On October 22, the world celebrates White Crane Day, Fechner Day and International CAPS LOCK Day.
Day of white cranes
Every year on October 22, many countries around the world celebrate White Crane Day – one of the most poetic and moving holidays, dedicated to the memory of those who died on the battlefields of all wars.
The initiator of this day was the Dagestani poet Rasul Gamzatov, the author of the famous poem “Cranes”, which later became the text of the song of the same name. The poet imagined birds as personifications of fallen soldiers. This image of cranes became a symbol of purity and peace, calling humanity to remember the victims of wars.
Gamzatov said:
“Let as many people as possible hear the call of white cranes as a call for peace, harmony and good neighborliness!”
The poet got the first impulse to create this day from the tragic story of the Gazdanov family from the village of Dzuarikau in North Ossetia. During the Second World War, all seven sons in this family died. One died near Moscow in 1941, two more during the defense of Sevastopol in 1942. The third undertaker killed their mother, who could not bear the loss. The remaining three sons died in battles for Novorossiysk, Kyiv and Belarus. The last, the seventh son, died during the capture of Berlin. After his death, the village postman refused to carry the tragic news to his father, and the elders themselves went to the Gazdanovs’ house. Seeing them, my father’s heart could not stand it…
In 1963, an obelisk in the form of a grieving mother and seven cranes flying into the sky was installed in the village. This sight deeply affected Rasul Gamzatov, and he wrote his famous poetic address to the fallen soldiers:
“Sometimes it seems to me that soldiers,
From the bloody fields that did not come,
They did not lie in our land once,
And they turned into white cranes…”.
In 1980, a memorial named “Cranes” was opened in Kharkiv.
Another reason why Gamzatov chose the image of a crane as a symbol of the dead was his trip to Japan. During a visit to Hiroshima, he saw the project of a monument to the Japanese girl Sadako Sasaka, who fell ill with radiation sickness after the atomic bombing. The girl cut cranes out of paper, hoping that if she made a thousand figures, her wish for recovery would come true. However, Sadako managed to make only 644 cranes before she died. This story deeply affected Gamzatov, and he decided to use the image of cranes in his poetry as a symbol of the souls of fallen soldiers.
Subsequently, by UNESCO’s decision, White Crane Day was also dedicated to the memory of Sadako Sasaka and all the victims of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, as well as those who died in wars. According to a Japanese legend, whoever makes a thousand paper cranes can make any wish that will surely come true.
On this day, people remember not only those who died in wars, but also the value of peace. The white crane became the personification of hope for a better future, a call for harmony and mutual understanding between peoples. The Day of White Cranes reminds us that wars bring not only the pain of loss, but also the need to remember the dead and look for ways to peace and harmony
Fechner Day
This international event is dedicated to the memory of Gustav Theodor Fechner, a German scientist, philosopher and founder of psychophysics. This day has a special significance for modern science, because it was Fechner who initiated the study of the interaction between physical stimuli and our subjective sensations.
Gustav Fechner was born in 1801 and is one of the key figures in the development of experimental psychology and psychophysics. He was one of the first to investigate how physical stimuli, such as sound, light or weight, affect the human senses. His most famous contribution is the so-called “Weber-Fechner law”, which describes the relationship between the strength of a stimulus and the intensity of sensations.
This law became the basis for many studies in the field of perception, laying the foundation for experimental psychology and the approach to studying the interaction of the brain with the surrounding world.
Interesting facts
In addition to scientific research, Fechner was a philosopher and believed that the physical world and the spiritual world are connected. He created a concept that considers the universe as a living organism, where the physical and mental are closely intertwined.
Fechner was the first to propose the use of precise experiments to measure psychological phenomena, thus starting a new direction in science. His work became the basis for the emergence of such disciplines as cognitive science and neuropsychology.
Gustav Fechner conducted experiments not only on others, but also on himself. During one such study, due to excessive exposure to light, he seriously damaged his vision, which led to temporary blindness. However, this did not stop his research.
Despite his scientific rationalism, Fechner was interested in life after death and spent a lot of time trying to find scientific evidence for the existence of the soul.
Today, this day is celebrated in the circles of scientists and psychologists who continue research in the field of psychophysics. Fechner is a symbol of research into human sensation and perception, which is important for understanding the mechanisms of brain functioning.
International CAPS LOCK Day
Every year on October 22, the world celebrates a rather unusual holiday – International CAPS LOCK Day. This holiday has become a kind of joke in computer circles, which emphasize the excessive use of the CAPS LOCK key, which turns the text into CAPITAL LETTERS.
The purpose of the holiday is to make fun of how often people accidentally or excessively use this key, due to which communication becomes “shouting”.
Interesting facts
The idea of this day belongs to Derek Arnold, who in 2000 decided to create a humorous holiday to highlight the excessive enthusiasm for CAPS LOCK. Since then, the holiday has spread in various Internet communities.
In digital etiquette, the use of CAPS LOCK in communication is considered to mean shouting or aggression. Therefore, its use is often criticized in social networks or during business correspondence.
There are two official CAPS LOCK days – October 22 and June 28. Both dates were introduced as an opportunity for netizens to play around with fonts and text styles.
CAPS LOCK has become part of Internet culture, often used in memes to express sarcasm or exaggerated emotions.
Historical events on this day
794 – Kyoto became the capital of Japan. This decision was important for the history of the country, because Kyoto remained the capital for almost a thousand years, until 1868, when the capital was moved to Tokyo.
1883 — The “Metropolitan Opera” opened in New York. This evening became historic for musical culture, because Charles Gounod’s opera “Faust” was performed at the opening, which established the opera house as one of the leading cultural centers of the world.
1938 — Chester Carlson made the first photocopy of a paper document, which ushered in a new era in copying technology. This invention later grew into the well-known photocopying technology.
1962 — US President John Kennedy announced the beginning of an air and sea blockade of Cuba in response to the placement of Soviet missiles there. This moment became key in the development of the Caribbean crisis, which almost led to a nuclear war.
1968 — The first manned flight of the Apollo 7 spacecraft has ended. This mission was an important stage in the Apollo program, which prepared the ground for landing a man on the moon.
1975 — The Soviet space station “Venera-9” landed on the surface of Venus, transmitting images from its surface for the first time. This was a major achievement of the space program and the study of the planets of the solar system.
1980 — The Pope officially canceled the verdict of 1633, which condemned the scientific discoveries of Galileo Galilei. This became a symbol of recognition of the correctness of his scientific views, which were prohibited by the Church for several centuries.
