Ever wonder why it’s called ‘Black Friday’? Of course I did! I wonder about a lot of things! I’m sure the former telephone operators and librarians of the world are glad Google came out. Saved them from answering all my many, many questions!
Here’s what I found:
Black Friday is the name given to the shopping day after Thanksgiving. It was originally called Black Friday because so many people went out to shop that it caused traffic accidents and sometimes even violence. The Philadelphia Police Department coined the phrase to describe the mayhem surrounding the congestion of pedestrian and auto traffic in the downtown area.
The name was first recorded in 1966 by Earl Apfelbaum, a dealer in rare stamps. In his ad, he said, “‘Black Friday’ is the name that the Philadelphia Police Department gave to the Friday following Thanksgiving Day. It is not a term of endearment for them. ‘Black Friday’ officially opens the Christmas shopping season in center city. It usually brings massive traffic jams and over-crowded sidewalks as the downtown stores are mobbed from opening to closing.”
Black Friday crowds hunting bargains still give the police headaches. In 2016, three people were shot in separate mall incidents in New Jersey, Nevada, and Tennessee. The New Jersey man died from his wounds.
In 2013, police shot a Chicago Kohl’s shoplifter as he fled in his car. He was dragging an officer who was stuck halfway into the vehicle.
The most violence seems to occur at Wal-Mart, leading to the Twitter hashtag each year #Walmart fights. In 2012, two people were shot outside of a Wal-Mart in Tallahassee Florida. They were fighting over a parking space.
Walmart’s consumer electronics department seems to be the most dangerous place. In 2011, a woman pepper-sprayed a crowd at a Wal-Mart in Los Angeles. She was trying to get a Wii for 60 percent off. The year before, crowds at a Sacramento Walmart forced the store to evacuate when they started pushing and shoving to get deals on consumer electronics at 5:30 am.
On Black Friday 2009, another California Wal-Mart, this time in Rancho Cucamonga, needed police protection from unruly crowds — again, in the early-morning hours in the consumer electronics department. The store was briefly closed a few hours after another store in nearby Upland was closed.
The worst Black Friday occurred in 2008 when a man was trampled to death. Despite being 6’5″ and 270 pounds, temporary worker Jdimytai Damour died of asphyxiation when crowds stampeded into as New York Wal-Mart. At least 2,000 people broke down the doors, trapping Damour in a vestibule where he suffocated. Eleven other shoppers were also injured, including a pregnant woman.
It seems the police have a right to call Black Friday by a negative name.
~ parts of an article by Kimberly Amadeo from 10/31/17
The moral of this story? For your own safety, stay home on Black Friday. If you can’t, avoid WalMart at all costs.
We avoided the mad shopping rush – as usual. Years ago, I thought I’d go to a tiny JoAnn Fabrics in a tiny town to pick up a few things. I made the mistake of thinking it wouldn’t be crowded, as surely hardly anyone would be at a fabric store. Ha! I waited in a line that went around the store for over an hour just to pay! At least I gleaned a couple of good tips from the shoppers sharing my fate.
I did do some investigating and put a couple of things in my Amazon shopping cart.
I worked on the blog.
I don’t know what Blaine did.
By the way, we decided we’re not buying anything for each other this year. (Horrors!!) Instead, we’re going to several Christmas shows and nice dinners out in Charleston, South Carolina. (our next stop for three weeks)
After lunch, it was time for some fresh air. We were just going to take a walk around the campground, but when we got close to the lake, it drew us to the edge where we were impressed with its calm beauty once again. “It’s perfectly smooth.” “Yes it is.” “Perfect for kayaking.” “Uh-huh.”
And we were both thinking the same thing. Do we really want to go to all that work? My, my have we turned into lazy bums!
But the water continued to call, and soon it was “Let’s go!”
We did.
And it was fun.
As always.
And not so much work after all. 😊
As we started out, we checked on our new neighbors. How in the world those two people fit in there is beyond us.
I think there’s more room in the Jeep!
Pretty color tho!
This is what a lake looks like when it’s calling you.
I tried to capture the sparkling water, but this was the best I could do.
Trust me. It was beautiful!
A Wood Duck house.
No ducks.
No surprise.
Critter repelant, remember?
Even the wasps were gone.
View of the campground from the water.
