129 Fun Facts About January

The month of January takes its name from which Roman god of beginnings and transitions?

Janus was invoked at the start of every Roman ceremony, whichever god the ceremony was actually for, which suits a month of beginnings.

How many days does January have?

January has 31 days, one of seven months that long; it has been a 31-day month since Julius Caesar's calendar reform of 45 BC.

The god January is named for is usually shown with what unusual feature?

Janus is shown with a double-sided head, two faces on one neck: one looks back at the old year and one forward to the new.

Which semi-legendary king of Rome traditionally added January and February to the ten-month calendar?

Numa Pompilius, Rome's second king, is credited with adding January and February to Romulus's 304-day ten-month calendar, which had left winter uncounted.

Per Livy, in which year BC did the Roman consular year move to 1 January, in response to a rebellion in Hispania?

In 153 BC the consuls first took office on 1 January, moved up from 15 March so they could reach the Celtiberian rebellion in Hispania sooner.

The doors of the Temple of Janus in Rome were shut only when?

The doors of Janus's shrine in the Forum stood open in wartime and were shut only when Rome was at peace; Augustus boasted of closing them three times.

Which gemstone is the birthstone for January?

Garnet is January's birthstone; its name comes from the Latin granatum, pomegranate, whose red seeds resemble the crystals.

Along with the snowdrop, which flower is traditionally January's birth flower?

The carnation, Dianthus caryophyllus, is January's birth flower alongside the snowdrop; its genus name comes from the Greek for 'flower of the gods'.

Galanthus, the snowdrop's genus name, combines the Greek for flower with the Greek word for what?

Linnaeus gave the genus its formal name in 1753, but Theophrastus described the plant in classical times.

Which two zodiac signs fall in January?

Capricorn runs from about 22 December to 19 January and Aquarius from about 20 January to 18 February, so both signs fall in January.

In most of the Northern Hemisphere, January is on average the year's what?

January is the coldest month across most of the Northern Hemisphere because land and sea keep losing heat for weeks after the December solstice; it is July's seasonal twin.

Earth reaches which point of its orbit in early January?

Perihelion, Earth's closest approach to the Sun, falls around 3 January at about 147 million km; seasons come from axial tilt, not distance.

According to the Maine Farmers' Almanac, the full moon in January is named after which animal?

January's full moon is the Wolf Moon, a name the Maine Farmers' Almanac began printing in the 1930s, said to recall wolves howling in midwinter.

The first Times Square ball drop was held on New Year's Eve of which year?

The first ball dropped on 31 December 1907 to welcome 1908; Adolph Ochs of The New York Times arranged it after the city banned his fireworks display.

The original iron-and-wood Times Square ball, lit by 100 bulbs, weighed how much?

The 1907 ball weighed 700 pounds: a five-foot iron-and-wood sphere lit by one hundred 25-watt bulbs, built by immigrant metalworker Jacob Starr.

England and its American colonies only adopted 1 January as New Year's Day from which year?

From 1752, under the Calendar (New Style) Act 1750, England's legal year began on 1 January instead of 25 March, Lady Day.

New Year's Day cold-water plunges are nicknamed after which animal?

They are polar bear plunges, named after groups like the Coney Island Polar Bear Club, founded in 1903, whose members swim in the Atlantic on New Year's Day.

Hogmanay is the Scots word for what?

Hogmanay is the Scots name for 31 December, the last day of the year; the celebration runs so long that 2 January is also a Scottish bank holiday.

Who is traditionally preferred as the first-foot across a Scottish threshold after midnight?

A tall, dark-haired man is the luckiest first-foot, a preference often traced to Viking raids, when a fair-haired stranger meant trouble; he brings coal, shortbread, whisky or black bun.

In Western Christianity, the feast of Epiphany on 6 January principally commemorates what?

Western Epiphany commemorates the visit of the Magi to the infant Jesus; Eastern churches instead mark his baptism in the Jordan and call the feast Theophany.

