May 25th is “National Geek Pride Day,” a day that brings all of the world’s biggest nerds into celebration over their favorite passions. Whether your heart is permanently set into the world of Dungeons & Dragons, or you find yourself attending every Comic Con you can get yourself into, we all have our personal fandoms that drive us to appreciate what it means to be a geek.
In celebration of “National Geek Pride Day,” let’s explore some important moments in the world of the geek that took place on this day of May 25th.
240 B.C – The perihelion passage of Halley’s Comet is recorded for the first time.
1939 – Sir Ian Murray McKellen, well known for his portrayal of Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings franchise, is born.
1944 – Frank Oz, Muppets puppeteer and voice actor for Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, and Sam Eagle, is born.
1953– In a Nevada testing site, the United States military conducts its first and only nuclear artillery test. (Sorry guys, no real world Fallout yet!)
1953 – The first public television station in the United States began broadcasting from the University of Houston.
1961 – U.S. President John F. Kennedy announces before Congress his goal to begin the Apollo program, and his ultimate goal of putting a man on the Moon before the end of the decade.
1963 – Comedian Mike Myers, known for his work in Wayne’s World, Saturday Night Live, and Shrek, is born.
1973 – Surreal comedian Demetri Martin is born.
1977 – The role-playing game Arduin is created.
1977 – Star Wars (later referred to as Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope) is released into theaters.
1977– The Chinese government removes a decade long ban on the work of William Shakespeare, ending the Cultural Revolution started within the country in 1966.
1986 – Hands Across America, a benefit event to fight poverty and starvation, takes place. People across the country joined hands and formed a chain across the country for fifteen minutes.
1996 – Bradley Nowell, lead singer of the band Sublime, passes away from a heroin overdose.
2008 – NASA’s Phoenix lander arrives in the Green Valley region of Mars, in order to search for environments that could sustain water and microbiological life.
2012 – Men in Black III is released into theaters after a ten year hiatus in the film franchise.
2012 – The Dragon became the first commercial spacecraft to successfully rendezvous with the International Space Station.
OTHER RANDOM FACTOIDS!
- May 25th is also referred to as Towel Day in honor of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy writer Douglas Adams.
- For the non-geek crowd, May 25th also serves as the day for:
- National Tap Dance Day
- International Missing Children’s Day
- Lebanon Liberation Day
Be sure to let us know if we missed any other important events that happened to take place on National Geek Pride Day! As far as celebrations go, be sure to not get too partied out from all the “National Geek Pride Day” festivities, as one can only imagine how crazy people will get over the following day in May 26th,”National Paper Airplane Day”!
