2/3/26 - Spring Cleaning, Writing, and The National Anthem

Tuesday 2/3/26

Celebrate:

33 Flavors Day

Canadian Bacon Day

I Want You to be Happy Day

National Anthem Day - see the Useless Fact for more.

National Cold Cuts Day

National Moscow Mule Day

National Mulled Wine Day

National Soup it Forward Day

National Sportsmanship Day

Peace Corps Day

Peach Blossom Day

Purim - also known as the Festival of Lots, is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the saving of the Jewish people from death.

Talk in Third Person Day

Unique Names Day

What if Cats and Dogs had Opposable Thumbs Day

World Wildlife Day

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From USAToday.

Many people of a certain age remember practicing loops and waves, moving our small hands clutching pencils across pages with light blue dotted and solid lines. But in many schools, that elementary school rite of passage went away as kids turned to computers and keyboards.

A growing number of states, though, are requiring schools to start teaching cursive writing to students once again. New Jersey and Pennsylvania each enacted legislation in 2026 requiring schools to teach kids to read and write the way their grandparents did. 

According to Education Week, more than half of U.S. states now require or strongly encourage schools to teach students to read and write in cursive — compared to just 14 states just a decade ago.

Deep dive here.

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It used to be the SAG awards, it's not the Actors Awards and they were held over the weekend.

First, the gossip!

Zendaya and Tom Holland are married, her longtime stylist claims. 

"The wedding has already happened," he teased. "You missed it!" 

Since then, the Marvel stars have largely kept their relationship out of the spotlight and rarely walk red carpet events together outside their shared films. In 2021, Holland told GQ that he and Zendaya felt "robbed of our privacy" due to the public nature of their careers. 

"One of the downsides of our fame is that privacy isn't really in our control anymore," he said, "and a moment that you think is between two people that love each other very much is now a moment that is shared with the entire world."

Now the big winners.

Sinners Top Film

Jessie Buckley for Hamnet

Michael B. Jordon for Sinners

The Studio best Comedy series ensembleand Seth Rogan winning best actor in a comedy series. He accepted the best Actress award for Catherine O'Hara who dies recently.

The Pitt won for TV drama and Noah Wyle got best actor. Keri Russell named best actress in a drama series for The Diplomat.

For all the details, go here.

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March has started..we do get spring later this month, but it is Meteorological Spring., and the weather will be warming up this week. So, let's dive into some spring cleaning trends.

In a popular current narrative, lifestyle experts are encouraging a "choose your own adventure" style of cleaning. Whether you are a "Bare Minimum Hero" (decluttering one drawer) or a "Gold Star Overachiever," the goal is to pick one "big win" to make your life feel significantly lighter without burnout.

The "One-In, Ten-Out" Rule: Real Simple is pushing a radical decluttering challenge. Instead of one-in-one-out, the goal is to purge ten items for every new purchase to combat "digital-age clutter" (cables, old gadgets, and fast-fashion accessories).

Invisible Cleaning: A major topic in The Spruce is focusing on what you can’t see—cleaning air ducts, dishwasher filters, and mattress interiors to improve "sleep hygiene" and respiratory health.

Maybe you don't use your ceiling fan in the winter, it's dusty! Use an extendable, microfiber duster to cross this off the list. Alternatively, try the pillowcase trick: Envelope a blade with a pillowcase, then slide it off. This will trap the dust inside the case, so it doesn’t spread everywhere. Don’t forget to dust the lightbulbs and soak any glass shades.

Under Furniture

While you're most likely (hopefully!) vacuuming and cleaning under your furniture on a weekly basis, it's important to clean a little more deeply under your sofas and larger pieces for spring. Dust and hair can hide in those dark areas, so take the time to move furniture so you can make sure you're really cleaning out to those possibly neglected areas your furniture usually sits on.

Closets

Take advantage of a couple of indoor hours to cull the contents of your closet. Pull everything out and purge items you no longer wear and are ready to part with. Put the keepers back into your closet organized by type (all jeans together, all skirts together, and so on). For a simple upgrade, use all matching hangers and hang everything facing the same direction.

See more for each room in your house here.

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Today’s Useless Fact of the Day - National Anthem Day. In 1931 President Herbert Hoover signed a congressional act making "The Star-Spangled Banner" the official national anthem of the United States.

The lyrics were written by Francis Scott Key in 1814, but the melody was actually borrowed from a popular British drinking song called "To Anacreon in Heaven."

It is notoriously one of the hardest anthems in the world to sing because it spans an octave and a fifth. It was originally written for a men's social club in London, where the ability to sing the high notes was used to prove you weren't too drunk yet.

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