🤪 November 20 – Absurdity Day: Embrace the Weird, Worship the Wacky, Get Gleefully Goofy 🧦🎩🐓
If you’ve ever worn mismatched socks on purpose, held a serious conversation with a houseplant, or declared "Tuesday is soup hat day!" just to confuse your coworkers—guess what? Absurdity Day was made for you.
Celebrated every year on November 20, this holiday is a full-on permission slip to abandon logic, disrupt the mundane, and let your inner oddball out to dance in public (preferably to music no one else can hear).
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🧃 Who Invented This Absurdity?
Here’s the kicker—no one really knows who started Absurdity Day. Which honestly feels perfectly on-brand. Some say it was cooked up by teachers as a way to let kids release their sillies. Others blame the internet. Either way, we’re grateful someone somewhere decided the world needed just a little more nonsense.
🤯 Weird (and Absurd) Fun Facts
The word absurd comes from the Latin absurdus, meaning “out of tune.” 🎼 So go ahead—sing off-key. You're etymologically correct!
Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí once gave a lecture wearing a diving suit. He almost passed out. But fashion over function, right?
In 1967, a town in Nebraska held a beauty pageant for chickens. (Miss Peepington was robbed, we hear.)
🎉 10+ Delightfully Ridiculous Ways to Celebrate Absurdity Day
Get ready to let your logic circuits rest and unleash the delightful chaos. Here’s how to celebrate like a true absurdist legend:
Dress like a walking art project. Tutu over jeans? Banana clip on your beard? Yes, please. 👗🍌
Talk in rhyme for the whole day. It’s weird, it’s hard, but it’s oh-so poetic. 🗣️🎭
Declare a random object your emotional support item. “This pineapple gets me, okay?” 🍍
Hold a press conference for your houseplants. “Cactus Carl has a bold new vision for the windowsill.” 🌵🎤
Send your friends cryptic texts with no context. Just “The spaghetti knows too much” and leave it there. 📱🤐
Create your own holiday within a holiday. “Today is International Celebrate-Your-Elbow Day. Happy bow-ing!” 💪
Write a very serious haiku about something very silly.
Dignified cheese wheel,
Rolling to your dairy fate—
Hero of the fridge. 🧀✨Answer every question with a question. “Are you going to work?” “Isn’t everyone always going somewhere?” 😏
Throw a tea party for your socks. They're tired of the drawer life. 🧦☕
Walk backwards in public with confidence. People will assume it's performance art. 🎨
Use only absurd metaphors all day. "I’m busier than a llama in a salsa factory." 🦙🌶️
🎩 Absurdity Day Dinner Theme: Culinary Nonsense, Glorious and Delicious
Why make sense when you can make dinner? Embrace chaos in the kitchen with a whimsical, slightly unhinged menu that tastes amazing despite its absurdity. Serve it with a wink, a raised eyebrow, and maybe a monocle made of cucumber.
🍽️ Entrée: Upside-Down Ravioli Lasagna Stacks
What is it?
Lasagna, but it’s ravioli. Stacked like Jenga blocks. Upside down on the plate. Because logic is for Tuesday.
Ingredients:
1 package fresh or frozen cheese ravioli
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup marinara sauce
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
Fresh basil (because we still care about aesthetics)
Red pepper flakes (optional, for spicy absurdity)
Instructions:
Boil ravioli according to package instructions.
On each plate, place one ravioli, then a dollop of ricotta, a spoon of sauce, and a sprinkle of mozzarella.
Stack 3–4 ravioli high like a very confused lasagna.
Bake stacks in the oven at 375°F for 10 minutes or microwave if you're feeling rebellious.
Garnish with basil and pepper flakes. Serve upside down. Literally flip it if you dare.
🥦 Side: Inside-Out Broccoli Donuts
What is it?
Savory baked “donuts” made from mashed broccoli, cheese, and breadcrumbs. Looks sweet, tastes veggie. Very confusing. Very good.
Ingredients:
2 cups steamed broccoli, finely chopped
1/2 cup sharp cheddar
1 egg
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
Salt & pepper to taste
Optional: sprinkle with sesame seeds or edible glitter (for glam)
Instructions:
Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Shape into donut molds or rings.
Bake at 375°F for 20 minutes until golden and firm.
Serve with a side of ketchup in a teacup, just because.
🍹 Drink: Sparkling Pickle Juice Paloma
What is it?
A grapefruit cocktail/mocktail with a dash of pickle brine for chaos and zing. It’s like your taste buds threw a party and invited your weird uncle.
