Ahhhhh. June 2018 has arrived at long last and it has a lot of exciting stuff to offer.
The World Cup in Russia. The start of the music festival season. Summer officially starting from the 21st onwards. Oh, and National Chocolate Pudding Day. I can’t contain myself.
For Gemini and Cancer babies, there’ll be reasons to celebrate as June hosts birthdays for both. If you’re interested in learning what it means to have a birthday in June, click here to read our in-depth article about the perks of being a June baby.
And for those not born at the start of the summer, there are still plenty of reasons that June is a month to remember.
Where does June come from?
June or ‘Junius’ in the past, was originally the fourth month of the year in the Roman, or Julian, calendar and consisted of 29 days.
This structure was changed in 1752 when the Gregorian calendar was chosen instead, which moved June to the 6th month. The Gregorian calendar just seemed to make a lot more sense in terms of leap years.
There’s theories June drew the short straw and was called “sere-month,” meaning depressingly, the ‘dry and withered’ month. The more favourable name ‘June’ crept in in the 17th century and replaced this gloomy name.
Ever wondered why June is such a popular month for weddings, apart from the good weather?
Well, some say that it was named after Juno, the Roman goddess of marriage. That’s got to be lucky if you’re tying the knot then, right?
What’s more interesting, In the early 20th century, June became such a popular name in the United states, it was the 39th most picked for a baby girl.
June calling…
The invention of the phone was one of the most groundbreaking discoveries of all time, one most of us can’t live without. These days we use them for communication, navigation, and buying utterly useless items from Amazon.
Most of us associate the invention with one name – Alexander Graham Bell. BUT. It looks like we’ve been slightly mislead.
Enter Antonio Meucci, without whom we wouldn’t have the household appliance we rely on to talk to our loved ones and not-so-loved ones (I’m talking about you, Clive from Orange).
Meucci invented a telephonic device in 1871. However, in his patent he didn’t include the electromagnetic transmission of vocal sound. So, in 1876 Bell cottoned onto this and took the patent as his own by mentioning what Meucci missed.
On June 11th 2002, to the roars of relieved Italian supporters, Meucci was finally recognised by the U.S. House of Representatives as aiding to create and invent the telephone after nearly 200 thankless years.
All of you Snapchat, Instagram and Whatsapp junkies – you can thank Meucci, too.
Upcoming Curious June Events
Ever the optimist, when I think of June I expect sun. Lots of sun. It seems like the inventors of some of the quirkier days this month also share this sentiment.
For example, June 5th is Hot Air Balloon Day. A day to celebrate the floating contraption that first successfully carried someone skyward in 1783. Flying in a hot air balloon is a bucket list item I haven’t ticked off yet – blame Ian McEwan’s Enduring Love.
June 6th is National Yo-Yo day, a day I’m sure Matt from our office is thrilled about, as he’s been trying to bring it back for years. The perfect day to blow the cobwebs off that box hidden under the bed, find the Yo-Yo and “Walk The Dog.”
There’s also National Apple Strudel Day on June 16th, National Sunglasses Day on June 27th and, a favourite of mine, National Martini Day on June 19th. If you’re looking for me then, I’ll be at the bar wearing a tuxedo.
So June’s bursting with life. Electronic devices, goddesses, and copious helpings of apple strudel.
Bring it on June!
