Monday Overnight Open Thread - September 1, 2025 [Doof]

Howdy Hordelings! Happy Labor Day to ya! I'm not actually here tonight - I'm on my way to Bermuda on a cruise ship. If you're reading this, then some other member of Ace's Happy Worker Party pushed the launch button on tonight's ONT.

Enjoy your week. See you all at Club ONT on Saturday!

What Is This Holiday Anyway?

History of Labor Day

Observed the first Monday in September, Labor Day is an annual celebration of the social and economic achievements of American workers. The holiday is rooted in the late nineteenth century, when labor activists pushed for a federal holiday to recognize the many contributions workers have made to America’s strength, prosperity, and well-being.

McGuire v. Maguire: Who Founded Labor Day?

Who first proposed the holiday for workers? It’s not entirely clear, but two workers can make a solid claim to the Founder of Labor Day title.

Some records show that in 1882, Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a co-founder of the American Federation of Labor, suggested setting aside a day for a "general holiday for the laboring classes" to honor those "who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold."

But Peter McGuire's place in Labor Day history has not gone unchallenged. Many believe that machinist Matthew Maguire, not Peter McGuire, founded the holiday.

Recent research seems to support the contention that Matthew Maguire, later the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, New Jersey, proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York.

According to the New Jersey Historical Society, after President Cleveland signed the law creating a national Labor Day, the Paterson Morning Call published an opinion piece stating that "the souvenir pen should go to Alderman Matthew Maguire of this city, who is the undisputed author of Labor Day as a holiday." Both Maguire and McGuire attended the country’s first Labor Day parade in New York City that year.

Read more at the link

Like Your Job?

Is your job among this list?

100 Best Jobs

No single job suits all of us, but many of the best ones have a few attributes in common: They pay well, challenge us year after year, match our talents and skills, aren't too stressful, offer room to advance throughout our careers, and provide a satisfying work-life balance. Job seekers also often consider whether a position is in demand. U.S. News used these qualities to rank the 100 Best Jobs of 2025.

#1 - Nurse Practitioner
#2 - IT Manager
#3 - Physician Assistant

Hit the link for the other 97

It's A Dirty Job, But Someone's Gotta Do It

Mike Rowe Hosting a Show in a Sewer Led to Him Creating Dirty Jobs

Bloopers from Mike Rowe's awesome show

DJ Doof - Singing About Work Edition

Weekly commenter stats for week of 8-31-2025

Top 10 commenters:
1 [638 comments] 'TheJamesMadison, growing up with John Hughes' [90.62 posts/day]
2 [378 comments] 'Hadrian the Seventh '
3 [314 comments] '18-1'
4 [311 comments] 'whig'
5 [306 comments] 'm'
6 [267 comments] 'polynikes'
7 [249 comments] 'Sponge - F*ck Cancer'
8 [244 comments] 'rickb223 '
9 [242 comments] 'Anonosaurus Wrecks, We're Living On Land Stolen From the Dinosaur! '
10 [241 comments] 'Elric The Blade'

Top 10 sockpuppeteers:
1 [148 names] 'Whole world's gone mad' [21.02 unique names/day]
2 [123 names] 'Size of Relief'
3 [78 names] 'Duncanthrax'
4 [78 names] 'Quarter Twenty '
5 [64 names] 'Count de Monet'
6 [42 names] 'I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper'
7 [36 names] 'The Grateful '
8 [33 names] 'Lindsey Graham, Closeted Homosexual'
9 [23 names] '18-1'
10 [22 names] 'Mike Hammer, etc., etc.'

Tonight's ONT brought to you by "What's an OSHA?"

posted by Open Blogger at 10:00 PM

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