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Today is January 7 2015

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

National Tempura Day: More

Other celebrations/observances today:
  • International Programmers' Day: More
  • National Bobblehead Day: More
  • Harlem Globetrotters Day: More
  • Old Rock Day: More
  • Opposite Day: More
    Some say it is Jan. 25, but it can be declared at anytime.
Events in the past on: January 7
  • In 1610, Galileo Galilei makes his first observation of the four (Galilean moons), Ganymede, Callisto, Io and Europa, although he is not able to distinguish the last two until the following day. More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1789, George Washington is voted in as U.S. president in the first nationwide election. More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1887, Thomas Stevens finishes his long ride of 13,500 miles on his bike around the world.
    From Wikipedia: 'Thomas Stevens (born 24 December 1854, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England,[1] died London,[2] 24 January 1935, aged 80) was the first person to circle the globe by bicycle. He rode a large-wheeled Ordinary, also known as a penny-farthing, from April 1884 to December 1886.'. More
  • In 1896, Fannie Farmer publishes her first cookbook, The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book.
    From Wikipedia: 'The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book (1896) by Fannie Farmer is a 19th-century general reference cookbook which is still available both in reprint and in updated form. It was particularly notable for a more rigorous approach to recipe writing than had been common up to that point'. More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1904, The distress signal "CQD" is established only to be replaced two years later by "SOS".
    From Wikipedia: 'CQD, transmitted in Morse code as -.-. --.- -.. is one of the first distress signals adopted for radio use. It was announced on 7 January 1904, by "Circular 57" ' of the Marconi International Marine Communication Company, and became effective, beginning 1 February 1904 for Marconi installations'. More
    - On YouTube (both CQD and SOS were used by the titanic): More
    - On YouTube (Marconi and the radio): More
  • In 1929, The first Buck Rogers, sci-fi comic strip premieres.
    From Wikipedia: 'Buck Rogers is a fictional character who first appeared in a novella titled Armageddon 2419 A.D. by Philip Francis Nowlan published in the August 1928 issue of the pulp magazine Amazing Stories as Anthony Rogers. A sequel, The Airlords of Han, was published in the March 1929 issue.'
    'The story of Anthony Rogers in Amazing Stories caught the attention of John F. Dille, president of the National Newspaper Service syndicate, and he arranged for Nowlan to turn it into a strip for syndication. The character was given the nickname Buck, and some have suggested that Dille coined that name based on the 1920s cowboy actor, Buck Jones. On January 7, 1929, the Buck Rogers in the 25th Century A.D. comic strip debuted. Coincidentally, this was also the date that the Tarzan comic strip began. The first three frames of the series set the scene for Buck's "leap" 500 years into Earth's future'. More
    - at Project Gutenberg (Armageddon 2419 A.D.): More
    - On YouTube (early film): More
    - On YouTube (1953 film): More
    - On YouTube (TV intro): More
  • In 1929, One of the first adventure comic strips, Tarzan, is released.
    From Wikipedia: 'Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungles by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization only to largely reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer. Created by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan first appeared in the novel Tarzan of the Apes (magazine publication 1912, book publication 1914), and subsequently in twenty-five sequels, several authorized books by other authors, and innumerable works in other media, both authorized and unauthorized.'
    'Tarzan of the Apes was adapted in newspaper strip form, in early 1929, with illustrations by Hal Foster. A full page Sunday strip began March 15, 1931 by Rex Maxon. Over the years, many artists have drawn the Tarzan comic strip, notably Burne Hogarth, Russ Manning, and Mike Grell'. More
    - At Project Gutenberg (Tarzan of the Apes): More
    - On YouTube (D.C. comics): More
    - On YouTube (film trailer): More
  • In 1934, The comic strip, Flash Gordon, debuts.
    From Wikipedia: 'Flash Gordon is the hero of a space opera adventure comic strip originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by and created to compete with the already established Buck Rogers adventure strip.'
    'The comic strip follows the adventures of Flash Gordon, a handsome polo player and Yale University graduate, and his companions Dale Arden and Dr. Hans Zarkov'. More
    - On YouTube (comic strip): More
    - On YouTube (movie serial): More
  • In 1940, The radio show, Gene Autry’s Melody Ranch, debuted on CBS Radio. The show aired for 16 years.
    From Wikipedia: 'Gene Autry's Melody Ranch was a Western variety radio show in the United States. The program ran from January 7, 1940 to August 1, 1943, and from September 23, 1945 to May 16, 1956. The show's entire run was broadcast on CBS radio, sponsored by Doublemint gum'. More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1941, The NBC Blue radio network presented, The Squeaky Door, for the first time. The show was later known as, Inner Sanctum Mystery.
    From Wikipedia: 'Inner Sanctum Mystery, also known as Inner Sanctum, a popular old-time radio program that aired from January 7, 1941 to October 5, 1952, was created by producer Himan Brown and was based on the generic title given to the mystery novels of Simon & Schuster. In all, 526 episodes were broadcast.'
    'The anthology series featured stories of mystery, terror and suspense, and its tongue-in-cheek introductions were in sharp contrast to shows like Suspense and The Whistler. The early 1940s programs opened with Raymond Edward Johnson introducing himself as, "Your host, Raymond," in a mocking sardonic voice. A spooky melodramatic organ score (played by Lew White) punctuated Raymond's many morbid jokes and playful puns. Raymond's closing was an elongated "Pleasant dreeeeaams, hmmmmm?".'
    'The program's familiar and famed audio trademark was the eerie creaking door which opened and closed the broadcasts. Himan Brown got the idea from a door in the basement that "squeaked like Hell." The door sound was actually made by a rusty desk chair. The program did originally intend to use a door, but on its first use, the door did not creak. Undaunted, Brown grabbed a nearby chair, sat in it and turned, causing a hair-raising squeak. The chair was used from then on as the sound prop. On at least one memorable occasion, a staffer innocently repaired and oiled the chair, thus forcing the sound man to mimic the squeak orally'. More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1954, The first public demonstration of a machine translation system, is held in New York at the head office of IBM.
    From Wikipedia: The Georgetown-IBM experiment was an influential demonstration of machine translation, which was performed during January 7, 1954. Developed jointly by the Georgetown University and IBM, the experiment involved completely automatic translation of more than sixty Russian sentences into English.'. More
  • In 1968, The spacecraft, Surveyor 7, lands on the Moon.
    From Wikipedia: 'Surveyor 7 was the seventh and last lunar lander of the American unmanned Surveyor program sent to explore the surface of the Moon. A total of 21,091 pictures were transmitted to Earth. Surveyor 7 was the fifth and final spacecraft of the Surveyor series to achieve a lunar soft landing'. More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1985, The Japanese space probe, Sakigake, is launched to Halley’s comet.
    From Wikipedia: 'It became a part of the Halley Armada together with Suisei, the Soviet/French Vega probes, the ESA Giotto and the NASA International Cometary Explorer, to explore Halley's Comet during its 1986 sojourn through the inner solar system'. More
  II.
Henry's Heads Up! - previous days social media post (updated daily)

