A Scientist for All Seasons

My suspicion is that the universe is not only queerer than we suppose, it is queerer than we can suppose.
~ J.S.B. Haldane, British evolutionary biologist, physiologist and mathematician in Possible Worlds

A polymath is a person of great learning in several fields of study. J.S.B. Haldane, quoted above, was a famous British polymath who lived from 1892 to 1964. Nowadays, as knowledge increases exponentially, it is increasingly difficult for scientists to remain familiar with more than one discipline. A single genius like Sir Isaac Newton can no longer be expert in mathematics, physics, optics, alchemy and all the other disciplines of what was called in his day, not science, but natural philosophy. The vast amount of information encourages specialization. The petrologist brushes dirt off the rocks to study them; the pedologist sieves the soil he/she wishes to examine to remove the rocks.

On July 26, 2021 one of the greatest polymaths of the twentieth, and now twenty-first, centuries, James Lovelock, will be 102 years old. Best known for proposing the Gaia hypothesis, he is an independent scientist, environmentalist and futurist who lives in Devon, England. He has degrees in chemistry and biophysics, a Ph.D. in medicine and a long list of prizes, honors and awards.

Lovelock began his career in research medicine. His work there led him to his election at a noticeably young age as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1974. A lifelong inventor, he has created many scientific instruments.

While with the British Medical Research Council in London in 1953 he noticed that some living cells resisted freezing better than others. The difference appeared to be affected by the presence of certain fatty acids called lipids in the cells. A colleague upstairs, Archer Martin, had just invented the gas chromatograph. At the time it was the most effective instrument for the detection and identification of tiny amounts of fatty acids.

With great care, Lovelock gathered a minute lipid sample, smaller than the head of a pin, and ran it up to Martin for identification. Martin laughed and said, “Oh, my God, is that all you’ve got?”

“Yes…”

“Then there’s nothing for it: you’d better go and invent something yourself.”

Which Lovelock did. In 1957 James Lovelock, Archer Martin and several other scientists in London took Lovelock’s new gadget on a trial run. The sample was a nearly invisible speck. They watched as huge peak after peak marched across the oscilloscope screen.

“We were extremely excited, especially me,” said Lovelock. “But then we realized that the peaks did not describe any known fatty acids.” It took him a long time to figure out that the peaks were ignoring his samples entirely. What they did indicate were small bits of impurities laying between the lipids and floating in the air of the lab.

The device, the electron capture detector, identified a list of what Lovelock considered a “weird” collection of materials. They included notorious carcinogens as well as substances that were considered harmless at the time but later found to be carcinogenic as well.

Electron capture detectors were soon being manufactured and used by investigators all over the world. By 1960 they detected traces of the pesticide DDT in penguin fat in Antarctica and in the breast milk of mothers all over the world. Those discoveries lent credibility to Rachel Carson’s premises in her 1962 book, Silent Spring, helped start the DDT wars of the 1960s and kicked off the modern environmental movement.

Ten years later Lovelock took his electron capture detector to the Antarctic aboard the British research vessel, the Shackleton. He used it to see if chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which he considered perfectly harmless, had drifted from the northern hemisphere to the southern. If they did, they might enable geochemists to measure how long it took air masses to drift south of the equator.

In the journal Nature in 1973 Lovelock reported that CFCs do indeed migrate south as he had suspected. They had reached a level of forty parts per trillion in the air over Antarctica. That meant that virtually all of the CFC gases ever produced since the 1930s still hung around in the air. He went out of his way to avoid making them sound environmentally dangerous. In the article he wrote, “The presence of these compounds constitutes no conceivable hazard.”

Other scientists disagreed. Atmospheric chemists Rowland and Molina countered that the CFCs would eventually drift to the stratosphere where they would cause depletion of the ozone layer. Its loss would prove disastrous to life on earth. The ozone layer shields the planet from 95% to 99% of ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun. These rays can cause skin cancer, degenerative eye damage and suppressed immune response. It has also been shown to compromise the aquatic food chain, alter plant-insect interactions and reduce the productivity of agricultural plants.

The device James Lovelock had invented in 1957 had failed in its intended goal, the detection of fatty acids. But it did measure pollutants in the atmosphere in parts per trillion. With it he had started the DDT wars of the 1960s and the CFC wars of the 1970s and launched the modern environmental movement. All inadvertently!

