Sixty-four years ago today, the beloved and influential Peanuts debuted in nine newspapers with a four-panel strip that set the tone for the future of "good ol' Charlie Brown," introduced through the words of Shermy, who admits his hatred for him.

Things didn't get any better for the round-headed boy in the second installment, in which Patty (no, not Peppermint Patty) punches him in the eye. Snoopy doesn't arrive until the third, but Schulz ensured the faithful companion wouldn't make life much cheerier for Charlie Brown over the course of the 17,894 strips that followed.

The official Snoopy Twitter account celebrated the milestone with with a simple "Happy Birthday" tweet, while CBS San Francisco, near Schulz's longtime home in Santa Rosa, coincidentally looks at Peanuts' social media presence.

Mid-Day compiles what amounts to a solid list of Peanuts trivia, noting that Charlie Brown is the only character to appear in both the first and the last strip, published Feb. 13, 2000, the day after Schulz's death.