- 18th Day of 2012 / 348 Remaining
- 62 Days Until Spring Begins
- Sunrise:7:23
- Sunset:5:18
- 9 Hr 55 Min
- Moon Rise:2:58am
- Moon Set:1:02pm
- Moon’s Phase: 23 %
- The Next Full Moon
- February 7 @ 1:56pm
- Full Snow Moon
- Full Hunger 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:5:49am//8:03pm
- Low:1:07pm
- Rainfall
- This Year:3.37
- Last Year:12.35
- Normal To Date:10.73
- Annual Average: 22.28
- Holidays
- Pooh Day
- Rid the World of Fad Diets and Gimmicks Day
- Maintenance Day
- National Peking Duck Day
- Hair Dryer Appreciation Day
- UFO Day
- National Lay Awake and Whisper in the Dark Night
- Lima Foundation Week-Peru
- Revolution Day-Tunisia
- Week of Christian Unity
- On This Day In …
- 1644 --- The first reported sighting of a UFO in America by Pilgrims in Boston.
- 1778 --- Captain James Cook, of the British Navy, thought he was the first to find a group of islands in the Pacific. He named them the Sandwich Islands in honor of England’s Earl of Sandwich, the first lord of the British Admiralty. Little did he know that the islands already had a name. The people who lived on them called the islands Hawaii (known to us now as the 50th of the United States). Actually, these islands had been discovered long before this day by the Polynesians. Other explorers before Cook probably stopped at the Hawaiian Islands as early as the 1500s. However, it was Cook who spread the word of the existence of this group of tropical isles to the rest of the world. Captain Cook got along really well with the Hawaiians at first. It seems that his two major trips to the islands occurred during makahiki (a festival) when one of their gods, Lono would, symbolically, return from his travels to preside over the festivities. Some thought Cook was this god. Unfortunately, on his next trip to his Sandwich Islands, Cook lost the godlike image. He had returned to the islands other than when Lono was to arrive and his humanity was revealed. Cook and his men got into a battle with the Hawaiians and Cook was killed in the melee.
- 1788 --- The first English settlers arrived in Australia's Botany Bay to establish a penal colony. The group moved north eight days later and settled at Port Jackson.
- 1912 --- English explorer Robert F. Scott and his expedition reached the South Pole, only to discover that Roald Amundsen had gotten there first.
- 1929 --- New York Daily Mirror columnist Walter Winchell made his debut on radio, broadcasting a blend of political commentary and celebrity gossip to “Mr. and Mrs. America...” His quick-jabbing, penetrating manner became his trademark. And so did his fedora hat.
- 1939 --- Louis Armstrong and his orchestra recorded "Jeepers Creepers."
- 1943 --- U.S. commercial bakers stopped selling sliced bread. Only whole loaves were sold during the ban until the end of World War II.
- 1944 --- The first jazz concert was held at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. The performers were Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Artie Shaw, Roy Eldridge and Jack Teagarden.
- 1948 --- Ted Mack came to television as The Original Amateur Hour debuted on the DuMont network. The program continued on different networks for a 22-year run on the tube. We remember it being sponsored by Geritol. The original, Original Amateur Hour, on radio, was hosted by Major Bowes. In the TV version, Mack presented many up-and-coming stars who later claimed great fame in show biz. Teresa Brewer and Pat Boone are just a couple.
- 1956 --- The first rock ‘n’ roll LP made the Billboard pop album chart: "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley & The Comets. The single had reached only #23 in 1954, but hit #1 when it was re-released a year later.
- 1958 --- Willie O'Ree made his NHL debut with the Boston Bruins. He was the first black player to enter the league
- 1967 --- Albert DeSalvo, who claimed to be the "Boston Strangler," was convicted in Cambridge, MA, of armed robbery, assault and sex offenses. He was sentenced to life in prison. Desalvo was killed in 1973 by a fellow inmate.
- 1973 --- Pink Floyd began recording Dark Side of the Moon, which would become the longest-charting record in Billboard magazine’s history. It remained on the album chart for more than 14 years - until mid-1988 - selling over five-million copies.
- 1975 --- The Jeffersons was seen for the first time on CBS-TV. The show was a spin-off; based on the black family that moved next door to the bigoted Archie Bunker in All in the Family. The show lasted for several seasons and is still seen in syndicated reruns. Sherman Hemsley plays the part of George Jefferson, Isabelle Sanford is in the role of Weezie.
- 1987 --- For the first time in history the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) was seen by over 100 million viewers. The audience was measured during the week of January 12-18.
- 1989 --- The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in New York City inducted the Rolling Stones, Otis Redding, Stevie Wonder, the Temptations, and Dion.
- 1990 --- Washington, D.C., Mayor Marion Barry was arrested for drug possession in an FBI sting.
- 1993 --- The Martin Luther King Jr. holiday was observed in all 50 states for the first time.
- 1995 --- A network of caves were discovered near the town of Vallon-Pont-d'Arc in southern France. The caves contained paintings and engravings that were 17,000 to 20,000 years old.
- 1996 --- Australian scientists who claimed to have contacted life on other planets stumbled on the real source of the signals -- a microwave oven in the kitchen of their laboratory.
- 2005 --- The world's largest commercial jet, an Airbus A380 that can carry 800 passengers, was unveiled in Toulouse, France.
- Birthdays
- A A (Alan Alexander) Milne
- Oliver Hardy
- Cary Grant
- Kevin Costner
- Bobby Goldsboro
- Thomas Watson
- Daniel Webster
- Danny Kaye
- Peter Roget
- David Ruffin