December 14, 2022 - Monkey Day | National Bouillabaisse Day

Welcome to December 14, 2022 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate monkeying around and fancy fish stew. On May 28th, 1959, two of the greatest heroes of space travel returned to Earth after a 15 minute space flight. It may not sound like much, but it was the first time astronauts were able to survive a return trip from space. One was a monkey named Able, and the other was Miss Baker. These brave little primates paved the way for space exploration by helping scientists to understand the physical stress of spaceflight. Unfortunately, Able passed away only a few days later, but Miss Baker lived another 25 years. When she passed away in 1984, over 300 people attended her funeral, paying tribute to her part in the history of spaceflight. On Monkey Day, we celebrate the primates who took the first steps to make mankind’s giant leap possible. If I say fish stew, you might say “blech.” But if I say bouillabaisse you might just get hungry. That’s because the French have a knack for turning a handful of garden variety seafood ingredients into a culinary masterpiece. Bouillabaisse was a soup created by the fisherman of Marseille, who looked forward to a one pot meal at the end of a long work day. Rather than using the more expensive fish in their haul, they gathered up the bonier fish and shellfish left over in the net, added garlic, wine and fennel and voilà a French classic that even Julia Child tried to master. On National Bouillabaisse Day, cook up your own favorite fish and remember that one man’s “ewww” is another man’s “mmmm.” I’m Anna Devere and I’m Marlo Anderson. Thanks for joining us as we Celebrate Every Day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices