The Long March

For teachers and students, March is one of the most dreaded months on the calendar. People in the "time is money" corporate world might take issue with their complaint, but for those in education (except at universities) March means an endless month of five-day work weeks: no mid-winter or spring break weeks, not even a long holiday weekend to look forward to.

Yet, as a member of the corporate citizenship, in a marketing role no less, I have to bring a whole new outlook to events that dot my calendar: What’s the next big date to talk up? While March ranks low compared to other months like December, there are a few standouts that make this month newsworthy. Take St. Patrick’s Day, the vernal equinox and let’s not forget March Madness.

A stretch? Perhaps, but Answers.com did garner some press mentions for the events, nonetheless. The Carroll County Times and Detroit Free Press borrowed some St. Patty’s Day trivia from the answer engine, a blog pointed to Answers.com for info on spring, while the Charlotte Observer complimented the sports stats on the college basketball AnswerPage.

Speaking of compliments, Brainboost received one from Indy Star reporter Erika Smith. She tells readers to stop by the next time they have a nagging “Why” question.

OK — here’s two I’ve been wondering about lately: Why doesn’t big business take spring break? And why is the Atlantic 10 conference so bad?