AKA Cesar Chavez Birthday

Here are a few trivia questions about agriculture that you may or may not know. These questions are to raise awareness of National Farmworkers Day in honor of the Father of the NFWA.  One of the things the NFWA does is education; they educate the public to raise awareness of what farmworkers deal with on a daily basis.  So here goes:

1. Which fruit bearing trees are evergreens?

2. Of all the vegetables, only two can live to produce on their own for several growing seasons. All other vegetables must be replanted each year. What are the only two perennial vegetables?

3. Which fruit was called the Love Apple during the 18th Century in France – the tomato

4. What fruit has its seeds on the outside?

5.  Which vegetable was refined by an Italian Horticulturist with a connection to James Bond

6. In many liquor stores, you can buy pear brandy, with a real pear inside the bottle. The pear is whole and ripe, and the bottle is genuine; it hasn’t been cut in any way. How did the pear get inside the bottle?

7.What did the Egyptians believe that Osiris, the god of Agriculture taught humans how to make?

8. What is the only vegetable or fruit that is never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form except fresh?

9. How much of the world’s grain, milk and eggs are produced in the U.S?

Did you know?

While the total number of farms has been declining for many years, the number owned and operated by women is increasing.

With modern methods, one acre of land in the U.S. (about the size of a football field) can produce:

. 42,000 lbs. of strawberries

. or 11,000 heads of lettuce

. or 25,400 lbs. of potatoes

. or 8,900 lbs. of sweet corn

. or 640 lbs. of cotton lint

Resources:

What’s in season?

National Agricultural Library

American Agri-Women

So, what are you doing to raise awareness about your Industry?

Trivia answers:

1. citrus

2. asparagus and rhubarb

3. tomato

4. strawberry

5. broccoli

6. The pear grew inside the bottle. (The bottles are placed over pear buds when they are small and are wired in place on the tree. The bottle is left in place for the entire growing season. When the pears are ripe, they are snipped off at the stems.) 5. fresh lettuce

7. beer

8. lettuce

9. 20%

Well that didn’t stop the Jamaican Bobsled Team from entering their first Winter Olympics back in 1988 and is didn’t stop Danny Melville, founder of the Jamaican Dogsled Team from organizing a Dogsled Team to represent and bring publicity to Jamaica.

According to their website: “Danny was in Edmonton, Canada shopping for dune buggies he needed for his Jamaican adventure tour business when he tripped over this ‘metal frame with wheels’ in the corner of a fabrication shop. He was told it was a dog sled with wheels so it could be used in the summer when there was no snow.”

“In 2010, JDT musher Newton Marshall made international headlines when he became the first Caribbean musher ever to finish the famous Iditarod. (He bagan the race on Saturday, March 6th, 2010). This was after also completing the world’s toughest sled dog race, the Yukon Quest, in 2009. Meanwhile, the team’s sprint musher, Damion Robb, won a race in Ontario and had two second and two third place finishes in his other four races this year” For more information visit their official Website.

About Dogsledding:
Sled dog racing is one of North America ‘s oldest winter sports tracing back to the Eskimos and Northern Indians.  They depend on teams of sled dogs for faithful companionship, assistance in hunting and as a sole means of transportation during the long winter months.

In 1908, the first formal racing event the “All Alaskan Sweepstakes” was run from Nome to Candle and back, a distance of 408 miles, with a winning time of 119 hours, 15 minutes, 12 second.

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is an annual sled dog team race across Alaska, U.S. Mushers and teams of typically 16 dogs cover 1,161 miles (1,868 km) in nine to fifteen days from Willow (near Anchorage) to Nome. The race begins on the first Saturday in March. (source: Wikipedia)

Jimmy Bufffet’s Margaritaville is the official sponsor of the Jamaican Dogsled Team.

