Sweetie or Geeky

Valentine’s Day—Sweetie or Geeky?

Valentine’s Day: a global celebration embraced by over 59% of consumers worldwide. But this February 14, we invite you to explore the day from dual perspectives—whether you’re a sweetie reveling in romantic traditions or a geeky enthusiast fascinated by the day’s rich array of scientific milestones. Are you one, the other, or a mix of both? Read this article to discover lesser-known data and events illuminating the history of Valentine’s Day and its scientific significance.

If you are ready to have your mind romanced and intellect engaged and even possibly enhanced, read on.

Sweetheart Traditions

Friends, families, and lovers exchange gifts as a testament to their affection. Recent data shows that more than 145 million Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged annually, and Americans spend a whopping $25.9 billion on the holiday, with individual expenditures averaging $192.80. About 224 million roses are specially grown for the occasion, symbolizing love and appreciation. And let’s not forget the 36 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolates that sweeten the day even further.

And for those celebrating a quieter evening, consider downloading On Blazing Wings by L. Ron Hubbard, a thrilling military love story, as our gift to you this Valentine’s Day.

Historical Heartstrings

The festivities’ genesis returns to the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, an annual fertility celebration. Pope Gelasius made it into a Christian feast at the end of the fifth century, declaring it “St. Valentine’s Day.” Which St. Valentine he was referring to is unclear, as there were at least three Christian saints with that name.

Most scholars believe, however, that it is about St. Valentine, who lived around 270 AD and was executed because he secretly married couples so husbands wouldn’t have to go to war. Valentine was imprisoned, and while imprisoned, he healed the jailer’s blind daughter. On the day of his execution, he left the girl a note signed, “Your Valentine.”

It wasn’t until the 14th century that the saint’s feast day became associated with love. In 1381, Chaucer composed a poem in honor of the engagement between England’s Richard II and Anne of Bohemia. As was the poetic tradition, Chaucer associated the occasion with a feast day. In his poem “The Parliament of Fowls,” the royal engagement, birds’ mating season, and St. Valentine’s Day are linked.

Over the centuries, the holiday has evolved into what it is today: a celebration of love and friendship.

Geeky Side of February 14

Valentine’s Day isn’t just for lovers but also marks the anniversary of significant scientific milestones. For example, it was on this day in 1876 that Alexander Graham Bell applied for his revolutionary telephone patent. Eight years later, Thomas A. Edison was issued a patent for a “Telephone-Transmitter” (patent No. 278,044). Bell and Edison forever changed how we communicate affection from afar.

As for other milestones that have changed the course of humanity:

1. Penicillin, February 14, 1929: Sir Alexander Fleming in England discovered penicillin after leaving a plate of staphylococcus bacteria uncovered and noticing that a mold that had fallen on the culture killed many of the bacteria. This medical achievement has profoundly impacted and prolonged the lives of individuals worldwide.

2. SolarMax satellite launch, February 14, 1980: The US launched the SolarMax satellite to investigate Solar phenomena. In addition to collecting valuable data on solar flares, sunspots, and sungrazing comets, SolarMax was the first orbiting, unmanned satellite to be repaired in space, adding five more years of lifespan to its mission.

3. Voyager I, February 14, 1990: Looking back from above the stars, the US space probe Voyager I successfully completed a series of photographs of our Solar System, including the sun and six planets. Voyager I launched on September 5, 1977, and by 1990, it had traveled 3.7 billion miles and could look down and take a photograph.

In the photos, Earth appears as a pale blue dot, the size of a pixel, against the vastness of space. All the images were assembled into a large mosaic entitled the “Family Portrait of the Planets.” Astronomer and author Carl Sagan campaigned for many years to have these pictures taken. After seeing them, he had this to say:

“It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.”

These were the last photographs Voyager I took before its cameras were turned off.

Earth as seen from Voyager 1 - a

Earth as seen from Voyager 1 – a “Pale Blue Dot”

4. NEAR, February 14, 2000: The Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous spacecraft (NEAR) achieved orbit around asteroid 433 Eros, a 21-mile-long space rock. It is the first spacecraft to lock into orbit around an asteroid successfully.

5. SpaceX Rocket Booster, February 14, 2020: SpaceX conducted a so-called static-fire test of a Falcon 9 rocket at Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. This was in preparation for the third Starlink satellite launch. SpaceX CEO and founder Elon Musk described the redesigned COPVs (Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessels) as “the most advanced pressure vessel developed by humanity.”

6. A team of scientists from the University of Chicago and the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory made a game-changing announcement: they completed the most accurate measurements of the universe’s matter distribution. This landmark analysis combined information from two very different telescope surveys: the Dark Energy Survey (running for over six years from a mountaintop in Chile) and the South Pole Telescope (observing the faint traces of radiation that are still traveling across the sky from the first few moments of the universe). With this combined information, they assembled a map of how matter is distributed, which is crucial to understanding the forces that shape the universe.

75 Years: February 1950—February 2025

In the same spirit of remarkable achievements, February 1950 marked the first publication of L. Ron Hubbard’s novel To the Stars in Astounding Science Fiction. Although not specifically released on February 14th, the publication of this novel adds to the panorama of groundbreaking scientific and literary milestones. To the Stars is built with masterly skills from hard, scientific theory—in this case, the Einstein-Lorentz-Fitzgerald “time-dilation” equation: “As mass approaches the speed of light, time approaches zero.”

The novel is lauded for its visionary take on the perils and promises of space travel, resonating with the ambitions of the mid-20th century’s burgeoning space exploration efforts.

For your geeky Valentine, get To the Stars.

Celebrate Love and Curiosity

Reflecting on all the groundbreaking achievements on February 14, let’s remember that Valentine’s Day celebrates all profound connections—whether they’re held together by love, curiosity, or the indomitable human spirit to explore and understand each other and our universe.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Enter any predictions for future milestone accomplishments on Valentine’s Day in the comment section below!

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And don’t forget to download On Blazing Wings, our gift to you. Or introduce your geeky other half to the classic science fiction novel, To the Stars.

References:

20+ Sweet Valentine’s Day Statistics & Facts for 2025 

18 Valentine’s Day Spending Statistics to Know in 2024 

Other articles and resources you may be interested in:

Learn about the NEAR spacecraft, the pale blue dot, or the Space X Falcon 9 launch and the upgraded booster.

New to L. Ron Hubbard’s fiction? Start here.

Futuristic technology inspired by science fiction

Does space opera influence our progress to space?

Cameras of Future Past

Are all Romance Writers Female? 

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