Celebrate Geek Pride Day

Once a year, on May 25, it's hip to be square. Today is Geek Pride Day, celebrating geeks, nerds and whoever else wears thick glasses and a pocket protector.

May 25, 2011 at 7:13PM
"The Middle-Earth Paradigm" -- Leonard (Johnny Galecki, pictured second from right), Sheldon (Jim Parsons, pictured far right), Wolowitz (Simon Helberg, pictured far left) and Koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar, pictured second from left) undertake a challenging and dangerous experiment, attending the Halloween party being thrown by their hot neighbor, Penny (Kaley Cuoco, not pictured) on THE BIG BANG THEORY, Mon., Oct. 29 (8:30-9:00 ET/PT), on the CBS Television Network.
Photo: Ron Batzdorff/
The geeks of the CBS sitcom "The Big Bang Theory": Leonard (Johnny Galecki, second from right), Sheldon (Jim Parsons, far right), Wolowitz (Simon Helberg, far left) and Koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar, second from left). (Randy Salas — WARNER BROS./The Minnesota Star Tribune)

For all Trekkies, comic collectors and gadget gurus, this day is just for you. Today, the world celebrates Geek Pride Day. (Who knew?)

Geeks, nerds and whoever else wears thick glasses and a pocket protector can publicly boast about their geekiness without being labeled as weird. It happens every May 25, which coincides with the release of the first "Star Wars" movie in 1977.

The day started in 2006 in Spain -- strangely enough -- when 300 geeks showed their pride by creating a human "Pac-Man" game. In 2008, it came to the United States, where bloggers heralded it as a holiday.

Not sure of your geek orientation? Here are some rights and responsibilities, as outlined in Geek Pride Day's manifesto. If they inspire you to put on your favorite "Dungeons and Dragons" cape, then, no question, you're a geek. So take pride and celebrate.

Geek rights

• The right to associate with other nerds.

• The right to have few friends (or none at all).

• The right not to leave your house.

• The right not to like football or any other sport.

• The right to be out of style.

• The right to be overweight and nearsighted.

Responsibilities

• Try to be nerdier than anyone else.

• If there is a discussion about something geeky, you must give your opinion.

• Don't be a generalized geek. You must specialize in something.

• Attend every nerdy movie on opening night, and buy every geeky book before anyone else.

• Wait in line on every opening night. If you can go in costume or at least with a related T-shirt, all the better.

Leonard (Johnny Galecki) personifies geekdom on the CBS sitcom "The Big Bang Theory."
Leonard (Johnny Galecki) personifies geekdom on the CBS sitcom "The Big Bang Theory." (Randy Salas — WARNER BROS./The Minnesota Star Tribune)
about the writer

about the writer

SUSAN THURSTON, St. Petersburg Times