Today in History.....

[haiducii]

On this day: 1st January

In 2002, twelve of the European Union's 15 countries wake up to life with a new currency as the euro reaches the streets. Within five days, more than half of all cash transactions in the eurozone were being made in the new currency.

 

[Shelter]

In 2002, twelve of the European Union's 15 countries wake up to life with a new currency as the euro reaches the streets. Within five days, more than half of all cash transactions in the eurozone were being made in the new currency.

And from that day everything has been more expensive (I'm speaking from Germany - but I think all the others could say the same!) DM 1,00 was from one day the the other € 0,50. And only here a very little example: before I've paid for a roll DM 0,19 and with the Euro it was suddenly € 0,25 (in the meantime € 0,35!). And that is only one example!!!! :angry:

So the Euro made us happy! :angry:

 

[gb2000ie]

Let me defend the Euro - as a family, we move around between where we come from, Belgium, where we live, Ireland, and a holiday home in Spain - before 2002, that was a pain in the backside with Pesetas, Franks, and Pounds, today, it's Euro, Euro, and Euro - simples!

B.

 

[haiducii]

On this day: 2nd January

In 1974, new speed limit laws were set by Richard Nixon. The new speed limit on all national highways was set at 55 mph as of this time. Before 1974, individual states had set their own speed limits-which were from 40 to 80 mph.

 

[haiducii]

On this day: 3rd January

In 1959, President Eisenhower signed a proclamation admitting Alaska to the Union as the 49th state.

 

[haiducii]

On this day: 4th January

In 1925, French psychologist Emil Coué brings his self-esteem therapy to US "Every day (OR Day by day) in every way I am getting better & better". Self-affirmations are still a staple of self help gurus and psychologists and personal coaches.

While positive affirmations are used to bring change on many fronts, from money making, to weight loss, to public speaking, these positive self-statements, if repeated over time, are presumed to convince the individual that the statements are true and by extension boost the individual’s self-esteem.

Some proponents of affirmations claim that, when practiced deliberately and regularly, they reinforce a chemical pathway in the brain, making the connection between two neurons stronger, and therefore more likely to conduct the same message again.

Many people have heard of Couéism, a popularity curiously illustrated by the fact that a description of the Coué method, was included in the lyrics of the well-known pop song by John Lennon, Beautiful Boy,

“Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy,
“Before you go to sleep,
“Say a little prayer,
“Every day in every way,
“It’s getting better and better.”

– John Lennon, Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy), 1980

 

[haiducii]

On this day: 5th January

In 1968, the Prague Spring began, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, and continued until 21 August when the Soviet Union and other members of the Warsaw Pact invaded the country to halt the reforms.

 

[haiducii]

On this day: 6th January

In 1907, Maria Montessori opens her first school. Montessori's revolutionary educational approach is practiced at about 30,000 schools today.

 

[gorgik9]

In 1968, the Prague Spring began, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, and continued until 21 August when the Soviet Union and other members of the Warsaw Pact invaded the country to halt the reforms.

Praha, 21 August 1968.

I was an eight year old kid and this was a very, very scary Autumn.

At the same time a bloody civil war was raging in Nigeria about the dissident Biafra province.

And the mighty US bombed dirt poor peasants in a country named Vietnam.

The times were scary.

 

[haiducii]

On this day: 7th January

In 1957, Jože Plečnik, a Slovene architect, died in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Plečnik was born in Ljubljana in 1872. After attending the school of industry and crafts in Graz in Austria, he graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, Austria. His career can be divided into his Vienna, Prague and Ljubljana periods. From 1900 through 1910, while practicing in the Wagner's office in Vienna, he designed the Langer House and the Zacherlhaus. Then came Prague, where he taught at the School of Arts and Crafts, while at the same time demonstrating several magnificent architectural solutions at Prague Castle. In 1920 he was appointed full professor of architecture at the University of Ljubljana's Faculty of Engineering. In 1938 he became a full member of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts.