In Mexico, whoever finds the baby Jesus in a rosca de reyes on 6 January traditionally must do what?

The finder must host a party on Candlemas, Día de la Candelaria on 2 February, usually serving tamales and atole to everyone who shared the rosca.

Superstition says it is unlucky to leave Christmas decorations up after which January date?

Twelfth Night, 5 or 6 January depending on how the twelve days are counted, is the traditional deadline; decorations left up after it were said to bring bad luck.

Why do many Russians celebrate Christmas on 7 January?

That calendar currently runs 13 days behind the Gregorian one, so 25 December lands on 7 January.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is observed on which day each year?

MLK Day falls on the third Monday of January, close to King's 15 January birthday; the King Holiday and Service Act of 1994 also made it a National Day of Service.

In which year was Martin Luther King Jr. Day first observed as a federal holiday?

The first federal observance was on 20 January 1986, more than two years after the bill became law in November 1983; all fifty states observed the holiday by name only from 2000.

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on 15 January 1929 in which city?

King was born in Atlanta, at 501 Auburn Avenue in the Sweet Auburn district; born Michael King Jr., he and his father took the name Martin Luther in 1934.

Australia Day marks the 1788 raising of the Union Flag by which governor?

Captain Arthur Phillip, first Governor of New South Wales, raised the flag at Sydney Cove on 26 January 1788, eight days after the First Fleet's lead ships reached Botany Bay.

India's Republic Day on 26 January commemorates what event in 1950?

The date was chosen because the Indian National Congress had declared Purna Swaraj, complete independence, on 26 January 1930.

Burns Night, celebrated on 25 January, traditionally centres on which dish?

Haggis is the centrepiece, piped in and greeted with Burns's 'Address to a Haggis'; the first Burns supper was held by his friends at Burns Cottage in July 1801.

Since 2000, on which January day has Japan held Coming of Age Day?

Coming of Age Day moved from 15 January to the second Monday of January in 2000 under the Happy Monday System, which shifted several holidays to create long weekends.

Chinese New Year celebrations end on the 15th day with what?

The Lantern Festival, Yuanxiao, closes the celebrations on the first full moon of the lunar year; New Year's Day itself falls on a new moon between 21 January and 20 February.

Dry January, the campaign to give up alcohol for the month, is run by a charity from which country?

Dry January is run by the United Kingdom charity Alcohol Change UK; its predecessor Alcohol Concern launched the campaign in 2013 with about 4,000 sign-ups.

'Blue Monday' was invented in a 2005 press release for what kind of business?

Sky Travel's formula has been dismissed as pseudoscience, but mental health charities still use the day to start conversations.

Which document, issued by Lincoln on 1 January 1863, changed the legal status of 3.5 million enslaved people?

The Emancipation Proclamation applied only to states still in rebellion, so it left about half a million people in the border states enslaved.

Annie Moore from Cork was the first person processed on 1 January 1892 at which station?

Ellis Island opened that day with Annie Moore, a teenager from County Cork, as its first arrival; about 12 million immigrants followed before the station closed in 1954.

Which US state was admitted to the Union on 3 January 1959?

Alaska became the 49th state on 3 January 1959; the United States had bought it from Russia in 1867 for $7.2 million, about two cents an acre.

Which website, founded by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger, launched on 15 January 2001?

Wikipedia launched on 15 January 2001; Larry Sanger proposed the name as a blend of 'wiki', Hawaiian for quick, and 'encyclopedia'.

How many seconds into its flight on 28 January 1986 did the Space Shuttle Challenger break apart?

Challenger broke apart 73 seconds after liftoff; record-low temperatures that morning had stiffened the rubber O-rings in the right solid rocket booster's aft field joint.

A cabin fire during a launch rehearsal on 27 January 1967 killed the crew of which NASA mission?

