Monday, December 01, 2008

Black Friday

Here in Australia (and possibly other parts of the world) Black Friday is when the 13th of the month falls on a Friday. Imagine my confusion then when earlier this month I kept reading about the upcoming Black Friday in the US. Last I heard they were working on the same calendar as us, even if they are a day behind. A quick look on fount of (all) knowledge Wikipedia suggested Black Friday was actually the Friday after Thanksgiving, so called because it was seen as the start of the Xmas shopping season and the start of retailers profitable or "being in the black" period. Black Friday is also said to have been so named following the first recognition of the super sales day in Philidelphia where record numbers of vacationing bargain-hunters blocked roads and caused enormous gridlocks - "Black Friday". But regardless of the origin of the nomenclature, Black Friday lived up to its name this year with one 34-year-old Wal-Mart employee in New York trampled to death trying to hold back a horde of eager shoppers; and two men killed when they shot each other in a crowded Toys-R-Us store reportedly after their women folk started arguing.

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