Sometimes
it's hard to figure out the birthday of someone who lived long ago.
For example, nobody knows for sure the birthday of famous author and
playwright William Shakespeare! We have a record of the date that he
was baptized (April 26, 1564), and since babies were commonly
baptized two or three days after they were born, in England back
then, we commonly celebrate Shakespeare's birth on April 23, 1564.
(Coincidentally, Shakespeare died on April 23, 1616. If our educated
guess about his birthday is correct, he died on his 52nd
birthday.)
So,
if it is tough to figure out the birthday of someone who lived
decades or centuries ago, how hard is it to figure out the birthday of
someone who never lived at all?
Someone
has gone to a fair amount of work to figure out Donald Duck's
birthday. The anonymous writer explains:
“Donald
Duck's birthday is commonly stated as being 1934 June 9, the day he
debuted in the Silly Symphony cartoon 'The Wise Little Hen.' But this definition of his 'birthday' is a little unsettling. Because
if someone has to have appeared in a Hollywood film in order to have
been 'born,' then I myself must still be in my mother's womb awaiting
my
Silver
Screen debut!”
The
writer goes on to investigate what day Donald Duck was actually
hatched, and I at least enjoyed reading how he came to the conclusion
that he was born (hatched, really) on this date in 1914.
Celebrate
Donald Duck!
- Watch “Toy Tinkers.”
- Print and color some coloring pages.
- Do an online jigsaw puzzle of Donald Duck. (Note that you can change the cut of the puzzle to make it easier or harder. Click “Change Cut” at the far left side of the screen.)
- Play “Spot the Difference” with Donald Duck.
Also
on this date:
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