You might be wondering, why 40’s? On Sunday May 16, I’m going to be 40 years old. According to the Collins Dictionary age 40 is the start of middle age. I’ll go with the Oxford English Dictionary instead, “… the period between youth and old age, about 45 to 60″.

I got to thinking about the number 40 in pop culture. Some say 40 is a magical number. If anything it occurs frequently in literature. Take the idiom forty winks, or “forty days and forty nights”.  How about all those thieves and Ali Baba, there were 40 of them remember?

There’s the spray lubricant WD-40 and the food dye Red 40. Here’s Five more 40’s in Pop Culture I found interesting.

American Top 40

When I was a kiddo I faithfully tuned in to hear the American Top 40 with Casey Kasem. His weekly countdown show was right up there with Solid Gold on my coolness meter.
“Now, on with the countdown!”—Casey Kasem

American Top 40 was born the same year I was in 1970. The show is still around today as At 40 with Ryan Seacrest. Visit http://www.at40.com for more info.

Casey Kasem is one smooth talker. He used his voice over talents for commercials and TV shows, including being the voice of Robin from Super Friends and Shaggy from Scooby Doo.

Hey look at this via YouTube! It’s a faux Shaggy voicing Casey Kasem’s famous rant:
Warning-bad words!

U.S. Route 40

Historical roads have a way of making their way through pop culture.  Listen to Brak from Space Ghost fame & Freddie Prinze Jr.’s duet with “Highway 40” and Ricky Skaggs sing “Highway 40 Blues”.

Visit http://route40.net for history, info and even more songs about Highway 40.

The 40 Year Old Virgin

This “screwball comedy” was a big hit back in 2005. It also had a major impact on men getting their chests waxed. Ouch!
Click here if you’re not too squeamish.

Purchase The 40 Year Old Virgin on DVD via Amazon.

40 by U2

A song by U2 from 1983, enough said on this one.

UB40

UB40 had some big hits during my favorite decade, The 80’s. One of them was “Red Red Wine”. I remember hearing it for the first time over the intercom in 7th grade home room. It was a strange scene, all the 13 year olds bopping their heads to a song about wine consumption. I’ve never been a wine person myself, unless I can eat a whole pound of brie while sipping.
Click here for video.

Visit http://www.ub40.co.uk/ for upcoming tour dates and album information.