Could Your Day Of Birth and Day of Death Be The Same?

The past Friday we celebrated my niece Julia's 16th birthday. She is smart, funny, pretty and a great young lady and we were having so much fun that I didn't have the heart to tell her that her birthday was statistically, the day she was most likely to die,  -God Forbid-, when it eventually does happen! (cuz nobody gets out alive, right?

More on that in a moment.

Best Known Song Ever

It's interesting to see how the fun, no matter how raucous, comes to a screeching halt when the cake comes out and everybody prepares to sing "Happy Birthday."   Even if it's embarrassing at the moment we all seem to like to have the song sung to us!

Wikipedia says the Happy Birthday Song, "According to the 1998 Guinness World Records is the most recognized song in the English language...The song's base lyrics have been translated into at least 18 languages.....the melody of "Happy Birthday to You" (is believed to come from) the song "Good Morning to All" from 1893."

Happy Birthday To You Has Lots of Company

The theme of "birthdays" is quite popular among musicians and songwriters.  From an article called the 31 Best Birthday Songs of All-Time here are the top ten...you know,  in case you have a birthday coming and you want to change it up a little.

           TOP TEN

1.  "Birthday" by The Beatles 

2. "Happy Birthday" by Stevie Wonder 

3. "In Da Club" by 50 Cent  

4. "It’s My Party" Leslie Gore 

5. "Happy Birthday" Altered Images 

6. "Birthday" Destiny's Child 

7. "Birthday" by Twista 

8. "Happy Birthday" by "Weird" Al Yankovic 

9. "Happy Birthday (Merry Christmas and Happy New Year)" by Loretta Lynn 

10. "Birthday" by Migo

Why You May Die On Your Birthday

Cool, huh?  Now, back to the bad news about birthdays, or at least the ironic news about birthdays, being the last days.  Canadian researchers recently looked at 2.5 million deaths in Switzerland (what was wrong with Canadian dead guys?) and found that stroke risks are higher on birthdays, especially if you have high blood pressure.

The UK Mirror reports that people over 60 were 14 percent more likely to die on their actual birthday, with a 44 percent jump in deaths from falls!

Happy Birthday indeed.