Photo: Plečnik's arcades on the main market in Ljubljana

 

[haiducii]

On this day: 8th January

In 2004, the largest passenger ship in history, the RMS Queen Mary 2, is christened by Queen Elizabeth II, before satting sail on her maiden voyage from Southampton to Ford Lauderdale, Florida. In command was Captain Ronald Warwick, formerly in command of Cunard's Queen Elizabeth II, as well as the son of QE2's first captain, Bill Warwick.

 

[haiducii]

On this day: 10th January

In 1890, Karel Čapek, Czech writer and playwright, best remembered for his play R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots), which contained the first use of the word "robot" to describe an artificial person, was born in the Bohemian mountain village of Malé Svatoňovice, Czechia. He invented the term, basing it on the Czech word for “forced labor.” Robot entered the English language in 1923.

Photo: A play about robots premieres at the National Theater in Prague (1921)

 

[haiducii]

On this day: 11th January

In 1922, insulin is used for the first time to treat diabetes. 14-year-old Leonard Thompson was the first person to receive the medication to combat his Type 1 diabetes.

 

[gorgik9]

In 1922, insulin is used for the first time to treat diabetes. 14-year-old Leonard Thompson was the first person to receive the medication to combat his Type 1 diabetes.

Thanks a lot for the info! I knew it was in the 1920s, but I didn't know the precise year!

I use insulin on an everyday basis since I'm afflicted with Type 2 diabetes. The main difference between Type 1 and Type 2 is that in Type 1 your insulin production in your pancreas is totally destroyed; in Type 2 you still have an insulin production in your own body, but not enough.

The production and distribution of artificial insulin is an incredibly important medical discovery, saving millions of human lives!

 

[haiducii]

On this day: 12th January

In 1908, a long-distance radio message is sent from the Eiffel Tower in Paris for the first time. The Tower was broadcasting wireless telegraph signals to ships and military installations as far away as Berlin in Germany, Casablanca in Morocco, and even North America. Convinced of the importance of radio communications, the army set up a permanent radio station at the Tower. In 1959 the present radio antenna was added to the top.

 

[haiducii]

On this day: 13th January

In 1990, L. Douglas Wilder of Virginia became the first elected black governor in the United States as he took the oath of office in Richmond.

The New York Times said that Mr. Wilder’s swearing-in ceremony “changed the political face of the United States” and noted that Mr. Wilder, whose grandparents had been slaves, took power in Virginia, “the centerpiece of the Confederacy.” The Times noted that he also became “the nation’s highest ranking black elected official, a political figure to be reckoned with nationally, a symbol not just of a changing state but of a changing South and a changing nation.”

 

[haiducii]

On this day: 14th January

In 1953, the National Assembly elects Marshal Tito President of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia and was repeatedly re-elected until 1963, when his term was made unlimited.

 

[gorgik9]

In 1953, the National Assembly elects Marshal Tito President of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia and was repeatedly re-elected until 1963, when his term was made unlimited.

I guess Tito probably in many ways was a bastard as the other communist dictators, but one thing speaks loud and clear to his advantage: He managed to keep Yugoslavia out of the Warszaw Pact!!!

To imagine what could have happened otherwise you just think of Hungary 1956 and Chechoslovakia in 1968...

 

[haiducii]

On this day: 15th January

In 2001, Wikipedia formally began with its launch, two days after the domain was registered by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger. Its technological and conceptual underpinnings predate this; the earliest known proposal for an online encyclopedia was made by Rick Gates in 1993, but the concept of a free-as-in-freedom online encyclopedia was proposed by Richard Stallman in December 2000.

 

[haiducii]

On this day: 16th January

In 1956, the Egyptian government makes Islam the state religion. Islam is practiced by the majority of the population in Egypt. Other recognised religious groups found in smaller numbers include Coptic Christians, Roman Catholics, Greek Orthodox and Protestants.

Photo: Cairo, the city of a thousand minaret towers