Calendar day; January 15, 2016

Friday, the 15th of January, 2016 is the 15th day in 2016 and in the 2nd calendar week.

General Events:

Wikipedia Day 2016
January 15, 2016 in the World

Wikipedia Day is celebrated on January 15, 2016. January 15 is known as Wikipedia Day to Wikipedians. On this date in the year 2001, the wiki-based Wikipedia project went public after spending five days on Nupedia. Wikipedia Day has been celebrated, both online and offline, for several years.

Wikipedia is a collaboratively edited, multilingual, free Internet encyclopedia that the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation supports. Volunteers worldwide collaboratively write Wikipedia’s 30 million articles in 287 languages, including over 4.4 million in the English Wikipedia. Anyone who can access the site can edit almost any of its articles.

Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger launched Wikipedia on January 15, 2001, the latter creating its name Wikipedia, from a portmanteau of wiki (a type of collaborative website, from the Hawaiian word wiki, meaning “quick”) and encyclopedia.

Where is the event?
Worldwide

International Fetish Day
January 15, 2016 in the World

International Fetish Day is observed on January 15, 2016. 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

Indian Army Day
January 15, 2016 in India

Indian Army Day takes place on January 15, 2016. Army Day is celebrated every year in India, in recognition of Lieutenant General (later Field Marshal) K. M. Cariappa’s taking over as the first Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army from Sir Francis Butcher, the last British commander, in 1948. The day is celebrated in the form of parades and other military shows in national capital as well as all 6 Army Command headquarters. The Army rededicates itself to become a part of the ‘War Winning Team’ on this day. The day begins with paying homage to the martyred soldiers at the Amar Jawan Jyoti at the India Gate, New Delhi. It is followed by parades and many military shows which feature the technology and achievements in Army which is held at the Delhi Cantonment every year. Unit credentials and Sena Medals are also presented for gallantry on the occasion.

Where is Indian Army Day?
Nationwide India

Alphabet Day in North Korea
January 15, 2016 in North Korea

Alphabet Day in North Korea is celebrated on January 15, 2016. The Korean Alphabet Day is a national Korean commemorative day marking the invention and the proclamation of the Korean alphabet, the native alphabet of the Korean language, by King Sejong the Great. It is celebrated on January 15 to mark the date, January 15, 1444 (1443 in lunar calendar), which is believed to be that of the actual creation of Hunmin Jeongeum.

Where is Alphabet Day in North Korea?
Nationwide North Korea

Lee-Jackson Day
January 15, 2016 in Commonwealth of Virginia

Lee-Jackson Day takes place on January 15, 2016. Lee-Jackson Day is a holiday celebrated in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the USA, for the birthdays of Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson. The original holiday, created in 1889, celebrated Lee’s birthday. Jackson’s name was added to the holiday in 1904. In 1983, the holiday was merged with the new federal holiday Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as Lee-Jackson-King Day in Virginia. This merge was reverted in 2000. Lee-Jackson Day is currently observed on the Friday before Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, which is the third Monday in January. Typical events include a wreath laying ceremony with military honors, a Civil War themed parade, symposia and gala ball. State offices are closed for both holidays.

Where is Lee-Jackson Day?
Nationwide Commonwealth of Virginia

National Hat Day
January 15, 2016 in the USA

National Hat Day takes place on January 15, 2016. A hat is a head covering. It can be worn for protection against the elements, for ceremonial or religious reasons, for safety, or as a fashion accessory. In the past, hats were an indicator of social status.

Extravagant hats were popular in the 1980s, and in the early 21st century, flamboyant hats made a comeback, with a new wave of competitive young milliners designing creations that include turban caps, trompe-l’oeil-effect felt hats and tall headpieces made of human hair.

Some new hat collections have been described as “wearable sculpture.” Many pop stars, among them Lady Gaga, have commissioned hats as publicity stunts.

Where is the event?
Nationwide USA

Historical Events on 15th January:

588 BC – Nebuchadrezzar II of Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem under Zedekiah’s reign. The siege lasts until July 23, 586 BC.

69 – Otho seizes power in Rome, proclaiming himself Emperor, only rules for three months before committing suicide

1535 – Henry VIII declares himself head of the Church in England

1559 – Elizabeth I crowned Queen of England in Westminster Abbey

1582 – Russia cedes Livonia & Estonia to Poland, loses access to Baltic

1797 – 1st top hat worn (John Etherington of London)

1863 – 1st US newspaper printed on wood-pulp paper, Boston Morning Journal

1889 – The Coca-Cola Company, then known as the Pemberton Medicine Company, is incorporated in Atlanta, Georgia

1907 – Gold dental inlays first described by William Taggart, who invented them

1915 – Japan claims economic control of China

1919 – 2 million gallons of molasses flood Boston MA, drowning 21

1927 – The Tennessee Supreme Court overturns (on a technicality) John T Scopes’ guilty verdict for teaching evolution — but the law itself remains in force

1934 – 8.4 earthquake in India/Nepal, 10,700 die

1935 – 300 Dutch ice cream salesmen protest against Italian competition

1944 – European Advisory Commission decides to divide Germany

1945 – The Manhattan Project’s G-5 Group, headed by Physicist’s Donald Kerst and Seth Neddermeyer, take their first betatron pictures of a nuclear implosion at the Los Alamos Laboratory

1970 – Republic of Biafra disbands and joins Nigeria

1971 – Aswan Dam official opens in Egypt

1975 – Portugal signs accord for Angola’s independence

1983 – Thom Syles keeps a life saver intact in his mouth for over 7 hours

1997 – Diana, Princess of Wales, calls for an international ban on landmines, angering ministers in the UK

2001 – Wikipedia, a free Wiki content encyclopedia, goes online

2005 – ESA’s SMART-1 lunar orbiter discovers elements such as calcium, aluminum, silicon, iron, and other surface elements on the moon

2009 – US Airways Flight 1549 makes an emergency landing into the Hudson River shortly after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport in New York City. All passengers and crew members survive

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.

