October 19, 2021 – National Kentucky Day | International Gin And Tonic Day

Cheers To The Drink That Started As Medicine And Still Goes Down Smooth!

Welcome to October 19, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate a state with a big impact and smooth medicine. 

Kentucky is known for many things—horses, bluegrass, and bourbon whiskey. It also has a unique city named Middlesboro, which makes a claim no other city in the United States can. It’s built in a meteorite crater. About 300 million years ago, a meteor crashed to Earth in this area and left a hole 3 miles across. In 1868, the town of Middlesboro was established.  It grew up around the iron and coal mines nearby. But no one had any idea about the extraterrestrial land formation until geologists recognized it in 1962. On National Kentucky Day, celebrate the state, whose impact is out of this world.

The British Empire spanned the globe in the mid 1800s and one of its most valuable colonies was India. Though England was able to conquer much of the world with its powerful army and navy, one thing its military couldn’t fight was malaria. This disease had long been eradicated in Europe, but in India’s tropical climate, malaria was still a problem. The locals used quinine powder to prevent the disease, but the British troops stationed here did not have a taste for the bitter medicine. That is until someone mixed it with soda water and sugar creating what is now known as “tonic water.” When they added gin the famous cocktail was born. On International Gin And Tonic Day, enjoy a classic drink that is as smooth as British ingenuity. 

I’m Anna Devere and I’m Marlo Anderson.  Thanks for joining us as we Celebrate Every Day.