Today is the 21st of September, most notable for its mention in the song “September,” by Earth, Wind & Fire (one of my personal favorites).
However, the significance of this day extends even further than that.
Let us take a moment to remember, the 21st of September.
Behold, the wonders of September 21st:
19 BC – Virgil dies. Aeneid a shame?
1780 – Benedict Arnold gives the West Point plans to the British, securing himself a place in the ranks of the most infamous traitors of all time.
1866 – H. G. Wells is born, becoming the first famous author who’s last name is a pluralization of a term for a medium through which one can retrieve water.
1897 – The “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus” letter is published in the New York Sun, becoming the most famous Christmas-related letter in the history of newspapers.
1937 – J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit is published, setting the standard for all subsequent books with “Hobbit” in the title.
1947 – Stephen King is born, having already published seven books whilst in the womb.
1950 – Bill Murray is born. ‘Nuff said.
1957 – Ethan Coen is born, finally legitimizing Max Coen’s long-standing nickname, “The Cohen Brothers.”
1967 – Faith Hill is born, becoming the first American singer to be named after an abstract concept and a landform.
Also 1967 – Tyler Stewart (of the Barenaked Ladies) is born, becoming the second Canadian drummer worth mentioning. (The first being Neil Peart of Rush.)
1971 – Luke Wilson is born, marking the Wilsons’ third failed attempt at spawning a child with a human nose.
1981 – Sandra Day O’Connor is unanimously approved by the U.S. Senate, becoming the first female supreme court justice.
Also 1981 – Nicole Richie is born, negating all progress for females attained by O’Connor’s appointment.
1986 – Prince Charles admits on TV that he talks to his plants.
1995 – The Hindu milk miracle occurs, in which statues of the Hindu God Ganesh began drinking milk when spoonfuls were placed near their mouths. (This would be the first time that statues ever consumed a dairy product in 1995.)
1998 – President Bill Clinton’s videotaped grand jury testimony was publicly broadcast. In it, Clinton sparred with prosecutors about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky, at one point answering a question by saying, “It depends on what the meaning of ‘is’ is.”
Also, it is Independence day in Armenia, Belize, AND Malta.
Oh yeah, and it’s the International Day of Peace.
