Today is...

[IceWizard]

09 Jan 2017

National Static Electricity Day



It’s the bane of wool wearers, and the champion of older brothers. Static electricity has been experienced by all of us, whether we’re simply grabbing a door handle on a cool dry day, or experiencing the magnificence of natural lightning.

Whether you got it from walking across a carpet in wool socks or from petting your friendly purr-box kitten, static electricity has occasionally added a little spark to your day.

History of Static Electricity Day

The origin of static electricity has long been an inconsidered mystery of youth.

We knew enough about how it worked to generate it on demand, given the right materials, but not quite enough to truly explain how it worked.

It just did.

Let the mystery be unraveled! Static electricity is formed when two insulators are rubbed together, generating a static field of imbalanced positive and negatively charged ions. When the now charged insulators come into contact with a conductor (like metal, for instance) the charge is released. And this is why you get shocked when you grab a door-handle after crossing a room in wool socks!

Air that is drier is far better for generating static electricity than humid air, hence why you tend to experience this phenomena more in winter than you do in summer.

Static Electricity Day is your opportunity to really embrace this, and learn a bit more about it.

For good or little sister.



And



Balloon Ascension Day



Anyone who has ever been in a hot air balloon will tell you it is an incredible experience, especially if they have been on such a ride in a place that boasts a particularly majestic landscape.

It may be hard for us to imagine nowadays, but there was a time, not quite so long ago, when humans had no idea how to go about getting up into the air and staying there in a way we take for granted today, via planes or helicopters.

In those days, being able to fly, or even float, was a near-impossible goal that many strove to achieve, but only few succeeded.

Jean Pierre Blanchard was one of those who succeeded, and January 9th is the day to remember his feat.

The History of Balloon Ascension Day

The very first Balloon Ascension Day was every bit as exciting as it sounds. A man named Jean Paul Blanchard, who was a French aeronaut and inventor, stood in front of Walnut Street Prison in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in a spot that is now known as Independence Square, making some last-minute adjustments to his balloon, while a sizable crowd looked on.

Blachard had been preparing for this for a while, and he had sold plenty of tickets to people excited to see him ascend into the sky in his hydrogen-filled gas balloon. In fact, Blachard was so good at creating a buzz about his project that it is thought that most of the entire capital city’s population had come to the prison courtyard to watch, and a great many from the surrounding countryside as well.

In fact, the president of the Unite States, George Washington himself, was also present.

Some of the onlookers tried to convince Blachard to let them go with him, but he refused, determined to be the first person to ever ascend into the air in the New World. And then…up he went, reaching an altitude of 200 fathoms during the course of his flight.

He monitored his pulse during the entirety of the trip, finally coming down gently in the field of a confused farmer who helped him get back.

And so, on January 9th, 1793, the first balloon flight ever to take place in North America was declared a success, and balloon travel became more popular.

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January 9 Birthdays


Kate Middleton - 35



Jimmy Page - 73



Richard Millhouse Nixon - (1913-1994)



JK Simmons - 62



Bart Starr - 83



Bob Denver - (1935-2005)



Crystal Gayle - 66






January 9th

2005: Motley Crue singer Vince Neil got married for the fourth time to longtime girlfriend Lia Gerardini in Las Vegas. The wedding ceremony was performed by Neil’s fellow Surreal Life cast member MC Hammer. The couple would separate in 2010.

2004: Bon Jovi drummer Tico Torres became a father for the first time when his third wife Maria Alejandra gave birth to a son named Hector Alexander.

2001: Rush began recording what became their seventeenth studio album Vapor Trails at Reaction Studios in Toronto. It took approximately 14 months to finish, which was the longest time they spent writing and recording an album.

1997: One day after his 50th birthday, David Bowie performed a 50th Birthday Bash concert at Madison Square Garden with special guests Lou Reed, Billy Corgan, Robert Smith, the Foo Fighters And Sonic Youth.

1996: Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson released his first solo album under the name Victor. The album reached number 99 on the Billboard 200 Album Chart.

1992: Sting made a guest appearance on The Simpsons as himself recording a charity single. Sting’s appearance to this day is credited as one of the best celebrity guest appearances on the program.

1973: The Rolling Stones’ Asian tour was cancelled when Japan refused to issue a visa for Mick Jagger due to a 1969 drug convication.

1971: Santana peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart with a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Black Magic Woman” which was their second top ten single in the U.S.

1963: Charlie Watts left Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated to become the drummer for The Rolling Stones.



Birthdays: Jimmy Page - Guitarist for The Yardbirds and Led Zeppelin born in 1944

David Johansen - Singer for the New York Dolls born in 1950