11 January 2008

Birthday Time!

Although I have some things I would like to blog about, I am interrupting my already-intermittent posting schedule to give myself a little birthday space. Today is my 22nd birthday which is, all things told, rather insignificant. It seems like only yesterday that I was celebrating my 21st birthday, sipping my three drinks like a champ, and moving on with my life. Still, though, a birthday is a birthday, and I would like to commemorate that glorious day I came screaming and kicking onto this planet. To that purpose, I present my readers with...

Awesome, Random, and/or Odd Birthday Facts
  • Other January 11th birthdays of note: R & B Singer Mary J. Blige; Actress Amanda Peet; Federalist, Founding Father, Portrait on the 10-dollar bill, and inventor of the U.S. monetary system Alexander Hamilton.
  • If you care for astrology, I was born under the sign of Capricorn -- the goat.
  • According to Wikipedia:
    • Birthday cakes date back as far as the Middle Ages when the English would conceal symbolic items such as gold coins, rings and thimbles inside their cakes. Each item was associated with a prediction. For example, a person finding a gold coin in a birthday cake would supposedly become wealthy; a person discovering a thimble would never marry.
  • Happy birthday in Yiddish is "A Frielekhn Geborstag!" Check out this page to learn "Happy Birthday" in a bunch of other languages.
  • According to BirthdayCelebrations.net:
    • In Argentina and Brazil, the birthday boy or girl gets his or her earlobe pulled for each year.
    • In China, everyone celebrates their birthday on New Year's day. They also believe that a baby is born one year old.
    • In Ireland, the birthday child is lifted upside down and is then "bumped" on the floor for good luck. (Sounds a little painful...)
    • In Nepal, the birthday child has a mixture of rice yogurt and color rubbed on his or her head for good luck.
    • In Saudi Arabia, birthdays are not generally observed.
    • And, of course, in some American households, it is customary to give a birthday spanking--one slap on the ass for each year. (You are not welcome to observe this custom today)
  • January 11th, 2002 is the day that the United States Government opened its doors at Guantanamo Bay Prison. Awesome!
Happy birthday to me!


2 comments:

Meredith said...

Well, if I can't slap your ass 22 times, can I settle for the rubbing rice on your head thing?

Collin said...

I think I'll celebrate like the irish pound you on the floor then have a guiness to celebrate. Palju onne sunnipaevaks! - Estonian.