trivial presidents

If you do not have enough people avoiding you at parties or dinners these days, here is a bit of trivia that will have you emptying rooms in no time.


Sure, you were able to score intellectual game points by arguing that the 21st century did not begin until 2001 or that a person does not enter their seventh decade until their 61st birthday. You were correct -- and annoying enough that no one really cared.


That was kid's stuff compared to today's holiday.


Here's the question. Is the proper spelling of the national holiday: Presidents Day, Presidents' Day, or President's Day?


The answer? There is no such national holiday. The national holiday is still officially named Washington's Birthday.


The genesis of the current confusion in labeling is rooted in the American federal system. The federal government designated Washington's actual birthday (February 22) as a national holiday in 1885. The day was moved to the third Monday in February in 1971, as part of a move to maximize three day weekends. Because not all states celebrated Lincoln's birthday (due to the mid-eighteenth century unpleasantness), some Congressmen wanted to combine Washington's Birthday and Lincoln's Birthday in a holiday called Presidents' Day. The idea failed to gain traction.


But it did gain traction in several states. In those states, the name is spelled either Presidents' Day or Presidents Day -- with the added confusion of which presidents are being honored.


Of course, the most prominent use of the name is by businesses advertising one of the traditional sales periods -- where Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Jackson, and Grant can all be celebrated by the traditional act of handing their portraits to cashiers. The fact that Hamilton and Franklin get in on the act is simply fortuitous.


I once met a young Irish ship officer who claimed that he was successful in picking up young women because he was able to name each of the state capitals. I suspect he was successful despite the fact that he was branding himself as a geek.


For that reason, I offer my little bet question with the same caveat. Certain wells of knowledge are best not ladled to those you might meet again.


Some of us are beyond social salvation.