Panda Takes the Cake - World Looks On in Adoration

The giant panda Xin Xin ate some birthday cake yesterday while one lucky guy in the background had the distinction of being accidentally photographed along with the cuddly bamboo-muncher. Xin Xin and I were both born on August 6th (2005 for Xin Xin, 1984 for me). Interestingly, Xin Xin's gender is a mystery. The AP blurb accompanying the photo refers to the panda as "it" or "its birthday." Well, I decided to go where the Associated Press dare not go. That's right. I looked it up.

A quick jaunt over to Wikipedia's page on pandas revealed that Xin Xin is a female. Other popular panda names include Ya Ya, Shuan Shuan, Gao Gao, Mei Mei, Le Le, Ling Ling, Kou Kou and Harold. Bye Bye!