Apollo 1's crew, Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee, died when fire swept a cabin pressurised with pure oxygen during a plugs-out test at Launch Complex 34.

Elvis Presley was born on 8 January 1935 in which Mississippi town?

Elvis was born in a two-room shotgun house in Tupelo, Mississippi, that his father built; his twin Jesse Garon was stillborn 35 minutes earlier.

Which American polymath, born in Boston on 17 January 1706, invented the lightning rod and bifocals?

Benjamin Franklin invented the lightning rod in 1752 and bifocals around 1784; he also devised the glass harmonica and the Franklin stove.

Which French king was executed by guillotine on 21 January 1793?

Louis XVI was beheaded at the Place de la Révolution, now the Place de la Concorde; his queen Marie Antoinette followed him to the guillotine on 16 October 1793.

Euro banknotes and coins first entered circulation on 1 January of which year?

Euro cash arrived on 1 January 2002 in twelve countries; the currency had existed for accounting and electronic payments since 1 January 1999.

The first Super Bowl, played on 15 January 1967, saw the Green Bay Packers beat which team 35-10?

Green Bay beat the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10 at the Los Angeles Coliseum; it was the only Super Bowl carried by two competing networks, CBS and NBC, at the same time.

Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated on 30 January 1948 in the grounds of which New Delhi mansion?

Gandhi was shot by Nathuram Godse in the garden of Birla House, industrialist G. D. Birla's Delhi home, now the Gandhi Smriti museum; India marks 30 January as Martyrs' Day.

In 1919, a burst tank sent a wave of what through Boston's North End at about 35 mph?

The Great Molasses Flood of 15 January 1919 sent a wave of molasses up to 25 feet high through the North End, killing 21 people and injuring about 150.

The first Winter Olympic Games opened on 25 January 1924 in which French town?

Chamonix, in the Alps below Mont Blanc, staged the games as an 'International Winter Sports Week'; the IOC retroactively declared them the first Winter Olympics in 1926.

Which composer, born in Salzburg on 27 January 1756, completed more than 800 works before dying at 35?

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Requiem was still unfinished when he died in Vienna in December 1791.

World Braille Day marks the birthday of Louis Braille, born in 1809 in which country?

Louis Braille was born on 4 January 1809 in Coupvray, France, and developed his reading system at the Royal Institute for Blind Youth in Paris; the UN proclaimed the day in 2018.

Which ancient Roman festival was celebrated on 11 and 15 January?

The Carmentalia, held on 11 and 15 January, honoured Carmenta, goddess of childbirth and prophecy; an Agonalia fell two days earlier, on 9 January.

Einhard records that Charlemagne gave January which name?

Charlemagne's Wintarmanoth means 'winter month'; Einhard's Life of Charlemagne lists his names for all twelve months, with February as Hornung and December as Heilagmanoth.

In roughly which year is King Numa Pompilius said to have added the two winter months?

Tradition places Numa's reform around 713 BC, early in his reign of 715-673 BC, when he added January and February to the 304-day ten-month calendar.

Which US state marks its statehood with a named day on 29 January?

Kansas Day marks the state's admission to the Union as the 34th state on 29 January 1861, after the violent 'Bleeding Kansas' fight over slavery.

Which food is celebrated across the whole of January in the U.S. as a 'month'?

January is National Soup Month, a designation promoted by the Campbell Soup Company; it shares the calendar with National Hot Tea Month and National Oatmeal Month.

Which Wales observance on 25 January honours the Welsh patron saint of lovers?

Dydd Santes Dwynwen, St Dwynwen's Day, honours the 5th-century saint whose church stood on Llanddwyn Island, Anglesey; it shares 25 January with Burns Night.

Which Pacific microstate marks its Independence Day on 31 January?

Nauru became independent from an Australian-administered UN trusteeship on 31 January 1968; at 21 square kilometres it is the world's smallest island nation.

Which whimsical American observance falls on 16 January?

