Text size Background

Today is January 1 2014

About     Other days


   I.
Today's Holidays and Historical Events (updated daily)
Today's Food Holiday

New Year's Day: More

Other celebrations/observances today:
  • Apple Gifting Day: More
  • Lucky New Years Day Foods: More
Events in the past on: January 1
  • In 1772, The first traveler's checks are issued in London. They were good in about 90 countries. The idea didn't take off well until the American Express Travelers Checks in the 1890's. More
  • In 1788, First edition of The Times of London, previously The Daily Universal Register, is published. More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1863, Lincoln signs Emancipation Proclamation. From Wikipedia: 'The Emancipation Proclamation was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863. In a single stroke, it changed the federal legal status of more than 3 million enslaved persons in the designated areas of the South from 'slave' to 'free'. It had the practical effect that as soon as a slave escaped the control of the Confederate government, by running away or through advances of federal troops, the slave became legally free. Eventually it reached and liberated all of the designated slaves. It was issued as a war measure during the American Civil War, directed to all of the areas in rebellion and all segments of the executive branch (including the Army and Navy) of the United States'. More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1901, The British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, and Western Australia federate as the Commonwealth of Australia; Edmund Barton is appointed the first Prime Minister. More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1902, The first American college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl between Michigan and Stanford, is held in Pasadena, California. More
    - On YouTube (audio): More
  • In 1929, Roy Riegels runs 60 yds the wrong way with Rose Bowl fumble recovery. From Wikipedia: 'On January 1, 1929, the Golden Bears faced the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, USA. Midway through the second quarter, Riegels, who played center on both offensive and defensive lines and who was then playing in a role similar to that of the modern defensive nose guard or nose tackle, picked up a fumble by Tech's Jack 'Stumpy' Thomason. Just 30 yards away from the Yellow Jackets' end zone, Riegels was somehow turned around and ran 69 yards in the wrong direction.' He was stopped at the 1 yard line.. He came back in the second half and had a stellar game. Tech won by the 2 point safety that occurred when the Bears punt was block at that 1 yard line. More
    - On YouTube: More
    - On YouTube (others): More
  • In 1934, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (US bank guarantor) effective. From Wikipedia: 'The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is a United States government corporation providing deposit insurance to depositors in US banks. The FDIC was created by the 1933 Banking Act after the Great Depression to restore trust in the American banking system; more than one-third of banks failed in the years before the FDIC's creation, and bank runs were common'. More
    - On YouTube: More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1949, KPRC TV channel 2 in Houston, TX., airs,. KHOU was in March 1953 and KTRK on November 20 1954. More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1962, The United States Navy SEALs were established. From Wikipedia: 'The United States Navy's Sea, Air and Land Teams, commonly known as the Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's principal special operations force and a part of the Naval Special Warfare Command and United States Special Operations Command. One of the SEALs' primary functions is to conduct small-unit maritime military operations which originate from, and return to a river, ocean, swamp, delta, or coastline'. More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1966, Simon and Garfunkel's 'Sounds of Silence' reaches #1. It's initial release did not do well and the team broke up until the producer re-released a re-mix with increased instrumental background. More
    On YouTube: More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1970, The Unix time begins at 00:00:00 UTC/GMT. It is used in many UNIX and like systems (LINUX). From Wikipedia: 'Unix time (also known as POSIX time or Epoch time) is a system for describing instants in time, defined as the number of seconds that have elapsed since 00:00:00 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), Thursday, 1 January 1970,'. More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1983, The ARPANET officially changes to using the Internet Protocol, creating the Internet. From Wikipedia: 'The Internet Protocol (IP) is the principal communications protocol in the Internet protocol suite for relaying datagrams across network boundaries. Its routing function enables internetworking, and essentially establishes the Internet'. More
    - On YouTube: More
    - On YouTube (IP Address and How It Works - 4 class, we are moving to 6): More
  • In 1995, Cartoonist Gary Larson finishes the last 'Far Side' cartoon, which he started in 1980. From Wikipedia: 'The Far Side is a single-panel comic created by Gary Larson and syndicated by Universal Press Syndicate, which ran from January 1, 1980, to January 1, 1995. Its surrealistic humor is often based on uncomfortable social situations, improbable events, an anthropomorphic view of the world, logical fallacies, impending bizarre disasters, (often twisted) references to proverbs, or the search for meaning in life'. More
    - On YouTube: More
  II.
Henry's Heads Up! - previous days social media post (updated daily)

