Tomorrow's food holiday will be 'National Baked Alaska Day'. From Wikipedia: 'Baked Alaska (also known as glace au four, omelette à la norvégienne, Norwegian omelette and omelette surprise) is a dessert food consisting of ice cream and cake topped with browned meringue. A similar dessert in Hong Kong is known as flame on the iceberg.'
'The dish is made of ice cream placed in a pie dish lined with slices of sponge cake or Christmas pudding and topped with meringue. The sentire dessert is then placed in an extremely hot oven for a brief time, long enough to firm the meringue. The meringue is an effective insulator, and the short cooking time prevents the heat from getting through to the ice cream'.
[The Hankster says] Oh, a dessert. I thought global warming had made it to Alaska.
Other celebrations/observances tomorrow:
- Tomorrow is 'Decorating With Candy Day'.
[The Hankster says] Ah, again we get to play with our food.
- Hum, tomorrow is 'Hula in The Coola Day'.
[The Hankster says] You can go jump in the cold water with the ice bergs and polar bears. I will watch the dancing.
- It's 'Spunky Old Broads Day' tomorrow.
[The Hankster says] Old is in the joins, not the mind.
- It will be 'Dump Your Significant Jerk Day' tomorrow. First day of Dump Your Significant Jerk Week, which is the week before Valentine's Day.
[The Hankster says] What some people will do, just so the don't have to spend for flowers and candy.
- Do it or loose it. Tomorrow is 'Change Your Password Day'.
[The Hankster says] Don't wait for the next Feb. 1.
Awareness / Observance Days on: February 1
o Health
- 'Dignity Action Day'. In Great Britain. Promotes the dignity due patients during medical care.
- Eating Disorders Awareness Week'. Week of Feb. 1-7 in Canada.
o Animal and Pets
- 'Serpent Day'.
o Other
- 'National Freedom Day in the USA'. President Lincoln put his signature to the resolution for the 13th amendment.
- 'Imbolc'. Gaelic folk festival, celebrating the beginning of spring.
Historical events in the past on: February 1
- In 1865, President Abraham Lincoln signs the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
From Wikipedia; /The Thirteenth Amendment (Amendment XIII) to the United States Constitution abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. In Congress, it was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, and by the House on January 31, 1865. The amendment was ratified by the required number of states on December 6, 1865. On December 18, 1865, Secretary of State William H. Seward proclaimed its adoption. It was the first of the three Reconstruction Amendments adopted following
theAmerican Civil War.'
'While under the Constitution, the President plays no formal role in the amendment process, the joint resolution was sent to Lincoln for his signature. Under the usual signatures of the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate, President Lincoln wrote the word "Approved" and added his signature to the joint resolution on February 1, 1865. On February 7, Congress passed a resolution affirming that the Presidential signature was unnecessary. The Thirteenth Amendment is the only ratified
amendmentsigned by a President, although James Buchanan had signed the Corwin Amendment that the 36th Congress had adopted and sent to the states in March 1861'.
- In 1893, Thomas A. Edison finishes construction of the first motion picture studio, the 'Black Maria' in West Orange, New Jersey.
From Wikipedia: 'The Black Maria was Thomas Edison's movie production studio in West Orange, New Jersey. It is widely referred to as America's First Movie Studio'.
- In 1897, The first auto insurance policy in the U.S. is issued, by Travelers Insurance Co.
- In 1900, Eastman Kodak Co. introduced the $1 Brownie box camera.
From Wikipedia: 'Brownie is the name of a long-running popular series of simple and inexpensive cameras made by Eastman Kodak.
The Brownie popularized low-cost photography and introduced the concept of the snapshot. The first Brownie, introduced in February 1900, was a very basic cardboard box camera with a simple meniscus lens that took 2¼-inch square pictures on 117 rollfilm. With its simple controls and initial price of $1, it was intended to be a camera that anyone could afford and use, hence the slogan, "You push the button, we do the rest."'
'The Brownie is one of the most iconic cameras in history. Tens of millions were made so they are easy to find and buy even today, and mostly do not have high value as collectables'.
- In 1935, The first 'March of Time' newsreel premieres at the Capitol.
From Wikipedia; 'The companion newsreel series to the March of Time radio broadcast was launched February 1, 1935, in over 500 theaters. Each entry in the series was either a two- or three-reel film (20 or 30 minutes). Westbrook Van Voorhis, who hosted the radio program, served as narrator of the film series. The series, which finally totalled close to 200 segments, was an immediate success with audiences. Because of its high production costs—estimated at $50,000 per episode, released at the rate
of about one episode per month—the series was a money loser. However, it remained in production for six years beyond the cancellation of the radio show on which it was based'.
- In 1942, The 'Voice of America', the official external radio and television service of the U.S. government, begins broadcasting with programs aimed at areas controlled by the Axis powers.