What kind of controversies could he unleash if he set his mind to it? He would soon show us with his search for life on Mars and his Gaia hypothesis.

The Egg and Signore Columbus – or Was It Brunelleschi?

Years ago I read an interesting story about Columbus and an egg but couldn’t remember where I had read it or the details. Then I inadvertently ran across it just the other day in a collection of articles by mathematician Martin Gardner called The Colossal Book of Mathematics. And it is a big sucker: 724 pages. The article concerned Danish scientist, inventor, philosopher and poet Piet Hein’s creation of the superellipse. The article mentioned the Columbus and egg tale. Gardner said he found it in Girolano Benzoni’s book History of the New World (Venice, 1565). Keep in mind that at the time this happened everyone still believed Columbus had discovered islands in the East Indies. Here’s an English translation of the quote from Benzoni’s book:

“Columbus, being at a party with many noble Spaniards … one of them undertook to say, ‘Mr. Columbus, even if you had not found the Indies, we should not have been devoid of a man who would have attempted the same thing that you did, here in our own country of Spain, as it is full of great men clever in cosmology and literature.’ Columbus said nothing to these words but … placed an egg on the table saying, ‘Gentlemen, I will lay a wager with any of you, that you will not make this egg stand up as I will, naked and without anything at all.’ They all tried and no one succeeded. When the egg came round to the hands of Columbus, by beating it down on the table he fixed it, having thus crushed a little of one end; wherefore all understood what he would have said: That after the deed is done, everybody knows how to do it.”

That story may or may not be true but Gardner tells of a suspiciously similar tale told fifteen years earlier in Giorgio Vasari’s book, Lives of the Most Eminent Painters, Sculptors and Architects (Florence, 1550). Young architect, Fillippo Brunelleschi, was one of several competing to design a dome for the cathedral of Florence, Santa Maria Del Fiore. His design was unusually large and heavy. When City officials asked to see his model he refused to show it. He proposed instead that whoever could make an egg stand upright on a flat piece of marble should be given the contract. So all those masters tried but failed to complete the task. When Brunelleschi’s turn came he made the egg stand by giving a blow on the marble to crush and thus flatten one end. The others protested that they could have done the same thing. Fillippo laughed at them, saying they could also have raised the cupola if they had seen his design.

He was awarded the contract. An ironic ending to this story is that upon completion many years later the dome had the shape of half an egg, flattened at the end.

Of course neither story may be true. It may have taken place years (or centuries) earlier with a completely different cast of characters. After all, eggs have been around for a long time.

But what has the egg to do with Piet Hein? The article was, after all, about an invention of his. (Incidentally, he is always spoken of with both names.) He reflected on the fact that we are surrounded by boxes and circles. Cars are boxes that move on circular wheels down streets that intersect at right angles. We play sports on rectangular courts with spherical balls. Currencies generally come in rectangular paper shapes and round coins. What, he asked himself, is the simplest and most pleasing closed curve that mediates fairly between these two clashing tendencies?

It turned out to be a shape calculated mathematically to lay between an ellipse and a rectangle. It has been used in disciplines as diverse as furniture making and city planning. What’s more, a three dimensional superellipse, unlike an egg, will stand on end unaided. The shape closest to it most commonly seen in America is the Safeway grocery logo. Martin Gardner’s piece originally appeared in the September, 1965 issue of Scientific American which you can access online.

I have mentioned before that I like aphorisms. Piet Hein was famous for little aphoristic poems he called grüks (pronounced grooks). Here are a few:

“A bit beyond perception’s reach,
I sometimes believe I see
That life is two locked boxes each
Containing the other’s key.”

“It ought to be plain
How little you gain
By getting excited and vexed.
You'll always be late for the previous train,
And always on time for the next.”

In this one the “show” is life:

“I'd like to know
what this whole show
is all about
before it's out.”

Celebrate New Year’s Eve …
… Several Times This Year!

People consider our New Year’s Eve a wonderful opportunity. Everyone in the world gets together to celebrate at the same time on the same night. But that isn’t at all true. The majority of the world’s population does not celebrate the beginning of their new year on the same day we do. Take, for example:

The Chinese New Year, also known as the spring festival, is thousands of years old. In 2015 it will be held on February 19th to welcome in the year of the goat. It’s observed in Chinese communities all over the world and is a much bigger deal than our new year. It lasts fifteen days. The celebrants often give money to family and friends in red envelopes. Parades, featuring firecrackers, lanterns and dragons, wend their way along the streets. Traditional foods are eaten each day. Foreigners employed by Chinese companies must get used to the idea that nothing of major consequence will be accomplished during that two week period.

