Today is December 28 2015

National Chocolate Candy Day: More

• Pledge of Allegiance Day: More
  The U.S. Congress formally recognized the Pledge of Allegiance on December 28, 1945.
• Card Playing Day: More

• In 1846, Iowa is admitted as the 29th U.S. state.
  From Wikipedia: 'Iowa is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States, bordered by the Mississippi River on the east and the Missouri River and the Big Sioux River on the west. Surrounding states include Wisconsin and Illinois to the east, Missouri to the south, Nebraska and South Dakota to the west, and Minnesota to the north.
  
  In colonial times, Iowa was a part of French Louisiana and Spanish Louisiana; its state flag is patterned after the flag of France. After the Louisiana Purchase, people laid the foundation for an agriculture-based economy in the heart of the Corn Belt.
  
  In the latter half of the 20th century, Iowa's agricultural economy made the transition to a diversified economy of advanced manufacturing, processing, financial services, information technology, biotechnology, and green energy production. Iowa is the 26th most extensive in land area and the 30th most populous of the 50 United States. Its capital and largest city by population is Des Moines. Iowa has been listed as one of the safest states in which to live. Its nickname is the Hawkeye State'.
  - At FamousDaily: More
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• In 1849, M Jolly-Bellin discovers dry-cleaning, He accidentally upsets a lamp containing turpentine and oil. He sees the cleaning effect.
  From Wikipedia: 'Dry cleaning is any cleaning process for clothing and textiles using a chemical solvent other than water. It is used to clean fabrics that degrade in water, and delicate fabrics that cannot withstand the rough and tumble of a washing machine and clothes dryer. It can eliminate labor-intensive hand washing.
  
  Unlike what its name implies, dry cleaning is not actually a 'dry' process. Clothes are soaked in a different solvent other than water. The solvent used is typically toxic tetrachloroethylene (perchloroethylene), which the industry calls PCE. PCE is the most widely used solvent across the world, although new solvents have become more popular in the United States and Europe, including hydrocarbons, Green Earth, and Solvon K4 .
  
  Modern dry cleaning use of non-water-based solvents to remove soil and stains from clothes was reported in 1855. The potential for using petroleum-based solvents such as gasoline and kerosene was recognized by French dye-works operator Jean Baptiste Jolly, who offered a new service that became known as nettoyage à sec—i.e., dry cleaning. Flammability concerns led William Joseph Stoddard, a dry cleaner from Atlanta, to develop Stoddard solvent (white spirit) as a slightly less flammable alternative to gasoline-based solvents. The use of highly flammable petroleum solvents caused many fires and explosions, resulting in government regulation of dry cleaners. After World War I, dry cleaners began using chlorinated solvents. These solvents were much less flammable than petroleum solvents and had improved cleaning power.
  
