February 29th, a date that only appears every four years (due to a “Leap Year” used in the Gregorian Calendar to align months in sync with annual events such as equinoxes and solstices), is officially designated as the birthdate of Superman by DC Comics.
If you’re not familiar with the mythos of Superman, that date may leave you scratching your head. I’ve covered this before, but thought I would do so again.
Superman officially appeared for the first time in Action Comics #1, cover dated June 1938 but released on the newsstands in April 1938. And he has always been portrayed as being 29 years old, as if preserved in amber since his debut. If we used that date as his “birthday” then Superman would be turning 115 years old this April.
But in the late 1960’s – early 1970’s (before his owners starting resetting his origin every few years) the powers that be at DC Comics came up with a rather strange way to explain why, 30 years after his debut, Superman still appeared to be a young man. Let’s place his birthdate on a date that only falls every four years, February 29th, so that he only “ages” a year every four years. Yeah, that’s the ticket!
And you know, for kids who were reading in the 1960’s that seemed like a VERY logical thing. Of course it completely ignores the fact that you still age during those four years, but to a kid who isn’t given to critical thinking (and most weren’t/aren’t), that explanation makes sense.
Today, Superman is still portrayed as being a young man, though one that is married and has a son. That has been accomplished by, as I mentioned above, resetting his origin every few years or splitting the older Superman versions into separate worlds or separate dimensions, etc.
But officially, February 29th is STILL Superman’s birthday, recognized as such around the world.
So Happy Birthday to the world’s greatest superhero, Superman!
P.S. Here’s one of my very favorite Superman books, collecting the “Whatever Happened to The Man of Tomorrow” storyline by Alan Moore that officially marks the end of the Silver Age Superman era, along with a couple of other classic Superman stories.
If you were a pizza, what kind of pizza would you be?
I spent this past Saturday binge-watching 
These days, almost every professional and home tool kit contains a can of 
Back in 1953, a fledgling company named Rocket Chemical Company of San Diego with only 3 employees was attempting to develop a product that would prevent rust and corrosion on missile parts for the aerospace industry by displacing water on surfaces before it could cause oxidation to begin. Scientist Norm Larsen was experimenting with formulas to achieve that result, but kept failing to find one that would work.
Twelve days ago I wrote about my beard growth and included a photo. When I posted it, not only did the photo NOT appear but I noticed that ALL my post photos from the past were also not showing. They were in the media library, right where they should be, but weren’t posting.
I instituted a chat with tech support and the guy was no help so I asked to be moved up to a higher level. Wouldn’t do it. Said I had to do what he wanted me to do. I typed a few choice words, left him the lowest rating I could, then sent an email to the host explaining the issue and asking them to fix whatever the error was within a week; otherwise I’d be changing my hosting service.
The hotel was taken care of with points and overall was very nice. We had no intention of doing much interacting with other guests or staff, but it was nice to see all of the staff wearing masks and to observe evidence of high levels and practices of sanitation going on; such as marked off social distancing areas, personal service by staff at the usual breakfast buffet, plastic shields at the front desk station, and rooms sealed once they were certified cleaned and sanitized by housekeeping supervisors.