National Nothing Day, 16 January, was proposed by newspaperman Harold Pullman Coffin in 1972 as a day to celebrate nothing; Popcorn Day is 19 January and Pie Day 23 January.

Which packaging material gets an appreciation day on the last Monday of January?

Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day, the last Monday of January, began in 2001 at a radio station in Bloomington, Indiana, after a shipment of microphones arrived wrapped in it.

Which Caribbean nation marks both Independence Day and Ancestry Day on 1–2 January?

Haiti declared independence from France on 1 January 1804 and follows it with Ancestry Day on 2 January, honouring the revolution's leaders; Cuba marks 1 January as Triumph of the Revolution.

Which are the first inhabited places to welcome the New Year each year?

Kiribati's Line Islands, at UTC+14, see the New Year first, followed by Samoa and Tonga at UTC+13; American Samoa and uninhabited Baker Island are among the last.

Which bandleader's Royal Canadians were famed for their New York New Year's Eve broadcasts?

Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians broadcast from New York every New Year's Eve from 1929 until his death in 1977, making 'Auld Lang Syne' the midnight anthem.

Which Spanish midnight custom involves eating twelve of something?

Spaniards eat twelve grapes, one on each chime of midnight, a custom popularised in 1909 when Alicante growers had a bumper harvest to sell.

Ecuadorians burn life-size effigies at midnight called what?

The effigies are called Años Viejos, 'old years'; stuffed with sawdust or paper, they stand for the departing year's grievances and are set alight at midnight.

Which Scottish town's revellers swing 'fireballs' made of chicken wire around their heads at midnight?

Stonehaven, south of Aberdeen, stages the Fireballs ceremony: swingers parade the High Street at midnight, then hurl the blazing cages into the harbour to drive out spirits.

Which Japanese broadcaster stages the Kōhaku Uta Gassen, the New Year's Eve song battle?

NHK has produced Kōhaku since 1951, when it began as a radio show in early January; it moved to New Year's Eve in 1953 and pits a red women's team against a white men's team.

Which orchestra's New Year's concert, broadcast around the world, is traditionally performed on the morning of 1 January?

The Vienna Philharmonic's New Year's Concert in the Musikverein's Golden Hall dates from 1939 and ends with the Radetzky March, which the audience claps along to.

Which Babylonian festival, marking the new year around 2000 BC, spawned the tradition of resolutions?

Akitu, the Babylonian spring New Year festival at the start of the month Nisannu, ran about twelve days and included promises to the gods, the origin claimed for New Year's resolutions.

Since 1970, some countries celebrate Epiphany on which day instead of the traditional date?

Since the 1970 reform, countries without 6 January as a holy day of obligation keep Epiphany on the Sunday after New Year's Day, falling between 2 and 8 January.

Which four items does a priest bless on Epiphany in parts of central Europe?

Priests bless water, frankincense, gold and chalk; the chalk marks lintels with C+M+B, the Magi's initials Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar, or 'Christus mansionem benedicat'.

Plough Monday, the old start of England's farming year, is the first Monday after what date?

Plough Monday is the first Monday after 6 January, Epiphany; it marked the return to farm work in eastern England, with ploughs dragged through villages to collect money.

Where was Shakespeare's Twelfth Night first known to have been performed, in 1602?

Middle Temple Hall, in one of London's Inns of Court, hosted the first recorded performance on 2 February 1602, noted in law student John Manningham's diary.

Which singer's 1980 song 'Happy Birthday' campaigned for the MLK holiday?

Stevie Wonder released 'Happy Birthday' on his 1980 album Hotter than July and led a 1981 rally in Washington; a petition with some six million signatures went to Congress.

Which president signed the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday into law in 1983?

Ronald Reagan signed the King holiday into law on 2 November 1983 after initially opposing it on cost grounds; the House had passed the bill 338-90.

Which state was last to create a January King holiday, dubbing it 'Civil Rights Day' in 1991?