  On March 3, 1821, Thomas L. Jennings became the first African-American to be granted a United States patent, for his cleaning process called "dry scouring," which was the precursor to dry cleaning'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1869, William Finley Semple of Mount Vernon, Ohio, patents chewing gum.
  From Wikipedia: 'William Finley Semple (1832-1923) was a dentist from Mount Vernon, Ohio, commonly referred to as the first person anywhere to patent a chewing gum. On December 28, 1869, Semple filed Patent No. 98,304 with the U.S. Commissioner of Patents. However, Amos Tyler of Toledo, Ohio, patented his chewing gum on July 27 of the same year. John B. Curtis successfully sold his 'State of Maine Pure Spruce Gum' in 1848, though he did not patent it. Semple's gum was intended to clean the teeth and strengthen the chewer's jaw. It was not a sweet treat; ingredients included chalk and powdered licorice root. Charcoal was also suggested as a 'suitable' ingredient in the patent'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1895, The Lumière brothers perform for their first paying audience at the Grand Cafe in Boulevard des Capucines, marking the debut of the cinema.
  From Wikipedia: 'The Lumières held their first private screening of projected motion pictures in 1895. The American Woodville Latham had screened works of film seven months earlier, but the first public screening of films at which admission was charged was held on December 28, 1895, at Salon Indien du Grand Café in Paris. This history-making presentation featured ten short films, including their first film, Sortie des Usines Lumière à Lyon (Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory). Each film is 17 meters long, which, when hand cranked through a projector, runs approximately 50 seconds'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1895, Wilhelm Röntgen publishes a paper detailing his discovery of a new type of radiation, which later will be known as x-rays.
  From Wikipedia: 'During 1895 Röntgen was investigating the external effects from the various types of vacuum tube equipment — apparatuses from Heinrich Hertz, Johann Hittorf, William Crookes, Nikola Tesla and Philipp von Lenard — when an electrical discharge is passed through them. In early November, he was repeating an experiment with one of Lenard's tubes in which a thin aluminium window had been added to permit the cathode rays to exit the tube but a cardboard covering was added to protect the aluminium from damage by the strong electrostatic field that is necessary to produce the cathode rays. He knew the cardboard covering prevented light from escaping, yet Röntgen observed that the invisible cathode rays caused a fluorescent effect on a small cardboard screen painted with barium platinocyanide when it was placed close to the aluminium window. It occurred to Röntgen that the Hittorf-Crookes tube, which had a much thicker glass wall than the Lenard tube, might also cause this fluorescent effect.
  
  In the late afternoon of 8 November 1895, Röntgen was determined to test his idea. He carefully constructed a black cardboard covering similar to the one he had used on the Lenard tube. He covered the Hittorf-Crookes tube with the cardboard and attached electrodes to a Ruhmkorff coil to generate an electrostatic charge. Before setting up the barium platinocyanide screen to test his idea, Röntgen darkened the room to test the opacity of his cardboard cover. As he passed the Ruhmkorff coil charge through the tube, he determined that the cover was light-tight and turned to prepare the next step of the experiment. It was at this point that Röntgen noticed a faint shimmering from a bench a few feet away from the tube. To be sure, he tried several more discharges and saw the same shimmering each time. Striking a match, he discovered the shimmering had come from the location of the barium platinocyanide screen he had been intending to use next.
  
  Röntgen speculated that a new kind of ray might be responsible. 8 November was a Friday, so he took advantage of the weekend to repeat his experiments and make his first notes. In the following weeks he ate and slept in his laboratory as he investigated many properties of the new rays he temporarily termed "X-rays", using the mathematical designation ("X") for something unknown. The new rays came to bear his name in many languages as "Röntgen Rays" (and the associated X-ray radiograms as "Röntgenograms").
  
  At one point while he was investigating the ability of various materials to stop the rays, Röntgen brought a small piece of lead into position while a discharge was occurring. Röntgen thus saw the first radiographic image, his own flickering ghostly skeleton on the barium platinocyanide screen. He later reported that it was at this point that he determined to continue his experiments in secrecy, because he feared for his professional reputation if his observations were in error.
  
  Nearly two weeks after his discovery, he took the very first picture using X-rays of his wife Anna Bertha's hand. When she saw her skeleton she exclaimed "I have seen my death!"
  
  Röntgen's original paper, "On A New Kind Of Rays" (Über eine neue Art von Strahlen), was published on 28 December 1895. On 5 January 1896, an Austrian newspaper reported Röntgen's discovery of a new type of radiation. Röntgen was awarded an honorary Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Würzburg after his discovery. He published a total of three papers on X-rays between 1895 and 1897. Today, Röntgen is considered the father of diagnostic radiology, the medical speciality which uses imaging to diagnose disease.
  
