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Today is February 28 2014

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

Chocolate Souffle Day: More

Other celebrations/observances today:
  • National Tooth Fairy Day: More
Events in the past on: February 28
  • In 1827, The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad is incorporated, becoming the first railroad in America offering commercial transportation of both people and freight.
    From Wikipedia: 'The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (reporting marks B&O, BO) is one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal (which served New York City) and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which would have connected Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. At first this railroad was located entirely in the state of Maryland with an original line from the port of Baltimore west to Sandy Hook. At this point to continue westward, it had to cross into Virginia (now West Virginia) over the Potomac River, adjacent to the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers. through Virginia from Harpers Ferry to a point just west of the junction of Patterson Creek and the North Branch Potomac River where it crossed back into Maryland to reach Cumberland. From there it was extended to the Ohio River at Wheeling and a few years later also to Parkersburg,West Virginia.'
    More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1849, The first passenger ship, SS California (steamship), from New York arrives in San Francisco. It took 4 months and 22 days.
    From Wikipedia: 'SS California was one of the first steamships to steam in the Pacific Ocean and the first steamship to travel from Central America to North America.'

    'California left New York City on October 6, 1848 with only a partial load of her about 60 saloon (about $300 fare) and 150 steerage (about $150 fare) passenger capacity. Only a few were going all the way to California. Her crew numbered about 36 men. She left New York well before definite word of the California Gold Rush had reached the East Coast. The route they would take passed was the standard route through the Straits of Magellan (Cape Horn) at the southern end of South America. She made it to Rio de Janeiro (in a record time of 24 days from New York), where she stopped for engine repairs and to resupply coal, fresh water, wood, fresh fruits and vegetables and other supplies. After traversing the Straits of Magellan she stopped at Valparaíso, Chile; Callao, Peru (just outside Lima); and Paita, Peru for more supplies. The coal supplies had been previously shipped to the various ports by sailing ships that had left earlier./

    'As word of the California Gold Rush spread, she started picking up more passengers wanting to go to California. At Valparaíso she filled most of her remaining berths. When news reached the East Coast about the gold rush and the estimated time of California's arrival at Panama City, there was a rush to get to Panama to catch her before she continued the journey up the Pacific coast. When California arrived at Panama City on January 17, 1849, there were many more passengers than there was room. Provisions were made for extra passengers that were selected by lottery and paid $200 per ticket; some sold their tickets for much more. The SS California eventually proceeded towards San Francisco with about 400 passengers and a crew of 36; many more passengers were left behind to find their way later on other ships.'
    More
  • In 1925, The song 'Tea For Two' by Marion Harris hit #1.
    From Wikipedia: '"Tea for Two" is a song from the 1925 musical No, No, Nanette with music by Vincent Youmans and lyrics by Irving Caesar. It is a duet sung by Nanette and Tom (Louise Groody and Jack Barker) in Act II as they imagine their future. It was also sung by Doris Day and Gordon MacRae in the 1950 musical film, Tea for Two.'
    More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1935, Wallace Carothers manufactures the 1st nylon polymer.
    From Wikipedia: 'Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers, more specifically aliphatic or semi-aromatic polyamides. They can be melt-processed into fibers, films or shapes. The first example of nylon (nylon 66) was produced on February 28, 1935, by Wallace Carothers at DuPont's research facility at the DuPont Experimental Station. Nylon polymers have found significant commercial applications in fibers (apparel, flooring and rubber reinforcement), in shapes (molded parts for cars, electrical equipment, etc.), and in films (mostly for food packaging)'.
    More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1939, The erroneous word 'dord' is discovered in the Webster's New International Dictionary, Second Edition, prompting an investigation.
    From Wikipedia: 'The word dord is a notable error in lexicography, an accidental creation, or ghost word, of the G. and C. Merriam Company's staff in the second (1934) edition of its New International Dictionary, in which the term is defined as "density".

    'On July 31, 1931, Austin M. Patterson, Webster's chemistry editor, sent in a slip reading "D or d, cont./density." This was intended to add "density" to the existing list of words that the letter "D" can abbreviate. The slip somehow went astray, and the phrase "D or d" was misinterpreted as a single, run-together word: Dord (This was a plausible mistake because headwords on slips were typed with spaces between the letters, making "D or d" look very much like "D o r d"). A new slip was prepared for the printer and a part of speech assigned along with a pronunciation. The would-be word got past proofreaders and appeared on page 771 of the dictionary around 1934'.
    More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1940, Basketball is televised for the first time (Fordham University vs. the University of Pittsburgh in Madison Square Garden).
    More
  • In 1953, Cambridge University scientists discover the chemical structure of DNA.
    From Wikipedia: 'Deoxyribonucleic acid is a molecule that carries most of the genetic instructions used in the development, functioning and reproduction of all known living organisms and many viruses.'.

