February: Even though it is the shortest month of the year, sometimes it seemed like the longest.
According to the Gregorian calendar, February is the second month of the year, and also the shortest month. February has 28 days until Julius Caesar gave it 29, and 30 days every four years. According to tradition, Augustus, the Roman emperor, took one day off to add one day to August, the month named after him.
Damn those freakin' Romans.
We now have February with 28 days, and 29 on leap years. Sweden had a February 30 in 1712. They tried it but didn't didn't work out. February begins on the same day of the week as March and November in a common year, and on the same day of the week as August in a leap year.
Sorry but there's no rhyme to remember that.
In the northern half of the world, February is a very cold month. There are usually sunny days that show Spring is not too far off. The Southern Hemisphere usually enjoy midsummer weather during February.
February Month Observances
* African American History Month (Black History Month)
Remember the joke that Black History Month occurs during the shortest month on the year
* AMD/Low Vision Awareness Month
Making it very difficult to read this posting
* American History Month
Which is sponsored by National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution (who probably did not vote to share the month with Black History Month.)
* Bird Feeding Month (Wild Bird Feeding Month)
(most cats prefer the taste of wild bird over domesticated bird)
* Cat Health Month (US National)
(which is caused by cats celebrating 'Bird Feeding Month' a little too much.)
* Candy and Chocolate Lovers Month
(Secretly sponsored by Hallmark and the American Dental Association.)
* Children's Dental Health Month and Dental Month
(What did I tell you.)
* National Pet Dental Health Month
(a slightly scary thought that All the dentist are in collusion)
* Condom Month, Creative Romance Month and An Affair to Remember Month
(Also secretly sponsored by Hallmark and the American Dental Association.)
Remember kids - There will be a quiz.
February 1, 1953 -
Private Secretary (Susie, in syndication), starring Ann Sothern, premiered on CBS-TV on this day.
The show ran during the regular TV seasons on CBS, and last show was September 10, 1957. It ran on NBC-TV in the summers of 1953 and 1954. The original title sequence has not been viewed since Private Secretary's original run.
I'm so glad I was able to find it on-line.
February 1, 1964 -
The Beatles' I Want to Hold Your Hand and I Saw Her Standing There were released in the United States in late 1963, marking the beginning of Beatlemania on an international level.
I Want to Hold Your Hand sold better in the first 10 days of release in the US than any other British single, and remains the best-selling Beatles single in the United States, moving over 12 million copies. The song became their first US number #01 hit on the date.
February 1, 1976 -
Irwin Shaw's Rich Man, Poor Man mini-series premiered on ABC-TV, on this date.
The mini series is based on the novel by Shaw; it was originally published as a short story in Playboy Magazine.
Hey, so some people actually used to read Playboy.
February 1, 1982 -
Late Night With David Letterman debuted on NBC-TV on this date, where it stayed for 11 years.
Besides Bill Murray, one of Dave's first guests was Don Herbert aka Mr. Wizard.
Word of the Day.
Today in History :
February 1, 1861 -
Texas seceded from the Union, becoming independent once again. Since the articles of statehood passed by the U.S. Congress gave Texas this right, it is perhaps the only state whose secession was legal.
a few years ago, Texas Republicans barely avoided having to vote on whether Texas should secede from the United States (by two votes.)
Once again, ask yourself: are the Dallas Cowboys really ready to stop being America’s Team?
February 1, 1893 -
Thomas A. Edison opened the world's first motion picture studio, his Black Maria, (on account of its resemblance to a police patrol wagon,) in West Orange, New Jersey. The studio had a roof that could be opened to admit sunlight for illumination, and the building itself was mounted on a revolving pivot so that the structure could be constantly repositioned to keep it aligned with the sun.
Edison built a glass-enclosed rooftop movie studio in New York City and the Black Maria was closed in January 1901. Edison demolished the building in 1903. The U. S. National Park Service maintains a reproduction of the Black Maria, built in 1954 at what is now the Edison National Historic Site in West Orange.
February 1, 1896 -
The opera La Boheme, written by Giacomo Puccini, premiered in Turin, Italy on this date.
Who knew all Cher had to do to win an Oscar 94 years later, was tweeze her eyebrows and cry while she watched this opera.
February 1, 1951 -
TV station KTLA broadcast of an atomic explosion was the first to be seen publicly on television on this date.
The event was captured by an NBC camera on Mount Wilson, 300 miles away from the test blast at Frenchman Flats, Nevada.
February 1, 1964 -
Governor Matthew Welsh of Indiana declares Louie, Louie by the Kingmen "pornographic".
And while the FCC couldn't figure out the lyrics, the governor's move backfires by making the song one of the most covered titles in existence.
February 1, 1968 -
In Saigon, South Vietnam's national police chief Brig. Gen. Nguyen Ngoc Loan summarily executed an accused Viet Cong spy with a bullet to the head on this date.
Unfortunately for the general, he happened to shoot him right in front of NBC cameraman Vo Suu and Associated Press photographer Eddie Adams.
Oops
February 1, 1970 -
US Government report reveals that 31% of college students have tried pot.
Now that legalized pot has been so successful in several states, there is a possibility that more states will jump on the excess tax band wagon.
February 1, 2003 -
Because the heat-resistant tiles covering the left wing’s leading edge had been damaged or were missing, wind and heat entered the wing and the Space Shuttle Columbia blew up on re-entry, with its debris hitting homes and businesses in Nacogdoches, Texas on this date.
In August 2003, an investigation board issued a report that revealed that it in fact would have been possible either for the Columbia crew to repair the damage to the wing or for the crew to be rescued from the shuttle. The Columbia could have stayed in orbit until February 15 and the already planned launch of the shuttle Atlantis could have been moved up as early as February 10, leaving a short window for repairing the wing or getting the crew off of the Columbia.
February 1, 2004 -
During the MTV-provided halftime show of the Superbowl, former boy band member Justin Timberlake conducts an obviously pre-scripted move to expose Janet Jackson's right bosom on this date, which oddly sports a ninjitsu-style throwing star as a pasty.
The nation is shocked, simply shocked, that a pristine, noncommercial event such as the Superbowl could be ruined by a Jackson.
All appears to be forgiven; critics are praising Justin Timberlake's new film release, and Janet Jackson's post quarantine tour dates have been announced.
And so it goes.
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