 

Calendar day; January 17, 2014

Ditch New Years Resolutions Day
January 17, 2014 in the World

Ditch New Years Resolutions Day is observed on January 17, 2014. It’s a day to brake or give up all of those New Year’s resolutions you made two weeks ago on New Year’s Days. But think about it: is it easier to slip back into old habits, or is it better to hold on your New Year’s resolutions? You can get it if you want it!

A New Year’s resolution is a secular tradition, most common in the Western Hemisphere but also found in the Eastern Hemisphere, in which a person makes a promise to do an act of self-improvement or something slightly nice, such as opening doors for people beginning from New Year’s Day. Some examples include resolutions to donate to the poor more often, to become more assertive, or to become more environmentally responsible.

A study involving 3,000 people showed that 88% of those who set New Year resolutions fail, despite the fact that 52% of the study’s participants were confident of success at the beginning. Men achieved their goal 22% more often when they engaged in goal setting, while women succeeded 10% more when they made their goals public and got support from their friends.

Where is Ditch New Years Resolutions Day?
Worldwide

Art’s Birthday
January 17, 2014 in the World

Art’s Birthday is observed on January 17, 2014. Robert Filliou was a French Fluxus artist, who produced works as a filmmaker, “action poet,” sculptor, and happenings maestro. Filliou proposed “Art’s Birthday” in 1963.

He suggested that 1,000,000 years ago, there was no art. But one day, on January 17 to be precise, Art was born. Filliou says it happened when someone dropped a dry sponge into a bucket of water.

He also proposed a public holiday to celebrate the presence of art in our lives. Art’s Birthday was first publicly celebrated in 1973 in Auchen, Germany and at the same time in Paris, France.

Where is Art’s Birthday?
Worldwide

Lee-Jackson Day
January 17, 2014 in Commonwealth of Virginia

Lee-Jackson Day takes place on January 17, 2014. Lee-Jackson Day is a holiday celebrated in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the USA, for the birthdays of Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson. The original holiday, created in 1889, celebrated Lee’s birthday. Jackson’s name was added to the holiday in 1904. In 1983, the holiday was merged with the new federal holiday Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as Lee-Jackson-King Day in Virginia. This merge was reverted in 2000. Lee-Jackson Day is currently observed on the Friday before Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, which is the third Monday in January. Typical events include a wreath laying ceremony with military honors, a Civil War themed parade, symposia and gala ball. State offices are closed for both holidays.

Where is Lee-Jackson Day?
Nationwide Commonwealth of Virginia

International Fetish Day
January 17, 2014 in the World

International Fetish Day is observed on January 17, 2014. 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”. It is also designed to encourage members of the community to be more open about their sexuality.

Where is Fetish Day?
Worldwide

Historical Events:

1377 – Pope Gregory XI moves the Papacy back to Rome from Avignon.

1524 – Beginning of Giovanni da Verrazzano’s voyage to find a passage to China.

1605 – First publication of Don Quixote.

1773 – Capt James Cook becomes 1st to cross Antarctic Circle (66° 33′ S)

1775 – 9 old women burnt as witches for causing bad harvests, Kalisk, Pol

1821 – Mexico permits Moses Austin & 300 US families to settle in Texas, after his death leaves to son Stephen

1861 – Flush toilet patented by Mr Thomas Crapper (Honest!)

1871 – 1st cable car patented, by Andrew S Hallidie (begins service in 1873)

1893 – Queen Liliuokalani deposed, Kingdom of Hawaii becomes a republic

1899 – US takes possession of Wake Island in Pacific

1917 – US pays Denmark $25 million for Virgin Islands (or 3/21)

1923 – Origin of Brown lunation numbers

1928 – 1st fully automatic photographic film developing machine patented

1929 – Popeye makes 1st appearance, in comic strip “Thimble Theater”

1941 – Kuomintang forces under orders from Chiang Kai-Shek open fire at communist forces, resuming the Chinese Civil War after World War II.

1945 – Auschwitz concentration camp begins evacuation

1950 – The Great Brinks Robbery – 11 men rob $1.2M cash & $1.5M securities from armored car company Brink’s offices in Boston, Massachusetts

1954 – Jacques Cousteau’s 1st network telecast airs on “Omnibus” (CBS)

1961 – President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivers a televised farewell address to the nation three days before leaving office, in which he warns against the accumulation of power by the “military-industrial complex”.

1966 – Martin Luther King Jr opens campaign in Chicago

1984 – Supreme Court rules (5-4) oks private use of home VCRs to tape TV programs for later viewing does not violate federal copyright laws

1987 – US President Reagan signs secret order permitting covert sale of arms to Iran

1991 – Operation Desert Storm begins-US led allies vs Iraq