Valentines day trivia

Front

Who first declared Valentine's Day a holiday?

Back

Pope Gelasius I

Answer explanation

In 496 A.D., Pope Gelasius I made the feast of St. Valentine an official holiday, apparently hoping to expel the pagan rituals of Lupercalia by combining it with St. Valentine's Day.

Front

Passing out Valentines is a ?-year-old tradition.

Back

600

Answer explanation

The oldest record of a Valentine is a poem Charles, the Duke of Orleans, wrote to his wife when he was imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1415, in which he refers to his wife as his "Valentine." For lack of a better phrase, the rest is history.

Front

Every year for Valentine's Day, an estimated ??? million greeting cards are exchanged in the U.S. alone.

Back

145

Answer explanation

Every year for Valentine's Day, an estimated 145 million greeting cards are exchanged in the U.S. alone, according to Hallmark, making it the second largest holiday for greeting cards after Christmas.

Front

Valentine's day is the second busiest day for restaurants only behind: Christmas, Thanksgiving, Mother's Day, St Patty's Day

Back

Mother's Day

Front

The flower of love is the

Back

rose

Front

According to the National Confectioners Association, ??? are the most popular flavor in chocolate boxes. Options: chocolate covered nuts, coconut, cream filled, caramel.

Back

caramel

Front

What percentage of women purchase flowers for themselves on Valentine's day?

Back

16%

Answer explanation

Sixteen percent of flowers purchased by women on Valentine's Day are going to none other than themselves, according to the Society of American Florists, so you're not alone when you treat yourself to a floral arrangement!

Front

What do Nordic countries celebrate on February 14th?

Back

Friendship

Answer explanation

Known as Ystävänpäivä in Finland and Sõbrapäev in Estonia, both countries use the holiday as a Friendship Day or Day of the Friends, where they exchange cards and gifts not only with lovers, but with friends and family members as well.

Front

The patent for this invention by Alexander Graham Bell was applied for on Valentine's day in 1876

Back

the telephone, telephone, phone

Answer explanation

On Valentine's Day in 1876, a then 29-year-old Alexander Graham Bell applied for his telephone patent, entitled an “Improvement in Telegraphy.” That same day, inventor Elisha Gray applied for a patent caveat for a similar invention from the same office, but Bell ended up receiving patent approval less than a month later.

Front

This antibiotic (known to cure leprosy) was first introduced on February 14th, 1942.

Back

Penicillin