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Today is January 4 2015

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

National Spaghetti Day: More

Other celebrations/observances today:
  • Trivia Day: More
  • Earth at Perihelion: More
  • Tom Thumb Day: More
  • World Braille Day: More
  • Hypnotism Day: More
  • Start of 'Folic Acid Awareness Week': More
    January 4-10 during National Birth Defects Prevention Month
Events in the past on: January 4
  • In 1896, Utah is admitted as the 45th state of the U.S. More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1936, Billboard Magazine releases the first music chart that ranks albums by national record sales.
    From Wikipedia: 'The first issue of Billboard was published on November 1, 1884 by William Donaldson and James Hennegan out of Cincinnati, Ohio. Initially, it covered the advertising and bill posting industry and was called The Billboard Advertiser. At the time, billboards, posters and paper advertisements placed in public spaces were the primary means of advertising.' 'Billboard's editorial changed as technology in recording and playback developed. It covered "marvels of modern technology" like the phonograph, record players and wireless radios. It began covering coin operated entertainment machines in 1899 and created a dedicated section for them called "Amusement Machines" in March 1932. Billboard began covering the motion picture industry in 1907, but ended up focusing on music due to competition from Variety. It created a Billboard radio broadcasting station in the 1920s. The jukebox industry continued to grow through the Great Depression and provided healthy advertising revenues to Billboard. This led to even more editorial focus on music. The proliferation of the phonograph and radio also contributed to its growing music emphasis. Billboard introduced a "Record Buying Guide" in January 1939. In 1940, it introduced "Chart Line," which tracks the best-selling records. This was followed by a chart for jukebox records in 1944 called Music BoxMachine charts'. More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1957, The TV situation comedy, Blondie, premieres on NBC TV (later on CBS). It ran for 1 season and 26 episodes.
    From Wikipedia: 'Blondie is the first of two TV series based on the comic strip of the same name. It first aired on January 4, 1957, on NBC. Although Penny Singleton had starred in most of the Blondie movies, producers chose Pamela Britton for the title role, with Arthur Lake playing the role of Dagwood Bumstead as he had in the Blondie movie series'. More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1958, Sputnik 1 falls to Earth from orbit. It had been launched October 4, 1957, Concerning the successful launch: From Wikipedia: 'This surprise success precipitated the American Sputnik crisis and triggered the Space Race, a part of the larger Cold War'. 'Sputnik 1 burned up on 4 January 1958, as it fell from orbit upon reentering Earth's atmosphere, after travelling about 70 million km (43.5 million miles) and spending three months in orbit'. More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1962, The first automated (unmanned) subway train is run in New York City NY. More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1999, The Euro currency goes into circulation. More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 2004, Spirit, a NASA Mars rover, lands successfully on Mars. From Wikipedia: 'Spirit, also known as MER-A (Mars Exploration Rover – A) or MER-2, is a robotic rover on Mars, active from 2004 to 2010. It was one of two rovers of NASA's ongoing Mars Exploration Rover Mission. It landed successfully on Mars at 04:35 Ground UTC on January 4, 2004, three weeks before its twin, Opportunity (MER-B), landed on the other side of the planet'. More
    - On YouTube: More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 2010, Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, is officially opened.
    From Wikipedia: 'Burj Khalifa (Arabic "Khalifa Tower", known as Burj Dubai before its inauguration, is a megatall skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is the tallest artificial structure in the world, standing at 829.8 m (2,722 ft)'. More
    - On YouTube: More
  II.
Henry's Heads Up! - previous days social media post (updated daily)

Tomorrow's food holiday 'National Spaghetti Day'.
[The Hankster says] For the Italian in all of us.

Tomorrow is 'Trivia Day'.
[The Hankster says] OK, so I hit it right 1 out of 365 times in the year.

Tomorrow is 'Earth at Perihelion'.
[The Hankster says] The Earth's orbit around the Sun is not a circle, but elliptical. We will be about 3 million miles closer to the Sun at 1:36 a.m. EST. We will be farthest from the Sun at Aphelion on July 6th.

Tomorrow we celebrate a birthday for 'Tom Thumb Day'.
[The Hankster says] He is of course, General Tom Thumb, which was the stage name of Charles Sherwood Stratton (January 4, 1838 – July 15, 1883). He was a 'little person', who became famous in P.T. Barnum's shows. He sang, danced, did mime, and impersonated famous people in his act.

Another birthday boy is celebrated tomorrow. It will be 'World Braille Day'.
[The Hankster says] It is the birthday of Louis Braille (January 4, 1809 – January 6, 1852), who invented the system of reading and writing for use by the blind or visually impaired.

Tomorrow is the start of 'Folic Acid Awareness Week'.
[The Hankster says] It is January 4-10 during January's National Birth Defects Prevention Month.

Max Frisch once said 'Time does not change us. It just unfolds us.'
[The Hankster says] Perhaps we do not change from day to day, but our personalities and beliefs unfold to the pressure of experience over time and we are revealed in a new light by that day's experience. What others see as change in us is really only one less wrinkle in who we are. Let us see how January 4 in the past, unfolded.

In 1896, Utah is admitted as the 45th state of the U.S.

In 1936, Billboard Magazine releases the first music chart that ranks albums by national record sales.

In 1958, Sputnik 1 falls to Earth from orbit.

In 1962, The first automated (unmanned) subway train begins in New York City NY.

In 1999, The Euro currency goes into circulation.

In 2004, Spirit, a NASA Mars rover, lands successfully on Mars.

In 2010, Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, is officially opened. A 'skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is the tallest man-made structure in the world, standing at 829.8 m (2,722 ft)'.

 III.
Top Song & Movie 50 years ago today

No. 1 song

  • I Feel Fine - The Beatles: More
    'Come See About Me' has been displaced by 'I Feel Fine', which will hold the no. 1 spot until January 23 1965, when 'Downtown (Petula Clark)', takes over.

Top movie

  • My Fair Lady More
    Having displaced 'Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlott', it will be there until the weekend box office of January 31 1965 when, '36 Hours', takes over.
  IV.
Today in the Past (reference sites): January 4
   V.
This month January 2015 (updated once a month - last updated - January 1 2015)

Food holidays
Apple and Apricots Month Artichoke and Asparagus Month California Dried Plum Digestive Month Natiionl Candy Month National Egg Month National Hot Tea Month National Soup Month Oatmeal Month
Other holidays and awareness days
Adopt A Rescued Bird Month Bath Safety Month Be Kind to Food Servers Month Birth Defects Month Book Blitz Month Celebration of Life Month Cervical Health Awareness Month Financial Wellness Month Get Organized Month International Brain Teaser Month International Creativity Month National Braille Literacy Month National Clean Up Your Computer Month National Glaucoma Awareness Month National Polka Music Month National Poverty in America Awareness Month National Skating Month National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month National Stalking Awareness Month National Volunteer Blood Donor Month Self-help Group Awareness Month Teen Driving Awareness Month Train Your Dog Month Thyroid Awareness Month Walk Your Dog 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

  VI.
TV fifty years ago 1965 (updated yearly - last updated Jan. 1 2015)

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 2015)

Best selling books of 1965 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

  • 2015 Postal Holidays More
  • 2015 Official Federal Holidays More

Holidays Worldwide

  • List of holidays by country More
  • Holidays and Observances around the World More
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