Happy (Belated) 4/20
Way back in 2004, the folks who brew Guinness wrote several large checks to the folks who run the ad agency BBDO, looking for new ways to sell beer. BBDO’s rocket-science creative team (led by a guy, we shit you not, named Einstein) came up with the idea of pushing 3-17 as a “National Beer Holiday.” Asinine? Sure. Effective? Must have been, as the campaign lives on today in the form of this surly pilgrim . You can even sign a petition.
There is currently no pot-related equivalent to the leprechaun — a question for a future post — but we’ve had our own national holiday for years: 4/20. And while it hasn’t quite reached the level of national debauchery awareness enjoyed by St. Patrick’s Day or its cousin màs picante, Cinco de Mayo, it’s becoming much harder to ignore. This year, several thousand pot pilgrims descended on the famed Porter Meadow in Santa Cruz, while an estimated 10,000 celebrants gathered at marijuana’s very own megachurch, the University of Colorado.
The irony, of course, is that “420″ doesn’t refer to a date — at least in its original context — but the best time of day to enjoy a smoke.
According to one of our culture’s most enduring legends, the number first took on significance in 1971, where a dozen or so students at San Rafael High began meeting after school to spark up next to a statue of Louis Pasteur. For the “Waldos,” as they called themselves, the battle-cry “420 Louis!” quickly evolved into a sort of conspiratorial high-five among those in the know.
So while we’re a couple of days late, here’s a toke to the Waldos, where-ever you are.
