- 3rd Day of 2012 / 363 Remaining
- 77 Days Until Spring Begins
- Sunrise:7:25
- Sunset:5:04
- 9 Hr 31 Min
- Moon Rise:12:52pm
- Moon Set:2:23am
- Moon’s Phase: 73 %
- The Next Full Moon
- January 8 @ 11:32pm
- Full Wolf Moon
- Full Old Moon
Amid the cold and deep snows of midwinter, the wolf packs howled hungrily outside Indian villages. Thus, the name for January’s full Moon. Sometimes it was also referred to as the Old Moon, or the Moon After Yule. Some called it the Full Snow Moon, but most tribes applied that name to the next Moon.
- Tides
- High:5:52am/8:06pm
- Low:1:23pm
- Rainfall
- This Year:3.37
- Last Year:12.20
- Year To Date Average:8:48
- Annual Average: 22.28
- Holidays
- Congress Assembles Day
- Drinking Straw Day
- Memento Mori
- National Thank God Its Monday! Day
- Admission Day-Alaska
- National Chocolate Covered Cherry Day
- New Year's Resolutions Week
- National Write to Congress Day
- Passport Presentation-Russia
- St. Genevieve Feast Day-France
- Bank Holiday-Taiwan
- Revolution Day-Burkina Faso
- Earth at Perihelion(closest to the sun)
- On This Day In …
- 1496 --- References in Leonardo da Vinci notebooks suggested that he tested his flying machine. The test didn't succeed and he didn't try to fly again for several years.
- 1777 --- The Battle of Princeton took place in the War of Independence, in which George Washington defeated the British forces, led by Cornwallis.
- 1868 --- The Meiji Restoration re-established the authority of Japan's emperor and heralded the fall of the military rulers known as Shoguns.
- 1871 --- Oleomargarine was patented by Henry Bradley of Binghamton, New York. Hippolyte Mege-Mouries developed margarine in France in 1869, and received a U.S. patent in 1873 for margarine. There were many patents granted for various formulas and manufacturing techniques for margarine in the U.S. beginning in 1871.
- 1888 --- The first patent for wax coated paper drinking straws (made by a spiral winding process) was issued to Marvin C. Stone of Washington, D.C.
- 1938 --- The March of Dimes was established by U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt -- to fight poliomyelitis (Roosevelt himself was afflicted with polio). The organization was originally called the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (as the disease was commonly known). The March of Dimes accomplished its mission within 20 years. Research led by Dr. Jonas Salk and supported by funds (those marching little dimes) raised annually by thousands of volunteers, resulted in the announcement in April 1955 that the Salk polio vaccine was “safe, potent and effective.” The foundation also supported the research that led to the Sabin oral vaccine, another safe, effective polio preventative discovered by Dr. Albert B. Sabin. Following the victory over infantile paralysis, the March of Dimes turned its attention to conquering the largest killer and crippler of children: the mental and physical problems that are present at birth.
- 1947 --- U.S. Congressional proceedings were televised for the first time. Viewers in Washington, Philadelphia and New York City saw some of the opening ceremonies of the 80th Congress.
- 1951 --- NBC-TV debuted "Dragnet."
- 1957 --- Fats Domino recorded "I'm Walkin'."
- 1959 --- Alaska (49th state) entered the United States of America; capital: Juneau; bird: willow ptarmigan; flower: forget-me-not; nickname: The Last Frontier.
- 1970 --- The Beatles recorded their last song together, "I Me Mine." Ten years later it was the title of George Harrison’s autobiography.
- 1985 --- Soprano Leontyne Price bid adieu to the Metropolitan Opera in New York. She sang the title role of Aida. Price had been part of the Met since 1961.
- 1987 --- The first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was ‘Lady Soul’: Aretha Franklin. Bill Haley was among the 14 others inducted on this day.
- 1999 --- Israeli authorities detained, and later expelled, 14 members of Concerned Christians. Israili officials claimed that the Denver, CO-based cult was plotting violence in Jerusalem to bring about the Second Coming of Christ.
- 2000 --- Charles Schulz created his last 'Peanuts' comic strip.
- 2004 --- NASA's Spirit rover landed on Mars. The craft was able to send back black and white images three hours after landing.
- 2006 --- Lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty to conspiracy, mail fraud and tax evasion and agreed to cooperate in investigations of corruption in Congress.
- Birthdays
- J R R Tolkein
- Lucretia Mott
- Anna Pavlova
- Marion Davies
- Zasu Pitts
- Victor Borge
- Maxine Andrews
- George Martin
- Stephen Stills
- Mel Gibson