Text size Background

Today is August 1 2014

About     Other days


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

National Raspberry Cream Pie Day: More

Other celebrations/observances today:
  • National Girlfriends Day: More
  • Lammas: More
  • Yorkshire Day: More
  • Rounds Resounding Day: More
  • Respect for Parents Day: More
  • Spiderman Day: More
    Also Oct. 14
  • US Air Force Day: More
  • World Wide Web Day: More
  • World Lung Cancer Day: More
  • World Scout Scarf Day: More
Events in the past on: August 1
  • In 1774, British scientist Joseph Priestley discovers oxygen gas, corroborating the prior discovery of this element by German-Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele.
    From Wikipedia: 'Oxygen was first discovered by Swedish pharmacist Carl Wilhelm Scheele. He had produced oxygen gas by heating mercuric oxide and various nitrates by about 1772. Scheele called the gas "fire air" because it was the only known supporter of combustion, and wrote an account of this discovery in a manuscript he titled Treatise on Air and Fire, which he sent to his publisher in 1775. That document was published in 1777. Joseph Priestley is usually given priority in the discovery.

    In the meantime, on August 1, 1774, an experiment conducted by the British clergyman Joseph Priestley focused sunlight on mercuric oxide (HgO) inside a glass tube, which liberated a gas he named "dephlogisticated air". He noted that candles burned brighter in the gas and that a mouse was more active and lived longer while breathing it. After breathing the gas himself, he wrote: "The feeling of it to my lungs was not sensibly different from that of common air, but I fancied that my breast felt peculiarly light and easy for some time afterwards." Priestley published his findings in 1775 in a paper titled "An Account of Further Discoveries in Air" which was included in the second volume of his book titled Experiments and Observations on Different Kinds of Air. Because he published his findings first, Priestley is usually given priority in the discovery.

    The French chemist Antoine Laurent Lavoisier later claimed to have discovered the new substance independently. Priestley visited Lavoisier in October 1774 and told him about his experiment and how he liberated the new gas. Scheele also posted a letter to Lavoisier on September 30, 1774 that described his discovery of the previously unknown substance, but Lavoisier never acknowledged receiving it (a copy of the letter was found in Scheele's belongings after his death)'.
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1876, Colorado is admitted as the 38th U.S. state.
    From Wikipedia: 'Colorado (Spanish for "ruddy") is a state in the United States encompassing most of the Southern Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains. Colorado is part of the Western United States, the Southwestern United States, and the Mountain States. Colorado is the 8th most extensive and the 22nd most populous of the 50 United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of Colorado was 5,456,574 on July 1, 2015, an increase of 8.50% since the 2010 United States Census.

    The state was named for the Colorado River, which Spanish travelers named the Río Colorado for the ruddy (Spanish: colorado) silt the river carried from the mountains. The Territory of Colorado was organized on February 28, 1861, and on August 1, 1876, U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant signed Proclamation 230 admitting Colorado to the Union as the 38th state. Colorado is nicknamed the "Centennial State" because it became a state in the same year as the centennial of the United States Declaration of Independence.

    Colorado is bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas to the east, Oklahoma to the southeast, New Mexico to the south, Utah to the west, and Arizona to the southwest, at the Four Corners. Colorado is noted for its vivid landscape of mountains, forests, high plains, mesas, canyons, plateaus, rivers, and desert lands.

    Denver is the capital and the most populous city of Colorado. Residents of the state are properly known as "Coloradoans", although the term "Coloradan" is used in modern times'.
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1916, Hawaii Volcanos National Park is established
    From Wikipedia: 'Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, established in 1916, is a United States National Park located in the U.S. State of Hawaii on the island of Hawaii. It encompasses two active volcanoes: Kilauea, one of the world's most active volcanoes, and Mauna Loa, the world's most massive subaerial volcano. The park gives scientists insight into the birth of the Hawaiian Islands and ongoing studies into the processes of volcanism. For visitors, the park offers dramatic volcanic landscapes as well as glimpses of rare flora and fauna.

    In recognition of its outstanding natural values, Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park was designated as an International Biosphere Reserve in 1980 and a World Heritage Site in 1987. In 2012 the Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park was honored on the 14th quarter of the America the Beautiful Quarters series'.
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1957, The United States and Canada form the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
    From Wikipedia: 'North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and defense for Northern America. Headquarters for NORAD and the NORAD/United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) center are located at Peterson Air Force Base in El Paso County, near Colorado Springs, Colorado. The nearby Cheyenne Mountain Complex has the Alternate Command Center. The NORAD commander and deputy commander (CINCNORAD) are, respectively, a United States four-star general or equivalent and a Canadian three-star general or equivalent.

    CINCNORAD maintains the NORAD headquarters at Peterson Air Force Base near Colorado Springs, Colorado. The NORAD and USNORTHCOM Command Center at Peterson AFB serves as a central collection and coordination facility for a worldwide system of sensors designed to provide the commander and the leadership of Canada and the U.S. with an accurate picture of any aerospace or maritime threat. NORAD has administratively divided the North American landmass into three regions: the Alaska NORAD (ANR) Region, under Eleventh Air Force (11 AF); the Canadian NORAD (CANR) Region, under 1 Canadian Air Division, and the Continental U.S. (CONR) Region, under 1 AF/CONR-AFNORTH. Both the CONR and CANR regions are divided into eastern and western sectons.

