Black Friday is a day in the calendar where, prior to the American holiday of Thanksgiving and falling a month before Christmas, shops offer dramatically lowered prices for selected items: Electronics, clothes, make-up and household items all have prices slashed.
Earlier today, malls across South Africa experienced the dreaded chaos, as the frenzy gripped the country…
Why do we have Black Friday?
So you’ve probably heard of ‘being in the black’, right? It’s a phrase that means business is booming, and profits are up. Historically, Thanksgiving was a time where people spent the most money due to it being a huge holiday just before another huge holiday.
Companies of years gone by would use black accounting books to record their huge profits, coining the connotations of black meaning ‘prosperous’.
Black Friday was also helped into folklore by the Pennsylvania Police Department in Philadelphia, during the late 1950s. The army always used to take on the navy in a football game hosted in Philly. This attracted tens of thousands of tourists, but also lead to rowdy behaviour and higher arrest numbers.
The increased presence also encouraged retailers to attract visitors in store with unbelievable discounts. From this, Black Friday was born. But it took sometime to grow into this international phenomenon
When did Black Friday start?
So we’ve seen that B.F began to catch on in the 1950s, but was this where it all began? Not quite. Technically speaking, the first ‘Black Friday’ occurred in September 1869 – yes, two months before November.
Two Wall Street stock-brockers attempted to buy as much gold as they could, in a ill-thought out attempt to drive up its worth and sell for a higher profit. The bumbling financiers believed their two-man assault on the gold market would make them filthy rich. They couldn’t be more wrong.
The pair, Jim Fisk and ironically-named Jay Gould, were found out. Rather than making a tidy profit, they almost bankrupted Wall Street itself. The day lived in infamy, and was labelled ‘Black Friday’ by 19th-century commentators. It seems like the name – and the desire to buy in bulk to eventually save money – has stuck.
How many people have died during Black Friday?
There have been an official 10 recorded deaths because of this retail ritual. Some are directly caused by the violence and stampedes of the crowds, whereas others have lost their life with only a ‘contribution’ from Black Friday.
Direct deaths:
2008 – A Wal-Mart worker died after an “out-of-control” mob of frenzied shoppers smashed through the Long Island store’s front doors and trampled him.
2008 – Two people were shot dead at a Toys R Us in Southern California, after a scuffle involving a fight over certain toys. Guns were pulled, shots were fired, and Black Friday claimed its first multi-victim incident.
2011 – Walter Vance, a 61-year-old pharmacist who reportedly suffered from a prior heart condition, was trampled on by customers at a West Virginia Target store later died in hospital.
2016 – An argument turned violent in a San Antonio parking lot, as an angered shopper began beating his wife. When a passer-by stopped to intervene, he was shot dead by the Black Friday consumer.
Five other deaths have occurred on this day, according to the rather grim publication: ‘Black Friday Death Count’.Shootings outside of malls, exhausted staff and shoppers crashing their cars, and fights over parking lots have lead to deaths that happened outside of the shopping mall jungle.
How many injuries have been caused?
The official total stands at 105.
Has anyone died on Black Friday in South Africa?
As of 24/11/2017, the answer is no. But a mob mentality isn’t exclusive to America. Multiple injuries have been reported in both the UK and Ireland, as shoppers chase down deals at any costs.