A lot of New Year celebrations are religious ceremonies.

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year’s celebration is also the first day of the Jewish High Holy Days. The shofar, or ram’s horn, is blown to commemorate the new year and traditional sweet foods are eaten. Rosh Hashanah will be celebrated starting at sunset on September 24th, 2015 and will end two days later at sunset.

Al-Hijra is New Year’s Day for Muslims. It’s the first day of Muharram and the first day of the Muslim calendar, the day Mohammed emigrated from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE (the Hijra). Islamic years are calculated from 1 Muharram, 622 AH (After Hijra, or in Latin, Anno Higirae). In 2015 it will begin at sunset on October 12th. Unlike many other New Year’s observations there are few rituals associated with it and no prescribed religious observances. The holiday is spent quietly with prayers and readings.

Norooz or Nowruz, the Zoroastrian New Year, is observed in Iran and other parts of the world by Zoroastrians, Baha’is and some Shiite Muslims. It is celebrated on the vernal equinox starting at sundown. In 2015 that will be the first day of Favardin of the Islamic calendar and March 20th of the Western calendar. It has been celebrated at least since the time of Zarathustra, the founder of Zoroastrianism, in the 6th century BCE and perhaps has roots in the ancient Mesopotamian religions. Minstrels sing in the streets. Special foods are prepared for feasts, bonfires are lit to jump over and children go from house to house to receive gifts from neighbors.

Sikhs, Hindus and Buddhists celebrate Vaisakhi in the Punjab region of India and Pakistan. It represents the new harvest and the Punjabi New Year and is especially important to Sikhs. Parades and processions pass through the towns and Sikhs make offerings of flowers and trinkets at the gurdwaras, or temples, before dawn. In 2015 it will be observed on April 14th.

The Tibetan New Year, Losar, is so ancient it originated before Buddhism even arrived in Tibet in about the 2nd century BCE. It occurs on the Chinese New Year and is celebrated by Tibetan Buddhists worldwide. Decorations don homes and other buildings and offerings called Lama Losar are made to monasteries. At dawn, monks of the Namgyal Monastery offer a sacrificial cake to the goddess Palden Lhamo. The Dalai Lama leads the abbots of monasteries, government officials, reincarnated monks and others in celebrations.

At last, a New Year’s celebration held on the same day as ours! Gantan-sai, the New Year festival of the Shinto religion of Japan, takes place on January 1st. On that day practitioners pray for inner renewal, prosperity and health. They also visit friends, family and shrines.

So however you say it: ¡Feliz aňo Nuevo! Frohes Neujahr! Felice fina anno! or 新年に言う言葉, have a…

Happy New Year!

Bogus History

We are often led to believe that science and technology sprang into being in late medieval Europe and really took off during the Renaissance and the Age of Reason. A little research, though, shows that not to be true. The study of the nature of things and the beginnings of serious scientific thought actually began in Greece in the 6th century BCE. Experiments in technology started in many parts of the world.

For example, take printing presses and movable type. To this very day, Johannes Gutenberg is often credited with inventing the first printing press to use moveable type in about 1440 CE, with which he printed the first Bible around 1450 CE.

In fact, the first printing press, using a woodblock system, was invented in China in 593 CE and the first newspaper appeared in Beijing in 700 CE. The Chinese had invented paper in 105 CE. It was far superior to the baked clay, papyrus and parchment used in other parts of the world. The Diamond Sutra was the earliest known complete book, with illustrations, to be printed in China though its sophistication has led modern scholars to believe other printed books preceded it. Books became popular in Asia along with the spread of Buddhism.

But, you might say, woodblock printing was greatly inferior to Gutenberg’s system that used movable type. A whole page had to be laboriously carved into wood to prepare it for printing. Chinese goldsmith Pi Sheng must have thought so too. He invented moveable type in 1041 CE, 400 years before Gutenberg’s. And in 1155 CE Liu Ching produced the first printed map in China. Printing of the first paper money and formal official documents began in the Jin Dynasty in about 1115 CE. Incidentally, the first inflationary depression caused by fiat money soon followed.

Printing began in Japan in about 1000 CE. The western movement of printing started from eastern Turkestan in about 1300 in the Uyghur language and was spread farther west by the Mongols. They brought printing presses to Persia after they annexed it in the 13th century. Paper money was printed in Tabriz beginning in 1294.