    NORAD (originally known as the North American Air Defense Command), was recommended by the Joint Canadian-U.S. Military Group in late 1956, approved by the United States JCS in February 1957, and announced on 1 August 1957; the "establishment of command headquarters" was on 12 September 1957, at Ent Air Force Base's 1954 blockhouse. The 1958 international agreement designated the NORAD commander always be a United States officer (Canadian vice commander), and "Royal Canadian Air Force officers ... agreed the command's primary purpose would be…early warning and defense for SAC's retaliatory forces.":252 In late 1958, Canada and the United States started the Continental Air Defense Integration North (CADIN) for the SAGE air defense network:253 (initial CADIN cost sharing agreement between the countries was on 5 January 1959), and two December 1958 plans submitted by NORAD had "average yearly expenditure of around five and one half billions", including "cost of the accelerated Nike Zeus program" and three Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS) sites'.
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1961, First ever Six Flags amusement park opens in Texas.
    From Wikipedia: 'Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, or simply Six Flags, is the world's largest amusement park corporation based on number of properties in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and the fifth-most popular in terms of attendance. The company maintains 18 properties throughout North America consisting of theme parks, thrill parks, water parks, and family entertainment centers. In 2009, Six Flags properties hosted 23.9 million guests.

    The company was founded in Texas and took its name from its first property Six Flags Over Texas. The company maintains a corporate office in Midtown Manhattan, New York City and its headquarters are in Grand Prairie, Texas. On June 13, 2009, the corporation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and it successfully exited the restructuring on May 3, 2010'.
    - At FamousDaily: More
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1964, Beatles' single, A Hard Day's Night, goes #1 and stays #1 for 2 weeks.
    From Wikipedia: '"A Hard Day's Night" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. Written by John Lennon, and credited to Lennon–McCartney, it was released on the movie soundtrack of the same name in 1964. It was later released in the UK as a single, with "Things We Said Today" as its B-side.

    The song featured prominently on the soundtrack to the Beatles' first feature film, A Hard Day's Night, and was on their album of the same name. The song topped the charts in both the United Kingdom and United States when it was released as a single. The American and British singles of "A Hard Day's Night" as well as both the American and British albums of the same title all held the top position in their respective charts for a couple of weeks in August 1964, the first time any artist had accomplished this feat'.
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1971 - 'The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour' was debuted on CBS-TV.
    From Wikipedia: 'The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour is an American variety show starring American pop-singer Cher and her husband Sonny Bono. The show ran on CBS in the United States, when it premiered in August 1971. The show was canceled May 1974, due to the couple's divorce, though the duo would reunite in 1976 for the identically-formatted The Sonny and Cher Show (a title sporadically used during the run of the Comedy Hour), which ran until 1977'.
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1981, MTV begins broadcasting in the United States and airs its first video, 'Video Killed the Radio Star' by The Buggles.
    From Wikipedia: 'MTV (formerly an initialism of Music Television) is an American basic cable and satellite television channel. It is a subsidiary of the "Viacom Music and Entertainment Group", the flagship property of the Viacom Media Networks division of Viacom. The channel itself is headquartered in New York City. Launched on August 1, 1981, the original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by television personalities known as "video jockeys," or VJs.

    The network's current target audience is teenagers and young adults, with programming consisting mainly of original reality, comedy and drama programming and some off-network syndicated programs and films, along with limited music video programming in off-peak time periods. In its early years, MTV's main target demographic were young adults, but today, MTV's programming is primarily targeted at teenagers, high school students, and college-aged students'.
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube: More
    - On YouTube (Video Killed the Radio Star): More
  II.
Henry's Heads Up! - previous days social media post (updated daily)

It will be a busy, busy day tomorrow, if you plan to celebrate each holiday. As usual I like to start with a food holiday. We have a good one tomorrow ' National Raspberry Cream Pie Day'. We have had Raspberry Cake Day already, but you can't have too many Raspberries.

We continue to honor friends and family tomorrow with 'Respect for Parents Day' and 'National Girlfriends Day'.

All you scouts and campfire enthusiasts will want to bone up on songs like 'Row Row Your Boat', 'Three Blind Mice', Kookaburra (for you Aussie's) and such for 'Rounds Resounding Day'.. Get ready and jump in that melody and sing your round.

If you can't carry a tune, why not try to find some super hero activity to perform for 'Spiderman Day'.

It will also be ' US Air Force Day'. Created August 1 1947.

On August 1 in 1876 - Colorado is admitted as the 38th U.S. state'

If you lived in Texas on August 1 1961, you could have gone to the First Six Flags amusement park. That was Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington Texas.

If you had to stay at home, you could have listened to the first MTV broadcast in the United States back in 1981. The first video was 'Video Killed The Radio Star'.

 III.
Top Song & Movie 50 years ago today

No. 1 song

  • A Hard Day's Night - The Beatles: More
    'Rag Doll' has been displaced by 'A Hard Day's Night', which will hold the no. 1 spot until August 15 2014, when 'Everybody Loves Somebody', takes over.

Top movie

  • Marnie More
    Having displaced 'The Moon-Spinners', it will be there until the weekend box office of August 9 1964 when, 'The Night of the Iguana', takes over.
  IV.
Today in the Past (reference sites): August 1
   V.
This month August 2014 (updated once a month - last updated - August 1 2014)

National Catfish Month, National Goat Cheese Month, National Peach Month, National Brownies at Brunch Month


August is:

August origin (from Wikipedia): Originally named Sextili (Latin), because it was the sixth month in the original ten-month Roman calendar: under Romulus in 753 BC, when March was the first month of the year.
"About 700 BC it became the eighth month when January and February were added to the year before March by King Numa Pompilius, who also gave it 29 days. Julius Caesar added two days when he created the Julian calendar in 45 BC giving it its modern length of 31 days. In 8 BC it was renamed in honor of Augustus According to a Senatus consultum quoted by Macrobius, he chose this month because it was the time of several of his great triumphs, including the conquest of Egypt. "

August 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