When is National Look-Alike Day?
National Look-Alike Day occurs on April 20th.
What is National Look-Alike Day?
Study the arch of your eyebrows and the curve of your chin. Do you look like anyone famous? National Look-Alike Day is the chance to find someone that looks like you, or at least dress up like another person.
Pittsburg radio and TV reporter Jack Etzel created National Look-Alike Day back in the ‘80s. While on the hunt for a light story, he and his camera man started interviewing people about which celebrities they thought they looked like. Next day, Etzel made a national day of it to ensure these funny stories came around every year.
Maybe you have a double. The more modern term is twin stranger. This ain’t no ordinary alter ego, though your great grandpa might have thought that. Some traditions and myths have considered doppelgangers to be evil twins or paranormal phenomena. But sometimes it just happens that two people look a lot alike, to a spooky degree. Thanks to social media, there are whole websites devoted to finding doppelgangers using facial recognition software.
Because National Look-Alike Day isn’t just about celebrity look-alikes. It’s also a day for twins, or for close friends who like to dress like twins. With a little creativity, anyone can participate in National Look-Alike Day.
Fun facts about National Look-Alike Day!
- The German word Doppelgänger literally translates as something like “double goer” or “double walker.”
- Folk wisdom says that everyone has at least one doppelganger, with maybe as many as seven around the world.
- There are so many genetic variables at play that it’s impossible to calculate the odds of an exact match among the 7 billion humans on the planet.
How to celebrate National Look-Alike Day:
- If you look like a celebrity, play it up. Recreate a picture of that celeb, or just dress up like them and flaunt it all day long. Practice your impression, and see if you can get people to ask for your autograph.
- Find a website that crawls social media for twin strangers, and see if you have a doppelganger out there. Or, just upload your photo to a celebrity matching site and enjoy the results.
What’s the hashtag for National Look-Alike Day?
Share the fun by using #NationalLookAlikeDay on social media.