Fifteen Reasons Tuesdays Are Special

Do you know the fifteen reasons Tuesdays are special? There are many historical Tuesday events but let’s start with the fact that statistically, Tuesday is the most productive day of the week.

According to a 2019 survey by staffing agency Accountemps, more than half of the workers responded that their energy and drive is highest at the beginning of the week, specifically on Tuesday (35%), followed by Monday (25%) https://theflexibleprofessional.com/why-is-tuesday-the-most-productive-day-of-the-week/

Tuesday has been my favorite day for as long as I can remember. It’s a great day to have a meeting, work on a “to do” list, or just hunker down and get something done.

You are no longer tired from the weekend and co-workers, in general, are not as cranky. I’m guessing you never really thought about it but Tuesday truly is a special day!

Why Tuesdays are Special to Me

When I was growing up, Tuesday was the day we ate dinner with Nannie (my grandma) and Aunt Jo. We lived in a two-family house with them. They were on the top floor and we were on the main floor. Side note: I was fortunate enough to have tea with Nannie when I got home on school days. I miss that!

Anyway, I also like Tuesdays because that was the day my friend’s mom went into New York City in the afternoon to pick up her unemployment check. (She was a seasonal worker.) That meant we could all go over this friend’s house and hang out on Tuesdays. Let’s just say that I am very glad there were no cell phone cameras during this time. Not that we did anything wrong…

Once in college, my friends and I began renting summer houses in the Hamptons. My friend Susan and me lived there all summer one time. We both landed jobs at IGA, the local grocery store. Tuesday was always Employee Night at the Hampton bars. If you brought your id that proved you worked in town, you would not have to pay the cover fee and there were often drink specials. We always had a great time on Tuesdays in the Hamptons!

Tuesday is the third day of the week, even though we all like to think of it as the second. Tuesday gets its name from the Anglo-Saxon’s god of war Tiu, also known as Tyr to the Vikings. The Romans named their third day of the week after their god of war, Mars. That is why romantic languages like Spanish, French and Italian all have similar names for Tuesday: martes, mardi, and martedi.

When the Anglo-Saxons took up the seven-day week, they acted like super big copy cats and named their third day of the week after their god of war as well. Or maybe there is just something about Tuesdays that makes calendar-makers super feisty? https://www.cbc.ca/kidscbc2/the-feed/names-of-the-week-tuesday

Historical events that happened on Tuesdays

• 9/11/2001 was a Tuesday. Twenty years ago, this horrific day changed everything in the United States.
• The first Black President, Barack Obama, was elected on Tuesday, 11/04/2008
• The Stock Market crash of October 29, 1929, is historically referred to as Black Tuesday.
• D-Day happened on Tuesday, 6/06/1944, during World War II. It marked the turn of the tide for the control maintained by Nazi Germany. The Nazis surrendered less than a year after the D-Day invasion.
• The Challenger Spaceship disintegrated, killing everyone on board on Tuesday, 01/28/1986.
• Elvis Presley, the King of Rock and Roll, died on Tuesday, 08/16/1977.
• “The Day the Music Died” was Tuesday, 02/03/1959. Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and the Big Bopper perished in a plane crash.
• The Columbine High School mass shooting happened in Colorado on Tuesday, 04/20/1999. Two teens opened fire, killing 13 people and wounding 20 others before they both committed suicide.
• Microsoft releases all of its software patches on Tuesdays.
• Christmas falls on Tuesday more often than any other day of the week.
• Tuesday is considered a lucky day in Judaism.
• Tuesday is the unofficial day on which Catholics choose to go for confessions.
• According to the Thai Solar Calendar, pink is the color associated with Tuesdays.
• Elections in the United States take place on Tuesdays.
• Fat Tuesday or Pancake Tuesday is the day before the Catholic Lenten Season begins. It is also called Mardi Gras, which means Fat Tuesday in French.

Quite an unbelievable array of notable Tuesdays in our history books, right? I was surprised at how many events-good and bad occurred on a Tuesday. It has always been a special day to me.

Did you know that plane fares are cheaper if you book them on a Tuesday? And let’s not forget Taco Tuesdays! Do you make tacos for dinner on Tuesdays?

Do you have a particular alliance to Tuesday or any other day of the week? Did I miss any special events/tragedies that you know occurred on a Tuesday? Let me know in a comment below.