Good morning, Whitewater.

Happy King Day. We’ll have mild temperatures in Whitewater, with a high of thirty-six. Sunrise is 7:19 and sunset 4:51 PM, for 9h 31m 46s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent, with just 1.5% of its visible disk illuminated.

Google’s doodle for King Day links to useful information about his work and ongoing legacy.

On this day in 1937, industrialist and aviator Howard Hughes sets a transportation record for the time:

All landplane distance speed records were broken yesterday by Howard Hughes, millionaire sportsman pilot, who reached Newark Airport 7 hours 28 minutes and 25 seconds after he took off from Los Angeles, Calif. He was then forced to stay aloft until the runway at the field was clear and landed at 1:03 P. M. His average speed was 332 miles an hour for the 2,490 miles he traveled.

Grimy from the smoke of his exhaust stacks the lanky pilot climbed out of his cramped cockpit and grinned. In recounting his experiences on the flight he said that the skies were overcast all the way and he had to fly on top of the clouds. He saw the ground only twice west of the Ohio Valley, once at Winslow, Ariz. and again as he roared across the Mississippi River.

It was 2:14 o’clock in the morning and pitch dark when opened the throttle at the Union Air Depot at Burbank and released the 1,100 horsepower sealed in the fourteen cylinders of his supercharged Twin Row Wasp engine. The sleek gray and blue low-winged monoplane, designed and built under his own direction, staggered, accelerated and then literally vaulted into the air. Within a few seconds Hughes climbed into low-hanging clouds swung eastward and headed for the San Bernardino Pass.

At 14,000 feet, at which altitude he flew most of the way, he passed over the clouds, set his course and leveled off. He throttled his engine back until it was delivering only 375 horsepower and hunched himself over his instrument panel.

He was wearing a new type oxygen mask for high altitude flying. With nothing to see except the top of the cloud stratum he began experimenting with it. He finally adjusted it so that it fed too much air and not enough oxygen and he began to feel faint. Over the Sierras he had fears for a moment that his attempt might not be a success, but at last re-adjusted the mask so that the gas revived him.

On this day in 1939, in Fort Atkinson, a different kind of record:

1939 – Chicken Plucking World Record
On January 19, 1939 Ernest Hausen (1877 – 1955) of Ft. Atkinson set the world’s record for chicken plucking. [Source: Guiness Book of World’s Records, 1992]

Google-a-Day asks a question about geography:

What explorer first visited the U.S. river, which is the largest within its state, creating a natural boundary with Mexico?

Good morning, Whitewater.

Sunday in town will be a day of decreasing clouds with a high of thirty-seven. Sunrise is 7:20 AM and sunset 4:50 PM, for 9h 29m 53s of daytime.

Friday’s FW poll asked if readers thought that a video of a supposed ghost in Blackburn, England seemed convincing. A majority of respondents (82.76%) said that they were unconvinced (‘you must be kidding’).

On this day in 1803, Pres. Jefferson requests $2,500 from Congress:

….President Thomas Jefferson sends a special confidential message to Congress asking for money to fund the journey of Lewis and Clark….

Jefferson directed Lewis to draw up an estimate of expenses. Basing his calculations on a party of one officer and 10 enlisted men—the number was deliberately kept small to avoid inspiring both congressional criticisms and Indian fears of invasion—Lewis carefully added up the costs for provisions, weapons, gunpowder, scientific instruments, and a large boat. The final tally came to $2,500. The largest item was $696, earmarked for gifts to Indians.

Following the advice of his secretary of the treasury, Albert Gallatin, Jefferson decided not to include the request in his general proposed annual budget, since it involved exploration outside of the nation’s own territory. Instead, on January 18, 1803, he sent a special secret message to Congress asking for the money, taking pains to stress that the proposed exploration would be an aid to American commerce. Jefferson noted that the Indians along the proposed route of exploration up the Missouri River “furnish a great supply of furs & pelts to the trade of another nation carried on in a high latitude.” If a route into this territory existed, “possibly with a single portage, from the Western ocean,” Jefferson suggested Americans might have a superior means of exploiting the fur trade. Though carefully couched in diplomatic language, Jefferson’s message to Congress was clear: a U.S. expedition might be able to steal the fur trade from the British and find the long hoped-for Northwest passage to the Pacific.

Despite some mild resistance from Federalists who never saw any point in spending money on the West, Jefferson’s carefully worded request prevailed, and Congress approved the $2,500 appropriation by a sizeable margin. It no doubt seemed trivial in comparison to the $9,375,000 they had approved a week earlier for the Louisiana Purchase, which brought much of the territory Jefferson was proposing to explore under American control….

On this day in 1908, tobacco goes up in smoke:

1908 – Fire Destroys Tobacco Warehouse
On this date fire devastated the tobacco warehouse of Julius Marqusee & Co. An estimated 4,000 cases of tobacco were destroyed. Losses were estimated at $250,000, Janesville’s largest property loss to that date. Three firemen suffered injuries fighting the blaze. [Source: Janesville Gazette]

Good morning, Whitewater.

