Today is March 15th, which English teachers and nerds know as the IDES OF MARCH.
The Ides of March are famous from SHAKESPEARE'S "Julius Caesar". A prophet warns Caesar to "beware the Ides of March." And he turns out to be right . . . because Caesar gets STABBED TO DEATH on March 15th, 44 B.C.
Since then, the Ides of March have been known as a cursed day that frightens some people . . . kind of like a once-a-year, more severe Friday the 13th.
Which, if you're the overly superstitious type, begs the question . . . WILL YOU DIE TODAY?
The answer is . . . probably not. But if you're REALLY superstitious, watch out for falling pianos and gangs of Romans with knives today.
A few really bad things that have happened on the Ides of March in history:
In 1917, Czar Nicholas the Second abdicated the Russian throne, leading to the Bolsheviks taking over. In 1941, a blizzard killed 60 people in North Dakota and Minnesota. In 1971, CBS cancelled the "Ed Sullivan Show".
In 2003, SARS was first reported . . . and in 2011, NATE DOGG died.