Which Law of Physics...

...says the most fragile item, the one you put in the back of the cabinet or shelf, will fall forward past all the other sturdier items in front of it and hit the floor and break, and the others not even move?

...says that when the kittens spill their water, more will spill than was in the bowl to begin with, yet there will still be water in the bowl?

...says that the milk will disappear faster when you know company is coming that will want extra, and on the day that you thought you had an extra gallon but it disappeared, too?

...says that the dog doesn't have to "go" until you get back from the walk? (Or the kid have to go until he/she is dressed and the family is on the way out the door; but mine are, as far as i know, reliably potty trained by now and i haven't had to deal with this in years.)

...says that the toast has to fall butter side down on the expensive carpet but not on the easy to clean and cheap vinyl floor?

...says that the cats have to put their hairballs on the bed or couch, not the floor? Or, if they do put one on the floor, it is only to be found at night with bare feet?


Today is:

Advent of Inanna -- Ancient Sumerian Calendar (date approximate; equivalent to Ishtar, Assur, Astarte, Isis, and others; a female warrior and fertility goddess)

Ancestry Day -- Haiti (Jour des Aieux; sometimes translated Founder's Day)

Berchtoldstag -- Alsace; Liechtenstein; Switzerland (a celebration of the goddess Perchta, or Bertha, guardian of animals and member of the Wild Hunt)

Blacks and Whites Carnival -- Colombia (through the 7th; manic and messy tradition, includes people painting themselves black one day, white the next, with a Grand Parade at some point during the week)

Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy Day -- The Andrews Sisters recorded the song this day in 1941 (yes, before the US entered the war; it was for the movie "Buck Private" with Abbot and Costello)

Dainichi-do Bugaku -- Kazuno, Japan (11 traditional bugaku dances at the shrine; dates back as far as 718)

Handsel Monday -- Scotland

Happy Mew Year for Cats Day -- because felines must have a day to celebrate the New Year, and they cannot share

Kaapse Klopse -- Cape Town, South Africa (Minstrel Carnival; through January and most of February, but the main parade is today)

Kakizome -- Japan ("first writing", the first calligraphy written at the beginning of the New Year)

National Cream Puff Day

National Motivation and Inspiration Day -- US

National Science Fiction Day -- Asimov's birthday

Ninth Day of Christmas

Run It Up the Flagpole and See if Anyone Salutes It Day

Second Day of New Year -- A holiday in Kazakhstan, Macedonia, Montenegro, *New Zealand, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Switzerland, *Tokelau, Ukraine.

"Someday We'll Laugh About This" Week begins -- to remind us to keep our perspective

St. Adelard's Day (Patron of gardeners; against fever, typhoid)

St. Basil's Day/Basil the Great -- Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches (yes, the Eastern Churches celebrated him yesterday)

St. Berchtolds' Day -- Liechtenstein Bank Holiday; Switzerland Regional Holiday

St. Blidulf of Bobbio's Day (included because i like his name!)

St. Macarius' Day (Patron of of cooks, confectioners and pastry chefs)

St. Seraphim of Sarov's Day

Thank G-d It's Monday" Day

Tournament of Roses Parade -- Pasadena, CA, US


Anniversaries Today:

Georgia becomes the 4th US State, 1788


Birthdays Today:

Christy Turlington, 1969
Cuba Gooding, Jr. 1968
Tia Carrere, 1967
Gabrielle Carteris, 1961
Alan Beckwith, 1952
Dennis Hastert, 1942
Jim Bakker, 1939
Roger Miller, 1936
Isaac Asimov, 1920
Sally Rand, 1904
Barry Goldwater, 1902


Today in History:

The Alamanni cross the frozen Rhine River in large numbers, invading the Roman Empire, 366
Emperor Joseph II orders Jews of Galicia Austria to adopt family names, 1235
Spain recaptures Granada from the Moors (Granada Day), 1492
The first American revolutionary flag is displayed, 1776
The British Institution of Civil Engineers is founded, 1881
"The Liberator", and abolitionist newspaper, begins publishing in Boston, 1831
The British reestablish rule in the Falklands, 1833
The first US wire suspension bridge for general traffic opens in Pennsylvania, 1842
Because of anti-monopoly laws, Standard Oil is organized as a trust, 1882
Alice Sanger becomes the first female White House staffer, 1890
A record 19'2" alligator is shot in Louisiana by E. A. McIlhenny, 1890
Pres. T Roosevelt shuts down post office in Indianola Miss, for refusing to accept its appointed postmistress because she was black, 1903
The American anarcho-syndicalist union known as the Industrial Workers of the World forms, 1905
The Canadian branch of the Royal Mint opens in Ottawa, 1908
Lithuania gains independence, 1919
The US & Canada agree to preserve Niagara Falls, 1929
Luna 1, the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon and to orbit the Sun, is launched by the U.S.S.R., 1959
Stardust successfully flies past Comet Wild 2, collecting samples that are returned to Earth, 2004