CRAYON AS ART:
Herb Williams  is one of a handful of recognized artists that use crayons in their work. But he does it on a large scale (using hundreds of thousands of crayons in his original sculptures – similar to the one shown). In fact for his work which has appeared in as America, China, England, Canada, Belgium, Germany, Australia, Croatia, and Japan, Williams has received National and International recocgnition including The Joan Mitchell Foundation Museum Purchase Grant in 2004 and the Next Star Artist Award in 2008.  You can visit The Design Inspiration website to see more of Herb Williams Crayon Sculptures.

CRAYONS IN THE NEWS:
Crayons project gets high marks ~ In 2006, The National Honor Society/National Junior Honor Society recognized The Miramar High School’s chapter (in Florida) with an Outstanding Service Project award for its Crayons for Kids project. Students created Crayons for Kids as a way to give children from low-income families the items needed to begin school. “They spent 25 weeks collecting material,” said David Cordts, associate director for the national group. “They collected boxes of crayons, pencils, composition books and colored folders.” These items were then distributed to first-grade students from lower-income families, he continued. (Source: Sun-Sentinel)

So how could your company use crayons to promote your brand? Become an artist? Create an event such as an art contest?

If you’ve ever eaten out with your kids you know that many restaurants give crayons away to children accompanied by parents – not only a great way to keep the little tykes busy, it could be a good branding opportunity for a restaurant who purchased custom imprinted boxes the kids took home. Now there’s an idea!

Crayon Facts and Trivia:

Did you know that Americans buy 2.5 billion crayons a year? And that if you laid them all end to end — the crayons, not the buyers — they would encircle the Earth more than 4 1/2 times

The hundred billionth crayon made by Crayola was Periwinkle Blue.

Crayola crayons come in 120 colors including 23 reds, 20 greens, 19 blues, 16 purples, 14 oranges, 11 browns, 8 yellows, 2 grays, 2 coppers, 2 blacks, 1 white, 1 gold and 1 silver.

The first box of Crayola crayons was sold in 1903 for a nickel and included the same colors available in the eight-count box today: red, blue, yellow, green, violet, orange, black and brown.

Kids, ages 2-8, spend an average of 28 minutes each day coloring. Combined, children in the U.S. spend 6.3 billion hours coloring each year.

Douglas Mehrens uses more crayons annually than anyone else in the world. The Phoenix-based artist goes through about 24,000 a year, many of them melted, to complete his works.

Binney & Smith, maker of Crayola products, produces nearly 3 billion crayons each year, an average of twelve million daily. That’s enough to circle the globe 6 times. It would take about 400 million crayons to go around the world.

(Source: http://www.crayola.com/)

To learn how Crayolas are made, visit the Crayola Factory

Other Events of Note on March 31st:

Happy Eiffel Tower Day! The Eiffel Tower opened on March 31 in 1889.

Cesar Chavez Day! Today is the birthday of Cesar Chavez (deceased), the famous Mexican-American farm worker, labor leader and civil rights activist.

Today is also Dance Marathon Day. The first dance marathon in the United States was held in New York City in 1923. Wearing out six different partners, Alma Cummings danced non-stop for 27 hours, breaking the previous record set in Britain.

Be sure to check out   Quirky Marketing Calendar ~ How to Use Zany and Non-traditional Holidays to Promote Your Business 365 Days a Year for More great marketing ideas.

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On March 29, 1959 in the movie Some Like it Hot, featuring Marilyn Monroe and Jack Lemmon premiered.

How can you capitalize on Some like it Hot Day?  Instead of a regular phone line, why not install a “hotline” maybe a second phone number and tell your best customers that the “hotline” is there direct connection to YOU. Or give them your personal cell phone and tell them that is their hotline to you.

You could also sponsor a Hotline for a non-profit organization and let the non-profit espouse your company’s virtues.

Joe Polish president of Piranha Marketing and creator of the Genius Network interviews well-known entrepreneurs and celebrities about their business success. He offers these interviews to his members when they join the Genius Network . As an added bonus he also gives members a “Hot Tip Sheet™, which highlights all of the major points of the conversation. It is like the footnotes for a book.”

