March 13, 2023 - National Jewel Day | National Earmuff Day

Welcome to March 13th, 2023 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate a gem with a curse and a kid with big ears and big dreams. The one-of-a-kind blue gem known as the Hope Diamond was discovered by Jean-Baptiste Tavernier in the 1600s. Well, not so much “discovered” as “stolen from a Hindu temple.” And the price of this theft was a curse. Tavernier sold the stone to French king Louis XIV and walked away a rich man. Shortly after selling the Hope Diamond, Tavernier was eaten by wolves. And, according to legend, every subsequent owner of the diamond has also met with tragedy or an untimely death. Royalty, jewelers, even the man who delivered it to its present home—the Smithsonian Institution. The Hope Diamond is on display, but safely under lock and key. On National Jewel Day, celebrate beauty from a distance. Farmington, Maine is bitterly cold, especially if you are outside ice skating in winter. For 15 year old Chester Greenwood the sting was particularly bad because of his extra large ears. In order to protect them, he asked his grandmother to sew tufts of fur between two loops of wire and voila, the first earmuffs were fashioned. Though it wouldn’t be the last invention for young Greenwood, it would become his legacy. For nearly 60 years, earmuffs were manufactured in the town of Farmington and to this day there is a parade in honor of Chester Greenwood. On National Earmuff Day celebrate the mother of invention and her big eared grandson. 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