Issue 115: What the &$*%# is going on?

In the United States, today is Labor Day (and in Canada, it’s Labour Day). Because America often does things in direct contrast to other countries, we honor workers on this day instead of May 1, a holiday known as International Workers’ Day that’s celebrated in more than 80 countries around the world.

Meanwhile, the U.S. celebrates Loyalty Day and Law Day on May 1. I’ll just take this time to remind you that today, September 6, is also Yard Art Day and Mouthguard Day, in case you need further proof that we have too many stupid holidays.

(I do like some good yard art, though, so if that’s your thing, by all means, please show it off.)

Labor Day was first proposed in the 1880s and, per one account, Peter J. McGuire, the Vice President of the American Federation of Labor, came up with the idea after visiting Toronto and seeing a parade celebrating labor taking place.

Whether it was McGuire or someone else as the instigator of the holiday, it quickly gained steam. In 1887, Oregon was the first state to celebrate Labor Day, and by 1894, 30 states were already getting in on the action.

Grover Cleveland signed Labor Day into law on June 28, 1894. As you may know, Grover Cleveland’s most popular presidential fact is that he was the only head honcho to serve two non-consecutive terms.

I like to think Cleveland caught wind of Labor Day during his first go-round, then thought about it while he was out of the White House a little more. He concluded, “you know what? This is a good idea” and made it a real-life law.

And now we have Labor Day! So that’s cool.

Anyway, this whole prelude about Labor Day was really just to introduce this clip of NBA players swearing on live TV. I hope you have the day off today, or at least have minimal responsibilities to worry about.

If not, we can take solace in the fact that interviewing athletes mere moments after a hotly contested game is simultaneously a brilliant and horrible idea.

Shaq is my favorite here, but honorable mentions go to Carmelo Anthony reacting the same way we’d all like to when cold water is poured on us, Charles Barkley politely saying “thank you” after an f-bomb, and Andrew Bynum catching himself swearing (too late, but a noble effort) while describing his teammate’s rebounding prowess.

And this probably goes without saying, but this is not safe for work — which makes it perfect for Labor Day!

That’s all ’til next time. Thanks for reading!

Joey

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