Well, you might have noticed that all kinds of crazy things we going on today in honor of the date. Couples in everywhere from Las Vegas to Hong Kong are rushing to the altar.

Lottery ticket sales are reportedly up as people try to cash in on this supposedly lucky date. Companies, too, are cashing in on the value of the date.

McDonald’s franchises in the Chicago area have co-opted the day, renaming it “Fry day”(just think about a bunch of fries lined up to spell out the date). They’re selling their fries for half off to celebrate.

And it’s not just companies with stick-like products; Verizon and Energizer Battery have joined in the fun as well.

David Bell, a marketing professor at the Wharton School of Business in Pennsylvania, gives some insight into why so many businesses are using 11/11/11 as a selling point.

According to him, a lot of it has to do with that fact that such dates are already in the public consciousness — business are just trying to capture that for their own gain.