From Wikipedia: 'The Voice of America (VOA) is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government. The VOA provides programming for broadcast on radio, TV, and the Internet outside of the U.S., in English and some foreign languages.'
'Even before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. government's Office of the Coordinator of Information had already begun providing war news and commentary to the commercial American shortwave radio stations for use on a voluntary basis. Direct programming began approximately seven weeks after the United States's entry into World War II, with the first live broadcast to Germany, which was called Stimmen aus Amerika ("Voices from America") and was transmitted on February 1, 1942. It was
introduced b
y "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" and included the pledge: "Today, and every day from now on, we will be with you from America to talk about the war. . . . The news may be good or bad for us – We will always tell you the truth." Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States, approved this broadcast, which then-Colonel William J. Donovan and playwright Robert Sherwood, the playwright who served as Roosevelt’s speech writer and information advisor, had recommended to him. It was
Sherwood who actually coined the term “The Voice of America” to describe the shortwave network that began its transmissions on February 1, from 270 Madison Avenue in New York City'.
- In 1949, RCA releases the first single record ever on the 45 RPM specification. It was Eddy Arnold's 'Texarkana Baby'.
- In 1953, The TV show 'General Electric Theater' premieres on CBS TV.
From Wikipedia: 'General Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald Reagan that was broadcast on CBS radio and television. The series was sponsored by General Electric's Department of Public Relations.'
'The television version of the program, produced by MCA-TV/Revue, was broadcast every Sunday evening at 9:00 pm EST, beginning February 1, 1953, and ending May 27, 1962. Each of the estimated 209 television episodes was an adaptation of a novel, short story, play, film, or magazine fiction. An exception was the 1954 episode "Music for Christmas", which featured choral director Fred Waring and his group The Pennsylvanians performing Christmas music'.
- In 1953, The TV show 'You Are There' with Walter Cronkite premieres on CBS television.
From Wikipedia: 'You Are There is an American historical educational television and radio series broadcast over the CBS Radio and CBS Television networks.'
'The radio program made a transition to television in 1953, with Walter Cronkite as the regular host. Reporters included veteran radio announcers Dick Joy and Harlow Wilcox. The first telecast took place on February 1, 1953 and featured a re-enactment of the Hindenburg disaster. The final telecast took place on October 13, 1957'.
- In 1954,- The TV soap opera 'The Secret Storm' premieres.
From Wikipedia: 'The Secret Storm is a soap opera which the CBS television network transmitted from February 1, 1954, to February 8, 1974. It was created by Roy Winsor, who also created the long-running soap operas Search for Tomorrow and Love of Life. Gloria Monty, of General Hospital fame, was a longtime director of the series. Like most CBS soap operas of the time, such as Guiding Light and As the World Turns, The Secret Storm was broadcast live, and later taped, in New York at the CBS Broadcast
Center on West 52nd Street.'
'The story follows the Ames family, a prominent clan in the fictional Northeastern town of Woodbridge (eventually identified as being located in New York). The Ames family initially consisted of Peter, his wife Ellen, and their three children: Susan, Jerry, and Amy. However, Ellen was killed in the first episode and subsequent stories focused on Peter raising his three children. Lending a hand, however dubiously, was Peter's sister-in-law, also his former fiancée, Pauline Rysdale (Haila Stoddard)'.
- In 1961, The first full-scale test of US Minuteman ICBM is made.
From Wikipedia: 'The LGM-30A Minuteman-I was first test-fired on 1 February 1961, and entered into the Strategic Air Command's arsenal in 1962, at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana; the "improved" LGM-30B became operational at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming, and Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri in 1963. All 800 Minuteman-I missiles were delivered by June 1965. Each of the bases had 150 missiles emplaced. F.E. Warren
AFB had 200 of the Minuteman-IB missiles. Malmstrom AFB had 150 of the Minuteman-I and about five years later added 50 of the Minuteman-II similar to those installed at Grand Forks AFB, ND'.
- In 1964, The Beatles have their first number one hit in the United States with 'I Want to Hold Your Hand'.
From Wikipedia: '"I Want to Hold Your Hand" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and recorded in October 1963, it was the first Beatles record to be made using four-track equipment.'
'The demand was insatiable; in the first three days alone, a quarter million copies had already been sold (10,000 copies In New York City every hour). Capitol was so overloaded by the demand, it contracted part of the job of pressing copies off to Columbia Records and RCA. By 18 January, the song had started its fifteen-week chart run, and on 1 February, the Beatles finally achieved their first number-one in America, emulating the success of another British group, the Tornados with "Telstar", which
was number one on the Billboard charts for three weeks over Christmas and New Year 1962/63'.
- In 1972, The First calculator debuts, for scientists, priced at $395. Hewlett Packard's HP-35 was the first handheld calculator to perform advanced mathematical functions.
From Wikipedia: 'The HP-35 was Hewlett-Packard's first pocket calculator and the world's first scientific pocket calculator - a calculator with trigonometric and exponential functions.'
