Wednesday, June 15, 2016

International Wind Day?

     You've never heard of International wind day? Don't feel bad . Neither have I.

     I had the radio on this morning and I heard the term International Wind Day. It caught my attention. I have a curiosity about special days. If you look,  most days are special for something.

    Now I know Father's Day is for honoring dads. That makes sense. But honoring wind? That's a stretch.



    So I had to look it up. Yes, the day is to celebrate wind and all the ways it is used to produce power. Right now we are particularly interested in using wind to produce electricity. Back on the farm , in the 1940's Dad had a wind charger that charged batteries and that gave us power for electric lights only. Today windmills are used to produce large amounts of electricity. The first windmills that were installed in the modern age are being replaced because they now have windmills that are much more efficient.

     Wind power is used to power ships. John's Island has a post on sail boats today. Before steam the main source of power for moving ships was the wind. Windmills were also used to provide power for flour mills.

     We have lots of wind in the spring. As a kid, I can remember making kites (not buying kites) in the spring. We made kites with brown paper and small slats for cross pieces. These kites worked well. We used binder twine for string. We'd get  tired of flying the kite and tie the twine to a fence post. You could come back several hours later and usually your kite was still flying.

     So today is set aside to mark all the new technology and modern uses of wind power.

    We've had windy days all week so it was easy for me to think about wind.

     So do we say "Happy wind day to you?"

31 comments:

  1. That's news to me - wind day. We've had plenty of wind the last few days, but not today. I guess Wind was taking her day off.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I ate some baked beans last night so not only did I celebrate International Wind Day, I trumpeted it! THWAAARP! I wonder when International Fog Day is...or International Drizzle Day?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. or international fart day! I'll bet you a nickel there is one.

      Delete
  3. We always have winds here, when there is a day without wind, people notice it to each other. It is rather rare, only sometimes in summer on a humid warm day.
    Lots of windmills in the old past times and now turbines everywhere. So a special wind day would be a bit weird here...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was thinking of the windmills in Holland.

      Delete
  4. There is a massive wind farm west of me, this is a good state for them.i have been accused of being a little windy, but took it in stride. Happy Wind Day!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We have lots of wind here and a few windy people too.

      Delete
  5. I didn't know about International Wind Day. Oh the things I learn from my blogging friends. All I can say to you is "Happy Wind Day"! :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sometimes the things you learn aren't worth it!!!

      Delete
  6. Ha! Well, I've never heard of "Wind Day" either, but I've always liked windy days -- so overall I approve. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I would say I like windy days too except when I have something to do where the wind is a problem. I don't even mind cycling against the wind.

      Delete
    2. I would say I like windy days too except when I have something to do where the wind is a problem. I don't even mind cycling against the wind.

      Delete
  7. That's the first time I've heard of that!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Never heard of International Wind Day but certainly remember Kansas as having the most wind of any state I've lived in. I'm a native Texan and it also has a lot of wind. March seems to be a good month for strong wind, every day, until you want to scream. I don't like a lot of wind, a breeze, yes.

    ReplyDelete
  9. We have three new giant wind turbines near us. They have not let them loose to blow in the wind. This would be a good day for it. I need to take photos when they finally let the go.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We are a windy area but so far haven't got any wind mills nearby.

      Delete
  10. It's a good day to honor wind. It's blowing like crazy here today and blew a big dead limb down into the yard just after I came into the house after standing in the very spot watering the garden!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You had a very lucky day when the branch missed you.

      Delete
  11. I'd happily pay homage to Wind Day. I can't imagine my childhood without the steady thunk, thunk of a windmill lazily lifting water to supply my grandparents house, securing the arms in strong winds so it wouldn't blow itself to pieces, (something we secretly longed to witness!). Happy Wind Day!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes I remember the old windmills on the farm wells.

      Delete
  12. Quite windy here today, it chases away the bugs and that is a good thing:)

    ReplyDelete
  13. First time I hear about this! That is interesting.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hi Red, Interesting post about the wind. Thanks for the mention! You know, I recently saw a show on Public TV about harnessing tidal flows for power. Maybe one of these days we'll have a special day to honor water power! Hope you have a great weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Thanks for the details. At first I thought it was named in honor of our male Presidential candidate. And that was the kindest thing I could think of to write about him....

    ReplyDelete
  16. Interesting...
    Happy Windy Day to you, Red. It's sure been windy over here. I felt like the house was shaking.

    And Happy Father's Day to you too. Do you celebrate it on the same day as us?

    ReplyDelete
  17. Well, Happy International Wind Day and a Happy Father's Day Red.

    ReplyDelete