Valentine’s Day Facts and Trivia
By Carly Maxey
15% of U.S. women send themselves flowers on Valentine's Day.
73% of people who buy flowers for Valentine's Day are men, while only 27 percent are women.
About 3% of pet owners will give Valentine's Day gifts to their pets.
In the United States, 64 percent of men do not make plans in advance for a romantic Valentine's Day with their sweethearts.
Alexander Graham Bell applied for his patent on the telephone, an "Improvement in Telegraphy", on Valentine's Day, 1876.
Cupid, another symbol of Valentines Day, became associated with it because he was the son of Venus, the Roman god of love and beauty. Cupid often appears on Valentine cards holding a bow and arrows because he is believed to use magical arrows to inspire feelings of love.
During the Middle Ages, the belief that birds chose their mates on St. Valentine's Day led to the idea that boys and girls would do the same. Up through the early 1900s, the Ozark hill people in the eastern United States thought that birds and rabbits started mating on February 14, a day for them which was not only Valentine's Day but Groundhog Day as well.
Humorous valentines of the 19th century were called "Vinegar Valentines" or "Penny Dreadfuls." John McLaughin, a Scotsman with a New York City Publishing Business, introduced vinegar Valentines in 1858. Penny Dreadfuls with comic designs drawn in 1870 by American cartoonists Charles Howard became known as Penny Dreadfuls.
In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who their valentines would be. They would wear these names on their sleeves for one week. To wear your heart on your sleeve now means that it is easy for other people to know how you are feeling.
In Victorian times it was considered bad luck to sign a Valentine's Day card.
Only the U.S., Canada, Mexico, France, Australia and the U.K. celebrate Valentine's Day.
The 17th century a hopeful maiden ate a hard-boiled egg and pinned five bay leaves to her pillow before going to sleep on Valentine's eve. It was believed this would make her dream of her future husband.
Over 1 billion Valentine cards are sent in the U.S each year.
Parents receive 1 out of every 5 valentines.
