Black Friday and Such

The Weird Things We Buy Into

It's gonna be risky for me to write this one out without sounding like I'm advertising, but I really wanna tackle this notion of Black Friday. I mean, if someone introduced you to his event for the very first time, wouldn't you at least scratch your head?

On Thanksgiving, we eat more food than our digestive systems were designed for, excrete a big ol' pile of it, and then feel like hibernating the rest of the upcoming winter. 

Side subject: I think human beings were meant to hibernate. I mean, look at our rituals - We eat a bunch of food we've collected with friends (think nuts and squirrels) and devour it. Afterwards, we're really kind of bored, full, and cold, and a bit sleepy. 

But maybe that's just American tradition, and not worldwide. If humans were meant to hibernate  wouldn't nearly all of our cultures follow the same behaviors? 

United States, Canada, Grenada, Japan, Liberia, The Netherlands, Norfolk Island - a handful of countries that celebrate traditions such as Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Day, Labor Thanksgiving Day, and other harvest-based rituals. 

Yes, we were meant to collect, eat, and sleep all winter. I think. Now back to the matter of Black Friday.

Without deciding whether we should be sleeping, think about the concept of spending a lot of money on food you're giving to others for free and then spending a ton more cash the very next day. 

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As a matter of fact, across the nation Best Buy camp-outs have already begun. 

Let's absorb this. We spend a lot of money on food we give away, eat too much and feel sleepy, stand in the bitter weather for hours to days for a sale price, spend a bunch of money, nearly get pummeled, and nod off in our cars as we fight traffic on the way back home.

You can do that, or hibernate.

Never mind. 

What started all this? Let's start with the name. A popular thought is Black Friday gained its name because it is day when sales in retail are extremely profitable - moving from the negative red to the positive black. 

In 1966, the Philadelphia Police Department, as quoted by the The American Philatelist,called the day Black Friday due to the stuffed stores and streets.

Black Friday's haunted us since the 1930s. President Teddy Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving up a week to give retail stores an extra week of sales, which pleased business yet angered consumers. 

And no we love the notion of helping big cooperation. I say hit up some local Black Friday sales, if you can .

Safety Tips?

If you're not beginning hibernation, remember Black Friday is a dangerous day. In fact, check out the most gruesome Black Friday events in recent U.S. History.