From: mjd@saul.cis.upenn.edu ("[*] Angel of Wheaties")
Newsgroups: talk.bizarre,rec.humor,misc.misc
Subject: MadhatterDay VII
Date: 6 Oct 92 14:29:00 GMT
Article-I.D.: saul.MJD.92Oct6102900
Followup-To: misc.misc
Organization: Eaters of Wisdom


[ Original posting by Dick Dunn, rcd@ico.isc.com, 6 Oct 1989 ]

                          MadHatterDay

1992: MadHatterDay VII

1.  What Is It?

    MadHatterDay is a holiday in October.  It fills the need for a
second crazy day in the year, almost exactly half a year from April
Fools' Day. The real spirit of MadHatterDay is turnabout: The nonsense
we usually have to pretend is sane can be called madness for one day in
the year; the superficially crazy things that really make sense can be
called sane on MadHatterDay.

    MadHatterDay is 10/6.  The date was chosen from the illustrations by
John Tenniel in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, wherein the Mad Hatter
is always seen wearing a hat bearing a slip of paper with the notation
"In this style 10/6".  We take this as inspiration to behave in the
style of the Mad Hatter on 10/6 (which is October 6 here, although in
Britain MadHatterDay occurs on June 10...but I digress...)  Some astute
observers have noted that the paper in the Mad Hatter's Hat was really
an order to make a hat in the style shown, to cost ten shillings
sixpence.  However, it is well known that Time Is Money, and therefore
Money Is Time, and therefore 10/6 may as well be the sixth of October.

MadHatterDay began in Boulder, CO, in 1986, among some computer-folk who
had nothing better to do.  It was immediately recognized as valuable
because they caused less damage than if they'd been doing their jobs.
It was announced that first year on computer networks. In 1987 it gained
minor local recognition.  In 1988, it was first recognized as an
official holiday by an area business, and also received its first
national press coverage by news services (who are always desperate for
an unlikely story).  It is almost certain that the national election
also gave MadHatterDay a good boost in 1992.

Detailed plans for this year's MadHatterDay observance will, of course,
be announced on October 7.  We have found that plans made after the fact
are more accurate and much easier to have fulfilled.  Or, as the Red
Queen said, "sentence first, then the verdict!"


2.  What Goes?

What do people do on MadHatterDay?  In general, we celebrate silliness.
But what if your work involves something inherently silly--say
marketing, where you put on a three-piece suit (five or six layers of
fabric) in the summertime, tie a piece of cloth around your neck to
restrict blood flow to the brain, and set about trying to convince
people to buy things they don't want and can't afford because this will
give the country a Healthy Economy?  In this case, doing something
absolutely sane will have a more startling effect than you can possibly
imagine.

Your world is crazier than you think:

   * We travel around by taking the juice from hundred-million-year-old
     rotten dinosaur food and exploding it in a metal can.

   * A "sports fanatic" is not someone who participates in sports, but
     someone who sits indoors on a beautiful day, drinking beer while
     yelling at the picture on a little box.  (Throw the ultimate
     football party: Forget the TV; just sit around eating and drinking
     with friends.)

   * As much as we say we like to "get away from it all", the more
     successful we are, the more we take it all with us when we go.
     (Take a vacation with all the comforts of home: Just stay home!)

   * We're so well-fed that we're getting food with intentionally
     reduced nutritional content--so we can take the trouble to eat
     without getting the benefit of doing so.  (Enjoy the ultimate in
     fast-diet-food: Skip lunch.)

   * We've saved so much gift-giving for the Christmas season that it
     has entirely unbalanced the flow of cash and consumer goods through
     the year.  So merchants decided to start the season early to have
     something to do the rest of the year.  (There's now only one major
     gift-giving holiday--but it lasts for five months.  Surprise
     someone with a MadHatterDay present.)

...and it goes.  Take a look around you, drop your assumptions about
what must be proper and normal, and see how much of it is just silly.
Better yet, try to find something that does make sense.

Don't hurt anyone.  Save the pranks for April 1.  This is "a Kinder,
Gentler Fool's Day."


--

                And for to se, and eek for to be seye
Mark-Jason Dominus 	  			    mjd@central.cis.upenn.edu