- 121st Day of 2012 / 245 Remaining
- 51 Days Until Summer Begins
- Sunrise:6:14
- Sunset:8:00
- 13 Hr 46 Min
- Moon Rise:2:09pm
- Moon Set:2:36am
- Moon’s Phase: 65 %
- The Next Full Moon
- May 5 @ 8:36pm
- Full Flower Moon
- Full Corn Planting Moon
- Full Milk Moon
- In most areas, flowers are abundant everywhere during this time. Thus, the name of this Moon. Other names include the Full Corn Planting Moon, or the Milk Moon.
- Tides
- High:5:58am/7:34pm
- Low:12:39am/12:36
- Rainfall
- This Year:15.65
- Last Year:25.17
- Normal To Date:22.95
- Annual Seasonal Average: 23.80
- Holidays
- Hairstylist Appreciation Day
- Louisiana Purchase Day
- National Go Birding Day
- National Honesty Day
- National Rebuilding Day
- Spank Out Day USA
- Admission Day-Louisiana
- National Oatmeal Cookie Day
- Turnoff Week
- World Healing Day
- World Tai Chi and Qigong Day
- Beltane/Samhain-Wiccan
- Koninginnedag (Queen's Day)-Nederlands
- Liberation Day-VietNam
- Walpurgis Night-Sweden
- On This Day In …
- 1789 --- In New York City, George Washington, the great military leader of the American Revolution, is inaugurated as the first president of the United States. In February 1789, all 69 presidential electors unanimously chose Washington to be the first U.S. president. In March, the new U.S. constitution officially took effect, and in April Congress formally sent word to Washington that he had won the presidency. He borrowed money to pay off his debts in Virginia and traveled to New York. On April 30, he came across the Hudson River in a specially built and decorated barge. The inaugural ceremony was performed on the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street, and a large crowd cheered after he took the oath of office. The president then retired indoors to read Congress his inaugural address, a quiet speech in which he spoke of "the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people." The evening celebration was opened and closed by 13 skyrockets and 13 cannons.
- 1812 --- There aren’t many states that can boast an abundance of pelicans, but Louisiana, the 18th state to enter the United States of America, has plenty. That’s why it calls itself the Pelican State and the state bird is the eastern brown pelican. Named in honor of Louis XIV of France, Louisiana has several other nicknames: Sportsman’s Paradise, Sugar State, and Creole State. The capital of Louisiana is Baton Rouge and the beautiful magnolia is its adopted flower while the state tree is the bald cypress. All together now, let’s sing You are My Sunshine, Louisiana’s state song. Give Me Louisiana is also considered a state song, and the state motto is: Union, justice and confidence. We’re not too confident in choosing which song to sing, though.
- 1900 --- Legendary railroad engineer Casey Jones was killed in the wreck of the Cannonball Express near Vaughan, Mississippi. He stayed at the controls, trying to save the passengers. No one else died in the wreck.
- 1904 --- The Louisiana Purchase Exposition opened in St. Louis (St. Louis World's Fair). It was at the Fair that the ice cream cone was supposed to have been invented. The hot dog and iced tea were also popularized at the Fair.
- 1938 --- That wascally wabbit Bugs Bunny first appeared on screen in the cartoon "Porky's Hare Hunt," directed by "Bugs" Hardaway for Warner Brothers. Mel Blanc, who did Bugs’ voice, was allergic to carrots.
- 1939 --- Baseball’s ‘Iron Horse’, Lou Gehrig, played his last game with the New York Yankees on this day.
- 1939 --- Public Television began. President Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first chief executive to appear on TV. Roosevelt spoke at the opening ceremonies of the New York World’s Fair in Flushing, NY on WNBT in New York.
- 1947 --- Maps had to be changed as Boulder Dam was changed back to its original name, Hoover Dam. Some people, mostly those who live in the community of Boulder, Nevada, still refer to the dam as Boulder Dam. Many of them think that changing the dam’s name was a damn shame.
