Dec 18th “NATIONAL HARD CANDY DAY”

A favorite of young and old alike, National Hard Candy Day on December 19th, recognizes the sweet tooth in all of us. 

Most hard candies are 100% sugar with flavoring and colors added. To achieve a hard candy, confectioners boil a sugar syrup to 320 degrees Fahrenheit. Once the temperature is reached, the hot, pliable sugar is poured into molds or rolled and folded into shapes and left to cool. Once cool, solid sugar becomes hardened and brittle.

The first hard candies, such as lemon drops and peppermints, were likely prescribed as a remedy for stomach ailments.

Hard candy became popular in the seventeenth century as sugar prices fell. Previously, hard candy was something that only the well-to-do could afford. By the mid-1800s, over 400 companies were manufacturing this popular treat.

In 2015, Jolly Rancher surpassed Werther’s Original as the best-selling hard candy. Other popular hard candies include Dum Dum Pops, Life Savers, Tootsie Roll Pops, and Charms Blow Pop.

HOW TO OBSERVE #HardCandyDay

Enjoy your favorite hard candy. While shopping for some to taste, be sure to pick some up to fill those stockings, too. National Hard Candy Day is also an excellent time to discover the history behind your favorite hard candies. You can read about many of the candy makers from bygone days or who are still producing our favorites. Watch videos showing you how these colorful candies are made, too. You will be amazed at how innovative each candy maker had to be to develop their own unique process. 

Use #NationalHardCandyDay to post on social media.

NATIONAL HARD CANDY DAY HISTORY

While National Day Calendar has not discovered the origin of this sweet, sweet holiday, we encourage you to share a little sugar with your sweetheart while we keep researching. 

Candy FAQ

Q. Who holds the record for the largest lollipop?
A. On July 12, 2012, See’s Candies Lollypop Factory created the largest lollipop. It measured 4 feet 8.75 inches long and 3 feet 6 inches wide and 5 feet 11 inches high without the stick. The stick alone measured 11 feet 10 inches tall.

Q. Who holds the record for the largest candy cane?
A. Fabiano’s Chocolates and Ice Cream set the record on December 5, 1998, in Lansing, Michigan. The candy cane measured 36 feet 7 inches long and 4 inches in diameter.

Q. What is the most popular flavor of hard candy?
A. Whether you’re talking candy canes, Life Savers, or some other hard candy, cherry seems to be the number one flavor.

Dec 17th “Check Out All of Your Holiday Observances”

Week Observances

• Halcyon Days: (Always 7 days before and 7 days after the Winter Solstice)
• Christmas Bird Count Week: December 14-January 5
• Gluten-free Baking Week (Week Before Christmas)
• Las Posadas: December 16-24
• Saturnalia December 17-23
• Twelve Days of Christmas – December 25 – January 5

Dec 16th “WRIGHT BROTHERS DAY”

By Presidential Proclamation, December 17th is Wright Brothers Day. Each year, a proclamation invites the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

The US Code directs that Wright Brothers Day commemorates the first successful flights in a heavier than air, mechanically propelled airplane. Orville and Wilbur Wright made that first successful flight on December 17, 1903, near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. While other inventors created planes that flew, Orville and Wilbur invented the first mechanically propelled aeroplane. Those inventors who came before them inspired the Wright brothers in many ways, too.

From a young age, Orville Wright and his brother, Wilbur, developed a fascination with flight. Inspired by a rubber band propelled helicopter created by the inventor, Alphonse Penaud, the brothers dedicated their lives to the invention. They first found success manufacturing bicycles, including the Van Cleve and St. Clair.

When is National Aviation Week?

They never lost interest in flight and continued to develop designs. By 1902, the future aviators were making progress with their gliders and nearing a successful mechanical flight. They sold their bicycle business, and on December 17, 1903, achieved their goal.

Orville Wright ( August 19, 1871 – January 30, 1948 )

Orville Wright made the first flight for 12 seconds and 120 feet around the Wright Brothers National Memorial site, just south of Kitty Hawk on that date. While the Wright Brothers were not the first to build and fly experimental aircraft, they are recognized as the first to invent aircraft controls that made the fixed-wing flight possible.

