June 2, 2012 - National Bubba Day


Well, I found out that today there are two very strange “holidays.” The first one celebrates anyone named, nicknamed, or called Bubba.






Former President
Bill Clinton
was called Bubba.
There was a character in the movie Forest Gump called “Bubba,” but I didn't realize that bubba comes from the word brother and is a common nickname for the first boy of a family. Actually, in some places, being called “Bubba” actually tells other people that you are the oldest son.

On the other hand, you might be called Bubbe, Bubby, or Bube—and that means that you're a grandmother, not a brother. This word is Yiddish (a High German language of Ashkenazi Jewish origin). Strictly speaking, bubbe means grandma, but it can also be used as a warm title for any elderly woman.

So I think we should celebrate Bubbas and Bubbes today!


Yell “Fudge” at Cobras Day

Our second weird “holiday” is super silly. Everyone who lives in North America—that is, north of the Panama Canal, in America—is urged to go outside at noon local time and yell “Fudge!”

Why? you may ask.

Well, supposedly fudge makes cobras gag, and even hearing the word makes them take off. So all the cobras thinking about sneaking across the canal or across the ocean, into North America, hear our shouts and take off, going back to wherever they came from.

Uh....okay?

So I got to wondering...hmmm...are there cobras in South America?

No, apparently not. (Other than in zoos and such unnatural places, of course!)

Cobras live in Africa, southern Asian, and on some islands in Southeast Asia. There are no cobras native to North America, but there are none native to South America, either.

But you want to know what's scary? Some people have bought Burmese pythons as exotic pets and then let them go when they get tired of them (or when the snakes get too large to be comfortable pets). And some of those pet-python-releasers live in Florida. Unfortunately, the pythons are liking the Florida Everglades, and there are now breeding populations, which are an unwelcome and dangerous addition to the Florida wetlands. There are also rumors about king cobras being seen in the Everglades—again, because they were exotic pets that were released. If that's true, we need some brave Floridians to go shout “Fudge!” at the edges of the Everglades, please.

(Just joking! I'm sure cobras have no interest in or aversion to fudge!)


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