It’s only the seventeenth day of the year, but (at least so far) Saturday, January 17th will claim the title of warmest day of the year. The high temperature in town will be about forty-two, on a mostly cloudy day. Sunrise is 7:21 AM and sunset 4:49 PM, for 9h 28m 04s of daytime.

On this day in 1893, Hawaii loses her monarch:

…a group of American sugar planters under Sanford Ballard Dole overthrow Queen Liliuokalani, the Hawaiian monarch, and establish a new provincial government with Dole as president. The coup occurred with the foreknowledge of John L. Stevens, the U.S. minister to Hawaii, and 300 U.S. Marines from the U.S. cruiser Boston were called to Hawaii, allegedly to protect American lives….

President Grover Cleveland sent a new U.S. minister to Hawaii to restore Queen Liliuokalani to the throne under the 1887 constitution, but Dole refused to step aside and instead proclaimed the independent Republic of Hawaii. Cleveland was unwilling to overthrow the government by force, and his successor, President William McKinley, negotiated a treaty with the Republic of Hawaii in 1897. In 1898, the Spanish-American War broke out, and the strategic use of the naval base at Pearl Harbor during the war convinced Congress to approve formal annexation.

On this day in 1900, female cotton workers in Wisconsin go on strike:

1900 – Female Cotton Mill Workers Strike
On this date 100 female employees of the Monterey mill, affiliated with the Janesville Cotton Mills, went on strike for higher wages. According to local sources, a committee of four “good-looking young ladies” was appointed to negotiate with management. Doing piece work, the women earned only $40 a month. The company said the women “don’t know how good they’ve got it…because they are paid more than at other local cotton mills and as well as some men with families.” The women argued their monthly pay only averaged $20. Within three days, all the women were hired to work by tobacco warehouses. The Monterey mill was one of three Janesville cotton mills in operation at the turn of the century. [Source: Janesville Gazette]

Good morning, Whitewater.

Our Friday will be mostly cloudy but mild, with a high of twenty-six. Sunrise is 7:21 AM and sunset 4:47 PM, for 9h 26m 17s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 20.5% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1991, Pres. George H.W. Bush tells the nation that Operation Desert Storm had begun. The next morning, the New York Times published news of the American-led campaign to drive the Iraqi Army from Kuwait:

WASHINGTON, Thursday, Jan. 17 — The United States and allied forces Wednesday night opened the long threatened war to drive President Saddam Hussein’s army from Kuwait, striking Baghdad and other targets in Iraq and Kuwait with waves of bombers and cruise missiles launched from naval vessels.

“The liberation of Kuwait has begun,” President Bush said in a three-sentence statement confirming the start of the attack that was read by his spokesman, Marlin Fitzwater, shortly after the raids began.

Later, in a televised address to the nation from the Oval Office a somber Mr. Bush said that after months of continuous diplomatic overtures had failed to produce movement by Iraq, the United States and its allies “have no choice but to force Saddam from Kuwait by force. We will not fail.”

Google-a-Day asks a geography question:

What area with nearly 2 million life forms was created to protect the wildlife of the country with the largest economy in Africa?

Good morning, Whitewater.

Thursday in the Whippet City will be a mostly sunny day with a high of twenty-nine. Sunrise is 7:22 AM and sunset 4:46 PM, for 9h 24m 34s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 29.3% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1967, the first Super Bowl ends just as it should have, Packers 35, Chiefs 10:

The First AFL-NFL World Championship Game in professional football, later known retroactively as Super Bowl I and referred to in some contemporary reports as the Supergame,[2] was played on January 15, 1967 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. The National Football League (NFL) champion Green Bay Packers defeated the American Football League (AFL) champion Kansas City Chiefs by the score of 35–10.

Coming into this game, considerable animosity remained between the AFL and NFL, thus the teams representing the two rival leagues (Kansas City and Green Bay, respectively) felt pressure to win. The Chiefs posted an 11–2–1 record during the 1966 AFL season, and defeated the Buffalo Bills, 31–7, in the 1966 AFL Championship Game. The Packers finished the 1966 NFL season at 12–2, and defeated the Dallas Cowboys, 34–27, in the 1966 NFL Championship Game. Still, many sports writers and fans believed any team in the older NFL was vastly superior to any club in the upstart AFL, so expected Green Bay would blow out Kansas City.

The first half of Super Bowl I was competitive, as the Chiefs out-gained the Packers in total yards, 181–164, to come within 14–10 at halftime. But Green Bay safety Willie Wood’s 50-yard interception return early in the third quarter sparked the Packers to score 21 unanswered points in the second half. Green Bay quarterback Bart Starr, who completed 16 of 23 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns, with 1 interception, was named MVP.

It is the only Super Bowl to have been simulcast in the United States by two networks: NBC had the rights to nationally televise AFL games, while CBS held the rights to broadcast NFL games; both networks were allowed to televise the game. The first Super Bowl’s entertainment largely consisted of college bands, instead of featuring popular singers and musicians as in more recent Super Bowls.

Google-a-Day asks a question about arthropods:

What type of arthropod appendage is comprised of a single series of segments attached end-to-end, rather than branching into two?