Nothing. Looks like I was lazy on this day.

 III.
Top Song & Movie 50 years ago today

No. 1 song

  • There I've Said It Again - Bobby Vinton: More
    This song will stay no. 1 until Jan. 25, when the Beatles hit the no. 1 US charts with, I Want To Hold Your Hand.
  • There are differences in the number one song by country, rating category (top 10, 40 , 100) and chart. The Cash Box 100 has the no. 1 pop hit as:
    Louie Louie More
    For those who, 50 yrs later still can't understand the words, this has the lyrics.

Top movie

  • The Sword in the Stone More
    It will stay on top until the weekend box office ratings of February 2, 1964, when Dr. Strangelove takes over
  IV.
Today in the Past (reference sites): January 1
   V.
This month January 2014 (updated once a month - last updated - )

National: Egg Month, Hot Tea Month, Oatmeal Month, Soup Month.


January is:

January origin (from Wikipedia): 'January is named after Janus, the God of beginnings and transitions; the name has its beginnings in Roman mythology, coming from the Latin word for door since January is the door to the year.'

'January is the first month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and one of seven months with the length of 31 days. The first day of the month is known as New Year's Day. It is, on average, the coldest month of the year within most of the Northern Hemisphere (where it is the second month of winter) and the warmest month of the year within most of the Southern Hemisphere (where it is the second month of summer). In the Southern hemisphere, January is the seasonal equivalent of July in the Northern hemisphere and vice versa.'

January at Wikipedia: More

  VI.
TV fifty years ago 1964 (updated yearly - last updated Jan. 1 2014)

If you couldn't afford 90 cents for a movie ticket, 50 years ago, or your 45 RPM record player was broke, you might watch one of these shows on TV.
From this Wikipedia article: More

 VII.
Best selling books fifty years ago (updated yearly - last updated Jan. 1 2014)

Best selling books of 1964 More

VIII.
Fun (Last link added October 1 2014, but content on each site may change daily)
  • Astronomy Picture of the Day: More
  • NOAA: - National Hurricane Center - Atlantic Graphical Tropical Weather Outlook: More
  • Listen to Old Radio Shows: (streaming mp3 with schedule) More
  • NASA TV: (video feed) More
    NASA TV schedule: More
  • Public Domain eBook Links

    Sites for downloading or reading free Public Domain eBooks. Available in various formats. More

  • Podcast: A Moment of Science. Approximately 1 minute general science facts.
    Home page: More
    RSS: More
  • Podcast: The Naked Scientists. Current science, medicine, space and other science
    Home page: More
    RSS: More
  • Podcast: Quirks & Quarks. Current science news.
    Home page: More
    RSS: More
  • Articles and videos: Universe Today. Current space and astronomy news.
    Home page: More
    RSS: More
  • Old Picture of the Day - "Each day we bring you one stunning little glimpse of history in the form of a historical photograph."
    Home page: More
    RSS: More
  IX.
Other Holiday Sites (Last link added October 1 2014. Link content changes yearly)

Below, are listed several holiday sites that I reference in addition to other holiday researches.


US Government Holidays

  • 2014 Postal Holidays More
  • 2014 Official Federal Holidays More

Holidays Worldwide

  • List of holidays by country More
  • Holidays and Observances around the World More
Contact: If you wish to make comment, please do so by writing to this: Email address