Some exclusive clubs are less exclusive than others

There have been 7 Secretaries General of the United Nations:

1. Trygve Lie (1946-53)
2. Dag Hammarskjöld (1953-61)
3. U Thant (1962-71)
4. Kurt Waldheim (1972-81)
5. Javier Pérez de Cuéllar (1982-91)
6. Boutros Boutros-Ghali (1992-96)
7. Kofi Annan (1997-2006)
8. Ban Ki-Moon (2007-present)

There have been 11 Directors of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) :

1. Stanley Finch (1908-1912)
2. A. Bruce Bielaski (1912-1919)
3. William J. Flynn (1919-1921)
4. William J. Burns (1921-1924)
5. J. Edgar Hoover (1924-1972)
6. Clarence M. Kelley (1973-1978)
7. William H. Webster (1978-1987)
8. William S. Sessions (1987-1993)
9. Louis Freeh (1993-2001)
10. Robert Mueller (2001-2013)
11. James Comey (2013-present)

There have been 14 Dalai Lamas:

1. Gendrum Drup (1391-1474, considered posthumously)
2. Gendun Gyatso (1492–1542)
3. Sonam Gyatso (1578-1588)
4. Yonten Gyatso (1601-1617)
5. Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso (1642-1682)
6. Tsangyang Gyatso (1697-1706)
7. Kelzang Gyatso (1720-1757)
8. Jamphel Gyatso (1762-1804)
9. Lungtok Gyatso (1810-1815)
10. Tsultrim Gyatso (1826-1837)
11. Khedrup Gyatso (1842-1856)
12. Trinley Gyatso (1860-1875)
13. Thubten Gyatso (1879-1933)
14. Tenzin Gyatso (1950-present)

There have been 17 Chief Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court:

1. John Jay (1789-1795)
2. John Rutledge (1795-1795)
3. Oliver Ellsworth (1796-1800)
4. John Marshall (1801-1835)
5. Roger B. Taney (1836-1864)
6. Salmon P. Chase (1864-1873)
7. Morrison Waite (1874-1888)
8. Melville Fuller (1888-1910)
9. Edward Douglass White (1910-1921)
10. William Howard Taft (1921-1930)
11. Charles Evans Hughes (1930-1941)
12. Harlan F. Stone (1941-1946)
13. Fred M. Vinson (1946-1953)
14. Earl Warren (1953-1969)
15. Warren E. Burger (1969-1986)
16. William Rehnquist (1986-2005)
17. John G. Roberts, Jr. (2005-present)

There have been 45 presidents of the United States. I am not going to list them here because their names and dates can be found in a purple list in my previous post of March 2, 2014.

There have been at least 71 rulers of England/Britain/U.K./whatever; 266 popes of the Roman Catholic Church; and 600+ rulers of China, the first four of which, if Wikipedia is to be believed, were Sovereign Empress Nüwa (who reigned 180,000 years), Sovereign Emperor Youchao (who reigned 110,000 years), Sovereign Emperor Suiren (who reigned 456,000 years), and Sovereign Emperor Fu Xi (who reigned 115 years, from 2852 BC until 2737 BC).

Grains of salt available on request in the lobby.

To its credit, Wikipedia does state that the first generally accepted date in Chinese history is 841 BC. All dates prior to this are the subject of often vigorous dispute. The dates provided in Wikipedia are those put forward by The Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project, the work of scholars sponsored by the Chinese government which reported in 2000. They are given only as a guide.

All righty, then.

But I know what you are really interested in.

Idols winners.

Specifically, 244 artists (their term, not mine) have won the television series Idols, a reality singing competition that has been adapted in 46 regions. I know. It’s almost too much to take in. You can read all about them, including Lusine Aghabekyan (2007, Armenia), Toma Zdravkov (2008, Bulgaria), Mong Uching Marma (2013, Bangladesh), Ott Lepland (2009, Estonia), Panagiotis Tsakalakos (2011, Greece), Hildur Vala Einarsdóttir (2005, Iceland), Khaya Mthethwa (2012, South Africa), and many others, right here. The list goes on and on. And on.

My mind is now officially boggled.

I briefly considered giving up frivolous posts for Lent, but then I thought, “Nah.”

However, I did restrain myself from publishing a photo of Dolly Parton and one of a llama.