Today is March 14th and you know what that means…

Oh, you don’t? March 14th is chock full of pure awesome, from famous birthdays, quirky holidays and most of all, the best pastry of all time.

Fourteen Awesome Things About March 14th.

1. Albert Einstein, the cuddliest scientist ever, was born.
   In ‘theory’, I imagine that some of Einstein’s ‘relatives’ forgot his birthday from time to time.
2. Happy birthday, Billy Crystal!
   No less important - ok, somewhat less important - actor Billy Crystal was also born on this date.
3. Daylight savings time begins.
   Ready to spring ahead, northern hemisphere? Time to turn back time.
4. International Ask a Question Day.
   Must have something to do with #1 - without Albie, there might be a lot less high school physics students cramming questions before finals.
5. Mothering Sunday.
   AKA, Mother’s Day in England. Don’t they make it sound so warm and cozy?
6. Moth-ER Day.
   Mothers are important, yadda yadda. But what about moth collectors?
7. Bretzelsonndeg.
   Some kind of Luxembourg Valentine’s Day involving young boys and pretzels.
8. Celebrate agriculture!
   Somewhere out there, a farmer is taking a quick break to celebrate.
9. National Animal Poison Prevention Week.
   You have a week to keep your pets from getting poisoned, people.
10. Feast with St. Mathilda.
    Wait your turn, St. Patrick - Mathilda has a feast today and you gotta wait your turn.
11. ‘10 Most Wanted Fugitives’ lists made their debut.
    And without that, where would that awe-inspiring TV show have come from?
12. Check Your Batteries Day!
    Good call, my laptop might have died before I finished this post.
13. Happy Pi Day!
    3.14159265358979323846264338327950288…
14. Pie. Just pie.
    Seriously, best. baked good. ever. Any day of the year.

Looking for some new music? Do you like it young, fashionable and straight off of YouTube?

Justin Bieber was one of 2009’s youngest singing sensations (15 years old), plucked from YouTube and an instant hit. Oh, and he likes the color purple.

But don’t stop there. There are all kinds of things to know about Bieber. And where better to learn the answers to your burning Justin Bieber questions than right here? Oh, that’s right, Answers.com.

Top 10 insanely crucial facts about Justin Bieber.

1. What kind of shoes does Justin Bieber wear?
   Hint: They are high, but not heels.
2. Who is Justin Beiber currently dating?
   Not you. Nyah nyah.
3. What is Justin Bieber’s middle name?
   Alex? Chris? Peter? Only one way to find out for sure.
4. Will Justin Bieber’s voice change?
   Will the moon align with the sun? Will the crow pick at your garden?
5. What color does Justin Bieber hate?
   That’s strong language, but I suppose I’m not a big fan of chartreuse, myself.
6. Is Justin Bieber a Twilight fan?
   Oh god. Say it isn’t so…
7. What is the story behind the song ‘Where Are You Now’ by Justin Bieber?
   Get ready to get emotional.
8. Who discovered Justin Bieber?
   Marie Curie?
9. Does Justin Bieber wear makeup?
   The good ones always do.
10. Who was Justin Bieber’s first kiss?
    His momma on his newborn bum… Oh, that kinda kiss.

There are literally thousands more questions in the Justin Bieber Q&A category, so check it out and get your fill of underage musical holiness.

For someone who grew up nearby, MTV’s Jersey Shore is bringing back memories. It’s also making me sad that there are so many positive things about Italian Americans, beaches, and the word ‘Snooki’ that people don’t realize.

What a shame to cave into the stereotypes! Here are a bunch of things you didn’t know but will probably make you feel better about humanity than what you see on Jersey Shore.

Six things related to ‘Jersey Shore’ that aren’t stupid

1. Italian Americans.

   Despite the fact that most of the Jersey Shore kids claim Italian American heritage, it’s best to focus on the long list of Italian American influencers of U.S. history and culture. Shout out to Christopher Columbus!

   Oh, It’s also tastier.

2. Snooky Pryor.

   Snooki who?

   Snooky Pryor (1921-2006) was a blues harp player born in Mississippi, known for developing a Delta blues style of music. While he served in the Army, he was responsible for blowing the bugle calls into the PA system. This gave him a chance to experiment with playing the harmonica in a similar way, helping his music career develop.

3. Don’t forget Pennsylvania!

   Hey New Jerseyians, watch out! Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania, um, totally beats you: Located on a branch of the Susquehanna River, this shore was known for its farms, railroad shops, cigar factories, and a large silk mill… in the past.

   Hey, retro is cool, is it not?