    'DNA was first isolated by Friedrich Miescher in 1869. Its molecular structure was identified by James Watson and Francis Crick in 1953, whose model-building efforts were guided by X-ray diffraction data acquired by Rosalind Franklin.'
    More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1954, The first color TV sets using NTSC standard are produced and made available to the public.
    From Wikipedia: 'The first NTSC standard was developed in 1941 and had no provision for color. In 1953 a second NTSC standard was adopted, which allowed for color television broadcasting which was compatible with the existing stock of black-and-white receivers. NTSC was the first widely adopted broadcast color system and remained dominant until the 2010s, when it is gradually being replaced with different digital standards such as ATSC and others.'
    More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1976, At the 18th Grammy Awards:
    From Wikipedia:
    More
    Record of the Year is Love Will Keep Us Together by Captain and Tennille
    -- Love Will Keep Us Together at Wikipedia: More
    -- Love Will Keep Us Together on YouTube: More
    Album of the Year is Still Crazy After All These Years by Paul Simon
    -- Still Crazy After All These Years at Wikipedia: More
    -- Still Crazy After All These Years on YouTube: More
    Song of the Year is Send In the Clowns by Judy Collins
    -- Send In the Clowns at Wikipedia: More
    -- Send In the Clowns on YouTube: More
    Best New Artest is Natalie Cole
  • In 1983, The final episode of M*A*S*H airs, with almost 106 million viewers. It still holds the record for the highest viewership of a season finale.
    From Wikipedia: Goodbye, Farewell and Amen is a television movie that served as the 256th and final episode of the American television series M*A*S*H. Closing out the series eleventh season, the 2-1/2 hour episode first aired on CBS on February 28, 1983. Written by a large number of collaborators, including series star Alan Alda, who also directed, "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" surpassed the single-episode ratings record that had been set by the Dallas episode that resolved the "Who Shot J.R.?" cliffhanger. From 1983 until 2010, "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" remained the most watched television broadcast in American history, passed only in total viewership (but not in ratings or share) in February 2010 by Super Bowl XLIV.
    More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1984, At the 26th Grammy Awards:
    From Wikipedia:
    More
    Record of the Year is Beat It by Michael Jackson (one of eight awards)
    -- Beat It At Wikipedia: More
    -- Beat It On YouTube: More
    Album of the Year is Thriller by Michael Jackson
    -- Thriller At Wikipedia: More
    -- Thriller On YouTube: More
    Song of the Year is Every Breath You Take by The Police
    -- Every Breath You Take at Wikipedia: More
    -- Every Breath You Take on YouTube: More
    Best New artist is Culture Club
  • In 1996, At the 38th Grammy Awards:
    From Wikipedia:
    More
    Record of the Year is Kiss From a Rose by Seal
    -- Kiss From a Rose at Wikipedia: More
    -- Kiss From a Rose on YouTube: More
    Album of the Year is Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette
    -- Jagged Little Pill at Wikipedia: More
    -- Jagged Little Pill on YouTube: More
    Song of the Year is Kiss From a Rose by Seal
    Best New Artist is Hootie and the Blowfish
  • In 1998, First flight of RQ-4 Global Hawk, the first unmanned aerial vehicle certified to file its own flight plans and fly regularly in U.S. civilian airspace.
    From Wikipedia: 'The Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk is an unmanned (UAV) surveillance aircraft. It was initially designed by Ryan Aeronautical (now part of Northrop Grumman), and known as Tier II+ during development. The Global Hawk performs a similar role as the Lockheed U-2. The RQ-4 provides a broad overview and systematic surveillance using high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and long-range electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensors with long loiter times over target areas. It can survey as much as 40,000 square miles (100,000 km2) of terrain a day'.
    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

  • I Want To Hold Your Hand - The Beatles: More
    The Beatles have there first hit the No. 1 in the US. This will hold the no. 1 spot until March 21st, when another Beatles song, She Loves You, takes over.

Top movie

  • Dead Ringer More
    It will be there until the weekend box office of March 8, 1964 when, Kissin' Cousins, takes over.
  IV.
Today in the Past (reference sites): February 28
   V.
This month February 2014 (updated once a month - last updated - )

National Weddings Month, Potato Lover's Month, Berry Fresh Month, National Cherry Month, National Hot Breakfast Month, National Grapefruit Month, National Snack Food Month, Sweet Potato Month


February is:

February origin (from Wikipedia):
'The Roman month Februarius was named after the Latin term februum, which means purification, via the purification ritual Februa held on February 15 (full moon) in the old lunar Roman calendar. January and February were the last two months to be added to the Roman calendar, since the Romans originally considered winter a monthless period. They were added by Numa Pompilius about 713 BC. February remained the last month of the calendar year until the time of the decemvirs (c. 450 BC), when it became the second month. At certain intervals February was truncated to 23 or 24 days, and a 27-day intercalary month, Intercalaris, was inserted immediately after February to realign the year with the seasons. Under the reforms that instituted the Julian calendar, Intercalaris was abolished, leap years occurred regularly every fourth year, and in leap years February gained a 29th day. Thereafter, it remained the second month of the calendar year, meaning the order that months are displayed (January, February, March, ..., December) within a year-at-a-glance calendar. Even during the Middle Ages, when the numbered Anno Domini year began on March 25 or December 25, the second month was February whenever all twelve months were displayed in order. The Gregorian calendar reforms made slight changes to the system for determining which years were leap years and thus contained a 29-day February.'

February is the second month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the shortest month and the only month with fewer than 30 days. The month has 28 days in common years or 29 days in leap years.
February is the third month of meteorological winter in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, February is the third month of summer (the seasonal equivalent of August in the Northern Hemisphere, in meteorological reckoning).

February 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
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