Showing posts with label Michael Jordan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michael Jordan. Show all posts

February 17 - Happy Birthday, Michael Jordan

      Posted on February 17, 2022


This is an update of my post published on February 17, 2011:




The greatest basketball player of all time (according to many) was born on this day in 1963.

Playing for the University of North Carolina and for the NBA's Chicago Bulls, he was nicknamed Air Jordan and His Airness because he could leap so high (he could even perform slam dunks from the free-throw line!). He helped the Bulls “three-peat”—winning three NBA Championships in a row.


Jordan earned five MVP awards, ten All-NBA First Team designations, nine All-Defensive First Team honors, fourteen NBA All-Star Game appearances, three All-Star Game MVP awards. He holds several basketball records, was voted the greatest North American athlete of the 20th Century by ESPN, and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Jordan has also been a successful product spokesperson, including for Nike Air Jordan sneakers, has appeared in a movie or two, and is the majority owner of the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats.

Did you know...?
  • As a sophomore in high school, Jordan tried out for the varsity basketball game but was considered too short. He was 5'11”. A friend of his, who was taller, did make varsity as a sophomore.
  • Jordan eventually wasn't “too short”—he ended up growing to a height of 6'6”!
  • Jordan retired from basketball mid-career and played minor-league and, briefly, professional baseball. A couple years later, Jordan made a short, sweet announcement with the press release, “I'm back.”


Learn basketball with some fun-and-vigorous drills.

Balancing the story...

It's hard to talk about how great Michael Jordan was at basketball without acknowledging that he was, by many accounts, a mean and bullying guy! That's such a bummer that his greatness didn't extend off the court. 

There are some basketball greats who are genuinely great guys in other ways, too. For example, Steph Curry uses his fame to do charitable things like providing nets to families in Africa, to combat malaria, and raising money for military personnel and their families. He is mentioned by many folks in the NBA - and by many fans - as one of the nicest guys in basketball.


Steph is currently only ranked 12th best of all time for his basketball prowess - but I'd rather be seen as a good guy who is a basketball great than as a mean person who is THE greatEST.

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May 29 – Put a Pillow on Your Fridge Day

Posted on May 29, 2014

Is this really a thing?

Several websites talk about this holiday as if putting a pillow onto your refrigerator one day a year is something that a lot of people do. I have definitely never seen or heard of such a thing, myself – I wonder how widespread the custom really is!

If you, like me, don't know about the whole pillow-on-the-fridge thing, you are probably wondering why anyone would do such a thing. It turns out, it's supposed to bring people good luck and prosperity.

An old-fashioned larder.
Somehow, back in the mists of time, a custom got started of putting a cloth in the larder every May 29 for good fortune. That was back when people actually had larders – small rooms (or large cupboards) in which food was stored. These larders were located in the shadiest, coolest part of the house—but of course near the kitchen, and they were kept as cool and dry as possible so that food would keep as long as possible.

Nowadays, some of us are lucky enough to have walk-in pantries or at least large food-storage cupboards, but of course we all have refrigerators as well. Many of the things people used to store in a larder – vegetables and cheeses, meats and leftovers – we now store in the fridge. So somehow the custom of putting a cloth INTO the larder evolved into putting a pillow ONTO the refrigerator.

Are your customs based on superstitions?

A superstition is a belief that there will be some supernatural effect of wearing, saying, or doing certain things in a certain way. For example, a student might wear a “lucky” sweatshirt on test day, or an athlete might eat chicken before every game. Apparently basketball great Michael Jordan wore his University of North Carolina practice shorts under his Chicago Bulls uniform every game! In order to cover the UNC shorts, Jordan started wearing longer NBA shorts—and he inspired a style trend; now everybody wears longer shorts.



Basketball shorts before and after Michael Jordan.
Thank goodness for Michael Jordan!

This is pretty gross:
When I was a little girl, EVERYBODY
(yes, even me) had a rabbit's foot lucky
charm. You could feel the little bones and
toenails. Now it seems pretty horrifying!
Obviously, there is no evidence that a cloth in one's larder or a pillow on one's refrigerator on a particular day in May makes any difference in one's life. This is just a superstition. But a lot of things that start off as superstitions—things that people believed really WOULD bring good luck or ward off bad luck—become fun customs that people continue to do long after superstitious belief in their power has faded. (For example, colored eggs were supposed to protect the owner's health or bring good luck—but these days, most of us who color Easter eggs do it just for fun!)


Also on this date:























Plan ahead:

Check out my Pinterest boards for:
And here are my Pinterest boards for:

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February 17, 2011



Happy Birthday, Michael Jordan

The greatest basketball player of all time (according to many) was born on this day in 1963.


Playing for the University of North Carolina and for the NBA's Chicago Bulls, he was nicknamed Air Jordan and His Airness because he could leap so high (he could even perform slam dunks from the free-throw line!). He helped the Bulls “three-peat”—winning three NBA Championships in a row.

Jordan earned five MVP awards, ten All-NBA First Team designations, nine All-Defensive First Team honors, fourteen NBA All-Star Game appearances, three All-Star Game MVP awards. He owns several basketball records, was voted the greatest North American athlete of the 20th Century by ESPN, and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Jordan has also been a successful product spokesperson, including for Nike Air Jordan sneakers, has appeared in a movie or two, and is the majority owner of the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats.

Did you know...?
  • As a sophomore in high school, Jordan tried out for the varsity basketball game but was considered too short. He was 5'11”. A friend of his, who was taller, did make varsity as a sophomore.
  • Jordan eventually wasn't “too short”—he ended up growing to a height of 6'6”!
  • Jordan retired from basketball mid-career and played minor-league and, briefly, professional baseball. A couple years later, Jordan made a short, sweet announcement with the press release, “I'm back.”

Learn basketball with some fun-and-vigorous drills. 
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