Tomorrow's food holiday will be 'National Tempura Day'.
[The Hankster says] Tempura is a Japanese dish of lightly battered, deep fried vegetables and seafood. My guess would have been that the batter was rice flour, but it is wheat flour and water.

Tomorrow is 'International Programmers' Day'.
[The Hankster says] I made my living coding. If no one has collected and collated all my mistakes, I guess I can celebrate tomorrow.

For those who become fender benders due to looking at the rear deck of the car in front, tomorrow is for you. It will be 'National Bobblehead Day'.
[The Hankster says] For all you connoisseurs, I understand that in 2016 the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum will be constructed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Tomorrow is 'Harlem Globetrotters Day'. This celebrates their first game back in 1927.

Joseph Hall once said 'Perfection is the child of time.'
[The Hankster says] I wish that time alone could make us perfect. It can make us better if we know, understand and heed the lessons left behind. As a dutiful child, let us look back to the page for January 7, in father time's diary, and see if so doing, can make us a little wiser.

In 1610, Galileo Galilei makes his first observation of the four (Galilean moons), Ganymede, Callisto, Io and Europa, although he is not able to distinguish the last two until the following day.

In 1789, George Washington is voted in as U.S. president in the first nationwide election. He had no opposition candidate running against him.

In 1887, Thomas Stevens finishes his long ride of 13,500 miles on his bike around the world.
[The Hankster says] Some feat for the time, especially if you consider that he was riding a 'penny-farthing bicycle.'. This is the one with the huge front wheel and the small back wheel.

In 1896, Fannie Farmer publishes her first cookbook 'The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book'.

In 1929,- The first Buck Rogers, sci-fi comic strip premieres.

In 1929, One of the first adventure comic strips, 'Tarzan,' is released.

In 1934, The comic strip 'Flash Gordon' debuts.

In 1947, The song 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer' is the #1 song on the U.S. pop charts.

In 1968, The spacecraft 'Surveyor 7' lands on the Moon.
[The Hankster says] This was the last in the Surveyor series, that identified conditions for the Apollo moon landings.

In 1985, The Japanese space probe 'Sakigake' was launched to rendezvous with Halley's Comet’ It flew to within 4.3 million miles of the comet.

 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 7
   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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