10 THINGS YOU NEVER KNEW ABOUT VALENTINE'S DAY

[Rob-TheStormChaser]

1. St. Valentine was a Roman priest executed on February 14th, 270 A.D., for disobeying an imperial edict forbidding marriage ceremonies.
2. February 14th was also the day Romans honored Juno, goddess of marriage.

3. Medieval Europeans believed birds mated on February 14th.

4. 73% of U.S. men buy flowers on Valentines Day.

5. 15% of U.S. women send themselves flowers on Valentines Day.

6. According to superstition, if a woman sees a robin on Valentines Day, she'll marry a sailor; if she sees a sparrow, she'll marry a poor man and be happy; and if she sees a goldfinch, she'll marry a millionaire and be very happy.

7. Queen Victoria sent over 2,500 Valentines during her reign.

8. The Welsh used to give each other wooden spoons on February 14th.

9. During the nineteenth century, romantic Brits would simply pick the first person they saw on February 14th to be their Valentine.

10. Finns celebrate Valentines Day by being nice to their friends.

7 OTHER EXCITING EVENTS THAT TOOK PLACE ON FEBRUARY 14th

1. Oregon became the 33rd state.

2. Alexander Graham Bell and Elisha Gray applied for patent rights to the telephone.

3. The Department of Commerce and Labor was established.

4. The United Parcel Service was founded.

5. Thomas Watson formed IBM.

6. Al Capone wiped out his rivals in The Valentines Day Massacre.

7. The Ayatollah Khomeini declared his feelings for Salman Rushdie by calling on Moslems around the world to kill him on sight.

[breeze]

LoL, those were interesting, Rob - thanks!