Today is Wednesday, the 31st of October of 2018. It is the 304th day of the year.
There are 61 days remaining until the end of the year. 51 days until winter begins
6 days until the election!
The sun rose at 7:35 am
and sun will set at 6:11 pm.
We will have 10 hours and 36 minutes of daylight today.
The solar transit will be at 12:53 pm.
The first high tide will be at 6:46 am
and the next high tide at 5:23 pm.
The only low tide of the day will be at 11:42 am.
A low to medium pollen count today at 3.4 dipping and steadying to 3.6 by the weekend.
The Moon is 52.3% visible; a Waning Gibbous
Moon Direction: 119.22° ESE↑
Moon Altitude: 58.86°
Moon Distance: 230051 mi
Next New Moon: Wednesday November 7, 2018 at 8:01 am
Next Full Moon: Thursday November 22, 2018 at 9:39 pm
Next Moonset: Today at 2:22 pm
Today is…
National Increase Your Psychic Powers Day
National Knock Knock Jokes Day
Sneak Some of the Candy Yourself Before the Kids Start Knocking Day
Today is also…
Día de la Canción Criolla in Peru
Hallowe'en and related celebrations:
Samhain (Saw-win) in the Northern Hemisphere, Beltane in the Southern Hemisphere; begins on sunset of October 31 celebrated by the Gaels, Welsh people and on the Neopagan Wheel of the Year
The first day of the Day of the Dead, celebrated until November 2 in Mexico
Girl Scouts Founders Day in the United States
King Father's Birthday in Cambodia
Reformation Day in Slovenia, parts of Germany, Chile, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, various Protestant churches with a particular emphasis in Lutheran and Reformedones
If today is your birthday, Happy Birthday To You! You share this special day with…
1795 – John Keats, English poet (d. 1821)
1887 – Chiang Kai-shek, Chinese general and politician, 1st President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) (d. 1975)
1896 – Ethel Waters, American singer and actress (d. 1977)
1912 – Dale Evans, American singer-songwriter and actress (d. 2001)
1920 – Dick Francis, Welsh-Caymanian jockey and author (d. 2010)
1920 – Helmut Newton, German-Australian photographer (d. 2004)
1922 – Illinois Jacquet, American saxophonist and composer (d. 2004)
1922 – Norodom Sihanouk, Cambodian politician, 1st Prime Minister of Cambodia (d. 2012)
1931 – Dan Rather, American journalist
1936 – Michael Landon, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1991)
1937 – Tom Paxton, American folk music singer-songwriter and guitarist
1939 – Ali Farka Touré, Malian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2006)
1941 – Derek Bell, English race car driver
1941 – Sally Kirkland, American actress
1942 – David Ogden Stiers, American actor (d. 2018)
1945 – Brian Doyle-Murray, American actor and comedian
1950 – John Candy, Canadian actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1994)
1950 – Jane Pauley, American journalist
1959 – Neal Stephenson, American author
1967 – Vanilla Ice, American rapper, television personality, and real estate investor
…and on this day in history….
1864 – Nevada is admitted as the 36th U.S. state.
1913 – Dedication of the Lincoln Highway, the first automobile highway across United States.
1941 – After 14 years of work, Mount Rushmore is completed.
1956 – Hungarian Revolution of 1956: A Revolutionary Headquarters is established in Hungary. Following Imre Nagy's announcement of October 30, banned non-Communist political parties are reformed, and the MDP is replaced by the MSZMP. József Mindszenty is released from prison. The Soviet Politburo makes the decision to crush the Revolution.
1961 – In the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin's body is removed from the Lenin's Mausoleum, also known as the Lenin Tomb.
1968 – Vietnam War October surprise: Citing progress with the Paris peace talks, US President Lyndon B. Johnson announces to the nation that he has ordered a complete cessation of "all air, naval, and artillery bombardment of North Vietnam" effective November 1.
1984 – Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is assassinated by two Sikh security guards. Riots break out in New Delhi and other cities and around 3,000 Sikhs are killed.
1999 – Yachtsman Jesse Martin returns to Melbourne after 11 months of circumnavigating the world, solo, non-stop and unassisted.
2000 – Soyuz TM-31 launches, carrying the first resident crew to the International Space Station. The ISS has been crewed continuously since then.
2002 – A federal grand jury in Houston, Texas indicts former Enron chief financial officer Andrew Fastow on 78 counts of wire fraud, money laundering, conspiracy and obstruction of justice related to the collapse of his ex-employer..
2011 – The global population of humans reaches seven billion. This day is now recognized by the United Nations as the Day of Seven Billion.