JANUARY 8th BABY – ELVIS, SLINKIES AND BUBBLE BATHS!
Have YOU heard? January 8th is National Winter Skin Relief Day. Perfect timing, right? This day reminds us to take care of our skin during the harsh winter months. Fun fact: human skin sheds about 600,000 particles of skin every hour! That’s why your mother always told you to moisturize! On this day in 1889, Dr. Herman Hollerith received a patent for his “Electronic Tabulating Machine” – the grandfather of modern computers! This incredible invention used punch cards to process data and was first used to tabulate the 1890 U.S. Census. It reduced the processing time from 7 years to just 2.5 years! Talk about a time-saver! Today is National English Toffee Day! This buttery confection actually isn’t English at all. The American version is made with almonds, while traditional English toffee doesn’t include nuts at all. Who knew we were putting our own spin on this sweet treat? On January 8th, 1835, the U.S. national debt was $0 for the first and only time in history! President Andrew Jackson had paid off the entire national debt. Now that’s something you don’t see every day! It’s also National Bubble Bath Day! The first recorded use of soap bubbles for entertainment dates back to the 17th century in paintings by Dutch artists. They used bubble-blowing as a symbol of the fleeting nature of life. Pretty deep for something so fun, right? Did you know that on January 8, 1943, inventor Richard James was working with tension springs when he accidentally knocked one off a shelf? He watched in amazement as it “walked” down instead of falling, and that’s how the Slinky was born! The first 400 Slinkys sold out within 90 minutes at their debut in 1945. Today, over 300 million Slinkys have been sold worldwide! Hey baby, Elvis Presley was born on this day in 1935! But here’s something you might not know – he was actually a twin! His brother, Jesse Garon, was stillborn, making Elvis a twinless twin. The King never forgot his brother and often spoke about wondering how different life would have been with him around. 💚🎤 #haveyouheard