March 11 in Pop Culture History

March 11 Fun Facts, Trivia and History

March 11 History Highlights

  • 1888 – The Great Blizzard of 1888 begins along the eastern seaboard of the United States.
  • 1918 – The ‘Spanish Flu’ pandemic struck the I+United States.
  • March 11, 2011 – Apple iPad 2 was released.
  • 2020 – The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 virus a pandemic.
  • If you were born on March 11th,
    You were likely conceived the week of… June 18th (prior year)

Johnny Appleseed

Johnny Appleseed was born as John Chapman on September 26th, 1774 in Leominster, Massachusetts. Little is known about his early life, but one thing that is known is that by 1812, he was working as a nurseryman and orchardist. The March 11 date is used because it falls during planting season.

The popular image is of Johnny Appleseed spreading apple seeds randomly everywhere he went. In reality, he planted nurseries rather than orchards, built fences around them to protect them from livestock, left the nurseries in the care of a neighbor who sold trees on shares, and returned every year or two to tend the nursery.

Funeral Director and Mortician Recognition Day

In 2008, Congress passed a resolution designating March 11th as National Funeral Director and Mortician Recognition Day. This was in recognition of the services funeral directors provide for families dealing with the death of a loved one. They handle all aspects of burial, from determining how to preserve the body to arranging transportation and funeral service details. Funeral homeowners often handle administrative tasks like marketing, budgeting, and staffing too! To become licensed as an embalmer or director by state law requires two years of post-secondary education followed by one year working under another professional before taking their licensing exam. Many states require continuing education credits every few years so that they are up-to-date on new techniques used in mortuary science today such as restorative art and grief counseling.

Funeral home directors have a lot of responsibility, but they also provide an invaluable service to the community. They help us through a difficult time, and we should take the time to recognize their important work! Thank you to all funeral directors and morticians for your dedication and hard work. We appreciate everything you do for us!

March 11 is…

Johnny Appleseed Day
National Funeral Director/ Mortician Recognition Day
Oatmeal-Nut Waffle Day

March 11 Birthday Quotes

“Today is a new day. A new opportunity to get better stronger faster smarter and closer to your goals and dreams. Take it.”
– Joel Madden

“There are good days and there are bad days, and this is one of them.”
– Lawrence Welk

“My future’s about trying to be a better man.”
– Terrence Howard

“Honestly, the world can be a dark enough place. Light it up.”
– John Barrowman

“Don’t let anyone make you feel like you’re not good enough, smart enough or cool enough. Do your own thing.”
– Benji Madden

March 11 Birthdays

1903 – Lawrence Welk, American accordion player and bandleader (died in 1992)
1898 – Dorothy Gish, American actress (died in 1968)
1926 – Ralph Abernathy, American minister and activist (died in 1990)
1931 – Rupert Murdoch, Australian-American businessman and media magnate
1936 – Antonin Scalia, American lawyer and jurist,(died in 2016)
1950 – Bobby McFerrin, American singer-songwriter, producer, and conductor
1950 – Jerry Zucker, American director, producer, and screenwriter
1952 – Douglas Adams, English author and playwright (died in 2001)
1955 – Nina Hagen, German singer
1963 – Alex Kingston, English actress, The Doctor’s wife
1965 – Jesse Jackson, Jr., American lawyer and politician
1967 – John Barrowman, Scottish-American actor and singer
1969 – Terrence Howard, American actor
1979 – Benji Madden, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1979 – Joel Madden, American singer-songwriter and producer
1993 – Jodie Comer, British actress

March 11 History

105 – Ts’ai Lun invented paper, in China.

1702 – The Daily Courant, England’s first national daily newspaper, was published for the first time

1818 – Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by 21-year-old Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was published. It is recognized as the world’s first science fiction novel.

1864 – The Great Sheffield Flood killed 238 people in Sheffield, England.

1888 – Great Blizzard of 1888, east coast, USA, killed more than 400 people.

1916 – USS Nevada (BB-36) was commissioned as the first US Navy ‘super-dreadnought’.

1918 – The influenza epidemic of 1918 began in Fort Riley, Kansas. 20 million people worldwide died from the disease.

1927 – Samuel Roxy Rothafel opened the Roxy Theatre in NYC.

1933 – 42nd Street was released in theaters.

1960 – Pioneer V was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

1967 – #1 Hit March 11, 1967 – March 17, 1967: The Supremes – Love Is Here and Now You’re Gone

March 11, 1974Free to Be… You and Me Special aired on ABC

1989COPS debuted on FOX. It was one of the earliest ‘reality TV” shows.

1997 – ‘Sir’ Paul McCartney was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his “services to music.”

2004 – Train Bombings in Madrid, Spain killed 191 people, and injured over 1,800.

2006 – #1 Hit March 11, 2006 – March 17, 2006: James Blunt – You’re Beautiful

2011 (Earthquake/Tsunami ) Coastal Honshu, Japan

Today’s Random Trivia and Shower Thoughts

PEZ was invented in 1927 by Austrian Edward Haas in the original flavor of peppermint.

“Find out what people want to do, then tell them to do it. They’ll think you’re a genius.” – Connie Brockway

Madonna – Real Name: Madonna Louise Ciccone

A stopped clock is more accurate than a working clock that runs fast or slow.

Around 8% of children and 2% of adults have some kind of food allergy.

“Elementary, my dear Watson.” – Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) #moviequotes #notthebooks

Godzilla officially holds Japanese citizenship.

Wyoming would be one of the best places to be in the event of a zombie apocalypse. Unless the zombie sickness was communicable by rabbits – then it would be one of the worst.

Victoria’s Secret comes from “Victoria” after Queen Victoria (to associate with the refinement of the era) and “Secret” (was what was hidden underneath the clothes).

Does Mr. Snuffleupagus call Big Bird just Bird because he isn’t all that big from Mr. Snuffleupagus’s perspective?

Trix cereal used to have different shapes for different flavors when I was a kid, now they’re just balls, or can I not see them because Trix are for kids?

The Capital of Ukraine is Kyiv.

Iceland does not have any mosquitos.

Whoever invented the letter W was an idiot, they created the only multi-syllable, multi-word, based-off-of-another-letter letter, and it’s barely ever used. #IknowhwatImtalkingabout

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