214th day of 2012, 152 remaining
Sunrise: 6:14am
Sunset: 8:18pm
100% of the moon is visible, setting at 5:49am, rising at 7:53pm
By the way, August 2012 has two full moons. That’s somewhat unusual. Most months only have one. But in cycles of 19 years, or 228 calendar months, seven to eight calendar months will always have two full moons. In other words, there’s a month with two full moons every two to three years. When it happens, the second one is popularly called a Blue Moon. The Blue Moon for 2012 will fall on August 31.
Low Tides at the Golden Gate: 5:32am/5:27pm
High Tides: 12:36pm/11:40pm
Today's Special Celebrations:
Festival of Xiuhtechuhtli - Aztec celebration of the god of the calendar
Homowo - The Ga people of Ghana feast and mock famine
Lughnasa - the Celtic first harvest festival
Girlfriend’s Day
Respect for Parents Day
Spiderman Day
US Air Force Day
World Wide Web Day
National Raspberry Cream Pie Day
On this day in...
1498 - Christopher Columbus landed on "Isla Santa" (Venezuela).
1619 - The first black Americans (20) land at Jamestown, VA.
1774 - Oxygen was isolated from air successfully by chemist Carl Wilhelm and scientist Joseph Priestly.
1790 - The first U.S. census was completed with a total population of 3,929,214 recorded. The areas included were the present states of Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia
1834 - Slavery was outlawed in the British empire with an emancipation bill.
1873 - Andrew S. Hallidie successfully tested a cable car. The design was done for San Francisco, CA.
1876 - Colorado became the 38th state to join the United States.
1893 - Shredded wheat was patented by Henry Perky and William Ford.
1894 - The first Sino-Japanese War erupted. The dispute was over control of Korea.
1907 - The U.S. Army established an aeronautical division that later became the U.S. Air Force.
1914 - Germany declared war on Russia at the beginning of World War I.
1936 - Adolf Hitler presided over the Olympic games as they opened in Berlin.
1944 - In Warsaw, Poland, an uprising against Nazi occupation began. The revolt continued until October 2 when Polish forces surrendered.
1946 - In the U.S., the Atomic Energy Commission was established.
1953 - The first aluminum-faced building was completed. It was the first of this type in America.
1956 - The Social Security Act was amended to provide benefits to disabled workers aged 50-64 and disabled adult children.
1957 - The North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) was created by the United States and Canada.
1973 - The movie "American Graffiti" opened.
1975 - The Helsinki accords pledged the signatory nations to respect human rights.
1976 - The Seattle Seahawks played their first (preseason) game. The Seahawks lost 27-20 to San Francisco.
1978 - Pete Rose (Cincinnati Reds) ended his streak of hitting in 44 consecutive games.
1986 - John McEnroe and Tatum O'Neal were married.
1986 - Bert Blyleven became only the 10th pitcher to strike out 3,000 batters in his career.
1988 - Martin Scorsese's "The Last Temptation of Christ" opened.
1993 - Reggie Jackson was admitted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.
1995 - Westinghouse Electric Corporation announced a deal to buy CBS for $5.4 billion.
1998 - The U.S. books and music chain Borders opens its first European outlet with a 40,000-square-foot store on London's Oxford Street.
2006 - Cuban leader Fidel Castro turned over absolute power when he gave his brother Raul authority while he underwent an intestinal surgery.
If today's your birthday, you share it with:
Francis Scott Key 1779
Herman Melville 1819
Arthur Hill 1922
Lionel Bart 1930
Geoffrey Holder 1930
Tom Wilson 1931
Ramblin' Jack Elliot 1931
Dom DeLuise 1933
Yves Saint Laurent 1936
Giancarlo Giannini 1942
Jerry Garcia 1942
Boz Burrell 1946
Tim Bachman 1951
Robert Cray 1953
Michael Penn 1958
Robert Buck 1958
Joe Elliot 1959
Chuck D 1960
Coolio 1963
Adam Duritz 1964
George Ducas 1966
Charlie Kelley 1968
Tempestt Bledsoe 1973
Taylor Fry 1981
Asheley Angel 1981
