I always wondered why a super-sale event would bear the name “Black Friday.”

Thanks to my friends at Numerologist.com, I now have an answer, to wit:

In the 1950s, Philadelphia would host the annual Army-Navy football match on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Fans would begin arriving the day before, thronging to shops and eateries and you name it. Store owners were overwhelmed, and soon began complaining about Black Friday — the deluge of shoppers and lookie-loos that they could barely handle.

There ya go. However, the Army-Navy game is no longer held on the Saturday after T-Day, so we’re left just with Black Friday. Nationwide.