Conversation 24

NATIONAL TITANIC REMEMBRANCE DAY

On April 15th, National Titanic Remembrance Day remembers the lives lost when the Titanic sank into the North Atlantic’s icy waters in 1912. We remember the more than 1,500 people who died that day.

Known as the “the unsinkable ship,” the Titanic hit an iceberg at 11:40 pm on April 14, 1912, on her maiden voyage from England to New York City. Later, in the icy waters of the Atlantic Ocean, on April 15, the Titanic sank. Those who perished did so mainly due to an insufficient number of lifeboats onboard the ship.

Since that time, journalists, engineers, ocean explorers, historians, survivors, and descendants of those lost have been trying to piece together the events leading up to that night. Countless hours of documentation, salvage expeditions, and interviews all record the perspectives of those involved. Every angle and myth has been considered from the investors to the designers, the builders, and the sailers, right down to the communications and those left behind. And to this day, it still is a heartbreaking and mesmerizing story no matter where you begin.

NATIONAL GLAZED SPIRAL HAM DAY

National Glazed Spiral Ham Day on April 15th each year celebrates an innovative and delicious food. This gourmet-looking dish often found at a holiday feast, originated in the basement of Harry J.Hoenselaar.

PURPLE UP! DAY

During the Month of the Military Child, Purple Up! Day on April 15th recognizes some of the military’s most unsung heroes – their children. The day encourages everyone to wear purple representing all branches of the military and showing unity with each other.

NATIONAL LAUNDRY DAY

Benjamin Franklin may have overlooked one certainty in life: laundry. National Laundry Day on April 15th creates an opportunity to assess our laundry habits and teach our children to develop good ones.

Humans have been doing laundry in numerous ways for as long as it has existed. One of the earliest ways was beating the dust and dirt out of our clothes and bedding with a stick or pounding the grime out against a rock in the river.

Early forms of soap were developed from a mixture of animal fat and ashes. Washboards and tubs replaced washing by a river. Scrubbing the fabric over the ribs of the washboard and soap helped release the grime and stains. Humans also washed their clothes in manually cranked tubs. These tubs eventually led to the first automatic washing machine. The first U.S. patent for an electric washing machine was granted to Alva J. Fisher in 1910.

Dry cleaning is another process we’ve used to clean our clothes. These days, so many clothes are wash-and-wear, dry cleaning has moved lower and lower on the household budget.

When we do laundry has also changed, too. Before commercial washing machines and dryers, clothes were hung on a line to dry. Though many people still line dry their wash, few people have clotheslines. Also, the poorer a person was, the more frequently they washed their clothes and linens. Once a week was fairly average and wash day was traditionally on a Monday as noted in several books and nursery rhymes. For example, this is a nursery rhyme from before the Victorian era shows weekly laundry washed on a Monday:

April 15th of each year is National Tax Day. In the United States, the term “tax day” refers to the day on which individual income tax returns are due to the federal government. The day may also refer to April 15th for state tax returns.

The Federal income tax filing deadline is midnight on April 15th of every year, with extensions occurring when the 15th lands on a Saturday, Sunday, or a holiday. In those circumstances, the returns are due the first succeeding day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, or a holiday.

These dates can differ depending on the residence as well. Some years, due to extenuating circumstances such as natural disasters, more significant extensions have been granted by the Federal Government.