Friday Funnies

Welcome to a brand new month and the first Friday Funny of May. 

This post is about a little yellow bug that I saw this week in the mill apartments parking lot. 

It's one that is instantly recognized by most people.

The Volkswagen Beetle, officially Volkswagen Type 1, is a small family car produced rom 1938 to 2003 by German company Volkswagen. A global cultural icon known for its bug-like design, it's regarded as one of the most influential cars of the 20th century. Its 65-year production period is the longest for any single generation of automobile. More than 21 million were made in over 20 locations worldwide, it's the best-selling car of a single platform (based on one core engineering design, chassis, and drivetrain) in auto history.

Did you know?

Béla Barényi & Ferdinand Porsche

That Volkswagen was established in 1937 Berlin by the Nazi Party's German Labour Front as part of the Strength Through Joy program. In the early 1930s, most Germans could not afford anything more than a motorcycle, only one German out of 50 owned a car. Adolf Hitler, the leader of Nazi Germany, decided there was a need for a simple, mass-produced car for the country's new road network. 

In the early 1930s, German engineer Ferdinand Porsche and his design team started design and development of the car. The fundamental design has been attributed to a Hungarian engineer Béla Barényi as early as 1925, predating Porsche and his 1927 design was created 10 years before the car went into production.

Volkswagen initially slated production for the late 1930s. The 1939 outbreak of WW II delayed that until the war's end. Originally the Volkswagen Type 1, it was marketed as Volkswagen. In 1955, Volkswagen recognized Barenyi as the intellectual father of the Beetle. The car officially became known as the Beetle in 1968.

Today, May 1 is globally celebrated as International Workers' Day honoring labor movements and worker solidarity. It's a national public holiday in many countries and also celebrated as May Day, a traditional spring festival with maypole dancing and flowers. In 1955, the Catholic Church dedicated May 1 as a Catholic Feast Day for St. Joseph the Worker, the patron saint of workers and craftsmen. Some countries, like the U.S. and Canada, celebrate Labor Day on other dates.

Now you and I know the rest of the story.

Enjoy Your Weekend, Everyone

We're leaving on a 3-state road trip to visit family & friends