple.co/1H2paH9

Subscribe on Android: http://bit.ly/2bQnk3m

Next Episode

Iditarod: Racing Across Alaska

On this date in 1985, Libby Riddles became the first woman to win the Iditarod Trail sled dog race.

Here are some things you might not have known about the annual tradition.

The Iditarod is run in honor of the 1925 serum run, which was a sled dog relay to deliver a diphtheria antitoxin to the town of Nome during an outbreak. 20 mushers combined to haul 20 pounds of serum 674 miles in about five and a half days. A particularly treacherous leg of the route was run by Norwegian Leonhard Seppala and his lead dog Togo. The final leg was run by Norwegian Gunnar Kaasen and his lead dog Balto. Later that year a statue of Balto was placed in New York’s Central Park, where it remains a popular tourist attraction.

It took Dick Wilmarth 20 days, 49 minutes and 41 seconds to win the first modern Iditarod race in 1973. In 2017, the race was won by Mitch Seavey in a record 8 days, 3 hours, 40 minutes and 13 seconds. Seavey also broke his own record as the oldest person to win the race at 57 years old. His son Dallas Seavey was the youngest to win at age 25 in 2012. He’s since won the race three more times.

The winningest musher is Rick Swenson, who has five victories. Susan Butcher, Martin Buser, Jeff King, Doug Swingley, and Lance Mackey join Dallas Seavey in the four-time winners’ club.

Our question: What’s the name of the peninsula on which Nome is located?

Today is the first day of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere, International Day of Happiness, World Sparrow Day, and Independence Day in Tunisia

It’s unofficially French Language Day, International Astrology Day, and National Ravioli Day.

It’s the birthday of playwright Henrik Ibsen, who as born in 1828; comedian Carl Reiner, who is 95; and children’s TV pioneer Fred Rogers, who was born in 1928.

Because we’ve recently featured 1985, we’ll spin the wheel to pick a year at random.

This week in 1977, the top song in the U.S. was “Rich Girl” by Hall and Oates.

The No. 1 movie was “Airport ’77,” while the novel “Trinity” by Leon Uris topped the New York Times Bestsellers list.

Weekly question: How much per acre did the United States pay for Alaska in 1867?

Links

Also, if you’re enjoying the show, please consider supporting it through Patreon.com

Please rate the show on iTunes by clicking here.

Subscribe on iOS: http://apple.co/1H2paH9

Subscribe on Android: http://bit.ly/2bQnk3m

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iditarod_Trail_Sled_Dog_Race

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1925_serum_run_to_Nome