Tuesday, the 20th of January, 2015 is the 20th day in 2015 and in the 4th calendar week.
General Events:
Penguin Awareness Day
January 20, 2015 in the World
Penguin Awareness Day takes place on January 20, 2015. Penguins are a group of aquatic, flightless birds living almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere, especially in Antarctica. Highly adapted for life in the water, penguins have countershaded dark and white plumage, and their wings have evolved into flippers. Penguins spend about half of their lives on land and half in the oceans.
Penguins are superbly adapted to aquatic life. Their vestigial wings have become flippers, useless for flight in the air. In the water, however, penguins are astonishingly agile. Penguins’ swimming looks very similar to bird’s flight in the air. Within the smooth plumage a layer of air is preserved, ensuring buoyancy. The air layer also helps insulate the birds in cold waters. On land, penguins use their tails and wings to maintain balance for their upright stance.
Penguins either waddle on their feet or slide on their bellies across the snow, a movement called “tobogganing”, which conserves energy while moving quickly. They also jump with both feet together if they want to move more quickly or cross steep or rocky terrain.
Where is the event?
Worldwide
Inauguration Day
January 20, 2015 in the USA
The inauguration of the president of the United States takes place on January 20, 2015. The only inauguration element mandated by the United States Constitution is that the president make an oath or affirmation before that person can “enter on the Execution” of the office of the presidency. However, over the years, various traditions have arisen that have expanded the inauguration from a simple oath-taking ceremony to a day-long event, including parades, speeches, and balls.
Inauguration Day is a Federal holiday observed only by federal employees who work in the District of Columbia; Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties in Maryland; Arlington and Fairfax Counties in Virginia, and the cities of Alexandria and Fairfax in Virginia, and who are regularly scheduled to perform non-overtime work on Inauguration Day. There is no in-lieu-of holiday for employees and students who are not regularly scheduled to work or attend school on Inauguration Day. The primary reason for the holiday is to relieve traffic congestion that occurs during this major event.
In addition to the public, the attendees at the ceremony generally include Members of Congress, Supreme Court justices, high-ranking military officers, former presidents, living Medal of Honor recipients, and other dignitaries.
Where is Inauguration Day?
Nationwide USA
National Cheese Lover’s Day
January 20, 2015 in the USA
Did you know that the average American consumes about 31 pounds of cheese each year? That may seem like a lot, but for the average French person it’s 50 pounds!
There are more than 900 known cheeses in the world, and they can all be classified by texture. Here are the primary classifications and some examples: fresh cheese (ricotta); soft cheese (feta); semi-soft cheese (Fontina); semi-hard cheese (Gouda); hard cheese (Cheddar); double or triple crème cheese (Brillat-Savarin); blue cheese (Gorgonzola); washed rind cheese (Limburger); and bloomy rind cheese (Brie).
People have been making cheese for at least 8,000 years, so the cheeses we enjoy today are all relatively young by comparison. Take Emmental (also known as Swiss cheese), for example. It’s only been around since the first century BC!
Visit your local cheesemonger and pick up your favorite kind of artisan cheese or cook a cheesy dish for dinner tonight in honor of National Cheese Lover’s Day!
Where is the event?
Nationwide USA
Natural Events:
January New Moon
January 20, 2015 in EST Eastern Standard Time / UTC-05
On January 20, 2015 the moon reaches its minimum brightness. Therefore it is called new moon. In astronomical terminology, the phrase new moon is the lunar phase that occurs when the Moon, in its monthly orbital motion around Earth, lies between Earth and the Sun, and is therefore in conjunction with the Sun as seen from Earth. At this time, the dark (unilluminated) portion of the Moon faces almost directly toward Earth, so that the Moon is not visible to the naked eye.
The original meaning of the phrase new moon was the first visible crescent of the Moon, after conjunction with the Sun. This takes place over the western horizon in a brief period between sunset and moonset, and therefore the precise time and even the date of the appearance of the new moon by this definition will be influenced by the geographical location of the observer. The astronomical new moon, sometimes known as the dark moon to avoid confusion, occurs by definition at the moment of conjunction in ecliptic longitude with the Sun, when the Moon is invisible from the Earth. This moment is unique and does not depend on location, and under certain circumstances it is coincident with a solar eclipse.
Where is January New Moon?
Eastcoast (North America)
EST Eastern Standard Time / UTC-05
Historical Events on 20th January:
1156 – According to legend, freeholder Lalli slays English crusader Bishop Henry with an axe on the ice of lake Köyliönjärvi in Finland.
1613 – Peace of Knarodends War of Kalmar between Denmark & Sweden
1783 – Hostilities formally cease in the American Revolutionary War
1840 – Dumont D’Urville discovers Adélie Land, Antarctica
1841 – China cedes Hong Kong to the British during the 1st Opium War
1887 – US Senate approves naval base lease of Pearl Harbor
1905 – The US begins supervision of the Dominican Republic’s national and international debts, testing Roosevelt’s ‘Corollary’ to the Monroe Doctrine
1914 – The first group of Transvaal Indian women satyagrahis are released from Pietermaritzburg Prison in South Africa after three months imprisonment
1930 – 1st radio broadcast of “Lone Ranger” (WXYZ-Detroit)
1937 – 1st US Presidential Inauguration day held on Jan 20th, (previously March 4th)
1942 – Nazi officials hold notorious Wannsee conference in Berlin to organise the “final solution”, the extermination of Europe’s Jews
1950 – Suriname becomes independent part in Realm of Netherlands
1965 – Generalissimo Francisco Franco meets with Jewish representatives to discuss legitimizing Jewish communities in Spain
1979 – 1 million Iranians march in Tehran in a show of support for the exiled Ayatollah Khomeini, fundamentalist Muslim leader
1982 – Honduras constitution goes into effect
1987 – UK Police crack down on soccer hooligans in biggest operation against violence around football stadiums
1991 – Sudan’s government imposes Islamic law nationwide, worsening the civil war between the country’s Muslim north and Christian south
1999 – The China News Service announces new government restrictions on Internet use aimed especially at Internet cafés
see my inner geek comes through! lol 😀
M'chelsMusings 