See:
Great Chinese Inventions. Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. Retrieved 2012-02-05.

Lost Discoveries, the Ancient Roots of Modern Science, by Dick Teresi. ISBN 0-684-83718-8

Yet even the Chinese were not the first to use moveable type. In 1908 an Italian archaeologist, Luigi Pernier, discovered an unusual clay disc in the ruins of the Minoan palace of Phaistos. It is about 15 centimeters (5.9 inches) in diameter and features 241 characters placed in a clockwise sequence spiraling inward toward the disk’s center. The characters are comprised of 45 unique designs. Transcription had apparently been made by pressing pre-formed hieroglyphic “seals” into the disk’s soft clay which was then fired at high temperature.

And just how old is the disc? Based on the age of the undisturbed material in which it was found, it dates from between 1850 BCE and 1600 BCE! Vertical lines separate groups of the symbols into “words” of two to seven characters. Most linguists believe the disk is a syllabary, meaning each symbol stands for a syllable instead of a letter. The language has not been determined and probably won’t be unless more examples are found. The symbols don’t appear related to Minoan Linear A or Linear B scripts which leads many linguists to believe they represent some foreign, perhaps extinct, Aegean or Anatolian language.

Why did this form of writing disappear? In his popular science book Guns, Germs and Steel, Jared Diamond claims the disk is an example of a technological advancement that came along at the wrong time in history. It needed a printing press to be practical.

As with so many discoveries from ancient times, this disk cannot have suddenly appeared in such a mature form. Its sophistication implies a long history of development. Archaeologists are intrigued at the possibility of finding the disk’s ancestors.

Yet, at this time, the Phaistos disk is still the first known use of text production by reusable type. (Sorry, Pi Sheng.)

See:
C.Michael Hogan, Phaistos field notes, The Modern Antiquarian, 2007

Achterberg, Winfried. The Phaistos disc. Dutch Archaeological and Historical Society. ISBN 90-72067-11-8.

Diamond, Jared. Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Society. ISBN 0-393-03891-2.

10 Fun Ways to Play Secret Santa

For those of you who haven’t played Secret Santa for a while, here’s a refresher course. The basic rules are simple. Each participant places their name in a box, hat or similar container. After mixing the names up each person selects one from the container without telling anyone else whose name they drew. The person is then responsible for buying the person chosen a gift.

There are many variations on the theme, such as those given below. The first three are suggested by Stockland.com:

The Yankee Swap – Also known as Dirty Santa or White Elephant, this one brings out the Grinch in everyone. Each player brings a gift within a set price limit that every other player would enjoy. Participants take turns either selecting a gift or stealing one from a player who has already chosen one. Thus the last player ends up with his/her favorite of the bunch.
Left, Right, Left – The ultimate kid-friendly game. Every child brings a gift suitable for either boys or girls which they pass around in a circle while someone reads a story. Every time the word LEFT or RIGHT appears, the gifts are passed in that direction. The game ends when the story is over and every child holds a gift. If you feel creative you can write your own story or borrow one from the White Elephant Rules website.
Santa’s Casino – Here’s one for big kids. Players bring money as well as gifts, maybe a $10 gift for the table and a $5 bill for the jackpot. Each kid gets one of three options:
- Option A: Choose a gift from the table
- Option B: Put their name in a hat to win the jackpot
- Option C: Put their name in a separate hat to win the gifts not chosen
Grab Bag – White Elephant Rules contributes this idea. People bring gifts that are unusually shaped or wrapped in decptive shapes. They are placed in a bag or box so that participants cannot see them. In an order determined by drawing numbers from a hat, partiers select a gift with a shape that intrigues them the most.

The following three suggestions came from Hugo Halliday Public Relations and Marketing:

Pass the Gift – Set a spending limit and collect the gifts before the exchange. At the party, everyone sits in a circle. Randomly select a gift from the table and give it to a member of the group while nusic is playing. The gift is passed around the circle. When the music stops whoever holds the gift gets and opens it, then steps out of the circle. The game continues until all gifts are passed out.
Scavanger Hunt – A fun game for an office. Before the party collect gifts from the staff and hide them around the office. Provide hints about their locations. Everyone begins the game at the office entrance. Each keeps the gift they find and drops out of the game so that everyone ends up with a gift.
Who Votes Wins – Another great one for an office party. Pick three easily accessed stores. Everyone tells you three things they would want under the gift amount from them. Put the name of each person and the three gifts they selected on a voting slip. Every person votes on the gift they think the co-worker most wants. You buy the most voted gift to give that person.

