National Umbrella Day is celebrated across the nation each year on February 10th.
On this day, we honor one of the world’s most useful inventions, the umbrella! Not only does the umbrella help keep us dry from the rain, but it also protects us from the heat of the sun. Umbrellas can also be used as a fashion accessory.
- Umbrellas have been featured in many motion pictures, most notably: * Singing in the Rain – 1952; * Mary Poppins – 1964.
- The umbrella was designed for shade and not the rain. The word umbrella comes from the Latin word umbra, meaning shade or shadow.
- Brolly is a slang word for umbrella, often used in Britain, New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa.
- Bumbershoot is a fanciful Americanism for an umbrella from the late 19th century.
- An alternative name for the umbrella is a parasol.
- The basic umbrella was invented over four thousand years ago. There is evidence of umbrellas in the ancient art and artifacts of Egypt Assyria, Greece, and China.
- It was the Chinese that first waterproofed umbrellas for use in the rain. They waxed and lacquered their paper parasols to protect them from the elements.
- The oldest recorded umbrella appeared in 21 AD, in Ancient China.
- Qin Shihuang’s tomb revealed a terracotta army carriage that had a permanently open umbrella attached to it dating from 210 BC.
- One of the first umbrella shops in existence opened in 1830 at 53 New Oxford Street in London, England. James Smith and Sons operate regular hours at the same location still today.
- The first recorded usage of the word umbrella was in 1610.
- In 1928, Hans Haupt’s pocket umbrellas appeared.
- In 1969, Bradford E. Phillips, the owner of Totes Incorporated of Loveland, Ohio, obtained a patent for the first “working folding umbrella.”
- Umbrellas have also been fashioned into hats as early as 1880 and as recently as 1987.
- One of the most famous hats that serves as a big parasol is the Mexican sombrero (which can be translated as “shade maker”).
- In photography, umbrellas with a reflective inside are used by photographers as a diffusion device when employing artificial lighting and as a glare shield and shade, most often in portrait situations.
- Umbrellas were the ancient equivalent of donning a pair of high heels—only women would use them, and they were a blatant symbol of femininity. In fact, in many ancient cultures, men brandishing umbrellas was a sign of effeminacy. And umbrellas were often associated with high fashion and wealth.
- The first man who publicly carried an umbrella was Englishman Jonas Hanway. His influence finally introduced an umbrella to the male population of England, and soon after entire world.
- One city in China (Shangyu) has over a thousand umbrella factories. According to local estimates, about half a billion umbrellas, or 30% of China’s production, are made here yearly.
- One worker makes about 300 umbrellas a day
- Umbrellas can be used as offensive and defensive weapons. French President Nicolas Sarkozy was the first who started using Kevlar coated umbrella as a part of his security measures.
- Steel ribbed umbrellas were invented in 1852 by Samuel Fox.
- The first working “folding umbrella” was introduced in 1969 by Bradford Philips.
- Over 33 million umbrellas are sold in the United States each year.
- The umbrella cover museum in Maine boasts the largest collection of umbrella covers in the world.
- United States Patent Office has seen more than 3000 plans for redesigning the umbrella, from adding a pet leash to attempts at creating a flying umbrella. A Google search of the US Patent Office yields 120,000 entries with the word “umbrella,” including an automated sun tracking umbrella, dog umbrella, umbrella with interchangeable tops, mister-equipped umbrella system, and many more.
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