I went searching for “bad” Father’s Day gifts and found this article about that very thing on the sheknows website.  (This article is from 2018 and I excluded her suggestions on what to get instead–those can be found at her site.)

Not all dads are the beer-loving, tie-wearing, golf-playing football fans so many Father’s Day cards make them out to be. Of course, every dad is unique, and Father’s Day is a time to honor the dads in our lives — in all their special, weird glory. But if you’re afraid your gift this year just won’t measure up, don’t worry. It can’t possibly be as bad as the gifts ahead.

We got eight real dads to spill the beans about the worst Father’s Day gifts they’ve ever received (just don’t tell their kids, OK?). Ahead are their hilarious examples of what not to do when Father’s Day Shopping — plus some fun alternatives.

Sure, we can all get a laugh from an “I love farts” mug or a Bigfoot air freshener once in a while, but let’s try to rise above the stereotypes and get a little more creative this year, shall we?

A Fart Mug

“Between all my children, I probably received over 100 cliché coffee mugs as Father’s Day presents, which I eventually regifted, threw away or sold at garage sales.” — Dan

No matter how tempting it may seem, don’t go inside the crappy gag gift shop at the mall (or on the internet, as the case may be) to get a Father’s Day present. Just don’t do it. 

A Bad & Weirdly Political Drawing

“One of my daughters was pumped to give me a picture she drew (in crayon) of a bald eagle in front of an American flag. My wife had it professionally framed. To this day, it still sits hidden on the floor behind my nightstand because I can’t bring myself to throw it away, but I definitely don’t want to hang it up.” — Tim

OK, kids’ drawings are cute. But that doesn’t mean you should pick the weirdest one, frame it and expect Dad to hang it on the wall for years to come (we’re talking to you, moms). 

A Holiday Arrest

“My son got ‘arrested’ on Father’s Day in sixth grade; we were playing catch when the cops pulled up. He was the kid who liked to play with matches, and a few weeks earlier, he’d started a pretty good grass fire in the woods near our house. When some other kids got caught in trouble doing other dumb stuff, they ratted him out.” — Harry

Please Not Another Tie

“My kids always got me the stereotypical dad gift: a tie. I now have a massive tie collection including several Looney Tunes prints.” — Sanford 

Even if your dad wears ties every day, don’t get him a tie. Or a hat. Or socks for that matter. You can do better.

A Chore-Related Gift

“What I do not want for Father’s Day would be… lawn care equipment.” — Derek

No matter how “handy” dad may or may not be, don’t give him something associated with chores. If he needs tools, rest assured he’ll get them himself.

Swag From the Wrong School

“Toward the end of school last year, [my sons] had a little event in the gym at school where kids could shop for Father’s Day gifts… My older son hands me a tumbler that has the University of Cincinnati logo on it. I attended the rival school in Cincinnati, Xavier University. His quote was, ‘I know how much you hate Cincinnati, so thought you would like this.’ I believe the cup is at the back of the cabinet and has never seen the light of day.” — Bill

This may seem obvious, but don’t get him something representing his rival.

Anything Naked

“After my wife and I got back from a trip to Europe, she gave me an apron from Florence with the body of ‘The David’ statue printed on it and then made me wear it at our family barbeque. It was pretty awkward wearing that in front of my kids. I managed to ‘lose’ it shortly afterwards.” — Bob

A Gift For Yourself

“My daughter gave me a tongue scraper!? She was very into the whole Ayurvedic tongue-scraping, oil pulling, lemon water routine and wanted everyone to do it.” — Pablo

Don’t get Dad something you like just because you like it.

SOURCE: SHEKNOWS.COM

Krystal Rogers-Nelson

True or false? The first modern Father’s Day was rooted in tragedy.

Which state was the first to celebrate Father’s Day?

Sonora Dodd got the idea to start a Father’s Day holiday and wanted it to coincide with her father’s birthday—June 5^th—but that didn’t happen.  What Sunday of the month do we celebrate Father’s Day?

Originally what flower was traditionally given to fathers on Father’s Day?

What holiday sought to supersede Mother’s and Father’s Days?

In what year was Father’s Day officially recognized (by the federal government)?

Father’s Day in Europe (for Catholics) has its roots tied to which saint?

In 1949, in France, a company called Flaminaire created new interest in Father’s Day with their product.  What was it?

Americans spend approximately how many billions of dollars on barbeque accessories, coffee mugs and screwdriver sets for Father’s Day?

Is the figure in question 8 more or less than they spend on Mother’s Day?

Father’s Day is a big day for the greeting card companies—putting it among the top 4 popular reasons for buying or sending a card.  What percentage of Father’s Day cards are humorous?

ANSWERS:

TRUE

The first modern Father’s Day was rooted in tragedy.

On July 5, 1908—the same year that Mother’s Day is credited as beginning—a small church in West Virginia held the first public event meant to specifically honor the fathers of their community. The day was held in remembrance of the 362 men who were killed the previous December in a mining explosion at the Fairmont Coal Company. Though this specific day did not transform into an annual tradition in the town, it did set a precedent of reserving a day for dads everywhere.

Washington

Washington was the first state to celebrate Father’s Day.

In 1909, Spokane resident Sonora Smart Dodd was listening to a Mother’s Day sermon at her local church when she had the idea to try and establish a similar day to honor the hard-working fathers of the community. Dodd was the daughter of a widower and Civil War veteran named William Jackson Smart, who raised six children on his own after his wife died during childbirth.

She contacted local church groups, government officials, YMCAs, businesses, and other official entities, hoping to gather the community to recognize fathers around the state of Washington. The campaign Dodd embarked upon would eventually culminate in the first statewide Father’s Day celebration in 1910.

Father’s Day takes place on the third Sunday in June.

While Father’s Day always takes place on the third Sunday of June now, that date was actually a compromise after the original turned out to be unrealistic. Dodd’s goal was for the holiday to be observed on June 5 to land on her father’s birthday, but when the mayor of Spokane and local churches asked for more time to prepare for all the festivities involved, it was moved to the third Sunday in June, where it remains today. Officially, the first Father’s Day celebration took place on June 19, 1910.

Roses

Roses were originally a big part of the Father’s Day celebration.

The first Father’s Day included a church service where daughters would hand red roses to their fathers during the mass. The roses were also pinned onto the clothing of children to further honor their fathers—red roses for a still-living father and a white rose for the deceased. Dodd also brought roses and gifts to any father in the community who was unable to make it to the service. This gave birth to the now-nearly-forgotten tradition of roses as the customary flower of Father’s Day.

Parent’s Day

In the 1920s and ’30s, there was a movement to get rid of Mother’s Day and the burgeoning Father’s Day celebrations and instead join the two holidays as a unified Parents’ Day. Robert Spere (also known as Robert Spero), a philanthropist and children’s radio entertainer, saw the holidays as a “division of respect and affection” for parents, especially during a time when Father’s Day hadn’t officially been recognized nationwide.

“We should all have love for dad and mother every day, but Parents’ Day on the second Sunday in May is a reminder that both parents should be loved and respected together,” Spere told The New York Times in 1931. The movement died out in the ’40s, but if it had gone through, we’d all be celebrating Parents’ Day every year with the slogan, “A kiss for mother, a hug for dad.”

1972

It took until 1966 for President Lyndon Johnson to make a nationwide proclamation endorsing Father’s Day across the country. In his proclamation, Johnson wrote that on June 19, 1966, “I invite State and local governments to cooperate in the observance of that day; and I urge all our people to give public and private expression to the love and gratitude which they bear for their fathers.”

Nowhere in Johnson’s proclamation did it say anything about what would happen on Father’s Day the next year, though, and the corresponding Joint Resolution specified “the third Sunday in June of 1966.” It wasn’t until President Richard Nixon signed Public Law 92-278 that Father’s Day was permanently recognized by the federal government.

Saint Joseph.

For Catholics in Europe, the idea of Father’s Day stretches back to feasts established in the Middle Ages to honor Saint Joseph on March 19. The celebration was prevalent in countries like Spain, France, and Italy, and as it focused on Joseph—the foster father of Jesus—it eventually turned into a day to honor the institution of fatherhood in general. Though many European countries have adopted a more secular observance of Father’s Day, some still uphold the tradition of linking it to Saint Joseph’s Day.

Lighters

The traditional feasts and celebrations around Saint Joseph began to fade in 20th-century Europe, especially in the years after World War II, so to reignite consumer interest in spending money on dear ol’ dad, a French lighter company called Flaminaire created a new Father’s Day in 1949 to help sell their products. With the help of an expansive ad campaign, the company drummed up brand awareness in the guise of a holiday, and Father’s Day (called Fête des Pères) has been observed in France ever since.

Americans are expected to spend more than $20 billion on Father’s Day gifts.

All those barbecue accessories, coffee mugs, and screwdriver sets add up: Americans are expected to spend about $20 billion on gifts in 2022 for Father’s Day, with clothing and “special outing” gear making up the bulk of the gifts. 

Less.

Though Father’s Day is big business in the commercial marketplace, it still exists in the shadow of mom. In 2022, the National Retail Federation (NRF) found that Americans spent $31.7 billion on Mother’s Day gifts like flowers, apparel, dinner, and spa days—a $3.6 billion increase from 2021’s spending.

25%

Father’s Day means big business for the greeting card industry. The holiday is the fourth most popular day for exchanging cards, with approximately 72 million flying off shelves annually. Hallmark—which has been producing Father’s Day cards since the early 1920s—boasts more than 800 different designs for dad, with humor cards accounting for 25 percent of the cards sold. The NRF estimates that cards account for 58 percent of all Father’s Day gifts—whether the person honors dad only with a card or includes it with a larger gift. 

SOURCE: MENTAL FLOSS

Tomorrow, June 11, (1982) is the anniversary of the release of E.T. in the United States.  I went searching for some interesting fun facts about the movie and below is what I found on the GeekTyrant.com website.

From GeekTyrant:

Steven Spielberg shot most of the film from the eye-level of a child to further connect with Elliot and E.T. With the exception of Elliot’s mom, no adults’ faces are shown until the last half of the film.

Most of the full-body puppetry was performed by a 2′ 10 tall stuntman, but the scenes in the kitchen were done using a 10-year old boy who was born without legs but was an expert on walking on his hands.

The filmmakers had requested that M&M’s be used to lure E.T., instead of Reese’s Pieces. The Mars company had denied their request and so Reese’s Pieces were used instead. As a direct result, Reese’s Pieces sales skyrocketed. Because of this, more and more companies began requesting that their products be used in movies. Thus, product placement was born.

ET’s face was modeled after poet Carl Sandburg, Albert Einstein and a pug dog.

The end of the film was one of the most significant musical experiences for composer John Williams. After several attempts were made to match the score to the film, Steven Spielberg took the film off the screen and encouraged Williams to conduct the orchestra the way he would at a concert. He did, and Spielberg slightly re-edited the film to match the music, which is unusual since normally the music would be edited to match the film. The result was Williams winning the 1982 Academy Award for Best Original Score.

According to the film’s novelization, E.T. is over ten million years old. Steven Spielberg also stated in an interview that E.T. was a plant-like creature, and neither male or female.

E.T.’s voice was provided by Pat Welsh, an elderly woman who lived in Marin County, California. Welsh smoked two packets of cigarettes a day, which gave her voice a quality that sound effects creator Ben Burtt liked. She spent nine-and-a-half hours recording her part, and was paid $380 by Burtt for her services. Burtt also recorded 16 other people and various animals to create E.T.’s “voice”. These included Spielberg; Debra Winger; Burtt’s sleeping wife, who had a cold; a burp from his USC film professor; as well as raccoons, sea otters and horses.

Steven Spielberg’s original concept was for a much darker movie in which a family was terrorized in their house by aliens. When Spielberg decided to go with a more benevolent alien, the family-in-jeopardy concept was recycled as Poltergeist (1982).

Steven Spielberg worked simultaneously on both this film and Poltergeist (1982) in 1982 (which was directed by Tobe Hooper but produced by Spielberg), and both were made to complement each other. “E.T.” represented suburban dreams, and “Poltergeist” represented suburban nightmares.

Corey Feldman was originally scheduled for a role in E.T., but over the course of a script re-write, his part was eliminated. Steven Spielberg felt bad about the decision and promised Feldman a part in his next planned production which turned out to be Gremlins (1984).

ET’s communicator actually worked, and was constructed by Henry Feinberg, an expert in science and technology interpretation for the public.

Harrison Ford was initially intended to have a cameo role in the film as Elliot’s school headmaster, but the scene was cut.

Steven Spielberg shot the film in chronological order to invoke a real response from the actors (mainly the children) when E.T. departed at the end. All emotional responses from that last scene are real.

Steven Spielberg and Melissa Mathison came up with the concept of a sequel called “Nocturnal Fears”, where Elliott and his friends are kidnapped by aliens and E.T. would help them out. E.T.’s name would be Zreck, and his species was at war with the other aliens.

At the auditions, Henry Thomas thought about the day his dog died to express sadness. Director Steven Spielberg cried, and hired him on the spot.

SOURCE: GeekTryant