Monday, Aug. 4, 2025: Daily Dirt
The key is how we handle the Monday blues. Welcome to The Daily Dirt’s Vol. 1,362: Three Thoughts for Today.
1. The worst day of the week? If you say anything other than Monday you re only lying to yourself.
Although there have been arguments in favor of designating one of the other six days as the worst, Monday is ultimately difficult to surpass. There won’t be another day off until Saturday, so it’s time to return to work now that the weekend is over.
In a recent survey of over 4,200 American adults, 58 percent claimed Monday was their least favorite day of the week, according to today.yougov.com. Tuesday came in a distant second with 12 percent.
Onvice.com, Vincenzo Ligresti previously stated, “Mondays get a bad rep because everything starts all over again.”
He was right. Excellent point.
Modern man has long suffered from the Monday problems.
A few years back, Jessica Schrader wrote in a Psychology Today article that Monday is the most unique day in the United States. For most individuals, Monday is the emotional equivalent of the rock in Charlie Brown’s Halloween candy, even if we cherish the weekend, give thanks to God for Friday, and at least put up with Tuesday through Thursday. The fact that Monday is the most often observed federal holiday may be its one redeeming feature.
However, Monday’s issues don’t end with simple disfavor. On Mondays, for instance, there are higher instances of suicides among both men and women, the lowest levels of work productivity, and the highest levels of emotional stress. In addition, Mondays typically see the highest rates of heart attacks, strokes, and workplace accidents.What’s the best course of action for the Monday issue?
It all depends, in my opinion, on how you handle the circumstance. For example:
- You should be well-rested from the weekend and have plenty to talk about with friends. Don t approach a Monday automatically feeling it s going to be an awful day.
- You should be in a good mood following a weekend of activities that you (hopefully) enjoyed. I read that Americans, on the average, spend 12 minutes complaining each Monday that it s Monday again.
- It s only Monday, so you should not be burnt out like, say, on a Friday.
Let’s examine Monday’s advantages. Indeed, there are a few:
- Scientists have found that people weigh more on Mondays, so that means by the end of the week the scales will again be your friend.
- Scientists have also found that Mondays, on the average, are the least rainiest days of the week.
- A study indicated the best way to get over the Monday blues are by watching TV, online shopping, buying chocolate and planning a holiday. All excellent ideas. (Special note: The Hershey Chocolate Company made its first chocolate kisses on July 1, 1907.)
Alright, enough griping about Monday (again). Get to your feet, erect your shoulders, and grin. Enjoy your day!
2. Did you know (Part 447)
- That George Washington s was the shortest inaugural address at 135 words.
- That William H. Harrison s was the longest inaugural address at 8,445 words. Despite a snowstorm, Harrison did not wear an overcoat, hat, or gloves during his nearly two-hour inaugural address. He died of pneumonia one month later.
- That Abraham Lincoln was the first to include African Americans in his inaugural parade.
- That only seven presidents were left-handed: James A. Garfield, Harry S. Truman, Gerald R. Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama.
- That Dwight D. Eisenhower grew up wanting to pitch for the New York Yankees. He made it to the minors in the Kansas League, but eventually began a military career that led him to the presidency.
3. Appalachian Word of the Day: July.
You betrayed me, even though I trusted you. Why July?
Steve’s Daily ThoughtOne of These Nights by the Eagles was the number one song in the nation fifty years ago today. How long ago was that exactly? The band’s original members, Don Henley, Bernie Leadon, and Don Felder, are all in their late 70s, and two of them have passed away: Glenn Frey in 2016 and Randy Meisner in 2023.
Every day, Steve Eighinger contributes to Muddy River News. For him, Mondays begin about 1 p.m. after a long night of trackburgers and racing.
