February 5: Super Bowl Hangover, Spinal Tap, and Nutella

Here's an image from the movie This Is Spinal Tap.  What does that have to do with February 5th?  Read on!

From "Curious Creative" on Ultimate-Guitar  "11 Facts about Spinal Tap"

Is your birthday today?

If you were born on February 5th, your birthstone is the beautiful lavender amethyst .(Ancient Greeks believed that the stone protected the wearer from drunkenness and enabled them to keep a balanced mindset.) You were born under the sign of Aquarius. (I can't help hearing that song "The Age of Aquarius" whenever I write that.) I hope you are having a Happy Birthday!

It's supposed to be cold and snowy today in Chicago, a good day to work at home for those of you who have that option.  Especially those of you who partied and celebrated the Super Bowl.

Though it is cold and it's supposed to be snowy, we will still get an extra minute or more of sunlight... even if we can't see that sunlight through the clouds.

How many hours of daylight now?

The sun rose this morning at 6:58 a.m. local Chicago time and it will set at 5:10 p.m., about one minute later than it set yesterday.  We have two minutes and 25 seconds more daylight than we had yesterday.  (Other cities?  Continue below.)

We have 10 hours, 12 minutes, and 16 seconds of daylight today, so we've added back 2 hours 25 minutes of daylight since the Winter Solstice on December 21st. 

Countdown to Daylight Savings Time

Countdown to Daylight Savings Time as of 7 p.m., February 5, 2018.

One of my friends has been counting down the days until we return to Daylight Savings Time and get back an hour of evening light.  I can't say that I blame her at all.  That will happen on ---
Sunday, March 11, 2018, meaning we have 34 more early evenings until sunset in Chicago, today at 5:10 p.m., jumps to 6:52 p.m.  We will then have about 24 minutes more daylight in total than we have now -- and 2 hours and 49 minutes more daylight than we had on the Winter Solstice on December 21, 2017.

(Did you know that the earliest sunset of the year is NOT on the winter solstice?  In 2017 in Chicago, the earliest sunset of the year happened on December 8th, almost two weeks before the solstice on December 21st!  HERE's an explanation.)

Seattle, Washington?  London, UK?  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania?

London is farther north than Chicago.  Whereas Chicago has 10 hours of sunlight today (10 hours and 12 minutes), London only has 9 hours and 24 minutes of sunlight today.  (The sun doesn't rise until 7:32 a.m. London time.)

Seattle, a bit north of Chicago, has 9 hours and 47 minutes of daylight, about 25 less minutes of daylight than we have in Chicago. 

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where people are not doing anything today but celebrating their first Super Bowl win, is slightly south of Chicago.  Philadelphia has 10 hours and 20 minutes of daylight today, about 8 more minutes of daylight than Chicago.

What about MY city?

You can search for your city HERE at the sunset/sunrise lookup of the TimeAndDate site.

How Many Days Until...

• Valentine's Day on Wednesday, February 14? 9 days    
• Mardi Gras on Tuesday, February 13?  8 days
• Ash Wednesday on Wednesday, February 14?  9 days
• Easter on Sunday, April 1? 55 days
• St. Patrick's Day on Saturday, March 17?  40 days

Famous people who were born today

• 1848 Belle Starr [Myra Belle Shirley], US female outlaw (wild west) 
• 1866 Arthur Keith, one of the early "nationalists" who felt that prejudice was "part of human nature" and "(has) been grafted deeply into our natures for particular purposes" such as "some higher survival purpose."
• 1900 Adlai E Stevenson, (Gov-D-Ill), presidential candidate (D) (1952, 1956).
• 1959 Jennifer Granholm American Politician, 47th governor of Michigan.
• 1948 Nigel Tufnel, rocker (Spinal Tap)

Nigel Tufnel?  Well... Nigel Tufnel, the guitarist in Spinal Tap, really WAS a fictional character. But Christopher Guest, husband of Jamie Lee Curtis and former member of the UK House of Lords, who gave life to Nigel Tufnel, really was born on February 5, 1948.

As it is cold and snowy today in many parts of the country, perhaps a good way to celebrate the day and the birthday of Christopher Guest would be to watch always-hilarious This Is Spinal Tap.  Best in Show is great also. 

Famous people who died today

• Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (1917-2008)
• 2011: Brian Jacques, English author known best for his "Redwall" series, dies at 71.

Other February 5th deaths listed HERE.  Other February 5th events listed at these links:

• On This Day history events.
• February 5 events from Time and Date
• Photos from Today in History at MSN

It's World Nutella Day!  Try this braided Nutella bread.. if you dare.  Link to recipe below.

Anything to Celebrate?

If  you are not in Philadelphia and you aren't a fan of Spinal Tap, what else can you celebrate today, February 5?

The National Day Calendar lists many interesting and/or weird "celebrations" for each day.  For February 5th, they list National Weatherperson's Day, National Shower With A Friend Day, and World Nutella Day.

Nutella

Surely you heard about the riots in France just a week or so ago when some stores had a really good deal on Nutella:  70% off?

Nutella, a hazelnut/chocolate spread, really is loved by many!  I personally think it is okay, but I've had a jar here in the house for a while now and not touched it.  But... for the Nutella fans in the crowd, here are a few recipes, with more at the link above at National Day Calendar:

• You'd have to really love Nutella to undertake the Nutella braided bread in the photo above, but it might be something to tackle once a year if you have someone who goes insane for Nutella in your home.
  
  You can find the recipe HERE at GoodsHomeDesign.com.  (Somewhere I found a Nutella bread Christmas tree based on the same basic recipe.)
• HERE's an article about mixing Nutella into chocolate frosting for a different cupcake taste.
• Try Nutellatini.. A drink made with hazelnut liqueur, creme de cocoa and a teaspoon of Nutella.
  
  

  

  A Nutellatini from Hampton's Road Happy Hour. 

• Finally, try these creamcheese Nutella cupcakes:made with oreos (!) and Nutella.
  

So if you are really fond of Nutella, you have drinks, breads, desserts for World Nutella Day.  I wonder if someone has invented a salad with nutella or a meatloaf with nutella.  I can't decide if those dishes would be interesting.. or just weird.