Saturday, January 15, 2011

It's My Birthday!

I am the ripe old age of 24. That means I'm in my mid-twenties and I'm leaving that early-twenties slump behind.
Things that also happened on January 15th:

  1. 1493 – Christopher Columbus sets sail for Spain from Hispaniola, ending his first voyage to the New World.
    1. Yeah Columbus, get outta here!
  2. 1777 – American Revolutionary War: New Connecticut (present day Vermont) declares its independence.
    1. Way to go Vermont. Also: thanks for not being "New Connecticut" cause that name is awful.
  3. 1844 – University of Notre Dame receives its charter from the state of Indiana.
    1. Hey something happened in Indiana.
  4. 1889 – The Coca-Cola Company, then known as the Pemberton Medicine Company, is originally incorporated in Atlanta.
    1. And our destinies were forever intertwined.
  5. 1892 – James Naismith publishes the rules of basketball.
    1. Which would someday take over my home state and make my own nerdiness even more apparent.
  6. 1908 – The Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority becomes the first Greek-letter organization founded and established by African-American college women.
    1. Way to go black college ladies!
  7. 1919 – Boston Molasses Disaster: A large molasses tank in Boston, bursts and a wave of molasses rushes through the streets, killing 21 people and injuring 150 others.
    1. Not at all good but seriously the craziest thing that happened on my birthday.
  8. 1936 – The first building to be completely covered in glass, built for the Owens-Illinois Glass Company, is completed in Toledo, Ohio.
    1. That's all you got Toledo?
  9. 1943 – The world's largest office building, The Pentagon, is dedicated in Arlington, Virginia.
    1. C'mon Wikipedia, is "The World's Larget Office Building" really the best way to describe the pentagon?
  10. 1967 – The first Super Bowl is played in Los Angeles. The Green Bay Packers defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10
    1. Way to go Pack!
  11. 1990 – AT&T's long distance telephone network suffers a cascade switching failure.
    1. As this is the first major even after my birth to coincide with my birthday all I can say is: Not my fault!
  12. 2001 – Wikipedia, a free Wiki content encyclopedia, goes online.
    1. The best birthday present 15-year-old me could ask for.
  13. 2009 – US Airways Flight 1549 makes an emergency landing in the Hudson River shortly after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport in New York City. All passengers and crew members survive.
    1. Way to steal my thunder Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger
And now for people I am forced to share my birthday with:
Actually this list is almost entirely Egyptian politicians, Russian poets, Chinese mathematicians, and European monarchy. Oh how I hate the monarchy! Here's the short list of interesting people:
  1. 1927 – Phyllis Coates, American actress
    1. She was the first person to play Lois Lane on tv!
  2. 1929 – Martin Luther King, Jr., American civil rights leader, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1968)
    1. Because of how great he is it'll be hard to make my birthday a holiday in my honor.
  3. 1930 – Eddie Graham, American professional wrestler (d. 1985)
    1. In 2008 he was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
  4. 1937 – Margaret O'Brien, American actress
    1. She played 'Tootie' in Meet me in St. Louis. That's a pretty good movie.
  5. 1957 – Mario Van Peebles, American actor
    1. I've never actually seen any of his movies but he did direct BAADASSSSS!
  6. 1967 – Lisa Lisa, American R&B singer
    1. I don't know her but notice the double first name. It'll come up again later.
  7. 1970 – Shane McMahon, American professional wrestler
    1. Shane O Mac! Oh man, I hated you so bad. Good times.
  8. 1972 – Ernie Reyes, Jr. American actor and martial artist
    1. Selected Fimography:
      1. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991) as Keno
      2. Surf Ninjas (1993) as Johnny
      3. That's all you need to know. He's just great.
  9. 1979 – Drew Brees, American football player
    1. I did not realize until today the Drew and I share a birthday.
  10. 1987 – Kelly Kelly, American WWE Diva
    1. "The girl so nice they named her twice."
    2. She's the first famous person to share my actual date of birth.
    3. Seriously two girls on this list with double name. WTF?
Finally of note is that the first Superman film serial came out on January 15th. 1948. If I believed in destiny I would claim that this is all part of the vast lineage that led to me being a massive nerd, but I don't. Instead I'll just take this time to get a little older and celebrate the anniversary of my birth.
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