February 10, 2023 - National Grapefruit Month | National Umbrella Day

Welcome to February 10th, 2023 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate shaddocks and bumbershoots. Have you ever eaten a shaddock fruit? Or had shaddock juice with breakfast? If you have no idea what we’re talking about, grapefruits used to be known as shaddock fruits. Hundreds of years ago, the British sea captain Philip Shaddock is said to have planted the first grapefruit seeds in Barbados. Actually, they were pomelo seeds, which is a fruit very similar to the grapefruit. The citrus fruit we know today came from a hybrid of the pomelo and a native orange tree. February is National Grapefruit Month, and you can celebrate with a nice cold glass of healthy shaddock, uh…grapefruit…juice. The umbrella is something that people don’t typically think about until they need one. Then it’s suddenly the most important thing in the world. And in 19th Century British fashion, it was. Everyone had one! The way to stand out in the crowd was by customizing the handle. Some were made of ivory or gold. Others had flashlights, watches, or compartments for tobacco and cigars. And, of course, the occasional sword. This made the umbrellas very coveted items, so some came equipped with locks or alarms. And that makes sense given that they were a veritable Swiss Army knife in their day. Today we celebrate National Umbrella Day by being prepared with a tool that is still best at keeping us dry I’m Anna Devere and I’m Marlo Anderson. Thanks for joining us as we Celebrate Every Day! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices