So do this! Unfamiliar origins of common customs

These things seem so common, that we hardly think about them. But how exactly did they start?

Have you ever wondered why we use candles when we sing "Happy Birthday", or why we wear diamond rings? We have discovered the most interesting origins and facts about eight common habits that you may have never stopped thinking about. Not only will you feel smarter, but you'll never look at these habits the same way again!

Walk 10,000 steps (or aim for it!)

This standard for maintaining good health began with one of the first measures of personal fitness. The Manpo-kei appeared on the market in the sixties, at a time when the Tokyo Olympics fostered public interest in fitness. Its name, which translates to "10,000-step counter," was an attractive marketing move by manufacturer Yamasa, as the Japanese character for 10,000 steps is a lot like someone walking.

While walking clearly improves health, the 10,000-step goal was not based on real science. However, several recent studies have proven that this is mostly true. Research shows that middle-aged men and women who walk at least 8,000 steps a day were half less likely to die prematurely from heart disease or dementia. Loafers also had a higher likelihood of avoiding strokes as well as 13 types of cancer.

Contrary to what is expected, anything over 10,000 steps does not result in a significant added benefit, but even walking a total of just 3,000 or 4,000 steps in addition to your daily routine can reduce the risk of premature death by almost 40%. So what are you waiting for? Tie up a pair of sneakers and get out there!

Putting candles on Christmas cakes

Our festive birthday candles are probably credited to the ancient Greeks. They allegedly made cakes decorated with candles to honor Artemis, the moon goddess and hunting. The round shape of the cakes was a tribute to the moon, and the lit candles made the sweets glow like the moon's surface. It is said that when the candles were extinguished, the smoke helped drive away evil spirits or carry prayers to the gods on Mount Olympus.

How Christmas candles from Zeus evolved to the present day is a bit more mysterious. One theory associates it with pagan ceremonies. Pagans and other cultures believed that evil spirits visited people on their birthdays, so candles and a room full of friends were necessary to protect a birthday boy or girl.

A few hundred years later, birthday candles reappeared in Germany, where the custom developed of adding one candle to the cake for each year of a person's life, plus an extra candle in the middle to achieve good luck next year. Hundreds of years later, we still light up our birthday celebrations.

The use of plastic bags

In 1959, a Swedish engineer, lamenting the destruction of forests, invented a product he thought would save the planet: plastic bags. They were stronger and cheaper than paper, and had comfortable handles. The creator Steen Gustav Tholin always carried a folded one in his back pocket to reuse as needed. He predicted that everyone would do the same.

But his creativity was much more popular than he dreamed of. By 1979, single-use plastic accounted for 80% of bags in Europe. By 1982, two supermarket chains in the United States, Safeway and Kruger switched to their use, and from there, plastic bags spread rapidly around the world.We now use about 500 billion plastic bags worldwide annually.

Ironically, Thulin's invention – which was aimed at saving the environment – contributed to marine plastic pollution that is expected to surpass all fish in the ocean by 2050.

Wearing diamond engagement rings

We rarely question the ritual of offering diamond engagement rings, thanks in part to a 31-year-old American copywriter named Marie-Francis Gheretti. I came up with the slogan "Diamonds forever" in 1947 as part of a marketing campaign launched by the British De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd.

Located in a diamond mine in South Africa, De Beers set out to convince young men and women that diamonds are a crucial measure of love. The marketing campaign even went so far as to limit the number of monthly salaries that a potential groom should spend on an engagement ring. In the thirties, this figure was equivalent to one month's salary. Today, as The Knot says, the price of showing affection has risen to three months' salary.

The campaign succeeded. Before World War II, only 10% of American brides wore diamond rings. Today, that figure has reached 75%.

The presence of packaging with packaging with a clear indication of manipulation

The metal foil seals and breakable plastic rings found in over-the-counter drugs provoke irritation when opened. But when these products hit the market in 1982, the country breathed a sigh of relief. That's because just six weeks ago, seven people died in the Chicago area from taking Tylenol capsules mixed with potassium cyanide.

Whoever did it, he put the poison in the bottles sometime after they left the factory, and perhaps after storing them in retail stores. (No one has ever been charged with murders, and the prime suspect, James Lewis, died in 2023.)

In response, manufacturer Johnson & Johnson recalled more than 31 million bottles of Tylenol across the country, then quickly proceeded to develop and deploy packaging with packaging with a clear significance of manipulation. Their solution included placing a liner under the bottle cap so consumers could see if the product had already been opened. Most other food and drug companies followed suit, and the Food and Drug Administration quickly approved the new packaging.