The following games are suggested by Funattic:

Hot Potato – A variation on the children’s game. As usual everyone brings a gift. A circle forms and the group is given one gift. They pass it around after the host starts a timer. When the timer stops whoever holds the gift gets it. The game continues until everyone has a gift.
Gift Auction – Everyone trades their gift for money. Each receives the same amount. Not real money of course but Monopoly money. The host can serve as auctioneer. Whoever bids the most gets the gift. The game continues until everybody has a gift.
The Numbers Game – As the guests show up the host takes their gifts and writes a number on them, then hands them a piece of paper with the same number on it. They write an unusual fact about themselves and put the paper in a hat. The host pulls out the paper and reads the fact but not the number. People guess who the fact is about. The first person who guesses correctly gets the gift. The game continues until all gifts are claimed.

These games are all conducive to laughter and fun, and building a sense of fellowship and commeraderie. Of course party organizers and participants may mix and match any or all of the rules. The only limit is your imagination.

Christmas Trivia, Fun Facts and More

Christmas is both a sacred religious holiday for Christians and a cultural and commercial event that is celebrated around the world. Popular customs include decorating Christmas trees, exchanging gifts, sharing meals with family and friends, attending church services and, of course waiting for the arrival of Santa Claus. Following are some fun facts and trivia you may not know.

History.com tells us that Christmas Day was not declared a Federal holiday in the United States until 1870. President Ulysses S. Grant signed the Act of Congress into law on June 26 of that year.
According to USHist, favorite children’s toys in the late 19th century included many that have continued as favorites in various forms down to the present, including balls and ball games, dolls, wooden building blocks, jacks, yo-yos and many others.
From Ancestry.com we learn that the teddy bear, named after President Theodore Roosevelt, dates from the early 1900s. Electric trains became available in the 1910s and chemistry sets in the 1920s. The first ray gun, modeled after that of popular radio and comic book character Buck Rogers, appeared in 1934 and the Slinky in 1943.
The first Barbie doll appeared in 1959. Mattel estimates that over a billion dolls have been sold. They claim that three Barbie dolls are sold every second.
G.I. Joe, a doll for boys based on the television show “The Lieutenant,” made his debut in 1965.
According to History.com, each year 30 to 35 million real Christmas trees are sold in the United States. There are 21,000 Christmas tree growers. They sell the trees after they have reached about 15 years of age.
The first eggnog to be produced and drunk in the United States was in John Smith’s Jamestown settlement in 1607. It has become a favorite libation during the holiday season.
Poinsettia plants are named after an American minister to Mexico, Joel R. Poinsett, who brought the red-and-green plants to America from Mexico in the 1890s.
The Salvation Army began putting Santa-clad donation collectors with their red kettles onto American streets in December, 1891. The practice was started by Captain Joseph McFee of the Salvation Army to provide a Christmas dinner for 1,000 poor people.
Copywriter Robert L. May come up with “the most famous reindeer of all,” Rudolph of the red nose, in 1939. He wrote a poem featuring Rudolph with the intent of luring customers into the Montgomery Ward department store.
The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree tradition was started by construction workers in 1931. Most of them were Italian immigrants who were glad to have the work during the Depression.
Though no one knows when candles first became associated with Christmas, WhyChristmas?.com gives many reasons why they are important to that holiday. From ancient times, during the winter solstice they symbolized the coming of spring. They adorn homes and the alters of Christian churches during the holidays. A large candle stands for the star of Bethlehem and of course they are important for Candlelight Services.
Christmas bells have long been associated with Christmas. Churches with bells use them to signal the beginning of all the Christmas Masses. It was fashionable in Victorian times to go carol singing with small hand bells to keep time with the singing. Hand bell ringing with the singing of carols is still popular in many places.
Giving Christmas cards was begun in the UK in 1843 by Sir Henry Cole, a senior civil servant. He helped set up the “Public Record Office” (now called the Post Office). Wondering how it could be used by more people, he and an artist friend designed the first cards and sold them for 1 shilling each (about a nickel today).
Historians have traced the origin of Santa Claus back to the third century monk St. Nicolaus of Myra, a kingdom in Asia Minor in modern day Turkey, known for his piety and kindness, especially toward children and the poor.
The origin of the modern image of the American Santa Claus began with illustrations by political cartoonist Thomas Nast’s of the fat jolly elf in 1881 in Harper’s Weekly.
The Coca Cola Company began running Christmas ads featuring Santa Claus in the 1920s. From then until now Santa’s appearance has subtly evolved under the influence of its advertising.