New Hampshire was the last state to add the holiday, as Civil Rights Day in 1991; it renamed the day for King in 1999, and all fifty states observed it by 2000.

Which two men co-authored the King Holiday and Service Act creating the national day of service?

Wofford was a Pennsylvania senator; Lewis an Atlanta congressman.

Which constitutional amendment moved Inauguration Day to 20 January?

The Twentieth Amendment, ratified in 1933, moved Inauguration Day from 4 March to 20 January; FDR's second inauguration in 1937 was the first on the new date.

Which poet recited 'The Gift Outright' at John F. Kennedy's January 1961 inauguration?

Robert Frost, then 86, could not read his new poem 'Dedication' in the glare of sun on snow, so he recited 'The Gift Outright' from memory on 20 January 1961.

In what year was Australia Day fixed on 26 January in all jurisdictions?

From 1994 every state and territory marked Australia Day on 26 January itself; before that several states shifted it to the nearest Monday or Friday for a long weekend.

Which award is presented on Australia Day Eve?

The Australian of the Year is announced at a ceremony in Canberra on 25 January, Australia Day Eve; the Order of Australia honours list follows on Australia Day itself.

Some Indigenous Australians observe 26 January under what alternative names?

Invasion Day protests trace back to the 1938 Day of Mourning, and the 1988 bicentenary brought tens of thousands to Sydney; Survival Day concerts celebrate Indigenous culture enduring.

Robert Burns was born in which Ayrshire village?

Burns was born on 25 January 1759 in Alloway, in a cottage his father William built, now part of the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum.

Burns planned to emigrate to which island to work on a sugar plantation?

Burns planned to sail to Jamaica as a plantation bookkeeper in 1786 and published the Kilmarnock edition of his poems to pay for the passage; its success kept him in Scotland.

Which Burns song served for a long time as Scotland's unofficial national anthem?

'Scots Wha Hae', written in 1793 as Bruce's address before Bannockburn, served for two centuries as Scotland's unofficial anthem before 'Flower of Scotland' displaced it.

In 2009, Scottish viewers voted Burns what in an STV poll?

STV's 2009 'Greatest Scot' poll put Burns first, ahead of William Wallace, in the 250th anniversary year of his birth.

Most garnet mined for industry ends up being used as what?

Industrial garnet is mostly crushed for abrasives, from garnet sandpaper to the grit in waterjet cutting, because it is hard and breaks into sharp-edged grains.

Anglo-Saxon garnet cloisonné jewellery was famously found at which burial site?

Sutton Hoo's 7th-century ship burial in Suffolk, excavated in 1939, yielded garnet cloisonné shoulder clasps and a purse lid; the style stretched from England to the Black Sea.

Which state adopted the red carnation as its flower to honour assassinated President McKinley?

Ohio adopted the scarlet carnation in 1904 in memory of McKinley, an Ohioan who wore one as a lucky charm and reportedly gave his away moments before he was shot in 1901.

Oxford students wear which colour carnation to their final exam?

A red carnation marks the final exam; Oxford students wear white for their first paper and pink for those in between, pinned to the subfusc gown.

Which 1974 uprising toppled Portugal's Estado Novo regime?

The Carnation Revolution of 25 April 1974 overthrew Portugal's Estado Novo dictatorship; civilians put carnations in soldiers' rifle barrels, giving the near-bloodless coup its name.

Which alkaloid found in snowdrops is used to treat Alzheimer's disease?

Galantamine, first isolated from Caucasian snowdrop bulbs in the 1950s, is an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor prescribed for mild to moderate Alzheimer's; it also occurs in daffodils.

Soldiers returning from which war brought snowdrop bulbs home to Britain in quantity?

Soldiers returning from the Crimean War in the 1850s brought home bulbs of Galanthus plicatus, and the snowdrop became a Victorian emblem of consolation and hope.

Aquarius is one of the three air signs, alongside which two?

