A lot of pretty interesting things have happened in past Decembers, so we thought we’d take a moment to celebrate the historical significance of this December and every other as we make our way towards 2012. Here are some neat, amazing, and catastrophic things that give this month it’s claim to fame:
Celebrities
A ton of celebs have December birthdays, including on this very day, December 13th, Vanessa Hudgens, Spike Jones, and legendary prognosticator Nostradamus. Other famous December babies? Bette Midler, Woody Allen, Britney Spears, Lucy Liu, Brendan Fraser, Ozzy Osborn, Tyra Banks, Johnny Reznic, Walt Disney, Larry Bird, Nicki Minaj, Tre Cool, Mo’Nique, Frank Sinatra, Bob Barker, Taylor Swift, Amy Lee, Flo Rida, Beethoven, Mila Jovovich, Christina Aguilera, Steve Austin, Criss Angel, Peter Criss, Ryan Seacrest, and Sir Isaac Newton, just to name a few.
Inventions
Which famous and groundbreaking inventions were completed or copyrighted in December? Well, in 1621 Galileo finished his master invention, the very first telescope. Much later in 1871 writer Mark Twain first patented suspenders, and in 1879 Thomas Edison did likewise with his magneto-electric machine, a breakthrough in scientific understanding of electromagnetic fields. In 1974, a man named Charles Beckley patented the first folding chair, and in 1984 L.F. Holland perfected the Mobile Home. December has also seen the trademarking or copywriting of Scrabble, Chiclets Gum, the first Volkswagen, Count Chocula Cereal, the Tilt-a-Whirl amusement park ride, multi-path FM radio, and classic board game Monopoly.
Making History
Ceremonies for the Nobel Prize are still held on December 10th in qualifying years, in memory of Alfred Nobel’s death just before the turn of the 20th century. The first artificial heart transplant was performed on December 2nd, 1982. Also of note, the historic attack on Pearl Harbor was launched December 7th, 1941, and Space Mission Apollo 17 landed on the moon December 11th, 1972. As for one of our favorite Holidays, on Christmas day 1776, George Washington crossed the Delaware.
Cool Piercing and Jewelry Facts
In December of 2003, Brent Moffat had 900 piercings performed on his body in less than five hours, and as our current December month winds to a close, new record holder for Guinness’s “most pierced man in the world,” 52 year old Rolf Buchholz, makes appearances in his native Germany. He has 453 piercings and full body tattooing.
And one last interesting factoid: December 31st is apparently one of the most “piercing” days of the entire year, as many people drink alcoholic beverages on this night to celebrate New Year’s Eve and then end up getting pierced or tattooed.
