Daily Calendar for Thursday, December 28, 2023
Question of the Day
How long has New Year’s Eve been celebrated?
The end of one year and the beginning of the next has been celebrated since ancient times, though obviously not always on this date. It’s believed that Dutch settlers brought the December 31 celebration to America, but the Native Americans had already paved the way. Long before the settlers arrived, the Iroquois marked the end of the old year and the start of the new one by gathering up clothes, furnishings, and household utensils, along with uneaten corn and other grains, and tossing them onto a great bonfire. One can’t get much more expressive than that.
Advice of the Day
A whispering grove tells of a storm to come.
Home Hint of the Day
Tearing plaster and lath off a wall, no matter how carefully done, will generate a lot of dust. Haul the wreckage away as you go and, when finished, vacuum the studs, the boards behind them, and the floor. Let the dust settle, then vacuum the floor again.
Word of the Day
Heliophobia
Fear of sun/sunshine
Puzzle of the Day
Why does a man paving the streets correct the public morals?
Because he is amending the public ways.
Born
- Woodrow Wilson (28th U.S. president) –
- Stan Lee (comic book writer) –
- Nichelle Nichols (American actress ) –
- Maggie Smith (actress) –
- Denzel Washington (actor) –
- Sienna Miller (actress) –
- Mackenzie Rosman (actress) –
- Maitreyi Ramakrishnan (actress ) –
Died
- Theodore Dreiser (American writer) –
- Sam Peckinpah (filmmaker) –
- John D. MacDonald (writer) –
- William L. Shirer (journalist) –
- William X. Kienzle (author) –
- Jerry Orbach (actor) –
- Debbie Reynolds (actress) –
Events
- Westminster Abbey in London was consecrated–
- Benjamin Franklin’s paper, The Pennsylvania Gazette, ran an ad for the first issue of Franklin’s own Poor Richard’s Almanack–
- Vice President John Calhoun, having serious disagreements with President Andrew Jackson, resigned from office. He was the first U.S. vice president to do so.–
- Iowa admitted to the Union as the 29th state–
- Second chewing gum patent went to William Semple, a dentist in Mt. Vernon, Ohio–
- H. L. Mencken published A Neglected History bathtub hoax–
- First sudden-death overtime game in NFL, Baltimore Colts vs. N.Y. Giants–
- President Nixon signed the Endangered Species Act of 1973 into law. It provided broad protection for threatened species of fish, wildlife, and plants.–
- The Endangered Species Act was signed into law by President Nixon–
- Endangered Species Act approved–
- U.S. patent #4,000,000 was issued–
Weather
- Temperatures throughout Iowa hovered near 24 degrees below zero F–
- 83 inches of snow on the ground in Bathurst, New Brunswick–
- A severe snowstorm with periods of near-zero visibility resulted in an incredible 1,000 traffic accidents in Michigan–
- 31.5 inches of snow fell in 24 hours in Victoria, British Columbia–