This week's collection of whimsical and curious stories will discuss an experience your author has been sorely missing these past few months - boredom! In global news, 2022 has already managed to turn COVID-19 into a footnote crowded out by large-scale war in Ukraine, a potentially looming food crisis across parts of Africa and the Middle East, extreme weather events (e.g., record heat in India), inflation and interest rate shocks, and something called "monkeypox". It seems, we are all in desperate need of the "good old days". More precisely, Sunday, April 11th 1954.
The most boring day in history - In 2010, British tech entrepreneur and computer scientist William Tunstall-Pedoe used a dataset of 300M headline-making events to determine that April 11th 1954 was statistically the least eventful. This was quickly dubbed the "most boring day in history" (if, by "history", we mean the past 110 years). Major drivers of boredom seemed to have been a general election in Belgium* and an article from the New York Times informing its readers that fly fishing provides more interest to the average angler than bait fishing.
Even the opening of the 1954 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship did not change this day's fortune. This is quite remarkable given that Hurling seems to be an exciting cross between egg-and-spoon racing and Rugby**. Or perhaps it is simply because Cork (as the defending champion) managed to retain their title against Wexford following lopsided 1-9 and 1-6 victories.
1954 Hurling final
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*On April 11th 1954 Belgium elected a government that lasted for more than four years which is an impressive feat for a country that seems to happily function without a government.
**Here is an introduction to Hurling