Christmas remains one of the most well-loved traditional holidays

The History of Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day’s Beginnings

Our modern American Mother’s Day had antecedents. The ancient Greeks and Romans held festivals honoring the mother goddesses Rhea and Cybele. The most direct ancestor of the modern Mother’s Day, however, is the early Christian festival called “Mothering Sunday.” This holiday dates back centuries to pre-Reformation days in Great Britain and much of the rest of Europe. The first prayer of mass began, “Rejoice, O Jerusalem: and come together all you that love her,,, and be filled with the breasts of your consolation.”

Mothering Sunday gradually became a more secular holiday on which children presented their mothers with flowers and other gifts to show their appreciation. The tradition gradually became less popular until revived by Constance Smith (1873 – 1938) who was inspired by reading a newspaper article about Anna Jarvis’ campaign in America. Unlike the American Mother’s Day, which falls on the second Sunday of May, the British Mothering Day moves about. Why? Because it falls on the fourth Sunday of Lent, the period of Christian fasting that leads up to Easter. This year if fell on March 31.

Leading up to Mother’s Day in America

The precursor to the Mother’s Day celebration in the United States began before the Civil War though it didn’t become a national holiday until over fifty years later. In the 1850s Mrs. Ann Marie Reeves Jarvis organized several “Mother’s Day Work Clubs” in West Virginia. Her goal was to combat the poor sanitary and health conditions that contributed to the high mortality rate of children. (She lost eight of the twelve children she bore.)

In 1868 Jarvis changed the name of the organization to “Mothers’ Friendship Day” and expanded it to include a large portion of the country still divided by the Civil War. Mothers met with former Confederate soldiers as well as those of the Union to encourage reconciliation.

Julia Ward Howe, abolitionist, women’s rights activist, civil rights activist, songwriter and poet, also served as a proponent of celebrating mothers. In 1870 she wrote the “Mother’s Day Proclamation” in which she called women to act toward promoting world peace. She campaigned for observation of a “Mother’s Peace Day” to be celebrated every June 2.

Other early day proponents of Mother’s Day included temperance activist Juliet Calhoun Blakely of Albion, Michigan and the pair, Mary Towles Sasseen and Frank Hering. Hering has been called “the father of Mother’s Day.”

Anna Jarvis’ fight to make Mother’s Day Official in America

Following the death of her mother in 1905, Anna Jarvis, daughter of Ann Marie Reeves Jarvis, thought of Mother’s Day as a way to honor the sacrifices mothers made for their children. A Philadelphia department store owner, John Wanamaker, financed her efforts to establish a Mother’s Day holiday. The first celebration took place in a Methodist church in Grafton, West Virginia in May, 1908.

The success of the first celebration encouraged Jarvis, who remained unmarried and childless for life, to have Mother’s Day added as an official national holiday. Using the argument of bias toward male achievement in American holidays, she began a huge letter writing campaign to newspapers and prominent politicians pushing the adoption of a national holiday honoring motherhood.

Jarvis formed the Mother’s Day International Association to help promote the holiday. By 1912 she had encouraged many churches, towns and states to observe Mother’s Day as an annual holiday. Finally, in 1914 President Woodrow Wilson signed an agreement to make the second Sunday in May observed as Mother’s Day.

Jarvis had looked upon Mother’s Day as a celebration between mothers and families. She conceived of the day as one of visiting one’s mother or attending church. She initiated the practice of wearing a white carnation as a symbol of the occasion. But soon after Mother’s Day became a national holiday, greeting card companies, florists, confectioners and other merchants raced to commercialize it.

By 1920 she began to denounce it as degrading her original plan and spoke out against people buying from the merchants taking advantage of the holiday. She originated vast numbers of lawsuits against companies and groups using the name “Mother’s Day” and lobbied the government to remove it from the American calendar. By the time she died in 1948 she had spent most of her personal wealth on legal fees.

So this Mother’s Day, remember that our moms don’t expect expensive gifts. They will treasure burnt toast and orange juice served in bed as the sincerest token of our love