4. Jersey Shore shark attacks.

   Forget the rowdy cast of the MTV hit… If you were a Jersey Shore-goer in 1916, what made you sweat were the man-eating sharks!

   Over twelve deadly days, four swimmers were killed and one injured during a heat wave that sent swimmers and sharks alike for some respite off the coast of New Jersey.

   Kinda makes the punches thrown by and at the show’s cast seem less violent…

5. The Situation

   What’s ‘The Situation’? It’s a lot of things, but currently it’s also getting a bad rap because someone made it their nickname. To clear the air, here are some other things with more claim to being The Situation:

   • Global warming
   • Universal health care
   • World hunger
   • A 2006 thriller film
   • A rock band from the 2000s
   • An self-titled album by a rock band from the 2000s

6. New Jersey

   New Jersey. Hmm. The Devils? The Nets? The Jets? The premise for MTV’s Jersey Shore?

   Actually, never mind.

Last week the Winter Olympics began focusing on many people’s favorite sport… figure skating. It’s like watching beautiful butterflies magically flutter through the air, a miracle of human grace.

…Or something.

Here are the real reasons men watch the Olympic figure skating:

Top ten reasons why men watch Olympic figure skating

1. You get to say phrases like ‘that was a rough quadruple salchow’ even though you’re not a surgeon.
2. The blades bring back a secret nostalgia for The Mighty Ducks.
3. You get to rate the skaters along with the judges, although your points are based on the same scale as HotOrNot.com.
4. It’s either watching this or Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader - and you know you’re not.
5. Seeing men in periwinkle spandex reasserts your manhood.
6. The lifts on ice give you great material for the book you’re working on ‘Kama Sutra Santa.’
7. There is an evil enjoyment to be had in watching someone trip and fall on ice.
8. The ratio of the girls’ skirts flying in the air versus covering the booty is 4:1.
9. You get to watch #7 and #8 get replayed in slow motion.
10. Hey, you need to associate something positive with The Nutcracker.

As you may have learned in school, read in the news or saw in an ad campaign, February is Black History Month in the United States and Canada. We all know of a few famous black heroes that have altered American history - Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., Maya Angelou, Barack Obama - but there are so many more who don’t always make it to the forefront of national memory.

So how about learning some new names in honor of Black History Month?

8 African American heroes you didn’t know about

1. Benjamin Banneker

   The records on Benjamin Banneker (1731–1806) are not the clearest, but what is known is that the man was a free African American astronomer, mathematician, surveyor, almanac author and farmer. Not a combination you find every day, especially in the 1700s.

2. Mae C. Jemison

   Mae C. Jemison was the first female African American to travel into outer space. On June 4, 1987, she was the first black woman admitted into the U.S. space training program, and flew into outer space on September 12, 1992 with a crew of seven aboard the Endeavour.

3. Mary McLeod Bethune

   The founder of the National Council for Negro Women, Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955) was one busy woman. She was an unofficial adviser on African American issues to both presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman. Her focus on education and social activism makes her a hero not only in the United States, but worldwide, as she has been honored in Haiti and Liberia and served as a consultant to the United Nations.

4. Alan Page

   Talk about multitasking: Alan Page managed to get himself into the Pro Football Hall of Fame after a career in the NFL and admitted as a judge in the Minnesota Supreme Court. Page received his BA in Political Science in 1967 and later his JD in 1978. While attending the University of Notre Dame, he achieved the status of college football All-American. After his graduation, Page was drafted into the NFL, playing for the Minnesota Vikings until 1978 and then the Chicago Bears until 1981. Throughout his entire football career, he amassed multiple honors and awards. While playing football full time, Page also attended law school at the University of Minnesota.

5. Elijah McCoy

   While there are many who claim to be it, here’s another real McCoy: The Canadian-born son of American fugitive slaves, Elijah McCoy (1843?-1929) made strides in locomotive design and development. Lucky enough to have family connections to Britain, McCoy was able to work for a time as an apprentice in mechanical engineering in Scotland. When the family returned from Canada to the United States, McCoy worked and eventually filed for multiple patents concerning locomotive lubrication.

   In 1975, Detroit celebrated Elijah McCoy Day, made his home the site of a historic marker and named a street after him.

6. Clara Hale

   Clara Hale, (1905-1992) was also known as Mother Hale - and for very good reason. Hale became a humanitarian through watching poverty and misfortune take its toll first-hand. Widowed with three children during the Great Depression, Hale struggled to get by and keep her kids close. She opened a daycare in her home that led her to become a foster mother and help other parents in dire need. Eventually she opened the Hale House and specialized in caring for drug-addicted babies and later babies infected with AIDS. Hale realized her life’s calling and became the mother to those who had none.

