7 Weird Facts About St. Patrick's Day That'll Make You Look Smart

It's St. Patrick's Day! We all know the holiday is observed on the feast day of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, and is a worldwide celebration of Irish culture and history.

But besides donning green, downing pints of Guinness, and feasting on corned beef and cabbage, what do we really know about the Irish holiday? Here are seven facts, statistics and trivia you'll love learning about!

1. Did St. Patrick Start Leap Year Proposals?
You can thank St. Patrick for this Irish tradition. According to legend, St. Bridget complained that women were tired of waiting for marriage proposals, so she took matters into her own hands by proposing to St. Patrick. Still, that doesn't mean that the guys are buying into the hype. In one study, one in five men would rather run a mile than accept a proposal from their girlfriend on February 29.

2. Wedding Bells Are Ringing
St. Patrick's Day is considered the luckiest day of the year to get married ... unless it falls on a Saturday. According to this Irish proverb, Saturday is the worst day of the week to get married: "Marry on Monday for wealth / Tuesday for health / Wednesday the best day of all / Thursday for losses / Friday for crosses / Saturday for no luck at all."

3. Oh, Baby!
About 650,000 American newborn babies have been named Patrick over the past 100 years. Were their parents perhaps inspired by their own St. Paddy's Day weddings?

4. Bottoms Up!
On any given day, 5.5 million pints of Guinness, the holiday's go-to brand of beer, are consumed worldwide. But on St. Patrick's Day, that number more than doubles to 13 million.

5. "Kiss me, I'm Irish!"
The Blarney Stone is reportedly kissed by up to 400,000 people a year, making us think that you're likely to catch more than just luck from this Irish tourist attraction.

6. Send Your Love
Mailing cards to loved ones isn't just a Valentines Day tradition. Hallmark sells anywhere from 8-15 million St. Patrick's Day-themed cards each year.

7. Day Trip, Anyone?
Did you know that there are seven places in the United States named Shamrock, the floral emblem of Ireland? Visiting any one of these Irish-inspired destinations would make for a great St. Paddy's Day date, don't you think?