  A collection of his papers is held at the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, Maryland'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1905, The Intercollegiate Athletic Association of US, is founded. It became the NCAA in 1910.
  From Wikipedia: 'The NCAA dates its formation to two White House conferences convened by President Theodore Roosevelt to encourage reforms to college football practices in the early 20th century, which had resulted in repeated injuries and deaths and prompted many college and universities to discontinue the sport. Following those White House meetings, Chancellor Henry MacCracken of New York University organized a meeting of 13 colleges and universities to initiate changes in football playing rules; at a follow-on meeting on December 28, 1905 in New York, 62 higher-education institutions became charter members of the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States (IAAUS).The IAAUS was officially established on March 31, 1906, and took its present name, the NCAA, in 1910'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
• In 1912, The first 'municipally owned' street cars (cable cars) become operational in San Francisco, California, they would become an iconic part of the city. The cable car had been patented in 1871 and there were previous privately owned routes..
  - At FamousDaily: More
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1944, Leonard Bernstein's, On the Town, introducing the hit song, New York, New York, premieres on Broadway.
  From Wikipedia: 'On the Town is a musical with music by Leonard Bernstein and book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, based on Jerome Robbins' idea for his 1944 ballet Fancy Free, which he had set to Bernstein's music. The musical introduced several popular and classic songs, among them "New York, New York", "Lonely Town", "I Can Cook, Too" (for which Bernstein also wrote the lyrics), and "Some Other Time". The story concerns three American sailors on a 24-hour shore leave in New York City during wartime 1944. Each of the three sailors meets and quickly connects with a woman.
  
  On the Town was first produced on Broadway in 1944 and was made into a film in 1949, although the film replaced all but three of the original Broadway songs with Hollywood-written substitutes. The show has enjoyed a number of major revivals. The musical integrates dance into its storytelling: Robbins made a number of ballets and extended dance sequences for the show, including the "Imaginary Coney Island" ballet'.
  - At FamousDaily: More
  - At Wikipedia: More
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• In 1956, Miss Frances (Horwich), hosts the last TV show of, Ding Dong School.
  From Wikipedia: 'Ding Dong School, billed as 'the nursery school of the air', was a half-hour children's TV show which began on WNBQ-TV (now WMAQ-TV) in Chicago, Illinois a few months before its four-year run on NBC (albeit still produced in the WNBQ studios). The program was presented from a child's point of view. A 1953 magazine article reported, 'Low-angled cameras see everything at Lilliputian eye-level, stories and activities are paced at the slow rate just right for small ears and hands'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1968, The Beatles' 'Beatles-The White Album,' goes #1 and stays #1 for 9 weeks.
  From Wikipedia: 'The Beatles, also known as the White Album, is the ninth studio album by English rock group the Beatles, released on 22 November 1968. A double album, its plain white sleeve has no graphics or text other than the band's name embossed, which was intended as a direct contrast to the vivid cover artwork of the band's earlier Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Although no singles were issued from The Beatles in Britain and the United States, the songs "Hey Jude" and "Revolution" originated from the same recording sessions and were issued on a single in August 1968. The album's songs range in style from British blues and ska to tracks influenced by Chuck Berry and by Karlheinz Stockhausen.
  
  On release, The Beatles received favourable reviews from the majority of music critics. Other commentators found its satirical songs unimportant and apolitical, however, amid the turbulent political and social climate of 1968. The band and Martin have since debated whether the group should have released a single album instead. Nonetheless, The Beatles reached number one on the charts in both the United Kingdom and the United States and has since been viewed by some critics as one of the greatest albums of all time'.
  - At FamousDaily: More
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1973, The Endangered Species Act is passed in the United States.
  From Wikipedia: 'The ESA was signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 28, 1973, it was designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a 'consequence of economic growth and development untempered by adequate concern and conservation'. The U.S. Supreme Court found that 'the plain intent of Congress in enacting' the ESA 'was to halt and reverse the trend toward species extinction, whatever the cost'. The ddAct is administered by two federal agencies, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'.
  - At FamousDaily: More
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 2000, U.S. retail giant Montgomery Ward announces it is going out of business after 128 years.
  From Wikipedia: 'Meanwhile, throughout the 1950s, the company was slow to respond to the general movement of the American middle class to suburbia. While its former rivals Sears, JCPenney, Macy's, Gimbels, and Dillard's established new anchor outlets in the growing number of suburban shopping malls, Avery and succeeding top executives had been reluctant to pursue such expansion. They stuck to their downtown and main street stores until the company had lost too much market share to compete with its rivals. After Avery's departure in 1955 it took two years before the first new store since the 1930s was opened in 1957. Wards tried to become more aggressive with store opening but it was too late. Competition had already taken the best locations. As the existing stores looked worn and disheveled, often malls would not entertain allowing Wards to build there. Its catalog business had begun to slip by the 1960s. In 1968, it merged with Container Corporation of America to become Marcor Inc.
  