The three air signs are Gemini, Libra and Aquarius; Aquarius's opposite sign across the zodiac is Leo, a fire sign.

In Plough Monday processions, what was the man or boy dressed as an old woman called?

The Bessy, a man or boy in woman's dress, went with the 'plough bullocks' and a fool as they dragged a plough round the village on Plough Monday collecting money.

The word 'wassail' comes from an Old Norse salutation meaning what?

Wassail comes from Old Norse ves heill, 'be in good health'; the toast's traditional reply was 'drinkhail', drink good health.

Which Punjabi festival in mid-January marks the end of winter with bonfires?

Lohri, usually 13 January and the eve of Makar Sankranti, marks the end of winter in Punjab with bonfires, sesame and jaggery sweets, and folk songs.

Makar Sankranti marks the sun's transition into which zodiac sign?

Makara means Capricorn; the festival is usually 14 January.

Which mythical beast, said to eat villagers, is central to Chinese New Year legend?

The Nian, a horned lion-like beast, was said to come down from the mountains to devour villagers until it was driven off by red paper, fire and loud noise, the origin of firecrackers.

What is the name for the 40-day travel period around Chinese New Year, the world's largest migration?

Chunyun, 'spring movement', is the roughly 40-day travel rush around the Spring Festival, with billions of passenger journeys counted across rail, road and air.

In what year did UNESCO add Chinese New Year to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list?

UNESCO inscribed the Spring Festival in December 2024 at its committee session in Asunción, Paraguay; China had restored it as a public holiday in 1980.

A law that took effect in 2022 set Japan's age of adulthood at what?

A 2018 Civil Code amendment, in force from 1 April 2022, lowered Japan's age of adulthood from 20 to 18, though most municipalities kept their ceremonies for 20-year-olds.

Which Japanese city is credited with inspiring the national Coming of Age Day?

Warabi, in Saitama Prefecture, held a 'Youth Festival' in November 1946 to encourage young people after the war; it inspired the Coming of Age Day created by the 1948 National Holidays Law.

Which foreign leader was chief guest at India's first Republic Day parade in 1950?

Indonesia's President Sukarno was the first Republic Day chief guest on 26 January 1950; the parade moved to Rajpath, now Kartavya Path, in 1955.

When would something happen if a Roman said it would occur 'at the Greek calends'?

Greeks had no calends, so the day never came.

Roman rites invoked Janus first and which goddess last?

Vesta, goddess of the hearth, was named last, as in the tag 'Janus primus, Vesta extrema'; Cicero records that Janus opened every sacrifice.

Where was the first CES held in June 1967?

The first CES ran in New York City in June 1967 with about 17,500 attendees and 100 exhibitors, as a spin-off of the Chicago Music Show; it moved to Las Vegas in 1978.

Where were the first Golden Globes held on 20 January 1944?

The first Golden Globes were an informal ceremony at 20th Century-Fox studios honouring 1943's films; The Song of Bernadette won best picture.

Robert Redford's Utah land, which gave the festival its name, was named for his role in which film?

Redford named his Sundance resort after the Sundance Kid, his outlaw in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969); the festival began in Salt Lake City in 1978 as the Utah/US Film Festival.

Which two teams played the first NHL Winter Classic in 2008?

It was held at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park.

Which 2014 Winter Classic set an NHL attendance record of 105,491?

It was played at Michigan Stadium.

Which two New Zealand cities have hosted the Australian Open?

The Australasian Championships went to Christchurch in 1906 and Hastings in 1912, the only editions held outside Australia; just two Australians made the trip in 1906.

Which court surface did the Australian Open use before switching to hard courts in 1988?

The Australian Open was played on grass at Kooyong until 1987; the 1988 move to Flinders Park brought Rebound Ace hard courts, later replaced by Plexicushion and GreenSet.

The Dakar Rally moved to which country in 2020?

The Dakar moved to Saudi Arabia in 2020 after a decade in South America (2009-2019), itself a move forced when the 2008 African edition was cancelled over terror threats.

