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It can be fun to find new things, like finding a new place to eat or finding that model of Goulds Well Pump that's perfect for your application. The last time I got excited about finding something was when I found an old pair of socks under my bed that had been lost for weeks. I can’t imagine how Christopher Columbus must have felt when he finally spotted land after sailing across the vast Atlantic in 1492. Columbus Day commemorates the landing of the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria in America all those years ago. Of course, Columbus originally thought he landed in Asia but after a quick check on Google Maps, discovered he was actually in the previously mostly unexplored by Europeans continent of America (we have to give some props to Leif Erikson). His voyages were sponsored by the Spanish crown and he originally made landfall in the Bahamas. Not much later he found Cuba and Hispaniola, which he thought to be China and Japan respectively. Columbus Day fun fact: it’s a common misconception that most people back in 1492 thought the earth was flat. In reality, most Europeans knew the world was round, they were just not aware of the existence of the Pacific Ocean. It was thought that the Atlantic Ocean stretched in between Europe and Asia. Columbus Day fun fact #2: it took Columbus three journeys back and forth until he realized he had “discovered” a new continent. Brief history of Columbus Day in America The first observance of Columbus Day occurred in 1792 as many cities across the nation celebrated the 300th anniversary of Columbus’ voyage. However Columbus Day did not become a federal holiday until 1937. Certainly not a day without it's controversies, many Americans now celebrate the second Monday in October as Indigenous People’s Day. Although now a federal holiday, Columbus Day is still inconsistently celebrated across the United States. Some states observe the holiday and even give kids the day off of school while other states, such as Hawaii and South Dakota, just ignore the holiday all together. Regardless, Columbus Day or whatever it's referred to as, should be a day where ethnicity and cultures are honored and celebrated. This holiday is the perfect opportunity to come together and share what makes our cultures unique. Even though Columbus Day has certainly become one of the more peculiar dates on the calendar, many Americans, no matter where they or their ancestors were born or have emigrated from, typically celebrate Columbus Day with parades or street fairs. Columbus Day has also grown to be a day where Italian heritage in particular is celebrated since Columbus himself was Italian. This day is also the perfect opportunity to visit PumpProducts.com and take a look at our wide inventory of pumps, parts, and accessories. If Columbus had seen our pumps and prices, he may have tried to discover America a couple years earlier. Pump Products applications engineers are standing by to help you find the right pump, as well as to provide price quotes, availability and shipping information. Call our toll free number 1-800-429-0800.  

Happy Columbus Day from all of us at Pump Products! If you’re one of the lucky ones to have the day off, congratulations! I sincerely hope you’re spending it doing errands or relaxing on the couch and not… you know, pillaging and murdering. If you find that statement confusing or shocking, allow me to explain. As the famous children’s mnemonic goes, “In 1492/Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” According to popular myth, Europeans in the 15th century assumed that the world was flat and the only route to Asia - and its many treasures, such as spice and gold - was to sail East. Columbus proposed that a western route to Asia could be found and through nerve and daring, eventually found his way to America, thereby discovering that the world was round. In reality, most of the educated populace of the time understood that the earth was a globe.  While Columbus is the discoverer of the landmass of “America” in the popular imagination, in reality he first landed in what would today be called the Bahamas and later the island of Hispaniola. Perhaps those islands are technically grouped with North America in continental classifications, but most people today would think of “The Caribbean” as its own entity. Moreover, Columbus was probably not the first European explorer to land in the general vicinity. Norse explorer Leif Erikson landed in North America in approximately 1001 - nearly 500 years before Columbus! Columbus is not really a man worth celebrating. He and his men were absolutely brutal to the native tribes they encountered. Scores were enslaved, women were raped and many were straight up murdered, with some explorers actually hunting natives for sport. Smallpox and other diseases were introduced to the New World, killing many more. In all, conservative estimates place the death toll at over 3 million and many historians have to come to label Columbus’s expedition a genocidal act. So uh, why do we celebrate this guy again As with many holidays, customs and rituals, the answer is political. The anniversary of the 1492 landing had been celebrated at various points, but it was the work of Italian-American activists, such as the Knights of Columbus, that really kick started the movement in the early 1900s. The activists were looking to consecrate a day to celebrate an Italian role model, for assimilation purposes and to combat the anti-Italian and anti-immigrant bigotry that was prevalent in American society at the time. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared Columbus Day a federal holiday in 1934 after much lobbying. Today, many businesses and school districts celebrate with a day off. Columbus Day Parades are also popular in many municipalities. Today, as a clearer picture of Columbus the man emerges, the holiday has become somewhat controversial. Many municipalities choose to celebrate Indigenous People's Day in honor of those who suffered and lost so much to Columbus and colonialism. It will be interesting to see what changes, if any, occur with the holiday as more people come to understand what they are celebrating. Pump Products application engineers are standing by to help you find the right pump, as well as to provide price quotes, stocking availability and shipping information. Call our toll free number 1-800-429-0800.