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Today is March 22 2014

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

National Corn Dog Day: More
I'm a mustard dipper.

Other celebrations/observances today:
  • Coq au Vin: More
  • World Water Day : More
  • Goof Off Day: More
    I thought that was every day.
Events in the past on: March 22
  • In 1857, The first department store elevator for passengers was installed at E.V. Haughwout and Co. in New York City.
    From Wikipedia: 'In 1852, Elisha Otis introduced the safety elevator, which prevented the fall of the cab if the cable broke. The design of the Otis safety elevator is somewhat similar to one type still used today. A governor device engages knurled roller(s), locking the elevator to its guides should the elevator descend at excessive speed. He demonstrated it at the New York exposition in the Crystal Palace in a dramatic, death-defying presentation in 1854, and the first such passenger elevator was installed at 488 Broadway in New York City on March 23, 1857.

    The first elevator shaft preceded the first elevator by four years. Construction for Peter Cooper's Cooper Union Foundation building in New York began in 1853. An elevator shaft was included in the design, because Cooper was confident that a safe passenger elevator would soon be invented. The shaft was cylindrical because Cooper thought it was the most efficient design. Later, Otis designed a special elevator for the building. Today the Otis Elevator Company, now a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation, is the world's largest manufacturer of vertical transport systems'.
    - At FamousDaily.com: More
    - On YouTube: More
    - On YouTube: More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1941, Jimmy Stewart is inducted into the Army, becoming the first major American movie star to wear a military uniform in World War II.
    From Wikipedia: 'Stewart's family on both sides had deep military roots, as both grandfathers had fought in the Civil War, and his father had served during both the Spanish-American War and World War I. Stewart considered his father to be the biggest influence on his life, so it was not surprising that, when another war came, he too was eager to serve. Members of his family had previously been in the infantry, but Stewart chose to become a flier.

    An early interest in flying led Stewart to gain his Private Pilot certificate in 1935 and Commercial Pilot certificate in 1938. He often flew cross-country to visit his parents in Pennsylvania, navigating by the railroad tracks. Nearly two years before the December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, Stewart had accumulated over 400 hours of flying time.

    Considered a highly proficient pilot, he entered a cross-country race as a co-pilot in 1939. Stewart, along with musician/composer Hoagy Carmichael, saw the need for trained war pilots, and joined with other Hollywood celebrities to invest in Thunderbird Field, a pilot-training school built and operated by Southwest Airways in Glendale, Arizona. This airfield became part of the United States Army Air Forces training establishment and trained more than 10,000 pilots during World War II.

    In October 1940, Stewart was drafted into the United States Army but was rejected for failing to meet the weight requirements for his height for new recruits-Stewart was five pounds (2.3 kg) under the standard. To get up to 143 pounds, he sought out the help of Metro-Goldwyn- Mayer's muscle man and trainer Don Loomis, who was noted for his ability to help people add or subtract pounds in his studio gymnasium. Stewart subsequently attempted to enlist in the Air Corps, but still came in underweight, although he persuaded the enlistment officer to run new tests, this time passing the weigh-in, with the result that Stewart enlisted and was inducted in the Army on March 22, 1941. He became the first major American movie star to wear a military uniform in World War II.

    Commands held: 703d Bombardment Squadron, Dobbins Air Force Base, Battles/wars
    World War II: Combined Bomber Offensive, Big Week
    Korean War: Vietnam War
    Awards: Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal (4), Army Commendation Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, Presidential Medal of Freedom, French Croix de Guerre.
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1960, Arthur Leonard Schawlow and Charles Hard Townes receive the first patent for a laser.
    From Wikipedia: 'A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The first laser was built in 1960 by Theodore H. Maiman at Hughes Laboratories, based on theoretical work by Charles Hard Townes and Arthur Leonard Schawlow. A laser differs from other sources of light in that it emits light coherently. Spatial coherence allows a laser to be focused to a tight spot, enabling applications such as laser cutting and lithography. Spatial coherence also allows a laser beam to stay narrow over great distances (collimation), enabling applications such as laser pointers. Lasers can also have high temporal coherence, which allows them to emit light with a very narrow spectrum, i.e., they can emit a single color of light. Temporal coherence can be used to produce pulses of light as short as a femtosecond.

    Among their many applications, lasers are used in optical disk drives, laser printers, and barcode scanners; fiber-optic and free-space optical communication; laser surgery and skin treatments; cutting and welding materials; military and law enforcement devices for marking targets and measuring range and speed; and laser lighting displays in entertainment'.
    - At Photonics.com: More
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1986, The song 'These Dreams' by the Heart's, (single) goes #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
    From Wikipedia: '"These Dreams" is a song by the American rock band Heart. It was released as a single in 1986 from their 1985 self-titled album. It was the first song by the band to become a number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100'.
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1999, Britney Spears' album "...Baby One More Time" was certified triple platinum by the RIAA.
    From Wikipedia: '...Baby One More Time is the debut studio album by American recording artist Britney Spears. It was released on January 12, 1999, by JIVE Records. In June 1997, while Spears negotiated with manager Lou Pearlman to join female pop group Innosense, her mother asked family friend and entertainment lawyer Larry Rudolph for his opinion and submitted a tape of Spears singing over a Whitney Houston karaoke song. Rudolph decided to pitch her to record labels, sending them a demo tape with an unused song from Toni Braxton. JIVE was interested and appointed the singer to work with producer Eric Foster White. After hearing the recorded material, JIVE signed Spears to a multi-album deal'.

    'Spears traveled to Sweden to work with producers Max Martin, Denniz Pop and Rami Yacoub, among others. Martin showed Spears and her management a track titled "Hit Me Baby One More Time", which was originally written for '.American R&B group TLC; however, they rejected the track. Spears later claimed that she felt excited when she heard it and knew it was going to be a hit record. By June 1998, the album had been finished.
    - At Wikipedia: 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

  • She Loves You - The Beatles: More
    I Want To Hold Your Hand, has been displaced by another Beatles song. 'She Loves You', which will hold the no. 1 spot until April 4th, when another Beatles song, Twist And Shout, takes over.

Top movie

  • The Pink Panther More
    Having displaced 'Kissin' Cousins', it will be there until the weekend box office of April 12, 1964 when, 'The Carpetbaggers', takes over.
  IV.
Today in the Past (reference sites): March 22
   V.
This month March 2014 (updated once a month - last updated - )

National Celery Month, National Flour Month, National Nutrition Month, National Noodle Month, National Peanut Month, National Sauce Month


March is:

March origin (from Wikipedia):
'The name of March comes from Latin Martius, the first month of the earliest Roman calendar. It was named for Mars, the Roman god of war who was also regarded as a guardian of agriculture and an ancestor of the Roman people through his sons Romulus and Remus. '

March 'is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is one of seven months that are 31 days long. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20th or 21st marks the astronomical beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and the beginning of autumn in the Southern Hemisphere, where September is the seasonal equivalent of the Northern Hemisphere's March. '

March 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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