  By the 1990s, however, even its rivals began to lose ground to low-price competition from Kmart, Wal-Mart, and especially Target, which eroded even more of Montgomery Ward's traditional customer base. In 1997, it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, emerging from protection by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois in August 1999 as a wholly owned subsidiary of GE Capital, which was by then its largest shareholder. As part of a last-ditch effort to remain competitive, the company closed 250 retail locations in 30 U.S. states (including all the Lechmere stores), abandoned the specialty store strategy, renamed and rebranded the chain as simply Wards (although unrelated, Wards was the original name for the now-defunct Circuit City), and spent millions of dollars to renovate its remaining outlets to be flashier and more consumer-friendly. But GE reneged on promises of further financial support of Montgomery Ward's restructuring plans'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More

Tomorrow's food holiday will be 'National Chocolate Candy Day'.
[The Hankster says] If you got way too much candy for Christmas, I will offer a special to all my social media friends. You may dump, I mean donate, free of charge, any and all uneaten candy (no teeth marks, please) at my house in the collection box I have prepared. You will know it, as it resembles a large pink pig with it's mouth (insert said candy) open. It it moves, and mouth is open, that would be me. Just toss it.


For those who didn't get anything electronic for Christmas. Tomorrow will be 'Card Playing Day'.
[The Hankster says] No batteries required. You may bring snacks, of course. I play for one taco chip per point


Awareness days
o Other
- In the U.S.A. It will be 'Pledge of Allegiance Day' tomorrow. The U.S. Congress formally recognized the Pledge of Allegiance on December 28, 1945.


Historical events in the past on: December 28

In 1846, Iowa is admitted as the 29th U.S. state.'.

In 1849, M Jolly-Bellin discovers dry-cleaning, He accidentally upsets a lamp containing turpentine and oil. He sees the cleaning effect. From Wikipedia: 'Dry cleaning is any cleaning process for clothing and textiles using a chemical solvent other than water. The solvent used is typically toxic tetrachloroethylene (perchloroethylene), which the industry calls perc or PERC. It is used to clean delicate fabrics that cannot withstand the rough and tumble of a washing machine and clothes dryer; it can also eliminate labor-intensive hand washing'.

In 1869, William Finley Semple of Mount Vernon, Ohio, patents chewing gum. From Wikipedia: 'William Finley Semple (1832-1923) was a dentist from Mount Vernon, Ohio, commonly referred to as the first person anywhere to patent a chewing gum. On December 28, 1869, Semple filed Patent No. 98,304 with the U.S. Commissioner of Patents. However, Amos Tyler of Toledo, Ohio, patented his chewing gum on July 27 of the same year. John B. Curtis successfully sold his 'State of Maine Pure Spruce Gum' in 1848, though he did not patent it. Semple's gum was intended to clean the teeth and strengthen the chewer's jaw. It was not a sweet treat; ingredients included chalk and powdered licorice root. Charcoal was also suggested as a 'suitable' ingredient in the patent'.

In 1895, The Lumière brothers perform for their first paying audience at the Grand Cafe in Boulevard des Capucines, marking the debut of the cinema. From Wikipedia: 'The Lumières held their first private screening of projected motion pictures in 1895. The American Woodville Latham had screened works of film seven months earlier, but the first public screening of films at which admission was charged was held on December 28, 1895, at Salon Indien du Grand CaféIn Paris. This history-making presentation featured ten short films,Including their first film, Sortie des Usines Lumière à Lyon (Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory). Each film is 17 meters long, which, when hand cranked through a projector, runs approximately 50 seconds'.'.