Thierry Sabine conceived the Dakar after getting lost in which desert in 1977?

Sabine lost his way in the Ténéré, the Saharan sand sea of Niger, during the 1977 Abidjan-Nice rally; the first Paris-Dakar set off on 26 December 1978.

Which MP asked Tony Blair in 1999 to create a UK Holocaust memorial day?

Andrew Dismore, Labour MP for Hendon, put the case to Blair in 1999; the first UK Holocaust Memorial Day followed on 27 January 2001 at Westminster Central Hall.

Data Privacy Day on 28 January marks the 1981 opening of a data convention by which body?

The Council of Europe opened Convention 108, the first binding international data-protection treaty, for signature on 28 January 1981; Europe calls the day Data Protection Day.

Which Michigan town launched National Hugging Day in 1986?

Kevin Zaborney launched National Hugging Day on 21 January 1986 in Clio, Michigan, picking a date between Christmas and Valentine's Day when he felt people were low.

Dry January founder Emily Robinson first gave up alcohol in January 2011 to train for what?

Emily Robinson quit drinking for January 2011 while training for a half marathon, then joined Alcohol Concern, which turned her idea into the first Dry January in 2013.

Which two people founded Veganuary in 2014?

Jane Land and Matthew Glover, a married couple from York, founded Veganuary in 2014; 3,325 people signed up for the first challenge.

Which US secretary of state negotiated the 1867 Alaska Purchase for $7.2 million?

Critics called it 'Seward's Folly'; Alaska became a state on 3 January 1959.

Which Pasadena street hosts most of the Rose Parade route?

The 5.5-mile route runs almost entirely along Colorado Boulevard after a short start on Orange Grove Avenue; the first parade was held on 1 January 1890.

Which broadcaster nicknamed the Rose Bowl 'The Granddaddy of Them All'?

Keith Jackson, ABC's voice of college football, coined 'The Granddaddy of Them All' for the Rose Bowl, first played in 1902 when Michigan beat Stanford 49-0.

Which physicist dropped an O-ring sample into ice water at the Challenger inquiry?

Richard Feynman, a member of the Rogers Commission, dunked an O-ring sample in ice water on live television in February 1986 to show the rubber lost resilience when cold.

Which teacher was aboard Challenger under the Teacher in Space Project?

Christa McAuliffe's presence meant many schools watched the Challenger launch live on 28 January 1986.

Which UN body proclaimed World Braille Day, first marked on 4 January 2019?

The UN General Assembly proclaimed World Braille Day in a resolution of November 2018; 4 January is Louis Braille's birthday.

Up Helly Aa, held in Lerwick, Shetland, on the last Tuesday in January, climaxes with a torchlit procession burning what?

A replica Viking galley goes up in flames after up to a thousand costumed guizers march with torches, led by a chief guizer called the Jarl.

Timkat, celebrated by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church on 19 January, marks which Christian feast?

Epiphany in Ethiopia commemorates the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan, with priests carrying a wrapped Tabot, a model of the Ark of the Covenant, in procession.

Iceland's midwinter festival Þorrablót joins the name of Þorri, an old calendar month, to which word?

Blót, meaning sacrifice, gives the feast its name; the modern festival was revived by Icelandic students in Copenhagen in 1873 as a counterpart to Scotland's Burns Night.

Where in Sydney was the Commonwealth of Australia proclaimed on 1 January 1901, with Edmund Barton sworn in as interim prime minister?

Centennial Park hosted the proclamation, where Sir Edmund Barton was sworn in as interim prime minister at the head of a nine-member ministry.

In which year did the first torch celebration take place on Up Helly Aa Day in Lerwick?

Lerwick's torch-lit Up Helly Aa Day dates from 1881, after the rowdier tradition of dragging burning tar barrels through town was suppressed in the 1870s; the first galley burned in 1889.