Sweet 16 by: Unca Matt

So, 16. Sweet 16. You're 16, you're beautiful, and you're mine. (Well, not you.) Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen. Sixteen Candles - both a song and a movie starring Molly Ringwold. All of the songs about 16 are probably related to the fact that 16 is the age of consent in many places around the world. Age 16 does not have the same "adulthood" status as 18, but it is the age for getting a driver's license, dropping out of school in many states, getting an 'adult' job in many businesses (although restrictions apply to hours), minimum age to get married in many places (usually with parental consent), and is the legal drinking age in many European countries (where the beer is better anyway). Sleeping Beauty pricked her finger on her 16th birthday; the age 16 was more considered marrying age in older times (and moreso for a girl/woman than a boy/man).Mathematically, 16 is the first number that is a 4th power. You can cut it in half four times and have a whole number each time. This is the most likely reason that pounds have 16 ounces: in the old weighing-money-on-a-scale days, it allowed cutting in half so many times.16 is the only integer that equals mn and nm, for some unequal integral m and n (m=4, n=2, or vice versa).16 is the sum of the first 4 odd numbers: 1 + 3 + 5 + 7.16 is the base of the hexadecimal system of numbering, which is used extensively in computer science, once again, because it is a multiple of 2.Not too much Biblically for 16. Azariah and Uzziah both became king at 16 years old, and three of the kings reigned 16 years. A few more are listed as having 16 sons or daughters.There are 16 pieces on each side in a chess game and 16 pawns total.Most bank card numbers are 16 digits long, e.g. Visa, MasterCard, Discover, etc.16 hours a day is how long you are awake if you get your prescribed eight hours of sleep.Northernmost Minnesota has about 16 hours of sunlight on your birthday. (We have about 15 hours, 35 minutes here).===========Neal is a variant of the name Neil, which comes from the Gaelic Niall, which either means "champion" or "cloud". Vikings adopted the name as Njal; from them it became used in Scandinavia and the British Isles.Spelled Neal, the name has never been in the top 100 male names. It was in the top 250 male names in the 1940's, 50's, and early 60's. In 1993, it was the 520th, being given to 19 out of every 100,000 boys born that year. The spelling variation Neil was about twice as common, being given to 38 out of every 100,000 boys in 1993.There are over 56,000 Neals in the United States and as many as 39 Neal Porters.June 27th is also the birthday of Tobey Maguire (Spiderman), former Presidential candidate H. Ross Perot, Bob "Captain Kangaroo" Keeshan, and Helen Keller. Also Drake Bell (Kyle from The Amanda Show) and Madylin Sweeten (from Everybody Loves Raymond), who turns 18 today. Most of the celebrities close in age to you are famous for Disney or Nickolodeon shows, like Miranda Cosgrove ("iCarly" and "School of Rock") and Debby Ryan ("Suite Life on board"); they're both about a month older than you. Alyson Stoner ("Suite Life of Zach and Cody" and "Camp Rock") is less than two months younger.Finally, on the day you were born, the #1 song in America was "That's the Way Love Goes" by Janet Jackson, who will be attending a funeral soon.

Thanks~Matt!