A Few Little-Known Facts About Valentine's Day

Since I didn't have the time (or cash) to get a nice card and/or flowers for each and every one of you, how about some Valentine's Day info you can use tonight if the conversation begins to lag?

Maybe you know some of these, and maybe you don't. However, just humor me and pretend it's all new to you.

From List 25:

Based on retail statistics, about 3% of pet owners will give gifts to their pets on this day.
About 1 billion Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged each year. This makes it the second largest seasonal card sending time of the year (behind Christmas).
You could also pop over to Finland where Valentine’s Day is called Ystävänpäivä, which translates into “Friend’s day.” It's more about remembering your buddies than your loved ones.
Many believe the X symbol became synonymous with the kiss in medieval times. People who couldn't write their names signed in front of a witness with an X. The X was then kissed to show their sincerity.
Girls of medieval times ate bizarre foods on this day to make them dream of their future spouse.
In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who would be their Valentine. They would wear this name pinned onto their sleeves for one week for everyone to see. This was the origin of the expression "to wear your heart on your sleeve."
Physicians of the 1800s commonly advised their patients to eat chocolate to calm their pining for lost love.
More than 35 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate are sold each year.
73% of people who buy flowers on this day are men, while only 27 percent are women.
15% of U.S. women send themselves flowers on Valentine's Day.
Over 50 percent of all Valentine's Day cards are purchased in the six days prior to the holiday, making Valentine's Day a procrastinator's delight.
Teachers will receive the most Valentine's Day cards, followed by children, mothers, wives, sweethearts, and pets.
220,000 is the average number of wedding proposals on Valentine's Day each year.