'In about 1970 HP co-founder Bill Hewlett challenged his co-workers to create a "shirt-pocket sized HP-9100". At the time, slide rules were the only practical portable devices for performing trigonometric and exponential functions, as existing pocket calculators could only perform addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Introduced at US$395, like the HP-9100 it used RPN. The name came from the number of keys.'
'The original HP-35 was available from 1972 to 1975 but in 2007 HP announced the release of the "retro"-look HP 35s in commemoration of the original HP-35.'
'The HP-35 was named an IEEE Milestone in 2009'.
- In 2003, Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates during reentry into the Earth's atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts aboard.
From Wikipedia: 'Space Shuttle Columbia (NASA Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-102) was the first space-rated Space Shuttle in NASA's orbiter fleet. It launched for the first time on mission STS-1 on April 12, 1981, the first flight of the Space Shuttle program. Over 22 years of service it completed 27 missions before disintegrating during re-entry near the end of its 28th mission, STS-107 on February 1, 2003, resulting in the deaths of all seven crew members.
'Columbia was destroyed at about 09:00 EST on February 1, 2003 while re-entering the atmosphere after a 16-day scientific mission. The Columbia Accident Investigation Board determined that a hole was punctured in the leading edge on one of Columbia's wings, made of a carbon composite. The hole had formed when a piece of insulating foam from the external fuel tank peeled off during the launch 16 days earlier and struck the shuttle's left wing. During the intense heat of re-entry, hot gases penetrated
the interior of the wing, destroying the support structure and causing the rest of the shuttle to break apart. The nearly 84,000 pieces of collected debris of the vessel are stored in a 16th floor office suite in the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center. The collection was opened to the media once and has since been open only to researchers. Unlike Challenger, which had a replacement orbiter built, Columbia did not'.
'The seven crew members who died aboard this final mission were: Rick Husband, Commander; William C. McCool, Pilot; Michael P. Anderson, Payload Commander/Mission Specialist 3; David M. Brown, Mission Specialist 1; Kalpana Chawla, Mission Specialist 2; Laurel Clark, Mission Specialist 4; and Ilan Ramon, Payload Specialist 1'.
No. 1 song
Top movie
Monthly holiday / awareness days in February
Food
Barley Month
Fabulous Florida Strawberry Month
Grapefruit Month
National Cherry Month
National Hot Breakfast Month
Health
AMD/Low Vision Awareness Month
American Heart Month
International Boost Self-Esteem Month
International Expect Success Month
International Prenatal Infection Prevention Month
Marfan Syndrome Awareness Month
National Condom Month
National Children's Dental Health Month
National Therapeutic Recreation Month
Animal / Pet
Adopt A Rescued Rabbit Month
Beat The Heat Month
Dog Training Education Month
International Hoof-care Month
National Bird Feeding Month
National Pet Dental Health Month
Responsible Pet Owner's Month
Spay/Neuter Awareness Month
Other
Cricket World Cup
International Month of Black Women in The Arts
Library Lovers Month
Love The Bus Month
National African American History / Black History Month
National African American Read-In
National Care About Your Indoor Air Month
National Parent Leadership Month
National Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month
National Time Management Month
National Weddings Month
National Women Inventors Month
North American Inclusion Month
Relationship Wellness Month
Return Shopping Carts to the Supermarket Month
Youth Leadership Month
February is:
February origin (from Wikipedia):
'The Roman month Februarius was named after the Latin term
februum, which means purification, via the purification ritual
Februa held on February 15 (full moon) in the old lunar Roman
calendar. January and February were the last two months to
be added to the Roman calendar, since the Romans originally
considered winter a monthless period. They were added by
Numa Pompilius about 713 BC. February remained the last month
of the calendar year until the time of the decemvirs (c. 450 BC),
when it became the second month. At certain intervals February
was truncated to 23 or 24 days, and a 27-day intercalary month,
Intercalaris, was inserted immediately after February to realign
the year with the seasons.
Under the reforms that instituted the Julian calendar, Intercalaris
was abolished, leap years occurred regularly every fourth year,
and in leap years February gained a 29th day. Thereafter, it
remained the second month of the calendar year, meaning the
order that months are displayed (January, February, March,
..., December) within a year-at-a-glance calendar. Even during
the Middle Ages, when the numbered Anno Domini year began
on March 25 or December 25, the second month was February
whenever all twelve months were displayed in order. The
Gregorian calendar reforms made slight changes to the system
for determining which years were leap years and thus contained
a 29-day February.'
February is the second month of the year in the Julian and
Gregorian calendars. It is the shortest month and the only month
with fewer than 30 days. The month has 28 days in common years
or 29 days in leap years.
February is the third month of meteorological winter in the
Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, February
is the third month of summer (the seasonal equivalent of August
in the Northern Hemisphere, in meteorological reckoning).
February 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
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Sites for downloading or reading free Public Domain eBooks. Available in various formats. More