Today is December 15 2014

National Lemon Cupcake Day: More

• Bill of Rights Day: More
  
  1941 Presidential proclamation.
• Cat Herders Day: More
• Ohio Aviation and Aerospace History Education Week: : More
  Honoring the Wright Brothers flight. The week of the seventeenth day of December.

• In 1791, The United States Bill of Rights becomes law when ratified by the Virginia General Assembly.
  From Wikipedia: The Bill of Rights is the collective name for the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. Proposed following the often times bitter 1787–1788 battle over ratification of the Constitution, and crafted to address the objections raised by Anti-Federalists, the Bill of Rights amendments add certain safeguards of democracy—specific guarantees of personal freedoms and rights; clear limitations on the government's power in judicial and other proceedings; and explicit declarations that all powers not specifically delegated to Congress by the Constitution are reserved for the states or the people—to the Constitution'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
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• In 1854, The first street-cleaning machine is used in Philadelphia.
  - At FamousDaily: More
  - At Wikipedia: More
• In 1962, Vaughn Meader's 'The First Family' album goes #1 and stays #1 for 12 weeks.
  From Wikipedia: 'The First Family is a comedy album recorded on October 22, 1962, as a good-natured parody of President John F. Kennedy, both as Commander-in-Chief and as a member of a large, well-known political family. Issued by Cadence Records, it was honored as the 'largest and fastest selling record in the history of the record industry' selling at more than a million copies per week for the first six and one-half weeks in distribution, by January it had sold more than 7 million copies'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  On YouTube: More
• In 1964, Canada adopts the maple leaf flag.
  From Wikipedia: 'The flag of Canada, often referred to as the Canadian flag, or unofficially as the Maple Leaf and l'Unifolié (French for "the one-leafed"), is a national flag consisting of a red field with a white square at its centre in the ratio of 1:2:1, in the middle of which is featured a stylized, red, 11-pointed maple leaf charged in the centre. It is the first ever specified by law for use as the country's national flag.
  
  In 1964, Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson formed a committee to resolve the ongoing issue of the lack of an official Canadian flag, sparking a serious debate about a flag change to replace the Union Flag. Out of three choices, the maple leaf design by George Stanley, based on the flag of the Royal Military College of Canada, was selected. The flag made its first official appearance on February 15, 1965; the date is now celebrated annually as National Flag of Canada Day.
  
  The Canadian Red Ensign had been unofficially used since the 1890s and was approved by a 1945 Order in Council for use "wherever place or occasion may make it desirable to fly a distinctive Canadian flag". Also, the Royal Union Flag remains an official flag in Canada. There is no law dictating how the national flag is to be treated. There are, however, conventions and protocols to guide how it is to be displayed and its place in the order of precedence of flags, which gives it primacy over the aforementioned and most other flags.
  
  Many different flags created for use by Canadian officials, government bodies, and military forces contain the maple leaf motif in some fashion, either by having the Canadian flag charged in the canton, or by including maple leaves in the design'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
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• In 1965, Gemini 6 achieves the first space rendezvous, with Gemini 7.
  From Wikipedia: 'Gemini 6A (officially Gemini VI-A) was a 1965 manned United States spaceflight in NASA's Gemini program. The mission achieved the first manned rendezvous with another spacecraft, its sister Gemini 7. Although the Soviet Union had twice previously launched simultaneous pairs of Vostok spacecraft, these established radio contact with, but came no closer than several kilometers of each other, while the Gemini 6 and 7 spacecraft came as close as one foot (30 cm) and could have docked had they been so equipped.
  
  Gemini 6A was the fifth manned Gemini flight, the 13th manned American flight, and the 21st manned spaceflight of all time (including X-15 flights over 100 kilometers (54 nautical miles))'.
  - At FamousDaily: More
  - At Wikipedia: More
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• In 1993, The movie, Schindler's List, opens and wins Spielberg his first Oscar award.
  From Wikipedia: 'Schindler's List is a 1993 American epic historical period drama film, directed and co-produced by Steven Spielberg and scripted by Steven Zaillian. It is based on the novel Schindler's Ark by Australian novelist, Thomas Keneally. The film relates a period in the life of Oskar Schindler, an ethnic German businessman, during which he saved the lives of more than a thousand mostly Polish-Jewish refugees from the Holocaust by employing them in his factories. It stars Liam Neeson as Schindler, Ralph Fiennes as Schutzstaffel (SS) officer Amon Göth, and Ben Kingsley as Schindler's Jewish accountant Itzhak Stern.
  
