Hello Barack & Isaac, Goodbye Donald!

As days go, January 4th felt somewhat inferior to other monthly "4ths".

For example it never expected to get into the movies, and certainly not in a speaking part, as May 4th had done in Star Wars.

It was also not ready to leave home in search of independence as July 4th had done, prior to heading off for America.

January 4th was simply an ordinary day.

It wasn't as though it hadn't seen life (or death) it had and plenty of it.

Sir Isaac Newton was born on January 4th 1643 - well actually Isaac Newton was born, the 'Sir' bit coming some time later.

Wouldn't it have been a great piece of foresight if he had been christened 'Sir' Isaac, or, in fact an even greater achievement, if the honour had been bestowed upon him at birth for 'services to Science whilst in the womb'.

Just think, if the 17th century midwifery practice had changed at midnight on 3 January 1643, from encouraging women to give birth lying down, to giving birth standing up...Isaac could - albeit theoretically -have discovered gravity upon entry (and fairly rapid entry at that) into the world.

However, depending upon the actual speed of "entry", January 4th could have become renowned for the birth, knighthood and death of baby Sir Isaac, AND the discovery of gravity all in the space of (regal administrative prior planning permitting) a few minutes.

Anyway, sadly life didn't turn out that way and it was not until 1967 when January 4th saw a notable death, when Donald Campbell also discovered gravity as well as the fact that whilst at 0 mph water is quite soft...at 300mph it feels (although only very briefly in Donald's case as he was soon to end up permanently "in the soup") as hard as concrete!

However, there is a slight chance that January 4th may achieve the notoriety that it deserves and in the future be recognised as the day the world realised that America was soon to get its first black President!

Welcome Barack Obama!