Discovery Day

My sister's post on the passing of Norman Borlaug reminds me of an idea I'd like to see for a national 'Discovery Day' to replace Columbus Day. I'd call it Discoverer's Day, but that doesn't sound as good to me. Columbus Day has been attacked recently from the PC crowd, and let's face it, who really celebrates this in some Columbus-related way, other than people in Boston's North End? It's not clear to me why we have a national holiday for one man who lived 300 years before the USA was founded.

A more general Discovery Day would honor the people who have made the scientific, medical and other discoveries that have had such a positive effect on our lives. Norman Borlaug is certainly not alone in his obscurity. How about Edward Jenner? It is said that he too saved more lives than any other man. What about Fleming, Florey et al.? If you did a poll, what percentage of people do you think would be able to say what they did?

It will never happen of course, because nobody much cares. Only politics makes for big news.