Why Week: Why are Special Days Called 'Red Letter Days'?

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In this video:

While it’s commonly stated that the practice of marking important dates in red didn’t begin until the Middle Ages, in fact, in ancient Rome red ink was sometimes used on calendars to identify significant dates, as well as occasionally used on important text in documents, with the underlying reason in both cases seemingly being the same as today- to make the text stand out, in the case of the calendar marking a noteworthy day.

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[JeremyWS]

I love random facts that no one cares about. I like learning.

[LordofBroccoli]

Ah, finally! That burning question that has been lingering in my mind since I played Half Life 2 12 years ago...

[twistedtrails]

Heres a red letter day in the history of science. November 5th, 1955... Yes! Of course! November 5, 1955! That was the day I invented time-travel. I remember it vividly. I was standing on the edge of my toilet hanging a clock, the porcelain was wet, I slipped, hit my head on the sink, and when I came to I had a revelation! A vision! A picture in my head! A picture of this! This is what makes time travel possible: the flux capacitor! It's taken me nearly thirty years and my entire family fortune to realize the vision of that day. My God, has it been that long? Things have certainly changed around here. I remember when this was all farmland as far as the eye could see! Old man Peabody owned all of this! He had this crazy idea about breeding pine trees.

[yourbrainonfacts]

What looks like P's in the first quote are actually thorns, characters for 'th' that English lost when the printing press came in. As they disappeared, they were replaced with P's and Y's, which is where we get "ye" as in "ye olde."

[ohohvalerie]

The Get Up Kids - "red letter day" first time I heard of this and still one of my favorite songs

[leiannesw]

I love the bloopers left in. Still think Simon is very smart. I also think Simons plaid jacket is very smart looking.

[jeffbrooks]

Bloopers are great we know Simon struggle on the podcast but to see his face ( just wtf how do I say this) is even better

[jarodh-m]

The word purpre in the second quote could mean purple or crimson.

[dirkbonesteel]

Until this moment I always thought it referred to a postal letter. Don't know why but was pretty sure of it

[cserna]

Your channels have made history something I enjoy. Oh yeah I love that smart ass humor. My family doesn't understand mine.

[Xayver]

Thank you for trying your best with that old English Simon 😂😂

[TheBamaChad-WCHD]

Great video as always! I actually like it when you occasionally say something differently than I do. I find it amusing and entertaining lol

[pablononescobar]

3:07: FYI Simon, in the States we don't refer to cases as "A and B" but as "A versus B, " or just by the abbreviation "v"--so it should be Jackson v Huntington

[DukeNightmare]

These videos make my morning shifts so enjoyable and educational

[Marklek]

Today I found out that Simon doesn't know what a thorn is.

[theylied]

We don't use the term (red letter days) in the United States but I'm familiar with the term because of Queen's song Friends will be Friends.

[killer]

Could you do a video on the battle of Athens Tennessee sometime? It's a historical event that more Americans need to know about.

[actuallywaffles]

You need an outtakes video. This was great.

[fitnesswithsteve]

Can you do a video on why certain names can be shortened like William to Bill, Richard to Dick and even Robert to Bob.

[kirbymarchbarcena]

My wife usually do write red letters in the calendar to signify her monthly period.