Creation of "DARWIN DAY" Holiday

TimesOnlineUK ^ | feb 12, 2003 | Prof. Simon Blackburn

[Rytwyng]

Call for creation of Darwin Day
From Professor Simon Blackburn and others

Sir, We, the undersigned, support proposals for the creation of a new public holiday, Darwin Day, on February 12.

This is the birthday of Charles Darwin, one of the greatest British scientists and thinkers that ever lived. At a time when creationism appears to be gaining ground in English schools, the public celebration of Charles Darwin’s contribution to modern science could send out a clear message of support for scientific thinking.

It will be the 200th anniversary of his birth in 2009, and we very much hope that this new public holiday will be in place by then.

Yours etc,
SIMON BLACKBURN,
FRANCIS CRICK,
RICHARD DAWKINS,
RICHARD DOLL,
PHILIP PULLMAN,
CLAIRE RAYNER,
c/o British Humanist Association,
47 Theobalds Road, WC1X 8SP.

[Rytwyng]

Two thoughts:

(1) Why do we need to CREATE a "Darwin Day"? Shouldn't it just sort of randomly evolve?

(2) If it passes, will this be the day that the Darwin Awards are announced?

[quark]

Good thoughts.

These purveyors of flapdoodle and baked wind should set the date for the 30th of February and wait for IT to evolve.

[dirtboy]

These purveyors of flapdoodle and baked wind should set the date for the 30th of February and wait for IT to evolve.

Yeppurs on IT - if architects designed buildings and engineers designed bridges the way IT analysts design systems, then the first woodpecker that came along would destroy civilization.

[CdMGuy]

I did a quick read and thought it was the British Humorist Association, rather that Humanist. Regardless, this is still a joke. Just another group of pompous a-hole professors.

[HHFi]

We already have a Darwin Day. It's New Year's Eve, when all my idiot neighbors shoot their pistols straight up into the air, assuming that the bullets will land on the moon.

[TXBubba]

ROFLMHO...that was good.

[LiteKeeper]

read and comment later on the most destructive human in modern history!

[The Lake City Gar]

I've always wondered about something....

Assumming a bullet goes strait-up and down (As oposed to being shot at some degree) how dangerous is the bullet coming back down? I assume it's the same as droping a penny off a building. It reaches the maximum velocity of gravity (117 or 170 MPH or something like that??) and simply tumbles to earth?

[LiteKeeper]

We already have a Darwin Day.

It should be April 1st. Psalm 14:1 "...the fool has said in his heart there is no God..." Thus, April Fool's Day would be perfect!

[-YYZ-]

Gravity is an attractive force between two objects and doesn't have a velocity (OK, maybe it does, but that's a different subject and it appears to be the same as the speed of light). I think you're thinking of terminal velocity, which is the speed a falling item will accelerate to until the force of gravity acting on it is counterbalanced by the drag force of the air it is passing through. This speed will vary object by object. For a piece of tissue paper it's extremely low. The denser and more aerodynamic the ojbect, the higher it is. I don't what the average sort of terminal velocity for a falling slug would be.

[HHFi]

A falling bullet is very dangerous. I live in Dallas, surrounded by tens of thousands of people from Mexico, where this is the tradition, and the police have launched major campaigns to try to get them to stop. There have been people killed by the falling bullets. Cops will tell you that when it gets to be midnight in South Dallas, they just pull their squad cars under overpasses and wait for the hail of lead to subside.

[Gal.5:1]

Yes I think that April 1 is already designated as Athiest's Day, for that very reason.

[tracer]

Great idea, but let's give credit where credit is due:

Hysteria runs riot; networks fuel the fear (Let us be more rational about our paranoia)

Posted by tracer to Conservative_Rob On News/Activism 02/13/2003 9:35 AM PST #23 of 28

"What's the government going to say when thousands of asphyxiated families turn up in sealed rooms opened by worried neighbors and family members???"

Congress promptly will enact legislation establishing the birthday of Charles Darwin as a national holiday......

Of course, I point this out in all modesty.... 8~)

[c0rbin]

I find it amazing that in the year 2003 people who claim intelligence can dismiss in one hand the science that allows them to potentially live past the age of 30 years and deny the science that describes the history of life on our planet.

It is simple.

Evolution is science.

Intelligent Design and Creationism are not.

[amused]

LOL...nothing wrong with humble self promotion.

Maybe Darwin day would start a trend of idiotic gene pool removal on that day specifically.

In the great tradition of Americans co-opting other countries holidays, we could call it "Hold muh Beer" day

[f.Christian]

May day -- social evolution day ==== marx // darwin !

[Junior]

Ping.

[Junior]

Darwinism does not equate to atheism, dear child.

[f.Christian]

... dear child ? ? ?

If God (( Creator )) did IT (( evolution )) . . . that is called - - - 'creation' !

[f.Christian]

'Evolution' is just an atheist slang word for do // believe your own thingy !