How many times have you been told that 'now is not the time to panic?'

Pop Star Barbie image obtained
from Mattel website

Keep your nerve. Keep your head. Don't panic.

Most people have probably received that advice dozens of times in any given year. You may have wondered, if not now, when?

Well, wonder no more: Tomorrow, Saturday, March 9 is Panic Day. Plan to head for the hills.

If you don't want to panic on command, tomorrow is also Barbie Day. Usual Suspect History.com tells us that the first Barbie doll went on display at the American Toy Fair in New York City on March 9, 1959.

Since her debut, Barbie has been criticized for her unrealistic proportions. Her dimensions have confused generations of little girls since.

It turns out, there's a reason: Barbie did not start out life as a children's toy. History.com says that Barbie's creator, Ruth Handler, who co-founded Mattel, Inc. with her husband in 1945, modeled Barbie after "a doll named Lilli, based on a German comic strip character" which was "[o]riginally marketed as a racy gag gift to adult men in tobacco shops."

Therapists, take note.

Saturday's Barbie Day observance is distinct from the September 6 observance of Barbie Doll Day.

Some of the Usual Suspects also suggest commemorating Joe Franklin Day on March 9. Joe Franklin was a long-time TV talk show host in New York. He is credited, in fact, with inventing the talk show format (his first show aired in 1951). Franklin was born March 9, 1926; he turns 87 on Saturday.