January 7th "2024" daily prep

Welcome to day 7 of 2024! Known as International Programmers’ Day, National Bobblehead Day and Orthodox Christmas Day. If you were born on this day, you were likely conceived the week of April 16th. Your star sign is “Capricorn” and your birthstone is Garnet.
1990 – The iconic Leaning Tower of Pisa leaned “too far,” which resulted in its closure. The tower’s bells were removed to reduce the weight, and it was reopened to the public on December 15, 2001.
Todays birthdays
1948 – Kenny Loggins (76), American singer, guitarist and songwriter (“Footloose”), born in Everett, Washington, United States.
1964 – Nicolas Cage (60), American actor (Gone in 60 Seconds, Con Air), born in Long Beach, California, United States.
1967 – Mark Lamarr (57), English comedian, radio DJ and television presenter (Never Mind the Buzzcocks), born in Swindon.
1967 – Nick Clegg (57), English politician (Deputy UK PM 2010-2015) and media executive, born in Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire.
1985 – Lewis Hamilton (39), British Formula One (Mercedes), winning a joint-record seven World Drivers’ Championship titles, born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.
The day today
1927 – A telephone service began operating between London and New York. A three-minute call cost £15. Nevertheless 31 different people made a call on the first day.
1945 – Second World War – General Montgomery held a press conference in which he claimed credit for victory in the Battle of the Bulge (also known as the Ardennes Offensive). The defeat left many German units severely depleted of men and equipment. America suffered 89,000 casualties, their bloodiest battle of World War II
1965 – Identical twin brothers Ronald and Reginald Kray were in custody, charged in connection with running a protection racket. When they died (1995 and 2000 respectively) their funerals were like those of royals, rather than those of notorious criminals.
1976 – The Ministry of Defence claimed that a British naval frigate, HMS Andromeda, had been deliberately rammed into by an Icelandic gunboat in the Atlantic. The ‘attack’ was one of several incidents between Britain and Iceland with regard to disputed fishing territory.
2012 – Casualty, the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world, was broadcast from Cardiff’s Roath Lock studios in the Porth Teigr area of Cardiff Bay for the first time. For 25 years the fictional Holby City Hospital’s emergency department had been staged in studios in Bristol.
Today in music
1955 – ‘Rock Around the Clock’ by Bill Haley and his Comets, entered the UK chart for the first time. The original full title of the song was ‘We’re Gonna Rock Around the Clock Tonight!’ and is often cited as the biggest-selling vinyl rock and roll single of all time with sales over 25m.
1971 – Black Sabbath released ‘Paranoid’ their second studio album in the US. The album features the band’s best-known signature songs, including the title track, ‘Iron Man’ and ‘War Pigs’. The album was originally titled War Pigs, but allegedly the record company changed it to Paranoid, fearing backlash from supporters of the ongoing Vietnam War.
1972 – David Bowie released ‘Changes’ as a single in the UK. The track peaked at No.49 on the UK chart and later at No.41 on the US chart. This was the last song Bowie performed live on stage before his retirement from live performances at the end of 2006 when he joined Alicia Keys at the Black Ball fundraiser at New York’s Hammersmith Ballroom.
1980 – Pink Floyd released ‘Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)’ in the US. The single peaked at No.1 on both the US and UK charts, giving Pink Floyd their first and only No.1 hit single. The single went to No.1 in many other countries, including Australia, Germany and Italy.
1994 – Oasis started recording their debut album Definitely Maybe at Monnow Valley Studio in South Wales. When released in August 1994, it became the fastest selling debut album of all time in the UK, (being surpassed in 2006 by Arctic Monkeys debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not). The album went on to sell over 12 million copies worldwide.
Today in history
1536 – Catherine of Aragon, first wife of Henry VIII of England and mother of Mary I, died, at Kimbolton Castle in Cambridgeshire where she had lived since Henry annulled their marriage. The Pope had declined the request for an annulment, but Henry married his mistress Anne Boleyn regardless, a chain of events that led to England’s break with the Roman Catholic Church.
1558 – English forces were ousted from the French port of Calais, led by the Duke of Guise. Calais had surrendered to an invading English army in 1346 and its recapture by the French saw the last continental possession of England forfeited.
1618 – Francis Bacon became Lord Chancellor of England. Later that year he was accused of taking a bribe, and fined £40,000, a huge sum of money for those times.
1889 – Birth of Arthur Clifford Hartley, the English inventor of World War II’s PLUTO (Pipeline Under The Ocean), a series of 21 undersea pipes used to transport oil from Britain to continental Europe. He also invented FIDO (Fog Investigation Dispersal Operation) which is credited with bringing 2500 aircraft and 10,000 aircrew safely home during the war.
1904 – The Marconi company suggested the use of CQD for a distress signal, a derivation of CQ commonly used by telegraphers and wireless operators to address all stations at once. CQ followed by D meant distress. It lasted just two years before being replaced with SOS.
Fact of the day
Adult cats are lactose intolerant. Like some humans, adult cats don’t have enough of the lactase enzyme to digest lactose from milk, causing them to vomit, have diarrhea, or get gassy. Cats only have enough of that enzyme when they’re born and during the early years of their lives.