While it’s hard to discover how many popular expressions have originated, Hump Day is a no-brainer. If the five weekday workdays are lined up in a row Wednesday falls right in the middle. People, who dislike their jobs often feel that once that they have made it to Wednesday, it’s a downward slide to the weekend. Then again those with big Friday deadlines may experience midweek pressure to buckle down and actually get the job done. It just depends!
No one takes an old dog and teaches it new tricks like Geico Insurance. Their ads are designed to attract our attention. In this case, everyone who has been to a zoo knows that camels are the nastiest of all the beasts. They growl and they split. The word vile has actually been used to describe their temperaments. Some genius at Geico recognized the similarity between people who hate their jobs and bad natured camels. Thus came the famous Hump Day advertisement of the camel wandering around the office purposely attempting to rattle the employees.
| Happier than a Camel on Wednesday! |
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| Watch the office workers try to ignore the GEICO Camel. |
Camels are distinctive for their humps, of course. The first time I ever heard the word “Hump” was when I was a child. It didn’t have have anything to do with the days of the week. The expression was “busting my hump” and it was always said by men. I thought it might have something to with sex. At the time didn’t understand human reproduction but I was aware of the tension that existed between the genders. The Free Dictionary states that this idiom means “to exert a significant amount of energy to do, accomplish, or complete something, especially with great haste. I’ve been busting my hump all night long to get this presentation ready for tomorrow’s meeting.” Apparently the meaning changes when someone else tries to “bust your hump.” This subtle variation carries the meaning “to criticize somebody in an angry or annoying way.”
As a Dayologist I have some critical information to add. Astrologically Wednesday is ruled by the “brainy” planet Mercury. As the “messenger” Mercury oversees all manner of learning, language, communication and information systems. It is brilliant and organized, but also known for its bad habits of criticizing, complaining and backbiting. The camel portrayed in the Geico office ad subconsciously represents our mental resentment of having to work at endless and meaningless tasks and especially so on Wednesday, such a beautifully perceptive day.
So let’s turn our backs on the “nasty camel consciousness” of the workplace. Instead of contributing solely to the endless profits of corporate interests, let’s redirect some of our efforts to the general welfare of humanity. Just a few positive thoughts could do the trick. This simple act will allow Wednesday and all the other days of the week to function, each according to their intended and cosmic purpose.
Learn More About Wednesday
Each day of the week has it’s own mythology and traditions.