Valentines Days Facts and Trivia

Like Christmas, Valentines comes but once a year. Unlike Christmas though, and perhaps fortunately so, preparations for Valentine's Day don't begin a month before the occasion itself. And yet, the frenzy into which people go to prove that they’re both loved and have someone to love can sometimes beggar belief and commonsense.

Going around the world…

A gimmick that originated as a marketing campaign by chocolate companies has now become a firmly entrenched tradition on Valentines Day in Japan. The men can look forward to receiving gifts and chocolate from women! The reciprocal counterpart of Valentines Day is known as White Day. It falls on March 14, and this is when the men are expected to give gifts in return to the women.

Die-hard romantics have sent 1000's of cards every year to Verona, Italy. This is the city in which Shakespeare set his famous tragedy, Romeo and Juliet.

You might want to keep that to yourself…

Penicillin, which is also used to treat sexually-transmitted diseases such as syphilis, was introduced on, you guessed it, February 14, 1929.

There are three kinds of untruths: lies, damned lies and statistics…

Do you know that up to 15 percent of US women send themselves flowers on Valentines Day? You yourself might even have been tempted to do that once, and within reason too, as 64 percent of American men have absolutely nothing up their sleeve for Valentines Day for that special person in their life. However, they make up for this by spending nearly twice as much as women do.

In Malaysia, the price of a single rose can jump to as much as 6 times its original price when February 14 rolls around, while a dozen of the same in the US will cost up to 30 percent more. Red roses are perennial favorites, and make up the majority of the 110 million roses that are sold and delivered within a period of 3 days. Condom sales, too, increase 20-30 percent around Valentine's Day. One wonders why…

In recent times, Valentines Day has counted pet owners among the ranks of gift givers. Three percent of these animal lovers actually give gifts to their pets! Valentine's Day is also the second-largest card-posting occasion of the year after Christmas, with up to 1 billion Valentines Day cards being sent and exchanged.

Have a great Valentines Day!!!!