January 24 in Pop Culture History

January 24th History, Trivia, and Fun Facts

January 24th History Highlights

  • 1848 – California Gold Rush Bagan- James W. Marshall found gold at Sutter’s Mill, near Sacramento.
  • 1984 – Apple Computer introduced the Macintosh personal computer for sale in the United States.
  • 1985 – The American shuttle Discovery began a ‘secret’ mission, probably for the military with a spy satellite.
  • 1995- Live coverage of the O.J. Simpson trial began. Day-time network soap operas were pre-empted for almost nine months.
  • If you were born on January 24th,
    You were likely conceived the week of… May 3rd (prior year)

January 24th is…

Belly Laugh Day
Eskimo Pie Day
‘Just Do It’ Day
National Compliment Day
National Lobster Day
National Peanut Butter Day
Talk Like a Grizzled Prospector Day

National Compliment Day

National Compliment Day is a day for people to focus on the positive and appreciate others. National Compliment Day is not well-documented, but it is believed that National Compliment Day began in 1998 by two women from New Hampshire. These two women, Kathy Chamberlin of Hopkinton Debby Hoffman of New Hampshire, USA created National Compliment Day to let people know how easy paying compliments can be and that they are also a very positive way to connect with another human being! The pair wanted “to tell the people in our lives how much we appreciate them.”

National Compliment Day is a great way to start out National Compliment Week, which begins on January 24th. National Compliment Week was created by the National Compliments Foundation in 2015 as an organization that encourages people to pay compliments and focus on positivity every day!

January 24th Birthday Quotes

Musick has Charms to soothe a savage Breast,
To soften Rocks, or bend a knotted Oak.
– William Congreve

As simple as it sounds, we all must try to be the best person we can: by making the best choices, by making the most of the talents we’ve been given.
– Mary Lou Retton

The only way not to think about money is to have a great deal of it.
– Edith Wharton

Well, first of all, let me say that I might have made a tactical error in not going to a physician for 20 years. It was one of those phobias that really didn’t pay off.
– Warren Zevon, regarding his terminal brain cancer

Enjoy every sandwich.
– Warren Zevon

Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell, no!
– John Belushi, in Animal House

Everything that’s realistic has some sort of ugliness in it. Even a flower is ugly when it wilts, a bird when it seeks its prey, the ocean when it becomes violent.
– Sharon Tate

In America, you break law. In Soviet Russia, law breaks you! In America, you watch Big Brother. In Soviet Russia, Big Brother watch you!
– Yakov Smirnoff

January 24th Birthdays

1670 – William Congreve, English playwright, and poet (died in 29)
1712 – Frederick the Great, Prussian king (died in 1786)
1862 – Edith Wharton, American novelist and short-story writer (died in 1937)
1906 – Wilfred Jackson, American animator, and composer (died in 1988)
1916 – Jack Brickhouse, American baseball announcer (died in 1998)
1917 – Ernest Borgnine, American actor (died in 2012)
1918 – Oral Roberts, American evangelist, founded Oral Roberts University and Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association (died in 2009)
1930 – John Romita Sr., American comic book illustrator
1939 – Ray Stevens, American singer-songwriter
1941 – Neil Diamond, American singer-songwriter
1941 – Aaron Neville, American singer
1943 – Sharon Tate, American model, and actress (died in 1969)
1947 – Warren Zevon, American singer-songwriter (died in 2003)
1948 – Michael Des Barres, English singer-songwriter
1949 – John Belushi, American comedic actor (died in 1982)
1951 – Yakov Smirnoff, Ukrainian-American comedian, and actor
1957 – Ade Edmondson, English comedian, and musician
1968 – Mary Lou Retton, American gymnast
1970 – Matthew Lillard, American actor
1974 – Ed Helms, American actor
1978 – Kristen Schaal, American actress
1979 – Tatyana Ali, American actress, and singer
1979 – Nik Wallenda, American acrobat
1986 – Mischa Barton, English-American actress

January 24th History

41 – Roman Emperor Caligula was assassinated.

1848 – Gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill, Coloma, California by James W. Marshall.

1899 – The US patent (#618128) for a rubber ‘safety heel’ was issued to Humphrey O’Sullivan

1922 – The ‘Eskimo Pie’, an ice cream center covered in chocolate, was patented (#1404539) by Christian K. Nelson of Onawa, Iowa.

1935 – The 1st beer in a can – ‘Krueger Cream Ale’ was sold by the Kruger Brewing Company.

January 24, 1950 Birthday (fictional) Chucky, Chucky, Horror, Film

1950 – A microwave oven patent (#2495429) was issued to Percy LeBaron Spencer under the title ‘Method of Treating Foodstuffs’.

1963 – Buddy Rogers and Lou Thesz wrestle in Toronto, Rogers becomes WWWF wrestling champ and Thesz becomes NWA champion.

1976 – #1 Hit January 24, 1976 – January 30, 1976: Diana Ross – Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You’re Going To)

January 24, 1979 Birthday (fictional) Dean Winchester, Supernatural, TV

January 24, 1984 The Apple Macintosh was released.

1987 – #1 Hit January 24, 1987 – February 6, 1987: Billy Vera and the Beaters – At This Moment

1989 – Ted Bundy, with over 30 known victims, was executed by the electric chair at the Florida State Prison.

2003 – The United States Department of Homeland Security officially began operation.

2014 – I, Frankenstein debuted in theaters.

Today’s Random Trivia and Shower Thoughts

Every time you lick a stamp, you consume 1/10 of a calorie. #Ireadthatonline

“They call me Mister Tibbs!” – Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier) in In the Heat of the Night, 1967

A proliferation of new laws creates a proliferation of new loopholes.

Darth Vader’s helmet/facemask isn’t straight black, it’s a checkerboard paint scheme with alternating sections of black and gunmetal grey.

A group of Journalists are called a Scoop.

The biggest film of 1944: Going My Way earned ~ $16,000,000

“She swam by me she got a cramp.” “He ran by me got my Sudan.” #misunderstoodlyrics

The two types of people in this world: people who wet their hands first, then apply soap vs people who put soap on dry hands to wash them.

“Wherever you go, there you are.” – Buckaroo Banzai #moviequotes

Roulette Odds: numbers 1 to 18: Payoff: 1:1 True Odds: 47.37%

The biggest film of 1999: Star Wars Ep. I: The Phantom Menace (Sci-Fi) earned ~ $475,000,000

Jean Harlow – Real Name: Harlean Carpenter

People used to keep diaries and get mad when anyone read them. Now we post personal stuff online and get mad when people don’t read it.

7 Things Miley Cyrus said she hated about you in 2008: you’re vain, your games, you’re insecure, you love me, you like her, you make me laugh, you make me cry.

TV Quotes… “Dyn-o-mite” (J.J.) on “Good Times”

Might and ‘might not’ both mean the same thing.

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