7. Leroy ‘Satchel’ Paige

   Leroy Paige (1906-1982) was a pitching legend. He had quite the career in the Negro leagues before he was drafted to Major League Baseball in 1948. Paige set records on two fronts: He was the first MLB player to be inducted from the Negro leagues and he was the oldest rookie to play in the major league - at the ‘ripe, old’ age of 42. Paige played in the MLB until he was 47.

   His nickname was “Satchel,” supposedly from a boyhood job when he carried luggage for train passengers.

8. Garrett A. Morgan

   Garret A. Morgan (1877-1963) is credited for a quite a few achievements. He was an inventor who created a respiratory protective hood that did a similar job as the modern gas mask. He also invented the first human hair-straightener, as well as patented a kind of traffic signal. Morgan reached heroic status for the role of his respiratory hoods in saving workers trapped in a fume-filled tunnel system.

   On a different note, Morgan is also known to be the first African-American in Cleveland who owned an automobile.

Oh, were those not the kind of heroes you thought I meant? Then check out The Museum of Black Superheroes.

Are you a romantic, hopeless or not? Then you must be hyper-actively aware that Valentine’s Day is this Sunday.

Whether you’ve been with your partner for 30 years, just started dating or are taking a new lover for the occasion, you have to shop for a gift with the assumption that they’ve seen all the cliches.

Especially if ‘they’ are men.

For years, men have received heart-splattered boxers, red-striped ties, even, gasp, self-made coupons for hugs… So I took the liberty of scanning the Valentine’s Day Gift Giving Q&A to summarize fresh, new gift ideas for your men, as suggested by the Answers.com community:

Five Valentine’s Day gift ideas for men

1. Beef jerky.

   The rationale: “Men love to eat…” They do say the best way to a man’s heart is his stomach. I highly recommend not trying this one on a woman. It would take a special woman to appreciate this gift.

2. Chocolate.

   Wait - hear me out. Not girly chocolate. Not chocolate shaped like anything except… chocolate. Manly chocolate. Big, giant, jumbo chocolate bars.

   Or, fine, beer.

3. The three S’s.

   A sandwich, silence while watching TV and…the other ’s’ word guys want.

4. Not flowers.

   Don’t do it. Seriously.

5. Anything autographed.

   Well, mostly anything. Baseball cards. Rock band posters. Anything retro. Vinyl records. Balls of any kind. Get on eBay and make sure it includes the John Hancock of anyone famous. It works for this contributor.

By the way, steer clear of the worst Valentine’s Day gifts… And feel free to comment below with some of your own ideas.

Here are a few other Valentine-related Q&As that will at least raise an eyebrow or two:

• How do you make a card for your Valentine?
• Why is Valentine’s Day represented by the colors pink and red?
• How did the symbol for a heart come about given that it looks nothing like an actual heart?
• Why did St. Valentine’s Day become a romantic holiday?

Good luck out there.

Today marks the start of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia. This will be Canada’s second Winter Olympics (Calgary hosted in 1988). David Atkins, the director of the opening and closing ceremonies at the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney, is the mastermind behind the ceremonies in Vancouver this year.

Although the details of the event are a closely guarded secret, here are a five factoids about this year’s opening ceremonies:

Five Factoids about tonight’s Opening Ceremonies in Vancouver

1. No expense spared.

   Canada spent $40 million for the February 12 opening ceremonies, making it the most expensive opening ceremonies in Winter Olympics history.

2. Indoors?!

   The 2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremonies will be the first ever to be held indoors. It’s a good thing, because rain is often in Vancouver’s forecast!

3. Greece takes the lead.

   Because it is the birthplace of the Olympic Games, Greece always leads the march of the athletes. After the Greek team, the countries will follow alphabetical order from Albania to Uzbekistan, with the host team, Canada, appearing last.

4. Go, Clara, go…

   The flag bearer for the Canadian team is Clara Hughes, a cyclist and speed skater and the first athlete to win multiple Olympic medals in both the Summer and Winter games. She won the gold medal in the 2006 Winter Olympics for the women’s 5000 meter speed skating by 1.01 seconds!

5. Doves on fire!

   One of the traditions of every Olympic opening ceremony is the release of doves, which symbolize peace. Originally the doves were released before the lighting of the Olympic cauldron. But in the 1988 Seoul Summer Games several doves perched on the cauldron and went up in flames, forcing the International Olympic Committee to change the traditional order. Yikes!

The opening ceremonies are guaranteed to be a spectacle. Tune into NBC at 7:30 p.m. EST or check your local TV listings to catch the Olympic spirit and cheer your country on!