Valentine’s Day Fun Facts - BARE International Europe

We’ve only just seemed to have got rid of all Christmas trees & decorations, our stomachs have finally recovered from the end/beginning-of-year celebrities, we’ve never seen the bottom of our wallets this close by after all the end-of-year shopping followed by possible winter

sales… and here we go again: Valentine’s day. A day on which we MUST celebrate and spoil our loved ones yet again, because how else can we prove our love to them?
In order to prepare you mentally for this day of roses, heart-shaped gifts and romantic date nights, here are a couple of “not-so-lovely” fun facts about Valentine’s Day.

• Saint Valentine – the patron saint of lovers and engaged couples – is also the patron saint of… epilepsy and plagues. How utterly romantic! It’s actually convenient if you feel like fainting when your crush passes by or your stomach gets upset by reading that Valentine’s card!
• On Valentine’s Day 2000, the producer of Viagra funded an impotence awareness day in Britain.
• Penicillin – the most common treatment for syphilis and other STDs (Sexually Transmitted Diseases) – was accidentally discovered on Valentine’s Day 1928 by Sir Alexander Fleming.

• If you haven’t found that significant other yet, don’t despair! Celebrate Single Awareness Day (SAD… talking about abbreviations with double meanings) instead! It celebrates all single people who are proud to be so, and people wear green as the opposite of red.
• In 1537, King Henry VIII declared February 14th a national holiday. But that sweet King Henry VIII also had most of his wives executed because they did not give birth to a son.
• Around 15% of women send themselves flowers on Valentine’s Day. You go girl!
• Millions of dollars are spent on chocolate each Valentine’s Day in the United States alone. The link between love and chocolate probably dates back to the 1800s, where doctors prescribed chocolate as a method of treatment for those who had been disappointed in love. Chocolate actually contain amino acids such as tryptophan that make your brain produce happiness hormones. You go girl! (again)
• Pamela Anderson and Sharon Stone both got married on Valentine’s day (not to each other- imagine that!), but also both have divorced their husbands in the meantime.
• Cigarettes, socks and cactuses are considered as the worst Valentine’s gifts by Germans… let’s hope not only by the Germans!
• Some non-romantic Valentine card’s texts include “You repulse me the least”, “I’m obsessed with you in a non-creepy way”, “I love you even when I’m really, really hungry” , “You’re my favourite husband (or wife)” and “You’re the one… I text when I’m drunk. That’s love.”

Let’s perhaps think twice before indulging in the traditional sweets and champagne. But still… a kiss on Valentine’s day is supposed to bring luck for the rest of the year… so go for it lovebirds!

Author: Annelore

Annelore has been an employee of Bare International since September 2011 and is based in the Antwerp Office. She has a Master’s degree in English & Spanish literature & linguistics and a Master’s in Management. She likes discovering new places, travelling, reading and going out with friends to enjoy some very good (Belgian) beers.

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