- 1952 --- Mr. Potato Head is introduced to the world. Mr. Potato Head is the also the first toy to be advertised on television.
- 1958 --- To test bombing accuracy, the U.S. Navy dropped 12 basketballs from a blimp 1,470 feet over a 10-foot cross target in Lakehurst, New Jersey. None of the balls came even close, but one did bounce 22-feet 9-inches high.
- 1964 --- TV sets would be drastically different after a ruling by the FCC stating that all TV receivers should be equipped to receive both VHF (channels 2-13) and the new UHF (channels 14-83). As a result, TV dealers scrambled to unload their VHF-only models as fast as possible. Antenna manufacturers were kept busy, as the new UHF receivers required new antennas too.
- 1967 --- Muhammad Ali refused induction into the U.S. Army and was stripped of his heavyweight boxing title. He sited religious grounds for his refusal.
- 1975 --- By dawn, communist forces move into Saigon, where they meet only sporadic resistance. The South Vietnamese forces had collapsed under the rapid advancement of the North Vietnamese. The most recent fighting had begun in December 1974, when the North Vietnamese had launched a major attack against the lightly defended province of Phuoc Long, located due north of Saigon along the Cambodian border, overrunning the provincial capital at Phuoc Binh on January 6, 1975. Despite previous presidential promises to provide aid in such a scenario, the United States did nothing. By this time, Nixon had resigned from office and his successor, Gerald Ford, was unable to convince a hostile Congress to make good on Nixon's earlier promises to rescue Saigon from communist takeover. This situation emboldened the North Vietnamese, who launched a new campaign in March 1975. The South Vietnamese forces fell back in total disarray, and once again, the United States did nothing. The South Vietnamese abandoned Pleiku and Kontum in the Highlands with very little fighting. Then Quang Tri, Hue, and Da Nang fell to the communist onslaught. The North Vietnamese continued to attack south along the coast toward Saigon, defeating the South Vietnamese forces at each encounter. The South Vietnamese 18th Division had fought a valiant battle at Xuan Loc, just to the east of Saigon, destroying three North Vietnamese divisions in the process. However, it proved to be the last battle in the defense of the Republic of South Vietnam. The South Vietnamese forces held out against the attackers until they ran out of tactical air support and weapons, finally abandoning Xuan Loc to the communists on April 21. Having crushed the last major organized opposition before Saigon, the North Vietnamese got into position for the final assault. In Saigon, South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu resigned and transferred authority to Vice President Tran Van Huong before fleeing the city on April 25. By April 27, the North Vietnamese had completely encircled Saigon and began to maneuver for a complete takeover. When they attacked at dawn on April 30, they met little resistance. North Vietnamese tanks crashed through the gates of the Presidential Palace and the war came to an end. North Vietnamese Col. Bui Tin accepted the surrender from Gen. Duong Van Minh, who had taken over after Tran Van Huong spent only one day in power. Tin explained to Minh, "You have nothing to fear. Between Vietnamese there are no victors and no vanquished. Only the Americans have been beaten. If you are patriots, consider this a moment of joy. The war for our country is over."
- 1984 --- U.S. President Reagan signed cultural and scientific agreements with China. He also signed a tax accord that would make it easier for American companies to operate in China.
- 1993 --- Monica Seles was stabbed in the back during a tennis match in Hamburg, Germany. The man called himself a fan of second- ranked Steffi Graf. He was convicted of causing grievous bodily harm and received a suspended sentence.
- 1998 --- NATO was expanded to include Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic. The three nations were formally admitted the following April at NATO's 50th anniversary summit.
- Birthdays
- Willie Nelson
- Cloris Leachman
- Kirsten Dunst
- Burt Young
- Johnny Galecki
- Bobby Vee
- Merrill Osmond
- Eve Arden
- Cornelius Vanderbilt
- Al Lewis
- Jill Clayburgh
- Annie Dillard