  Ideas for a film about the Schindlerjuden (Schindler Jews) were proposed as early as 1963. Poldek Pfefferberg, one of the Schindlerjuden, made it his life's mission to tell the story of Schindler. Spielberg became interested in the story when executive Sid Sheinberg sent him a book review of Schindler's Ark. Universal Studios bought the rights to the novel, but Spielberg, unsure if he was ready to make a film about the Holocaust, tried to pass the project to several other directors before finally deciding to direct the film himself.
  
  Principal photography took place in Kraków, Poland, over the course of 72 days in 1993. Spielberg shot the film in black and white and approached it as a documentary. Cinematographer Janusz Kaminski wanted to give the film a sense of timelessness. John Williams composed the score, and violinist Itzhak Perlman performs the film's main theme.
  
  Schindler's List premiered on November 30, 1993, in Washington, D.C. and it was released on December 15, 1993, in the United States. Often listed among the greatest films ever made, it was also a box office success, earning $321.2 million worldwide on a $22 million budget. It was the recipient of seven Academy Awards (out of twelve nominations), including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original Score, as well as numerous other awards (including seven BAFTAs and three Golden Globes). In 2007, the American Film Institute ranked the film 8th on its list of the 100 best American films of all time. The Library of Congress selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2004'.
  - At FamousDaily: More
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• In 2001, The Leaning Tower of Pisa reopens after 11 years and $27,000,000 spent to fortify it, without fixing its famous lean.
  From Wikipedia: 'The Leaning Tower of Pisa (Italian: Torre pendente di Pisa) or simply the Tower of Pisa (Torre di Pisa ) is the campanile, or freestanding bell tower, of the cathedral of the Italian city of Pisa, known worldwide for its unintended tilt.
  
  It is situated behind Pisa's cathedral and is the third oldest structure in the city's Cathedral Square (Piazza del Duomo) after the cathedral and the Pisa Baptistry. The tower's tilt began during construction, caused by an inadequate foundation on ground too soft on one side to properly support the structure's weight. The tilt increased in the decades before the structure was completed, and gradually increased until the structure was stabilized (and the tilt partially corrected) by efforts in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
  
  The height of the tower is 55.86 metres (183.27 feet) from the ground on the low side and 56.67 metres (185.93 feet) on the high side. The width of the walls at the base is 2.44 m (8 ft 0.06 in). Its weight is estimated at 14,500 metric tons (16,000 short tons). The tower has 296 or 294 steps; the seventh floor has two fewer steps on the north-facing staircase. Prior to restoration work performed between 1990 and 2001, the tower leaned at an angle of 5.5 degrees, but the tower now leans at about 3.99 degrees. This means that the top of the tower is displaced horizontally 3.9 metres (12 ft 10 in) from the centre'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
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• In 2009, The Boeing's 787 Dreamliner makes its maiden flight from Seattle, Washington.
  From Wikipedia: 'The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is an American long-haul, mid-size widebody, twin-engine jet airliner made by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Its variants seat 242 to 335 passengers in typical three-class seating configurations. It is Boeing's most fuel-efficient airliner and is a pioneering airliner with the use of composite materials as the primary material in the construction of its airframe. The 787 was designed to be 20% more fuel efficient than the Boeing 767, which it was intended to replace. The 787 Dreamliner's distinguishing features include mostly electrical flight systems, swept wingtips, and noise-reducing chevrons on its engine nacelles. It shares a common type rating with the larger Boeing 777 to allow qualified pilots to operate both models.
  
  The aircraft's initial designation was the 7E7, prior to its renaming in January 2005. The first 787 was unveiled in a roll-out ceremony on July 8, 2007 at Boeing's Everett factory. Development and production of the 787 has involved a large-scale collaboration with numerous suppliers worldwide. Final assembly takes place at the Boeing Everett Factory in Everett, Washington, and at the Boeing South Carolina factory in North Charleston, South Carolina. Originally planned to enter service in May 2008, the project experienced multiple delays. The airliner's maiden flight took place on December 15, 2009, and completed flight testing in mid-2011. Boeing has reportedly spent $32 billion on the 787 program.
  
