Black History month began on February 1st. Also February 1st was National Dark Chocolate Day. The fact that both of these are on the same day seems flagrantly racist to me. It also seems odd that we even have a Black History month. After all what is called Black history is, in reality, simply American history. While the contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King, Frederick Douglas, and Condoleezza Rice are well known, here are some of the lesser known people and historic events in Black culture that are often overlooked.

Jack Johnson, the first African-American heavyweight champion, patented a wrench in 1922. The term "Johnson" has referred to a tool ever since.

May 1965: Huey Mohammad X and Queen Shaniqua X of Watts county, CA name their baby daughter "Heather."

Feb. 1973: Boxing promoter Don King purchases the rights to William "Buckwheat" Thomas's hair style for $35 cash.

July 1927: Edwin Perkins invents red Kool-Aid.

July 4 1826: Founding father, president, and writer of the U.S. Constitution Thomas Jefferson dies of jungle fever.

February 1, 1974 Jimmie "J.J" Walker first utters the catch phrase "Dyn-O-Mite!"

August 1969: Black dancer/actress Paula Kelly is the first person to show pubic hair in Playboy magazine.

1972: At the Republican national convention Sammy Davis Jr. endorses Richard Nixon for president and gives him a big hug.

Dec 1950: A young Jesse Jackson discovers alliteration.

June 12, 1972: The first Popeyes Chicken opens in Arabi, Louisiana.

Feb 1963: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. begins treatment for parasomnia, a sleeping disorder causing vivid dreams.

Feb 1934: Musicians Wilson "Thunder" Smith and Sam "Lightnin' " Hopkins compose the blues classic "Stormy Weather"

October 3, 1995 Jury finds O.J. Simpson not guilty of two counts of murder.

Jan 24, 2011 Oprah Winfrey shocks her audience by revealing she has a half sister and that her mother was a skanky ho.

1964: On the TV show "Missing Links" comedian Nipsey Russell invents Rap.

1929: America's first benefit concert is staged to raise money for the burial of blues legend Blind Lemon Jefferson. It was called Lemon-Aid.

1966:Dr. Maulana Karenga creates the African-American holiday, Kwanzaa, which is Swahili for "we just made this up, honky".

Actress Halle Berry was named for Halle's Shoe Store, a local landmark in Cleveland, Ohio where she was born. Her parents had hoped she would one day be a streetwalker.

Rev. Al Sharpton toured with world-famous gospel singer, Mahalia Jackson and preached his first sermon at the age of four. He has sought center stage ever since.

The invention of the first large-scale blood bank is credited to African-American surgeon Charles R. Drew who, oddly enough, was also a vampire.

1919 George Washington Carver discovers the 300th use for the peanut when, alone with his dog, he smears peanut butter on his penis.

Oct. 1993: High school freshman A$hanique Niger first coins the phrase "O NO U DINT"

Feb. 1994: Eddie Murphy ceases being funny.

Sept 1992: Qwanisha Horowitz, a young biracial girl, is the first to play the song " I Like Big Butts" at her Bat Mitzvah.

July 1989: K'yeon Jones is the first man to accidentally fall down while trying to walk with his pants down to his knees in saggy fashion.

1980: Procter and Gamble introduces Grape Crush

Oct 2008: Due the collapse of the economy rapper 50 Cent is downgraded to 23 Cent.

April 5, 1968: Mrs. Trayneshae Violet of Harlem, NY is the first person to hang a photo of both John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. next to her black velvet painting of Jesus.

Feb. 1978: Alone in his sister's closet, a young Tyler Perry tries on his first dress.