Daily Calendar for Thursday, January 11, 2024
Question of the Day
What is the diameter of Earth, and how does it compare to that of Venus?
Earth’s diameter is 7,928 miles. Venus is slightly smaller, with a diameter of 7,523 miles.
Advice of the Day
To prevent bad luck, never shake out a tablecloth after dark.
Home Hint of the Day
Before using a power sander to strip an old floor, use a hammer and nail set to set any protruding nail heads below the surface. This will reduce the risk of tearing the expensive sand paper.
Word of the Day
Blighter
A persistently annoying person.
Puzzle of the Day
I am a caller at every home where you may meet, For daily I perambulate along each street. Take one letter from me and still you will see. I’m the same as before, as I’ll always be, Take two letters from me, or three or four. I’ll still be the same as I was before. In fact, I can tell you that all my letters you may take, Yet of me nothing else can you make.
Answer: Postman
Born
- Alexander Hamilton (statesman & founding father) β
- Sir John A. Macdonald (Canadian prime minister) β
- Alice Paul (lawyer) β
- Alan Stewart Paton (author) β
- Manfred B. Lee (mystery writer) β
- Jean ChrΓ©tien (Canadian prime minister) β
- Clarence Clemons (musician) β
- Naomi Judd (country music singer) β
- Ben Crenshaw (golfer) β
- Darryl Dawkins (basketball player) β
- Mary J. Blige (singer) β
- Amanda Peet (actress) β
Died
- Francis Scott Key (composer) β
- Gail Borden (developed condensed milk) β
- Sir Edmund Hillary (one of the first to summit Mt. Everest) β
Events
- Alabama seceded from the Unionβ
- Milk was delivered in glass bottles for the first time, Brooklyn, NYβ
- Hudson Motor Company unveiled the first sedan-type carβ
- Pioneer aviatrix Amelia Earhart became the first woman to pilot solo from Hawaii to Mainland USA. She took off from Honolulu, reaching Oakland, CA, in 18 1/4 hoursβ
- India and Pakistan annouced the designation of an exact border between the two countries to eliminate clashesβ
- The forerunner of the discotheques, the Whiskey A-Go-Go, opened on Sunset strip in Los Angeles, California and became the launching pad for many unkown stars like Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, and Otis Reddingβ
- Dr. Luther Terry, the U.S. Surgeon General, issued the first government report saying that smoking was hazardous to one’s healthβ
- Baseball’s American League adopted the βdesignated hitterβ rule which allows another player to bat for the pitcherβ
- National Ballet of Canada founder, Celia Franca, retired.β
- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control published evidence that AIDS can be transmitted through blood tranfusionsβ
- President Reagan bade the nation farewell in a nationally broadcast address from the Oval Officeβ
- A 4.3-magnitude earthquake shook Southern Californiaβ
- A 17-pound 1-ounce ocean whitefish was caught at Hurricane Bank, off California and Mexicoβ
Weather
- Charleston, South Carolina, experienced a sudden change in temperature on January 10. The mercury dropped from 70F to 26F and sank to 15F by the morning of January 11.β
- Two-day blizzard began in Midwest, 1918β
- Chinook winds warmed an Arctic air mass over Great Falls, Montana, raising temperatures from -32Β°F to 15Β°F in 7 minutes.β
- A chilly 32 degrees F, Orlando, Floridaβ
- 25.3 inches of snow fell in 24 hours in Buffalo, NYβ
- Five degrees below zero F in Atlanta, Georgiaβ
- 75 mph wind gusts at Yankton, South Dakotaβ