If you are really adventurous and you know your customers would appreciate something different, you could send a bottle of hot sauce sporting your company’s customized label and the slogan: “We’re hot for your business” or “To XYZ Company, you are hot stuff!”

Create a “hot tips” for your company or organization and give the tips away on your website or in print.  You could use the online version as a lead generator.

Do you have a “hot tip” you’d like to share? Feel free to leave a comment with your tip or a link to an article with your tip(s).

Be sure to check out   Quirky Marketing Calendar ~ How to Use Zany and Non-traditional Holidays to Promote Your Business 365 Days a Year for More great marketing ideas.

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Creating your own holiday can an excellent way to get recognition, locally, nationally and even internationally! Over the years My staff and I (EdenFlorist.com) have made up a few holidaysof our own. In addition to Virtual Woman’s Days™ (3rd Week in March) we have created Get out of the Doghouse Day™ which is celebrated the 3rd Monday of July; International Women’s eCommerce Days,™ which is celebrated on the 3rd Week in September; and International Romance on a Budget Day™ which is celebrated on February 28th.

But our all time favorite and most successful holiday in terms of getting media and cutomer attention is Get out of the Doghouse Day™ . We advertise the holiday as the time for those who find themselves in the doghouse to find ways to make amends and minimize their stay with “old scruffy.”  International Women’s eCommerce Day™ is a day celebrating women doing business on the WEB. To read more visit: http://www.wecai.org/womensday.htm.  To read more about Romance on a Budget Day™ check out the Romance Calendar at: http://www.edenflorist.com/romancecalendar.asp

Want to get recognition for your “special holiday?” Check out Chases Calendar of Events and follow their instructions for submitting new holidays.

Other notable events on this date:

On this day in 1984 Part of Central Park was named Strawberry Fields in honor of the late John Lennon. In 1983 the only known typo on Time Magazine Cover was discovered.  It was the word Contol (should have been control). Time recalled all magazines!  In 1917 Loretta Walsh became the 1st female U.S. Naval Petty Officer and in 1868 the 1st U.S. professional women’s club called Sorosis was formed in New York City.

Be sure to check out   Quirky Marketing Calendar ~ How to Use Zany and Non-traditional Holidays to Promote Your Business 365 Days a Year for More great marketing ideas.

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Which reminds me, if you really want accurate results from surveys you host, I recommend a split test with your list and with an outside list. This way you can compare responses to see if the participants agree. Zoomerang, Survey Monkey and Question Pro are all great tools to create your surveys.

More Quirky Marketing Days: Today is also…
As Young As You Feel Day
International Day of Radiant Peace
World Day for Water

And on this date in 1933 US President Theodore Roosevelt signed the bill which legalized the sale of 3.2 percent beer and wine. Now that’s a quirky marketing idea!

 Common Courtesy

Today also begins Passion WEEK.

And in Greece they celebrate Dumb Week???

It’s also Memory Week and…

International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Also on this day in history Prince Charles of England Marries Princess Diana

Spring (Mar 20-June 21) is the season of flowers, spring fever, outdoor celebrations and more. Spring is usually when flowers bloom, animals are hatched or mating begins.  The first day of spring is also known as the vernal equinox (Equinox means “equal night”) – the time of year that symbolizes the change to spring. With the center of the sun positioned right over the equator, the day and night are about equal in length around the world. (Equinox means “equal night”.) From now until September, there will be longer and warmer days in the Northern Hemisphere. Here’s Some Spring Trivia:
The ancient Greeks celebrated Mother’s Day in spring. The ancient Greeks celebrated Rhea, “Mother of the Gods,” with honey-cakes, beverages, and flowers at dawn–the earliest known Mother’s Day celebration

Four-leaf clovers are thought to bring good luck, but there’s no scientific evidence to support that claim.  Cut out some green four leaf clovers (or buy them at a specialty store such as Michaels crafts) and put “lucky sayings” on them. Include them in your business correspondence and statements.