Wilbur Wright  ( April 16, 1867 – May 30, 1912 )

More in Flight

Wright Brothers Day also recognizes other accomplishments in aviation history. Many exciting accomplishments, adventure, and daring heroism take place in aviation. In fact, numerous museums and landmarks around the world will walk you through aviation’s impressive timeline. From the National Aviation Hall of Fame in Ohio to March Field Air Museum in Riverside, California, and the Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., nearly every state in the U.S. fills the imagination with original and replica planes of the pioneers of flight. Even the early frontier of space flight makes the schedule for aviation enthusiasts! Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center will not disappoint.

Of course, local libraries answer the call with shelves lined with books about every era of aviation. NASA also offers free e-books.

Interesting Aviation Facts

• The wingspan of the 747 is 120 feet, which is longer than the original Wright Brothers flight.
• Food tastes different under cabin pressure in an airplane.
• In the United States, over 6,000 passengers are flying at any given moment.
• For every hour spent flying, you can lose about two cups of water from your body. If you’re traveling cross-country, keep yourself hydrated.
• The President and Vice President of the United States never fly together, nor do they fly with the House of Representatives’ Speaker. Prince Charles never flies with Prince William. Just in case…

HOW TO OBSERVE #WrightBrothersDay

Explore the history of flight. While you’re at it, discover other fascinating adventurers, too! Here’re a few names to get you started. 

Legendary Aviators

• AMELIA EARHART – Female aviation pioneer
• BESSIE COLEMAN – First female aviator of both African American and Native American descent
• CHARLES LINDBERGH – first solo trans-Atlantic flight.
• MANFRED VON RICHTHOFEN – WWI flying ace, the celebrated “Red Baron”
• JERRIE MOCK – First woman aviator to successfully circumnavigate the globe solo
• HOWARD HUGHES – Aviator, tycoon, movie maker, and all-around eccentric
• CHUCK YEAGER – The test pilot who broke the sound barrier
• YURI GAGARIN – First man in space

Would you like to learn more? We celebrate aviation throughout the calendar. Check out these days, too! 

• Aviation Maintenence Technician Day
• National Paper Airplane Day
• Women of Aviation Worldwide Week
• National Astronaut Day

Are you looking for other ways to celebrate the day? Consider these options.

• Read about the Wright Brothers and other aviation accomplishments. We recommend The Wright Brothers by David McCullough, Wilbur and Orville: A Biography of the Wright Brothers by Fred Howard, Flight: 100 Years of Aviation by R.G. Grant.
• Watch a documentary. A couple that you might find interesting include Kitty Hawk: The Wright Brothers’ Journey of Invention, directed by David Garrigus, and The Wright Stuff, narrated by Garrison Keillor.
• Build a model airplane or fly a drone in honor of the Wright Brothers.

Use #WrightBrothersDay to post on social media.

WRIGHT BROTHERS DAY HISTORY

A joint resolution of Congress declared December 17, 1963, as Wright Brothers Day. Congress later amended the resolution (77 Stat. 402; U.S.C. 143), designating December 17th of each year as Wright Brothers Day and authorized the President to issue annually a proclamation inviting the people of the United States to observe that day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

Wright Brothers FAQ

Q. Where was the Wright Brothers’ bicycle shop?
A. The Wright Brothers’ bicycle operations were located in Dayton, OH.

Q. What was the name of the Wright Brothers’ flying machine?
A. The brothers named the machine they flew on December 17, 1903, the Wright Flyer.

Q. Who flew the Wright Flyer?
A. On December 17, 1903, Orville Wright flew the first successful flight. However, Wilbur bested his brother’s first flight. On the last and fourth flight of the day, Wilbur flew 852 feet (255.6 meters) in 59 seconds.

Q. Who helped the Wright brothers build the Wright Flyer?
A. Machinist Charlie Taylor built the 12-horsepower engine that propelled the Wright Flyer into the sky.

1903 

Orville and Wilbur Wright successfully complete the first powered and controlled flight.

2003 

On the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers’ powered flight, pilot Brian Binnie achieved supersonic flight in SpaceShipOne.

Designed by Burt Rutan, it was the first time the privately built spacecraft had reached such speeds.

Dec 15th “BILL OF RIGHTS DAY”

1791 

The states ratify the Bill of Rights. Virginia becomes the 10th state to ratify the Bill of Rights agreeing to 10 of the 12 amendments and creating the necessary majority needed to pass.

