Good morning.

MLK day, and the public inauguration ceremonies, will see Whitewater with a 30% chance of scattered snow showers before 9 am. Afterward, it’a a partly sunny day, with a high near of about seven. Wind chill measures will be between ten and fifteen below.

High above all of this, departing Commander Sunita Williams recently recorded a tour of the International Space Station:

On this day in 1924, Lenin died of a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of fifty-four. Although relatively young at his death, he lived long enough to oversee the killing of countless thousands, by a regime that would yet kill tens of millions more, of a movement that brought poverty and death wherever it seized power.

From 1935 Janesville, an account of temerity:

1935 – Five Janesville Youths Arrested
On this date five Janesville boys, ages 13-16, were arrested for a string of burglaries, including the thefts of cigarettes, whisky and blankets. While in the police station, one of the boys tried to crack the safe in the chief’s office. [Source: Janesville Gazette]

Google-a-Day asks a pop culture question: “What song hit #25 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was recorded by the performer that received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on November 14, 2002?”

Good morning.

It’s a partly sunny Sunday for us, with a high of fifteen, but with a wind chill measure between five below and zero.

If we had slightly milder temperatures, and more snow, we could imagine trips like these from Sled Dog Adventures of Fairbanks:

On this day in 1981, “Iran released 52 Americans held hostage for 444 days, minutes after the presidency had passed from Jimmy Carter to Ronald Reagan.”

Google-a-Day throws a football question: “The club that was established in 1935 to promote safety in the game of American football was named after a player with what nickname?

Good morning.

Saturday brings unseasonably warm weather, with a high of forty-seven, for a breezy, sunny day. There will be 9h 31m of sunlight, 10h 33m of daylight, with tomorrow being one minute longer.

On this day in 1937, Howard Hughes sets a transcontinental flight record. The New York Times wrote about Hughes’s accomplishment the next day:

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…

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.

Two years later, in Wisconsin, another sort 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 about competitive sailing: “What is the common term used by the America’s Cup organization, for an object shaped like an airplane wing, designed to direct the flow of air over its surface?”