Obscure national holiday #25

That's right kids, in our continuing series of mentioning obscure holidays, it is my joyous duty to tell you that today is National High Five Day. Righteous dude.

This holiday has been around for the past five years, and 2 years ago was recognised by the city of San Diego (oh those wacky Californians!).

Interestingly, today is also Bicycle Day. This slightly strangely titled day marks the anniversary of the discovery of LSD as a hallucinogenic substance by Albert Hofmann, a Swiss chemist.

As I am a kind and generous soul, I will include here an excerpt from Dr Hofmann's experiences.

"...I could begin to enjoy the unprecedented colors and plays of shapes that persisted behind my closed eyes. Kaleidoscopic, fantastic images surged in on me, alternating, variegated, opening and then closing themselves in circles and spirals, exploding in colored fountains, rearranging and hybridizing themselves in constant flux. It was particularly remarkable how every acoustic perception, such as the sound of a door handle or a passing automobile, became transformed into optical perceptions. Every sound generated a vividly changing image, with its own consistent form and color ... Exhausted, I then slept, to awake next morning refreshed, with a clear head, though still somewhat tired physically. A sensation of well-being and renewed life flowed through me. Breakfast tasted delicious and gave me extraordinary pleasure. When I later walked out into the garden, in which the sun shone now after a spring rain, everything glistened and sparkled in a fresh light. The world was as if newly created. All my senses vibrated in a condition of highest sensitivity, which then persisted for the entire day."

Well doesn't that beat the hell out of the cuckoo clock as a contribution to modern society.