Bill of Rights Day (by Presidential Proclamation)

“Now, Therefore, I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America, do hereby designate December 15, 1941, as Bill of Rights Day.  And I call upon the officials of the Government, and upon the people of the United States, to observe the day by displaying the flag of the United States on public buildings and by meeting together for such prayers and such ceremonies as may seem to them appropriate.”

The first 10 amendments to the United States Constitution make up the Bill of Rights. Passed by Congress on September 25, 1789, these rights place limits on government power.

Did you know?

• The bill was introduced by James Madison. He later became the 4th President of the United States.
• Congress passed 12 of Madison’s proposed amendments. The states only ratified 10 of them. One of the two rejected by the states concerned the number of constituents for each Representative. The other limited when and how members of Congress are compensated. Neither was ratified at the time.
• The latter of the two rejected amendments was ratified 203 years later. The  27th Amendment restricted compensation for members of Congress. 
• The Bill of Rights is displayed in The Rotunda of the National Archives Building in Washington, DC.
• There were 14 copies made; one for each of the 13 states to sign and one for the federal archives. Only 12 copies survive today.

HOW TO OBSERVE #BillOfRightsDay

Learn more about the Bill of Rights and exercise them. Read or watch a documentary about the first 10 Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

• The First Congress by Fergus M. Bordewich
• James Madison by Ralph Ketcham
• The Story of the Bill of Rights

Use #BillOfRightsDay to post on social media.

Learn more right now by reading 6 Facts About the Bill of Rights.

BILL OF RIGHTS DAY HISTORY

President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared Bill of Rights Day on December 15, 1941, recognizing the history and importance of the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution. 

Dec 14th “Pilots Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager take off from Edwards Air Force Base in Voyager”

Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager Pilot the First Aircraft to Fly around the World Nonstop

Overview

In December 1986 two pilots, Dick Rutan (1939-) and Jeana Yeager (1952-), landed an odd-looking aircraft called Voyager in the California desert after making the first nonstop flight around the world without refueling. The Voyager pilots spent 9 days, 3 minutes, and 44 seconds aloft in a cabin the size of a phone booth. The 25,012-mile (40,244 km) flight was the last major milestone left in aviation and was the result of six years of work. Pilot Dick Rutan and his brother Burt, Voyager’s designer, intended the plane and the round-the-world flight to usher in a new era in aviation that would take advantage of novel materials and designs.

Background

The concept of an extremely efficient plane capable of flying around the world began as a sketch on a restaurant napkin when Dick Rutan first proposed the idea to his brother. The original design was of a flying fuel tank that would accommodate as much fuel as possible. Burt determined from the original napkin drawing that a typical aluminum construction for the aircraft would be too big to build, so the decision was made to use composite resin materials that would be lighter and tougher than metal and more fuel efficient.

The $2 million Voyager was built by hand over 18 months in a hangar at Mojave Airport. The money to finance the project was raised from corporations in exchange for commercial endorsements by the pilots after the flight. Money was also raised through the sale of T-shirts and other merchandise promoting the project. Volunteers helped in the construction, and materials used to build the plane were donated by corporate sponsors. The composite material that was used in the plane was a combination of carbon graphite fibers in epoxy set over a layer of woven fiberglass honeycomb. This construction was 20% lighter than aluminum and seven times as tough.

The finished plane had a 110-foot (33.5 m) wingspan and two engines, one on each end of the main fuselage. The rear engine provided most of the propulsion while the front engine was used for extra energy in climbs. The flexible wings were designed to flop by as much as 30 feet (9 m).

The Rutans developed serious doubts about the Voyager when test flights showed that it became unstable and difficult to pilot when weighted down with fuel. They did not voice their concerns to the public or aviation officials for fear their doubts could hold back the project’s progress. During 350 hours of tests, the aircraft suffered seven major failures. The Voyager never flew with a full load of fuel until it took off for its flight around the world in 1986. In a July 1986 test flight along the California coast Voyager flew 11,600 miles (18,664 km) in 111 hours to break the record for the longest flight without refueling on a course beginning and ending at the same point. That record was set by pilot Bill Stephenson in 1962 when he flew a U.S. Air Force B-52 11,337 miles (18,241 km).

