Friday

Just some randomness because it is Friday... so the following are facts about Friday

In the majority of countries with a five-day work week, Friday is the last workday before the weekend and is, therefore, viewed as a cause for celebration or relief. In some offices, employees are allowed to wear less formal attire on Fridays, known as Casual Friday or Dress-Down Friday.

TGIF = Thank God It's Friday is closely followed by POETS = Push Off Early Tomorrow's Saturday.

The origin of the name Friday comes from two paths, one Frigg (from the Germanic Translation of Venus) the other fron Freyja hence the German name for Friday = Freitag or Freyja's Day.

In some cultures, Friday is considered unlucky, especially Friday the 13th. This is particularly so in maritime circles; perhaps the most enduring sailing superstition is that it is unlucky to begin a voyage on a Friday. In one myth a Royal Navy ship (HMS Friday) was laid down on a Friday, launched on a Friday, captained by a Captain Friday, and was never heard of again. Source : Wikipedia

The use of the Gregorian calendar and its leap year system results in a small statistical anomaly, that the 13th of any month is slightly more likely to fall on a Friday than any of the other seven days.[1] The figures are 688/4800 (43/300) which is .1433333..., being just slightly greater than 1 in 7.

After the United States acquired Alaska from Russia in 1867, Friday October 6 was immediately followed by Friday October 18, adjusting to the adoption of the 1582 Gregorian calendar changes by the British colonies in 1752, and the shifting of the International Date Line.

Fridays in History

• Black Friday (1869), the Fisk-Gould Scandal (24 Sep), a financial crisis in the United States
• Haymarket affair (11 November 1887), four Chicago anarchists executed in the pursuit of an 8-hour workday
• Black Friday (1910), a campaign outside the British House of Commons (18 Nov) of the Women's Social and Political Union the Conciliation Bill which failed
• Black Friday (1919), the Battle of George Square (31 Jan), a riot stemming from industrial unrest in Glasgow, Scotland
• Black Friday (1921), the announcement of British transport union leaders (15 Apr) not to call for strike action against wage reductions for miners
• Black Friday (1939), a day of devastating fires in Australia (13 Jan)
• Black Friday (1944), a disastrous attack by the Canadian Black Watch (13 Oct) near Woensdrecht during the Battle of the Scheldt
• Black Friday (1945), an air battle over Sunnfjord (9 Feb), the largest over Norway
• Hollywood Black Friday (5 October 1945), a riot at the Warner Bros. studios stemming from a Confederation of Studio Unions (CSU) strike leading to the eventual breakup of the CSU
• Black Friday (1969) May 13th Sino-Malay race riots in Kuala Lumpur
• Black Friday (1978), a massacre of protesters in Iran (8 Sep)
• Edmonton Tornado (July 31, 1987), a tornado touching down in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
• Black Friday (1982), the Argentinian invasion of the Falkland Islands, sparking the Falklands War
• Black Friday (Maldives) (2004), a crackdown in Maldives, Malé (13 Aug) on peaceful protesters

...And there have been a few others in recent times such as the stock market tumbles, governments crashing due to public opinions... but I didn't want to drag the tone down here.

Here it will be the bank holiday this weekend, and as ever the weather has changed to rain and cooler... sigh... never mind at least people don't go rusty :-) but gardening is likely to be curtailed in favour of dryer activities.