Today is January 18 2014

Peking Duck Day: More

• Winnie the Pooh Day: More
  Get out your Pooh Bear (you know you have one somewhere) and clean and press his red vest. And let's be sure to hide your honey pots.
• Thesaurus Day: More

• In 1778, James Cook is the first known European to discover the Hawaiian Islands, which he names the "Sandwich Islands".
  From Wikipedia: 'Captain James Cook (7 November 1728- 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the Royal Navy. Cook made detailed maps of Newfoundland prior to making three voyages to the Pacific Ocean, during which he achieved the first recorded European contact with the eastern coastline of Australia and the Hawaiian Islands, and the first recorded circumnavigation of New Zealand'. More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1896, An X-ray generating machine is exhibited for the first time by H.L. Smith. From Wikipedia: 'The discovery of X-rays came from experimenting with Crookes tubes, an early experimental electrical discharge tube invented by English physicist William Crookes around 1869-1875. In 1895, Wilhelm Röntgen discovered X-rays emanating from Crookes tubes and the many uses for X-rays were immediately apparent. One of the first X-ray photographs was made of the hand of Röntgen's wife. The image displayed both her wedding ring and bones. On January 18, 1896 an X-ray machine was formally displayed by H.L. Smith'. More
  - On YouTube: More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1911, The first landing of an aircraft on a ship.
  From Wikipedia: Eugene Burton Ely (October 21, 1886– October 19, 1911) was an aviation pioneer, credited with the first shipboard aircraft take off and landing.'
  
  'Two months later, on January 18, 1911, Ely landed his Curtiss pusher airplane on a platform on the armored cruiser USS Pennsylvania anchored in San Francisco Bay. Ely flew from the Tanforan Racetrack in San Bruno, California and landed on the Pennsylvania, which was the first successful shipboard landing of an aircraft. This flight was also the first ever using a tailhook system, designed and built by circus performer and aviator Hugh Robinson. Ely told a reporter: "It was easy enough. I think the trick could be successfully turned nine times out of ten".'. More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1919, Walter Owen Bentley launches Bentley Motors Limited - the business would later be purchased by Rolls-Royce. More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1948, Ted Mack's, Original Amateur Hour, begins.
  From Wikipedia: 'The Original Amateur Hour is an American radio and television program. The show was a continuation of Major Bowes Amateur Hour which had been a radio staple from 1934 to 1945. Major Edward Bowes, the originator of the program and its master of ceremonies, left the show in 1945 and died the following year. He was ultimately succeeded by Ted Mack, when the show was brought into television in 1948.
  
  The show is a progenitor of later, similar programs such as Star Search, American Idol and America's Got Talent'. More
  - On YouTube (TV): More
  - On YouTube (Major Bowes on radio: More
• In 1974 - The TV show, The Six Million Dollar Man, starring Lee Majors premieres.
  From Wikipedia: 'The Six Million Dollar Man is an American television series about a former astronaut with bionic implants working for a fictional government office known as OSI. The series is based on the Martin Caidin novel Cyborg, which was the proposed title of the series during pre-production. Following three television movies aired in 1973, The Six Million Dollar Man aired on the ABC network as a regular series for five seasons from 1974 to 1978. The title role of Steve Austin was played by Lee Majors, who subsequently became a pop culture icon of the 1970s.
  
  A spin-off series, The Bionic Woman, ran from 1976 to 1978 (and, in turn, was the subject of a remake in 2007). Three television movies featuring both eponymous characters were also produced between 1987 and 1994'. More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1975, The TV show 'The Jeffersons, a spinoff from 'All in the Family' premieres, and runs for 11 seasons.
  From Wikipedia: 'The Jeffersons is an American sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, through July 2, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. The show was produced by the T.A.T. Communications Company from 1975 to 1982 and by Embassy Television from 1982 to 1985. The Jeffersons is one of the longest-running sitcoms in the history of American television'. More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1980, Pink Floyd's, The Wall, hits #1.
  From Wikipedia: 'As with Pink Floyd's previous three albums, The Wall is a concept album and explores themes of abandonment and personal isolation'. More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1981, Phil Smith and Phil Mayfield parachute off a Houston skyscraper, becoming the first two people to BASE jump from objects in all four categories: buildings, antennae, spans (bridges), and earth (cliffs). More
• In 1983, IOC restores Jim Thorpe's Olympic medals 70 years after they were taken from him for being paid $25 in semipro baseball.
  From Wikipedia: 'In 1912, strict rules regarding amateurism were in effect for athletes participating in the Olympics. Athletes who received money prizes for competitions, were sports teachers or had competed previously against professionals were not considered amateurs and were barred from competition'.
  In late January 1913, the Worcester Telegram published a story announcing that Thorpe had played professional baseball, and other U.S. newspapers followed up the story. Thorpe had indeed played professional baseball in the Eastern Carolina League for Rocky Mount, North Carolina, in 1909 and 1910, receiving meager pay; reportedly as little as US$2 ($51 today) per game and as much as US$35 ($889 today) per week. College players, in fact, regularly spent summers playing professionally but most used aliases, unlike Thorpe'. More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1991, Eastern Airlines shut down after 62 years in business due to financial problems. More

Nothing. Looks like I was lazy on this day.

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

• FamousBirthdays.com: January 18 Birthdays More
• FamousDaily.com: January 18 History More
• History.com: Historical Events on 18th January More
• HistoryOrb.com: Famous Deaths on 18th January More
• On-This-day.com history 18th January More
• On-This-day.com music history 18th January More
• Wikipedia.com: History January 18 More

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

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

Best selling books of 1964 More

• 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

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