Occurs annually on the last Friday in April, and is intended to help disseminate information on the prevention of trichobezoars, commonly called hairballs.
National Hairball Awareness Day was founded by Dr. Blake Hawley and the first such documented event for it began on April 27, 2006, when the National Museum of Health and Medicine temporarily displayed ten of the 27 hairballs in their collection, including those from a steer, two oxen, three cows, a calf, horse, and a chicken.
Predominantly a concern for cats, rabbits, and cattle, hairballs are normally a healthy part of animals’ routines, but can also be evidence of an underlying health issue, thus the need for continuing education on not only their prevention, but on their formation as well. Proper grooming and nutrition, especially during shedding season, are the best things one can do (both for their hairy pets as well as themselves(!)).
https://medicalmuseum.health.mil/?p=visit.exhibits.virtual.hairball.index
HairQuest 2024
(JD: "In some sane timeline, this write-up is a brief, clever work of fiction.")