May The Fourth Be With You

If you're not a "Star Wars" fan, you will probably turn to the dark side by dinnertime. Even if you love the franchise, heads up today. This has become a holiday, based on a pun. How did it start?

Believe it or not, it started in another country.

The first known instance of the "fourth be with you" phrase being used was May 4, 1979. On that day Margaret Thatcher took office as prime minister of the United Kingdom. The Conservative party allegedly placed an ad in a London newspaper which read, "May the Fourth Be With You, Maggie. Congratulations."

The day first was celebrated with widespread Star Wars-ness was in Toronto in 2011. It's been adopted by pretty much every sci-fi fan, governments (as an unofficial holiday), retail stores (who have special sales), and George Lucas even approves.

As Darth Vader once said "it is useless to resist".