Dick Rutan, who was 49 years old at the time of the flight, was a highly decorated Air Force officer who had flown over 300 missions during the Vietnam War. Jeana Yeager was an accomplished pilot who held several aviation records for flight distance and speed, some of which had been held by her co-pilot, Dick Rutan. Rutan and Yeager were romantically linked during the development phase of the Voyager project, but split up several months before they piloted the flight. The two pilots had different approaches to the mission. Rutan was reportedly determined to set a milestone by completing the flight, while Yeager said that she would have been satisfied at having broken ground in aviation, even if the flight around the world was not successful.

Voyager took off on its round-the-world flight from Edwards Air Force base early in the morning of December 14, 1986. The tips of Voyager’s flexible wings were damaged during takeoff as the heavy load of the full fuel tanks made them drag along the runway. More than two feet (61 cm) of the composite skin covering the wings had been torn off at takeoff. After circling the airport a few times after takeoff the team shook off the damaged wing tips and decided the aircraft could continue with the flight as planned. It was not until Voyager landed nine days later that anyone could see the extent of the damage done to the wings at takeoff. The plane climbed slowly with its full load of 1,200 gallons (545 kg) of fuel weighing 9,500 pounds (4,313 kg).

The flight was helped by unseasonably favorable tailwinds all along the flight. Those tailwinds helped Voyager conserve fuel through deviations in their course and the added wind resistance from the damaged wing tips. Voyager cruised at an altitude between 7,000 (2,134 m) and 11,000 (2,253 m) most of the time, at one point getting as high as 20,000 (6,096 m) to avoid bad weather over Africa and another time falling 3,500 feet (1,067 m) over Mexico after the rear engine stopped running.

Other problems plagued the flight. On one occasion the pilots were sickened by oxygen deprivation at high altitude and two other times they were overcome by fumes from fuel that had spilled into the cockpit. Within the tiny cabin the noise from the two engines exceeded 100 decibels, louder than what would be heard at the first row of a hard rock concert. This required the pilots to use ear plugs and an electronic noise dampening device for the cabin. To sustain the pilots, the plane carried 90 pounds (41 kg) of drinking water. Rutan and Yeager ate prepared foods, which they warmed on a heating duct inside the cabin, and also consumed liquid meals.

The team had originally planned to make their flight through the southern hemisphere, but weather conditions forced them to stay north of the equator for the trip. A team of meteorologists on the ground guided Voyager to avoid storms and take advantage of good tailwinds through the flight. Rutan flew the Voyager for about 40 of the flight’s first 48 hours. After those two days the pilots adopted the planned schedule to alternate flying and rest. 12,532 miles (20,164 km) into the flight, over the Indian Ocean, Rutan and Yeager broke the record for the longest un-refueled flight in a straight line that was set in 1962 by pilot Clyde Evely in a specially designed U.S. Air Force B-52.

While flying over Africa faulty gas gauge left the pilots wondering how much fuel was left in the Voyager Fuel level readings had to be double-checked by chase planes that calculated the weight of the fuel on board Voyager by watching how the plane performed aerial maneuvers. The tests determined that Voyager had enough fuel to return to California.

Towards the end of the flight the plane was caught in bad weather over South America, and at one point Voyager was flying sideways at a 90-degree angle bank. The main engine at the rear of the aircraft shut off after crossing Central America and approaching California from the Pacific Ocean, but Rutan, who was flying at the time, was able to start it again, and the team decided to keep both engines running for the rest of the flight.

The tailwinds that helped throughout the flight allowed the plane to arrive back in California a day early, and Voyager touched down at Edwards Air Force Base on December 23, 1986, after nine days, three minutes, and 44 seconds aloft. The average speed for the 25,012-mile (40,244 km) flight was 115.8 miles (186 km) per hour, relatively slow by modern aviation standards. The two pilots were lifted out of their tiny cabin and taken to the base hospital for examination after posing for photographers with Voyager. After landing Voyager’s tanks were found to have only 18 (8 kg) of the original 1,200 gallons (545 kg) of fuel left.

Dec 13th One Family’s Christmas Miracle”‘

One Family’s Christmas Miracle

by Pablo Diaz Posted in God’s Grace, Dec 7, 2021