The area along the California-Oregon Border, is known as the “Easter Lily Capital of the World” because it produces 95 percent of all bulbs grown in the world for the potted Easter lily market. They produce more than 11 million bulbs annually.  Send your best customers an Easter Lily or other spring flowering plant.

Did you know “Spring Fever” is a real physical condition which commonly occurs when a sudden warm spell follows a long cold period. When the temperature rises, the body has to get rid of heat; thus there’s a dilation or expansion of the blood vessels so that blood can be carried to the body surface where heat can be lost quickly. Some people experience an energetic feeling when this change happens due to the body’s reaction to the great amount of internal work going on.
Big companies recognize the benefits of marketing SPRING to their target audience with spring sales, spring promotions, longer hours and more. What could your business do to acknowledge the first day of Spring?  How about a Spring Fever sale?  Or a Company picnic inviting your customers to attend.

Or maybe create a spring cleaning tie-in with a local charity or school? Sponsor a car wash and get out there and work side-by-side with a local youth group, sports team or other non-profit organization. If you have not yet listed your business in Merchant Circle, Spring is the perfect time to do so. http://www.merchantcircle.com/corporate/sponsoredListing.html.  While you’re at it find out what’s happening in the world of Business when you check out Business Week online. http://www.businessweek.com/

Today is also:
 
Great American Meatout Day

Kiss Your Fiancé Day

National Agriculture Day

National Jump Out! Day

National Quilting Day

Proposal Day

Save the Florida Panther Day

Won’t You Be My Neighbor Day

On this day in history:

1922 ~  Hubort Work, The US Postmaster General ordered all homes to get mailboxes or relinquish delivery of mail.

1935 ~ The American radio show “Your Hit Parade” makes its debut on the airwaves becoming the starting point for  many of the most successful singers and artists in the music industry.

1999 ~ Bertrand Piccard of Switzerland and Brian Jones of Britain complete non-stop balloon circumnavigation around the world (19 days, 21 hours and 47 minutes). They travelled travelling 45,755 kilometers landing in Egypt on March 20th, 1999.

Time to serve up some Irish Coffee

Here’s the recipe: In a large mug or goblet, pour in one jigger of Irish whiskey. Add one spoonful (to taste) of sugar and fill the cup with strong black coffee (leave one inch of the brim to add sweetened whip cream). Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Drink through the cream. Yummy!  Buy some scratch-off lottery tickets (void where prohibited) and include with monthly statement that say’s “In honor of Saint Patrick’s Day, try your luck with the enclosed ticket.  May you win big!“ We have done this with our customers and have had great response. We love it when someone calls to tell us she or he is a WINNER!

And if you like Limericks check these out (I wrote and posted them on my social networks):

Here’s one from RYZE Her Mastermind Network
There once was a girl named Rosie
She really liked all kinds of posies
She could sit for hours
Just picking flowers
And walk in the beds on her tip tosies

From Facebook

This lass loves to network on Facebook
A little time was really all it took
To share good times with friends
She never wants it to end
But its time to put on her apron and Cook!

and one I wrote today for family and friends …

It’s time for Saint Patty’s Day Cheer
Eating Corned Beef and Drinking Green Beer
Are you ready for a little fun?
If so, grab a shot of Jameson
Cause it’s sure to be 5 o’clock somewhere!

Have a fun day.. . and remember if you kiss a leprechaun he will follow you home, so beware!

The Nestle Co. got into the act and started the “It’s not for girls” campaign, running spots of woman disguised as men in desperate attempts to buy a Yorkie. Of course the wily male candy clerk would trip them up, resulting in no sale. The Yorkie spots would end with a swarthy construction worker type manhandling a Yorkie bar. Sort of a Brit version of Toffeefay’s old “Toffeefay, it’s too good for kids” campaign.

What is your competition doing that you could “piggy back” on by giving the promotion a different twist?

Today is also:

Ides of March
True Confessions Day
Peeps Day
World Consumer Rights Day