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After a dispute sillier than states competing to hold the first election primary, the Republic of Kiribati beat out Tonga and New Zealand's Chatham Islands for the media's anointment of birthplace of the third millennium. To jump in front of the Chatham Islands by 15 minutes, Tonga sneakily used daylight savings time, while Kiribati had the international dateline moved in 1995 so its snazzily named if unfortunately uninhabited Millennium Island would be first. Kiribati's Micronesian dancers, shipped in from Tawara, whupped it up before the world's cameras for six minutes and then prepped for the next TV spot. Not to be outdone, the Chatham Islands--the first actually inhabited land to see the new millennium--jumped on boasting rights for the first haircut, first horse race, first beer brewing and first fishing competition. The 21st century looks to be even more competitive than the last.
And the day of odd weddings began early with a dispute over the first wedding. Was it the marriage of Chatham hardware-store managers Monique Croon, 33, and Dean Braid, 27, whose televised wedding was accompanied by fireworks? Or was it that of Cheryl Berthelsen and Matthew Beach, both 28 and from Virginia, who won a $15,000 auction at weddingchannel.com to be married in the South Pacific on private Turtle Island, which employs daylight saving time? Later, 700 couples were married in a ceremony in Philadelphia; 2,000 in a Bangkok ceremony; 110 along the Delaware River; 20 couples in the Maryland courthouse where Monica Lewinsky testified against Linda Tripp two weeks ago; and 20 in Las Vegas' Chapel Viva Las Vegas, which featured hula girls, showgirls, a Merlin and, of course, an Elvis impersonator. For the rest of their lives, all these people will have to answer questions about their wedding album with, "No, I don't know who that person is either."
Along with people who like to wed in groups, the Millennial New Year was an excuse for attention-needy adrenaline seekers. A large group went to the South Pole to drink champagne as scientists performed their annual repositioning of the U.S. flag (glacial movement shifts the flag). After midnight, four Emory students planned to finish their ascent up Argentina's 22,834-ft. high Mount Aconcagua amid 150 m.p.h. winds and subzero temperatures. At dawn on the ever popular Chatham Islands, six people parachuted to see the first sunrise from above the clouds. At Jerusalem's Golden Gate, which some predict will be the site of Jesus' second coming, police arrested entertainer Dudu Topaz, who dressed up as Jesus as a stunt for his TV show. Near Montpellier, France, cave explorer Michel Siffre, who has been underground for a month and no longer has any sense of time, thought Friday was Dec. 27. And in Chicago, The Jerry Springer Show offered "Y2Lovers," a daring episode in which people were confronted by both of their lovers.
Lots of babies were born to parents who were just lucky or had planned really carefully last April. A Silicon Valley hospital gave its first baby a share of Yahoo! stock and five shares of Silicon Graphics. Twins were born on either side of midnight in Berlin, Virginia, Indianapolis, Oklahoma and Seattle. Regardless of what any of them accomplish in life, this is how they will always be described.