HEN MARY ANN MESSING came into the world 56 years ago today, so did two other little girls in the hospital rooms right next door.
The three children who shared the same birthday--Oct. 5--went to first grade together and graduated high school together in Clarksville, Tenn.
When Messing went to college, she was a little surprised to learn a new friend also was born on Oct. 5. She moved to Texas a few years later, and, you guessed it, she ran into more folks with the same birthday.
It happened again in 1973, when she relocated to Miami, Fla.
Messing and her husband moved to Spotsylvania County's Fawn Lake a year ago. And the eerie trend continued. A neighbor's husband was born Oct. 5.
"Wherever I move, I run into someone," she said.
A fluke? A coincidence?
Actually, no. Not according to the Web site anybirthday.com, a database that claims to keep 135 million birth records on hand.
Oct. 5, it reports, is the most common birthday in the United States. An average 12,576 people are born on this day each year.
Conception would have been on New Years Eve, according to the site.
D.T. Arcieri, a biologist at Farmingdale State University in New York, says there's proof.
The average pregnancy lasts 274 days. Oct. 5, he wrote in an e-mail, is about 274 days from New Year's Eve, the day millions of Americans are celebrating with alcohol.
Arcieri's birthday is also Oct. 5.
Messing heard several years ago that more Americans shared her birthday than any other. Obviously, she wasn't too surprised by the news.
As for a New Year's Eve conception, Messing's parents never mentioned that, she said with a laugh.
Marley Dubberly of Stafford County turns 5 years old today. She celebrated Saturday with friends and family at Explore and Moore, an interactive children's museum in Woodbridge.
Today, Marley will either go shopping at Spotsylvania Mall or see a movie with her mom, dad and brother, said mother Candice Dubberly.
Her favorite place to shop is Claire's, an accessories store geared toward kids and teens.
Janie Carner, born on Oct. 5, 1908, celebrates her 96th birthday today.
Carner lives in Caroline County near Guinea, next door to the farm where she grew up.
So with all these babies born Oct. 5, is there a day out of the year where the least number of babies are born?
Yes, indeed, reports anybirth day.com. That would be May 22. An average 10,259 babies are born on that day each year--about 2,300 less than on Oct. 5. Conception for those babies would fall in late August.
From November to May, births hold steady, according to the Web site. Rates begin to rise in June and peak in early October.
(Neither the U.S. Census nor Department of Social Security keep records on most and least common birthdays.)
Oct. 5, 1943, was a doubly good day for Gary Eckhardt's father. It was the day his son was born and the day the Army Air Corps pilot was promoted to captain.
Years later, Eckhardt, a contractor at the Pentagon who lives in Prince William County, had a daughter born the day he was promoted to captain.
Only that didn't happen Oct. 5.
Several famous people also were born on this day: NBA basketball player Grant Hill, actors Larry Fine--from the Three Stooges--Kate Winslet and Karen Allen, comedian Bernie Mac and hockey player Mario Lemieux.
One U.S. president was born on this day: Chester A. Arthur. He became the 21st president after James A. Garfield was assassinated in 1881.
Messing, who for the last 56 years has met folks who share her birthday, will celebrate today with her daughter and husband. She's not sure yet what they have planned. But, Messing said, they always make sure it's a very special day.
To reach KRISTIN DAVIS: 540/368-5028 kdavis@freelancestar.com