Ingredients:
2 oz grapefruit juice
1/2 oz lime juice
1 tsp pickle brine
Sparkling water (or grapefruit soda)
Optional: 1–2 oz tequila or gin for the adults
Garnish: tiny umbrella in a pickle slice
Instructions:
Shake grapefruit, lime, and brine with ice.
Pour into a glass and top with sparkling water.
Garnish with confusion and a pickle umbrella.
🍰 Dessert: Backwards Banana Split Soup
What is it?
All the ingredients of a banana split…but melted into a warm, dessert soup. Served in mugs. With a cherry on the side (because why not).
Ingredients:
2 ripe bananas
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup heavy cream or coconut milk
1 scoop vanilla ice cream (to melt into the mix)
Crushed peanuts
Maraschino cherry (served next to, not on, the soup)
Instructions:
Mash bananas and warm in a saucepan with chocolate chips, cream, and ice cream until smooth.
Pour into mugs and top with peanuts.
Serve with the cherry off to the side. Tell guests it’s a metaphor.
🕯️ Absurd Bonus:
Serve everything on mismatched plates.
Eat dessert first.
Cut your lasagna with a spoon and your broccoli donut with a straw.
Wear a hat made of lettuce. Or don’t. You’re in charge.
🍭 ELEMENTARY ACTIVITY: “The Day Nothing Made Sense!”
Theme: Silly Storytelling + SEL + Creative Thinking
Grades: K–5
Time: 45–60 minutes
Materials Needed:
“Absurd Scenario Cards”
Chart paper or whiteboard
Crayons/markers
Blank paper
Optional: fun dress-up props (socks for hands, sunglasses, capes)
🌀 Activity:
Morning Welcome – Backwards Style!
Greet students backwards: say "Good morning!" while facing away, write the date right-to-left, and encourage students to walk in silly slow motion to their seats. 🤸♀️👟Introduce Absurdity Day:
Ask, “What would happen if the world suddenly stopped making sense?” Brainstorm ideas on the board (e.g., cats teaching math, books that sneeze, pizza that sings).Absurd Scenario Shuffle:
Hand out (or pull from a hat) the Absurd Scenario Cards. Each student or small group gets a silly prompt like:“Your teacher is a talking marshmallow. What happens during the school day?”
“You wake up and gravity is gone. Breakfast is floating!”
“The alphabet just got 5 new letters. What do they sound like?”
Write & Illustrate:
Students write a short story or comic strip based on their card, then draw a picture of their absurd scene. Encourage them to let their imaginations run wild!Silly Author Share Time:
Create a “Wacky Writer’s Chair” for students to share their stories aloud. Applaud each with a quirky sound (snap fingers, moo like a cow, robot beeps). 🤖🐄👏Absurd Art Gallery:
Tape their drawings around the room for a walk-through gallery of absurdities.
💡 Optional Extension:
Have an “Absurd Outfit Hour” where students can wear hats on their feet, shirts backward, or mix-match socks. Build in a moment to reflect: “Why is it fun or helpful to sometimes be silly or think differently?” 🎩🧦✨
🎭 SECONDARY ACTIVITY: “Absurd Arguments: Debate Gone Silly!”
Theme: Creative Persuasion + Satire + Critical Thinking
Grades: 6–12
Time: 1 class period (45–60 mins)
Materials Needed:
Printed “Absurd Debate Prompts”
Timer
Whiteboard or projector
Optional: simple costume props (mustaches, hats, wigs for speakers)
🎤 Activity:
Set the Stage:
Begin with a question on the board: “Can nonsense be powerful?” Facilitate a 5-minute class discussion. Highlight how satire, absurdity, and parody can challenge norms and encourage deeper thinking.Explain the Absurdity Debate:
Students will pair up to debate completely nonsensical topics—but with formal structure and as much seriousness as possible! Encourage strong (and absurd) reasoning.Distribute Topics:
Use the “Absurd Debate Prompts” below. Examples include:“Is cereal a better pet than a goldfish?”
“Should humans replace walking with bouncing?”
“Would society be better if we all spoke in rhyme?”
“Bananas: Fashion Statement or Weapon?”
Debate Prep (10–15 mins):
Partners choose a side and prepare 2–3 key arguments and a short closing statement.Let the Debates Begin!
Set a timer for each debate round (2 mins per speaker, 1 min rebuttal). Encourage dramatic delivery, humorous “evidence,” and audience applause after each.Reflect & Decompress:
Debrief with the class:What made the absurd debates fun?
