September 24: Everest Faces, Gold Fever & Ben Platt

September 24 is one of those dates that quietly overachieves. It's got mountaineers, monarchs, would-be market manipulators, and a Tony winner who can cry on command. Let's climb in.

Two Guys and a Mountain (1975)

In 1975, Dougal Haston and Doug Scott of the Southwest Face expedition became the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest by going up one of its faces. Not the ridges everyone else used "the sensible way" — an actual sheer face. Some people take the stairs; these two decided the wall looked more interesting. Genuinely one of history's great flexes, and they did it without a single motivational playlist.

The Gold Rush That Wasn't (1869)

On this day in 1869, Jay Gould, James Fisk, and a merry band of speculators plotted to corner the United States gold market. Spoiler: it did not go according to plan. Prices plummeted instead, proving once again that scheming to control an entire commodity is the kind of ambitious idea that looks great right up until it doesn't. Consider it the 19th-century ancestor of every "can't lose" investment your uncle texts you about.

Happy Birthday, Ben Platt (1993)

Born September 24, 1993, Ben Platt is the American actor, singer, and songwriter who has spent a career reminding audiences that yes, a human voice really can do that. Whether he's on a Broadway stage or on screen, the man delivers emotion with the intensity of someone who has clearly never been told to "tone it down." He shares the date with Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach (born 1989) and actor-singer Joe Locke (born 2003), making this a suspiciously talented corner of the calendar.

A Continent-Sized Party

If you're in South Africa, today is Heritage Day — a genuinely joyful celebration of the country's cultures, traditions, and, unofficially but enthusiastically, its national love of a good braai. It's the rare holiday where the correct way to honor your heritage is to gather around a grill and let the meat do the talking. Meanwhile, Cambodia marks Constitution Day, and Guinea-Bissau celebrates its Independence Day, commemorating independence from Portugal in 1973.

So there you have it: face-climbing legends, a gold scheme gone sideways, a Broadway powerhouse, and a continent firing up the grill. September 24 came to perform — no toning it down required.