The DU Lounge

Sherman A1

(38,958 posts) Sat Jan 17, 2015, 04:52 AM Jan 2015

Daily Holidays - January 17

Hot Buttered Rum Day This cocktail was born when American colonists began adding molasses and butter to their hot toddies. Today, brown sugar often fills in for the molasses.

Hot Buttered Rum
Hot Buttered Bourbon (with Nutmeg Butter)
Nee's Hot Buttered Rum Cake
Hot Buttered Rum Crescents
Tropical Hot Buttered Rum Sauce
Celebration Cake with Hot Buttered Whiskey Glaze
http://www.food.com/food-holidays/hot-buttered-rum-day-0117

Cable Car Day On this very date in 1871, the first cable car railway patent was bestowed upon Andrew Smith Hallidie. Legend has it that Hallidie invented the cable car after he saw a horse-drawn streetcar slip and fall on San Francisco’s steep roadways (unfortunately resulting in the death of 5 horses).

http://gondolaproject.com/2012/01/17/happy-cable-car-day/

Hot Heads Chili Days Hot Head’s Chili Day’s (17-18) –

I searched everywhere, and other than finding the name of this day on the list of bizarre holidays, I don’t know why, when it started or what the originator intended. But I do know that it sounds like it could be a great day for testing the stamina of your taste buds and trying out some hot chili’s! I can handle some hot stuff, but I’m a bit of a heat wimp when it comes to the big time heat. I have a jar of salsa with ghost peppers in it hanging out in the pantry. I’m afraid . . . very afraid. What’s the hottest pepper YOU can handle? http://www.celebrateeverydayblog.com/?p=547

Kid Inventors' Day

Those of us who have children, or have ever spent any time around them, know that kids are doggone smart. What many of us might NOT know is that some of our most common and everyday household items were invented by kids! I know! I was surprised too! Today is a day to recognize the accomplishments of these amazing kids – and appreciate the cool stuff they have created for us.

* At the age of 15, Louis Braille invented Braille, an alphabet for the blind that uses a system of raised dots.

* 15-year-old Chester Greenwood invented the earmuffs in 1873 to keep his ears warm while ice skating.

* In 1930, 16-year-old George Nissen, a member of his high school gymnastics and diving teams, invented the trampoline in his parent’s garage. http://www.celebrateeverydayblog.com/?p=547

Popeye Day

On this day in 1929, Popeye, the Sailor Man, renowned comic-strip character, first appeared in print. The Victoria Advocate is credited as the first newspaper in the nation to run Elzie Crisler Segar's comic strip, originally called "Thimble Theatre," which starred the spinach-eating hero. Segar (1894-1938) was born in Chester, Illinois, and worked as a moving-picture machine operator, a house painter, and a photographer before his first cartoon effort was rejected by a St. Louis paper. Segar became a popular cartoonist in the 1920s. Popeye was probably inspired by Frank "Rocky" Feigle of Segar's hometown. By 1932 Popeye was the undisputed star of "Thimble Theatre," as evidenced in fan mail, toys, games, novelties, and jokes. Segar himself called the Victoria Advocate Popeye's "hometown." In gratitude he contributed a special cartoon for the Advocate's historic 1934 anniversary issue. Speaking to the newspaper's editor through Popeye, Segar wrote, "Please assept me hearties bes' wishes an' felitcitations on account of yer paper's 88th Anniversity....Victoria is me ol' home town on account of tha's where I got born'd at." Crystal City, Texas, also claims a special relationship to Popeye. The spinach industry credited Popeye and Segar with the 33 percent increase in spinach consumption from 1931 to 1936, and in 1937 Crystal City, the "Spinach Capital of the World," erected a statue to honor Segar and his sailor. http://www.tshaonline.org/day-by-day/30992

http://www.famousbirthdays.com/january17.html