May 12, 2022 - National Limerick Day | National Odometer Day

Welcome to May 12, 2022 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate rowdy poems and technology that has stood the test of time. Anna: There once was a man from Nantucket… Marlo: WHOA! You can’t read that on the air. Anna: I’m just reading a limerick. Marlo: Okay, but we can’t actually read a limerick. They’re simple five-line poems with a set rhyme scheme, but they are usually…um…a little off-color. Anna: How about this one? There once was a man from Madras… Marlo: Stop! We don’t want to know how that one ends. On National Limerick Day everyone can google some for themselves if they want. And maybe write some clean versions. Anna: Oh, okay. There have been so many technological advancements in the past century that sometimes it’s hard to keep track. Inventions seem to come and go, especially in the digital age. But a few devices have stood the test of time. Like the odometer. This device was invented way back in 15 BCE by the Roman engineer Vitruvius. He rigged up a chariot wheel with a feature that would drop a pebble into an attached box after the wheel had turned 400 times—which was exactly a mile. At the end of a trip, the driver could determine the distance traveled by counting the number of pebbles that had dropped into the box. Keep track of how far you’ve come today on National Odometer Day. 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