March 8

Events

• Current events

• 205 - Live fast, die young, and leave a perforated corpse - Heliogablus who became Marcus Aurelius Antoninus was born in Syria on this date. The boy Emperor of Rome loved his men, but because he was forced to create an heir, he married. He was so impressed with the pomp and circumstance of the marriage ceremony he did it again twice in one night taking as his "husband" a young charioteer named Gorianus, who was described by a contemporary as "hung like his horse," and as his "wife" a boy named Hierocles. The wedding night with both was consummated before the wedding guests. Eventually Heliogablus was killed by his enemies with a sword up his ass. His body was dumped in a sewer. He was 17.

• 2000 - Confirmation that boys are not allowed to be in the driver's seat of any part of their lives - Adrienne Clayton, a 28-year-old teacher, was arrested on this date after the car she was in was stopped for driving erratically. She was not the driver, however. Her 13-year-old boyfriend was. She told the police officer she was the boy's aunt and that he was driving the car because she felt sick, but they didn't buy that. As they booked her for allowing the boy to drive, they found romantic notes in her possession that she had written to him. Eventually, police were able to document a sexual relationship between the two going back three months. "While a 13-year-old cannot give consent, technically, this was not done against his will," Detective Joe Ehrbar said. "The charge was based on a portion of ... state law that prohibits a sexual relationship not only between adult and juvenile but also teacher and student." The boy never filed a complaint and was not interested in pursuing charges against her. He just wanted to be left alone to have more sex with her.

• 2001 - Not just a source of old TV shows with cute kids... - Nickelodeon, in conjunction with the Kaiser Family Foundation, announced the results of a major national survey on this date. One third of 10-11 year olds (33%) said that pressure to have sex is a "big problem" for kids their age. Many parents, however, were still putting off talking about tough issues with their children. Parents were especially likely to delay talking about puberty, sex and related issues. Two thirds of parents of 8-11 year olds (61%) reported that their child initiated the first conversation about the basics of reproduction. In two out of five families, discussions about puberty (40%) and HIV/AIDS (38%) were also started by the child. Many kids, even those as young as 8, said they needed to know more about sex. About half of 8-11 year olds wanted to know more about puberty (46%) and HIV/AIDS (41%). Older kids also said they still need more information about these issues, as well as about sexual decision making (46% of 12-15 year olds). Among the reasons kids didn't go to their parents when something was bothering them was that they don't want to worry them (61%). Seven out of ten 8-11 year olds (67%), and 81 percent of 12-15 year olds, said they keep things secret from their parents at least some of the time.