Six years ago today we posted our very first images: a re-touched magazine cover featuring Faith Hill and two almost identical Skyy Vodka ads that appeared in Maxim and Cosmo (hint: it’s in the nipples).

While people often congratulate Gwen and I for coming up with the idea for the blog, we never actually intended the public to read it.  We initially started the site as a place for the two of us to share images that we used in teaching.  The rest is history.

Thanks to everyone who has visited over the last six years!  Almost 5,000 posts later, you’ve changed our lives and careers in unexpected and delightful ways!

Here are some highlights from the year! All deserving exclamation points!

• Gwen got tenure!
• We got a home page (thanks Jon Smadja)!
• We reached 12,000 Twitter and 25,000 Facebook followers!
• We added 8 new Pinterest Boards!
• One post was “liked” by over 30,000 readers!
• Shankar Vedantam started tweeting us!
• We learned that otters LOVE us!
• We made new relationships with Alternet, PolicyMic, and Pacific Standard!
• We got an email from fashion designer Paul Frank!
• We took an exercise class from Richard Simmons!
• We added two more Image Guides!
• We were quoted at CNN, NPR, BBC, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Business Insider, USA Today, and Slate, among others, and were featured at the Los Angeles Times, Slate, and Alternet!

Here’s to you and here’s to another great year!