In 1895, Wilhelm Röntgen publishes a paper detailing his discovery of a new type of radiation, which later will be known as x-rays. 'From Wikipedia: Today, Röntgen is considered the father of diagnostic radiology, the medical speciality which uses imaging to diagnose disease'.'.

In 1905, The Intercollegiate Athletic Association of US, is founded. It became the NCAA

in 1910. From Wikipedia: 'The NCAA dates its formation to two White House conferences convened by President Theodore Roosevelt to encourage reforms to college football practices in the early 20th century, which had resulted in repeatedInjuries and deaths and prompted many college and universities to discontinue the sport. Following those White House meetings, Chancellor Henry MacCracken of New York University organized a meeting of 13 colleges and universities to initiate changes in football playing rules; at a follow-on meeting on December 28, 1905In New York, 62 higher-education institutions became charter members of the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States (IAAUS).The IAAUS was officially established on March 31, 1906, and took its present name, the NCAA, in 1910'.'.

In 1912, The first 'municipally owned' street cars (cable cars) become operational in San Francisco, California, they would become an iconic part of the city. The cable car had been patented in 1871 and there were previous privately owned routes..'.

In 1944, Leonard Bernstein's, On the Town, introducing the hit song, New York, New York, premieres on Broadway.'.

In 1956, Miss Frances (Horwich), hosts the last TV show of, Ding Dong School. From Wikipedia: 'Ding Dong School, billed as 'the nursery school of the air', was a half-hour children's TV show which began on WNBQ-TV (now WMAQ-TV) in Chicago, Illinois[1] a few months before its four-year run on NBC (albeit still produced in the WNBQ studios). The program was presented from a child's point of view. A 1953 magazine article reported, 'Low-angled cameras see everything at Lilliputian eye-level, stories and activities are paced at the slow rate just right for small ears and hands'.'.

In 1968, The Beatles' 'Beatles-The White Album,' goes #1 and stays #1 for 9 weeks.'.

In 1973, The Endangered Species Act is passed in the United States. From Wikipedia: 'The ESA was signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 28, 1973, it was designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a 'consequence of economic growth and development untempered by adequate concern and conservation'. The U.S. Supreme Court found that 'the plain intent of Congress in enacting' the ESA 'was to halt and reverse the trend toward species extinction, whatever the cost'. The Act is administered by two federal agencies, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'.'.

In 2000, U.S. retail giant Montgomery Ward announces it is going out of business after 128 years.'.

No. 1 song

• Over and Over - The Dave Clark Five: More
  'Taste of Honey' has been displaced by 'Over and Over', which will hold the no. 1 spot until January 1 1965, when 'We Can Work It Out - The Beatles', takes over.

Top movie

• Thunderball More
  Having displaced 'A Patch of Blue', it will be there until the weekend box office of January 2 1965 when, 'Doctor Zhivago', takes over.

• FamousBirthdays.com: December 28 Birthdays More
• FamousDaily.com: December 28 History More
• History.com: Historical Events on 28th December More
• HistoryOrb.com: Famous Deaths on 28th December More
• On-This-day.com history 28th December More
• On-This-day.com music history 28th December More
• Wikipedia.com: History December 28 More

Monthly holiday / awareness days in December

Food
Buckwheat Month
Worldwide Food Service Safety Month

Health
Aids Awareness Month
Take a New Year's Resolution to Stop Smoking (TANYRSS) (12/17 - 2/7)

Other
Bingo's Birthday Month
National Drunk and Drugged Driving (3D) Prevention Month
National Impaired Driving Prevention Month
National Tie Month
National Write A Business Plan Month
Operation Santa Paws (1-19)
Safe Toys and Gifts Month
Universal Human Rights 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 1965 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

• 2015 Postal Holidays More
• 2015 Official Federal Holidays More

Holidays Worldwide

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