MAY CALENDAR 2026

is celebrated on the first Sunday of May to raise awareness about all the benefits of laughing and promotes world peace through laughter. Here are a few jokes from the king of one-liners, Rodney Dangerfield:

• My school was in a tough neighborhood. When the teacher asked a kid to prove the law of gravity, he threw her out of the window.
• I could tell that my parents hated me. My bath toys were a toaster and a radio.
• My wife and I were very happy for twenty-five years. Then we met. 
• Last week I told my psychiatrist, “I keep thinking about suicide.” He told me from now on I have to pay in advance.
• My mother was a terrible cook. In my house, we prayed after we ate.
• Last night my wife met me at the front door. She was wearing a sexy negligee. The trouble was, she was coming home.
• I feel sorry for short people, you know. When it rains, they’re the last to know.
• As a kid I got no respect. When we played hide-and-seek, they wouldn’t look for me.
• I was such an ugly baby that my mother had morning sickness–after I was born.
•  I told my psychiatrist that everyone hates me. He said I was being ridiculous – not everyone had met me yet.

Press photo, photographer unknown, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

It is pretty straightforward—celebrate the day by not wearing any socks! You could spend the day barefoot, in sandals, or in regular shoes, just make sure you aren’t wearing any socks! Embrace the feeling of the ground beneath their feet. It’s great to feel the soft grass or warm sand under and between our toes. As for your shoes and sneakers, leave them in the closet until September. Fun Facts about socks:

• Lost socks—around 60 per household—cost the average family of four around 270€ a year, according to researchers. They have yet to resolve the mystery as to where they all go!
• Roman legionnaires committed the ultimate modern fashion crime by wearing socks with their sandals.
• Married people are more prone to wear mismatched socks. Why? It’s not uncommon that they dress in the dark so as not to wake their partner, sometimes choosing socks of subtly different colors.
• Albert Einstein never wore socks.
• “Put a sock in it,” is a common expression to tell someone to be quiet or stop talking.

User:Sarang, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

It celebrates both the limerick poem and the birth of Edward Lear, who popularized the poems and was born on this date in 1812. It has been celebrated since at least 1987 and is marked by the reading and writing of limericks. Limericks are short, often humorous or ribald poems. They consist of five lines: the first two lines rhyme with the last line, and the middle two lines rhyme with each other. This is an example of an AABBA rhyme scheme. They are named after Limerick, Ireland. Example:

There once was a fellow from Perth
who was born on the day of his birth
He was married, they say
on his wife’s wedding day
and he died on his last day on Earth

Sheila1988, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

It promotes body piercing. In times past, pierced ears were about the limits of what we once saw; today the number one type of piercing is the nose/nostril, and quite common. Body piercing has increased in popularity, but its history dates back 5,000 years. Piercing the lobe of the ear is thought to be the oldest form of piercing. However, it is by no means the only form of ancient body piercing art. Not only is it considered an artistic expression but in many cultures, piercing holds great meaning in religious ceremonies. The practice of body piercing also has been shown to be an effective medical treatment for some ailments, such as migraines. Fun Facts about piercings:

• Pirates wore gold earrings believing that they improved their eyesight, prevented seasickness, or would pay for their funeral if their dead body washed ashore.
• Piercings are mentioned in the Book of Genesis 24: 22 when Abraham offers Rebekah a gold nose ring upon marrying his son Issac.
• In ancient Egypt, only royal family members were permitted to pierce their navels.
• Piercings only became popular in Western culture in the 1960s, when the Beatles and hippie movement began contacts with India, introducing piercings as a symbol of peace and non-conformity.
• Indonesian tribesmen stretched their ear piercings up to 25cm in diameter to permit the proud insertion of the bones of a slain enemy.

Rickard1234, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

It is a new event, first celebrated in 2020, although the discovery of tea dates back 5,000 years with its discovery in China. Some Fun Facts:

• In ancient China, Tibet, Mongolia, and Siberia, tea leaves were pressed into standardized bricks or disks of various weights to be used as money.
• Who drinks the most tea per capita worldwide? 1) the Turks; 2) the Irish; 3) the Brits.
• Da Hong Pao tea comes from just six shrubs growing on the rocky cliffs in the Wuyi Mountains and costs over $1,000,000 per kilo! (Compare this with a kilo of gold presently at $155,400.)
• In 1908, a New York merchant sent out samples in a small silk bag that customers assumed were meant to be brewed directly: this was the accidental invention of the tea bag! No longer silk, today’s tea bags are made of petroleum products and other harmful chemicals. Use at your own risk!
• Quickies: 3,200-year-old tea tree exists in the hills of Assam, China; 4,000 leaves are needed to make a kilo of tea; Tasseomancy is the practice of reading tea leaves; one of the world’s most expensive teas is fertilized with panda poop.

Haneburger, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

It is observed every year on May 31st. On this day, the World Health Organization (WHO) together with governments and NGOs, holds an international campaign to educate the public about the use of tobacco. Facts:

• Norway, New Zealand, Uruguay, Malta, Italy, Sweden, Scotland, Bhutan, and Lithuania have all banned smoking in public spaces.
• One-half of heavy smokers (25 cigarettes or more per day) will die of diseases caused by their smoking—on average, shortening their lives by 14 years!
• Nicotine causes addiction to kids and teenagers faster than to adults, sometimes just after a few cigarettes.
• Approximately 24% of Spanish people smoke (down from 40% in 1987), but compare that to 11.6% of Brits—their costs no doubt a major factor: €5-6.50 for a pack in Spain vs. €18-19 in the UK; 1.33% of Spanish adults vape; indoor smoking in Spain was fully banned in 2011; Sevilla is considered the birthplace of the modern manufactured cigarette.
• Quickies: nicotine is used by the indigenous people of the Peruvian Amazon as a hallucinogenic enema; 16^th century Europeans believed that smoking cured syphilis; cigarette smoke contains over 70 chemicals which are known to cause cancer; cigarette butts are the most littered item on Earth; a pack of cigarettes cost about 5 cents to produce.

Tomasz Sienick, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons