Birthday Blog!! :D

Welcome the lovely and talented Gabrielle Evans to my birthday blog. :D

Greetings and Salutations!

Happy Birthday to Miss Jana!! 

So, who is Jana Downs? Well, let me tell you a story.

Joyful is the best way to describe Jana. She is perpetually happy. She sees the good in people, even when others can’t, and she makes the world a little brighter with her never-ending optimism and unwavering zest for life.

Always, no matter the situation, she is in my corner. It doesn’t matter what the circumstances are, I know I can count on her to have my back.

Not just me, though. Jana believes in fairness and justice, and she will fiercely defend what she believes to be right. If she can help or make a difference, she will be the first one to offer her assistance.
Any time day or night, whether I’m having trouble with a story, need to rant, or just require an ear to bed, I can pick up the phone and know she’ll be there.

Don’t underestimate her just because she’s cute and tiny, though. She has a temper I wouldn’t want to be in the way of, and nothing gets her riled up faster than a slight against someone she cares about.

Originality doesn’t begin to describe Jana. We differ in tastes on a lot of things, and honestly, sometimes, I’m not even sure how we’re friends. She hates chocolate and vegetables. I hate fruit and ice cream. Her hippy fashion sense leaves me shaking my head, and I’ve raised an eyebrow or two as some of her questionable purchases.

While we do have very different personalities, I believe we complement each other well. I’m the cynical realist who views the world with a skeptical eye.

Naturally trusting, Jana will always give someone the benefit of the doubt. She doesn’t trust in rumors, but chooses to form her own opinions. It’s an admirable quality I haven’t quite learned to imitate, but I think that’s okay.

She provides the light and optimism. I add just a pinch of darkness to rain on her parade, because, you know, too much of a good thing and all that. *wink*

Jana is also a huge History nerd. I say this with love, and she’s saved my ass more than once when it comes to research. So, in honor of her ass-saving awesomeness, I present:

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
• May 17, 1620 The first merry-go-round seen at a fair (Philippapolis, Turkey)
• May 17, 1673 Louis Joliet & Jacques Marquette begin exploring Mississippi.
• May 17, 1678 King Charles II & Louis XIV sign secret treaty.
• May 17, 1733 England passes the Molasses Act, putting high tariffs on rum and molasses imported by the colonies from countries that were not British possessions.
• May 17, 1803 John Hawkins & Richard French patent the Reaping Machine.
• May 17, 1814 Occupation of Monaco changes from French to Austrian.
• May 17, 1845 Rubber band patents.
• May 17, 1846 Saxophone is patents by Antoine Joseph Sax.
• May 17, 1851 Saint John New Brunswick, the launch of the sailing ship Marco Polo; reputed to be the fastest ship in the world.
• May 17, 1863 Battle of Big Black River Bridge, Mississippi.
• May 17, 1865 The International Telegraph Union (the later International Telecommunication Union) is established.
• May 17, 1872 Bohemian Club incorporated.
• May 17, 1890 Comic Cuts, first weekly comic paper, published in London.
• May 17, 1926 German Government of Marx takes power.
• May 17, 1928 9th modern Olympic Games open in Amsterdam.
• May 17, 1932 Congress changes the name "Porto Rico" to "Puerto Rico."
• May 17, 1944 General Eisenhower sets D-Day for June 5th.
• May 17, 1962 Number one hit on UK music charts - B.Bumble & The Stingers - Nut Rocker.
• May 17, 1968 European Space Research Organization launches first satellite.
• May 17, 1970 Hank Aaron becomes 9th player to get 3,000 hits.
• May 17, 1973 Watergate scandal: Hearings begin in the United States Senate and are televised.
• May 17, 1975 Mick Jagger punches a restaurant window, gets 20 stitches.
• May 17, 1987 "Stardust" closes at Biltmore Theater NYC after 102 performances.

MAY 17, 1989
Longest Cab Ride Ever: 14,000 miles cost $16,000!

Napoli wins 18th UEFA Cup in Stuttgart

Nelson Mandela receives a BA from University of South Africa

Vincent Van Gogh's "Portrait of Dr Gachet" auctioned for $825M

STRANGE BIRTHDAY FACTS

Since your last birthday 31,536,000 seconds have passed.

In the past year your hair will most likely have grown 12 cm and your nail about 4 cm.

Your heart beats at a rate of around of 72 to 80 beats per minute - since your last birthday it will have beat about 42,075,900 times.

You breathe at a rate of about 20 breaths per minute so, since your last birthday you have taken approximately 10,512,000 breaths.

The volume of blood in your body is approximately 5 liters. The heart pumps about 280 liters of blood around your body every hour - that’s 2,688,000 liters per year!

The average garden snail (not one that has entered the Olympics 100 meters race) moves at around 0.03 mph. If one set out on your last birthday, and walked non-stop it would have traveled 263 miles. If you walked this distance non-stop you would complete it in around three days.

Since your last birthday you will have had about 1,460 dreams.

World population has grown by around 76,570,430 since your last birthday. In the time it takes you to read this another five babies will have been born.

During the past year there have been more than 50,000 earthquakes throughout the world.

The Earth is zooming around the sun at around 66,780 miles per hour! Since your last birthday the Earth has completed one journey around the sun travelling about 584,337,600 miles.

If you counted 24 hours a day, you would be over 31,000 years old when you reach one trillion.


So, Happy Birthday, my friend. May it be filled with all of your favorite things, and here’s to hoping it’s as wonderful as you are. Cheers!