Did you discover anything about persuasive language or performance?
Can nonsense teach us something?
💡 Optional Extension:
Invite students to write their own absurd editorial or “serious news article” (à la The Onion) to be featured on a class “Wall of Whimsy.”
🃏 ABSURD PROMPT PRINTABLES
Absurd Scenario Cards (Elementary)
Cut or copy onto slips:
Your pencil can talk—but only in riddles!
The school bus turns into a dragon after lunch.
Every classroom item has come to life…and they’re all grumpy!
You wake up as a jellybean.
Rain now falls up instead of down.
All the teachers are invisible today.
Absurd Debate Prompts (Secondary)
Should homework be replaced with interpretive dance?
Would life be better if gravity worked sideways?
Is it ethical for socks to unionize?
Are pineapples secretly planning world domination?
Should all math be done using spaghetti?
💫 WHY CELEBRATE ABSURDITY IN THE CLASSROOM?
Absurdity Day isn't just about goofiness (though that's a big part 🎈)—it's also a celebration of imagination, divergent thinking, and the joy of questioning norms. When students feel safe to be silly, they’re often more willing to take risks, embrace creativity, and approach problems in unexpected ways.
So go ahead: wear your glasses upside down, write your name backward, and revel in the delightful chaos of it all. Absurdity has its own kind of brilliance. 💡🎨🦄
🎩 Quirky in the Workplace
A.K.A. “Take Your Inner Nonsense to Work Day”
Let’s be honest: most workplaces already flirt with absurdity (see: 47-slide decks about “synergy” and the mysterious fridge yogurt from 2019). But on Absurdity Day, we lean in. Hard. Like, “Why is your boss wearing a monocle and narrating the printer jam like it’s a Shakespearean tragedy?” hard.
🌀 Absurd Job Swap Roulette
Tagline: “Today, I’m the Regional VP of Paperclip Logistics. Respect my authority.”
For one chaotic, joyfully unproductive hour, everyone randomly draws a new “absurd workplace role” from a hat—and must act the part.
Example Roles:
Chief Vibe Curator – must carry a plant, a Bluetooth speaker, and judge the office’s energy.
Email Translator – reads all emails aloud, dramatically translating them into Shakespearean English or pirate speak.
Snack Operations Strategist – evaluates and charts the emotional impact of each breakroom snack.
Sentient Office Chair Liaison – speaks only on behalf of the chairs and their demands for lumbar justice.
Encourage:
Silly name tags.
Made-up titles in email signatures.
Performance reviews written in haiku.
Optional Bonus: Appoint one poor soul as the “Absurdity Compliance Officer” whose job is to maintain order, fail spectacularly, and file “nonsense reports” in crayon.
Final Note:
“Absurdity Day: Because if we must pretend to be normal the rest of the year, we deserve one day of glorious, unhinged workplace theatre.”
🎬 Movie Pick: The Lobster (2015)
Why it fits:
This surreal dystopian comedy is built entirely on an absurd premise: single people must find a romantic partner within 45 days or be turned into an animal of their choice. It’s dry, deadpan, and filled with bizarre rules, behaviors, and logic that fully embrace absurdity while satirizing societal norms. Every line and plot twist pushes the boundary between strange and profound — perfect for the spirit of the holiday.
📺 TV Episode Pick: Community – Season 3, Episode 4: “Remedial Chaos Theory”
Why it fits:
This Emmy-nominated episode plays with the idea of multiple timelines triggered by a roll of a die. Each version of reality spirals into increasingly absurd outcomes — including a “darkest timeline” with evil goatees. The structure, humor, and meta-awareness make it one of the most inventively absurd sitcom episodes ever aired.
💫 The Point Is...There Is No Point
Absurdity Day isn’t about making sense—it’s about not making sense, on purpose. It’s about shaking the Etch A Sketch of reality and doodling something completely unhinged. It's a reminder that not everything has to be efficient, productive, or Instagram-perfect. Sometimes, being gloriously weird is the healthiest thing you can do.
So go ahead. Wear a colander on your head. Start a petition to make “Wobble Wednesday” a thing. Laugh for no reason. The world’s serious enough—let’s be delightfully, wonderfully absurd today.
🌀#Hashtags for the Chaos
#AbsurdityDay #CelebrateQuirky #WeirdlyWonderful #DelightfullyDeranged #SillyOnPurpose #LiveLaughAbsurd #ColanderCouture #EmbraceTheOdd
