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October 3 is officially Mean Girls day. As the air gets crisp across the United States, fans of resit down to celebrate the unexpected cult classic. While October 3 doesn’t fall on a pink day this year, there are plenty of ways to celebrate the film, but do you know why October 3 is officially considered Mean Girls day?

What is Mean Girls about?

When Cady Heron started school at North Shore High School, she was entering unchartered territory. Previously homeschooled, Cady didn’t have a lot of experience with the dramatics of American teenagers. That all changed when she found herself accidentally initiated into the school’s highest social strata. From there, things got pretty intense.

Lindsay Lohan as Cady Heron and Tina Fey as Ms. Norbury.in 'Mean Girls'
Lindsay Lohan as Cady Heron and Tina Fey as Ms. Norbury.in ‘Mean Girls’ | CBS via Getty Images

Once a sweet, if not a bit naïve teen, Cady quickly got swept up into American high school drama. Instead of just studying Regina George and her posse, she became one of them and disrupted the entire balance of North Shore High School. All was well that ended well, though. Cady got the guy of her dreams, restored her friendships, and helped her entire grade come to understand each other better.

Why is October 3rd Mean Girls day?

Fans of the cult classic celebrate October 3 for one reason and one reason only. October 3 was the day that Aaron Samuels asked Cady what day it was. In a voiceover, Cady explained, “with Regina’s blessing, I started talking to Aaron more and more. On October 3rd, he asked me what day it was.” The moment could be considered the beginning of the end of Cady’s friendship with Regina. 

Just a few short weeks after Cady told Aaron what day it was, Regina got back together with him and ignited Cady’s desire to bring Regina down. Did it work? Sure, in a sense. The unraveling of the school’s delicate social system had pretty widespread consequences, though. 

Why is Mean Girls so beloved?

Mean Girls, based on the synopsis, might seem like just any other teen movie set in a high school. There have been hundreds of movies that appear similar. So, what exactly sets Mean Girls apart from the crowd and makes it a cult classic? The superb writing and acting is one reason that it’s so heavily celebrated. The movie is endlessly quotable and, for people who had a bit of a rough time in high school, ridiculously relatable. 

Lizzy Caplan as Janis Ian and Daniel Franzese as Damian in 'Mean Girls'
Lizzy Caplan as Janis Ian and Daniel Franzese as Damian in ‘Mean Girls’ | CBS via Getty Images

The film’s quotability might be the byproduct of the rating system, though. The movie’s director, Mark Waters, sat down with Vulture in 2017 and revealed that the team behind the film spent a lot of time rewording sexual jokes to appease the rating system. It was important for the film to get a PG-13 rating, which, according to Waters, made many of the jokes even funnier.