IOTD

Calendar day; January 16, 2015

 Friday, the 16th of January, 2015 is the 16th day in 2015 and in the 3rd calendar week.

General Events:

Religious Freedom Day
January 16, 2015 in the USA

Each year, the President declares January 16th to be Religious Freedom Day, and calls upon Americans to “observe this day through appropriate events and activities in homes, schools, and places of worship.” The day is the anniversary of the passage, in 1786, of the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom. We encourage schools to recognize Religious Freedom Day during the school week leading up to January 16.

The goal of ReligiousFreedomDay.com is to promote and protect students’ religious expression rights by informing educators, parents, and students about these liberties.

Religious Freedom Day Guidebook: http://religiousfreedomday.com/images/RFD_Guidebook_2012.pdf

Where is Religious Freedom Day?
Nationwide USA

International Fetish Day
January 16, 2015 in the World

International Fetish Day is observed on January 16, 2015. International Fetish Day is a day supporting the BDSM community. It originated in the United Kingdom as “National Fetish Day”. The first International Fetish Day was held on 16 January 2009 (the third Friday of the year).

The main purpose of International Fetish Day is to increase awareness and support of the fetish community, whilst also opposing the new law criminalising possession of “extreme pornography”. BDSM is a variety of erotic practices involving dominance and submission, role-playing, restraint, and other interpersonal dynamics. International Fetish Day is also designed to encourage members of the community to be more open about their sexuality.

On National Fetish Day, one of the main aspects is that members of the community wear an item of purple clothing as a sign that they are a member, in an event known as “Perverts Wear Purple”. The main benefit of this act is that it indicates that someone is a member of the community whilst being “Vanilla” at the same time. Purple is a colour widely used in BDSM circles.

Where is the event?
Worldwide

It’s International Hot & Spicy Food Day
January 16, 2015 in the World

It’s International Hot & Spicy Food Day! Archaeological evidence suggests that people have been using hot spices in their recipes for over 6000 years. Did you know that the hottest chili pepper in the world is the Naga Jolokia? On average, one of these peppers is over 170 times spicier than a jalapeno pepper!

Throughout the world, there are hundreds of different spices that contribute to an array of hot flavored foods. Hot foods can actually be very good for you because of their medicinal and antimicrobial properties. Garlic, chilies, onions, allspice, and oregano all kill bacteria and make food safer to consume.

To celebrate this holiday, try a few hot peppers or hot sauces with your food today!

Where is the event?
Worldwide

Appreciate a Dragon Day
January 16, 2015 in the World

All of us, young and not so young, can appreciate dragons. You’ll find good and bad dragons in legends, folk lore, children’s books, songs, and top movies.

According to Donita K. Paul, the creator of this special day, you are encouraged to learn and explore the cultural and historic significance of dragons.

This day is also intended to celebrate literacy. So, reach for a book about dragons, and read it today!

Where is the event?
Worldwide

National Nothing Day
January 16, 2015 in the USA

National Nothing Day is an “un-event” which is celebrated on January 16, 2015 by doing nothing. It was proposed in 1972 by columnist Harold Pullman Coffin. Its purpose is “to provide Americans with one National day when they can just sit without celebrating, observing or honoring anything.”

Nothing is no thing, denoting the absence of something. Nothing is a pronoun associated with nothingness. In nontechnical uses, nothing denotes things lacking importance, interest, value, relevance, or significance. Nothingness is the state of being nothing, the state of nonexistence of anything, or the property of having nothing.

Grammatically, the word “nothing” is an indefinite pronoun, which means that it refers to something. One might argue that “nothing” is a concept, and since concepts are things, the concept of “nothing” itself is a thing. Many philosophers hold that the word “nothing” does not function as a noun, as there is no object to which it refers.

In physics, the word nothing is not used in any technical sense. A region of space is called a vacuum if it does not contain any matter, though it can contain physical fields. In fact, it is practically impossible to construct a region of space that contains no matter or fields, since gravity cannot be blocked and all objects at a non-zero temperature radiate electromagnetically.

Where is the event?
Nationwide USA

Historical Events on 16th January:

550 – Gothic War (535-552): The Ostrogoths, under King Totila, conquer Rome after a long siege, by bribing the Isaurian garrison.

1120 – The Council of Nablus is held, establishing the earliest surviving written laws of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem.

1219 – Floods in Northern Netherlands after storm, thousands killed

1362 – A great storm tide in the North Sea destroys the German island of Strand and the city of Rungholt.

1412 – The Medici family is appointed official banker of the Papacy

1547 – Ivan IV the Terrible (17) crowns himself 1st tsar of Moscow

1581 – English parliament passes laws against Catholicism

1761 – The British capture Pondicherry, India, from the French

1793 – French King Louis XVI sentenced to death by the National Convention during the French Revolution

1868 – Refrigerator car patented by William Davis, a fish dealer in Detroit

1878 – Captain Burago with a squadron of Russian Imperial army dragoons liberates Plovdiv from Ottoman rule.

1900 – The US gains control over Tutuila in Samoa and several smaller Pacific islands

1909 – British explorers David, Mawson & Mackay reach south magnetic pole as part of the Nimrod Expedition

1918 – Austria and Germany are disrupted by strikes as people express impatience with leaders continuing the war

1919 – Prohibition ratified by 3/4 of US states; Nebraska is 36th

1920 – The 18th Amendment is ratified, prohibiting the sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages (repealed 1933)

1941 – US vice admiral Bellinger warns of an assault on Pearl Harbor

1956 – Egyptian pres Nasser pledges to reconquer Palestine

1967 – 1st black government installed in Bahamas

1970 – 4 months after leading a coup against monarchy, Muammar Gaddafi takes over rule of Libya

1974 – “Jaws” by Peter Benchley is published

1985 – “Playboy” announces end of stapling centerfolds

1991 – US & 27 allies attack Iraq for occupying Kuwait (US time)

2001 – A fuel supply tanker runs aground off the island of San Cristobal, causing a ‘ecological disaster’

2003 – The Space Shuttle Columbia takes off for mission STS-107 which would be its final one. Columbia disintegrated 16 days later on re-entry.