  Final US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) type certification was received in August 2011 and the first 787-8 was delivered in September 2011. It entered commercial service on October 26, 2011 with launch customer All Nippon Airways. The stretched 787-9 variant, which is 20 feet (6.1 m) longer and can fly 450 nautical miles (830 km) farther than the -8, first flew in September 2013. Deliveries of the 787-9 began in July 2014; it entered commercial service on August 7, 2014 with All Nippon Airways, with 787-9 launch customer Air New Zealand following two days later. As of November 2016, the 787 had orders for 1,210 aircraft from 64 customers, with All Nippon Airways having the largest number on order.
  
  The aircraft has suffered from several in-service problems, including fires on board related to its lithium-ion batteries. These systems were reviewed by both the FAA and the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau. The FAA issued a directive in January 2013 that grounded all 787s in the US and other civil aviation authorities followed suit. After Boeing completed tests on a revised battery design, the FAA approved the revised design and lifted the grounding in April 2013; the 787 returned to passenger service later that month'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
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Tomorrow's food holiday is another cupcake day. We have had cupcake day, chocolate cupcake day, and now 'National Lemon Cupcake Day'.
[The Hankster says] A cupcake by any other name, is still to eat. Apologies to W. Shakespeare

Tomorrow fly 'um if you got 'um (U.S. flags). Tomorrow is 'Bill of Rights Day'. This day celebrates the 1941 Presidential proclamation, concerning the passage of the Billl Of Rights. See 1791 below.

Tomorrow might seem like an animal awareness day. But, 'Cat Herders Day', has to do with that feeling that all your efforts toward a goal, has been as effective as trying to herd a bunch of cats. Can't be done.

Tomorrow is 'Ohio Aviation and Aerospace History Education Week'. Honoring the Wright Brothers flight. The week of the seventeenth day of December (flight day).

Robert H. Schuller once said 'Tough times never last, but tough people do.'
[The Hankster says]. We have bested adversity since we are still here. SO, let's look back and beat our chests at December 15 in the past. Tarzan like victory yells are optional.

In 1791, The Bill of Rights becomes law, following ratification by the state of Virginia.

In 1854, The first street-cleaning machine debuts in Philadelphia.

In 1962 - Vaughn Meader's 'The First Family' album goes #1 and stays #1 for 12 weeks.

In 1964, Canada adopts maple leaf flag.

In 1965, Gemini 6 achieves the first space rendezvous, with Gemini 7.

In 2013, China successfully lands its moon rover on the moon.

No. 1 song

• Ringo - Lorne Greene: More
  'She's Not There' has been displaced by 'Ringo', which will hold the no. 1 spot until December 19 1964, when 'I Feel Fine (The Beatles)', takes over.

Top movie

• Father Goose More
  Having displaced 'Roustabout', it will be there until the weekend box office of December 20 1964 when, 'Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte', takes over.

• FamousBirthdays.com: December 15 Birthdays More
• FamousDaily.com: December 15 History More
• History.com: Historical Events on 15th December More
• HistoryOrb.com: Famous Deaths on 15th December More
• On-This-day.com history 15th December More
• On-This-day.com music history 15th December More
• Wikipedia.com: History December 15 More

Food:
Buckwheat Month
Tomato and Winter Squash Month
Worldwide Food Service Safety Month
National Egg Nog Month
National Fruit Cake Month
Root Vegetables Month
Other:
World Aids Month
National Write A Business Plan Month
Safe Toys and Gifts Month
National Tie Month Universal Human Rights Month
National Drunk and Drugged Driving (3D) Prevention Month
Colorectal Cancer Education and Awareness Month National Tie Month

December is:

December origin (from Wikipedia): ' December gets its name from the Latin word decem (meaning ten) because it was originally the tenth month of the year in the Roman calendar, which began in March. The winter days following December were not included as part of any month. Later, the months of January and February were created out of the monthless period and added to the beginning of the calendar, but December retained its name. '

' December is the first month of meteorological winter in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, December is the seasonal equivalent to June in the Northern hemisphere, which is the first month of summer. D ecember is the month with the shortest daylight hours of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and the longest daylight hours of the year in the Southern Hemisphere. '

December 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