Today is Wednesday, Jan. 15, the 15th day of 2025. There are 350 days left in the year.
Today in history
On Jan. 15, 2009, US Airways Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger landed an Airbus A320 safely in the Hudson River after striking a flock of birds that disabled both engines shortly after takeoff; all 155 people aboard survived.
Also on this date
In 1559, Elizabeth I was crowned queen of England and Ireland in Westminster Abbey.
In 1919, in Boston, a tank containing an estimated 2.3 million gallons of molasses burst, flooding the city’s North End and killing 21 people.
In 1929, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta.
In 1943, work was completed on the Pentagon, headquarters of the U.S. Department of War (now Defense).
In 1967, the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League defeated the Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League 35-10 in the first AFL-NFL World Championship Game, known retroactively as Super Bowl I.
In 1991, Sean Lennon’s remake of his father’s “Give Peace A Chance” was released to coincide with the United Nations’ midnight deadline for Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait. The lyrics were updated to reflect concerns of the 1990s.
In 2001, Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia maintained by volunteer editors, made its debut.
Fun facts
Honey is one of the few foods that can last forever. Archaeologists have found pots of honey in ancient Egyptian tombs that are over 3,000 years old and still perfectly edible. The secret is in its natural preservatives and low moisture content.
Scientists estimate there are about 10 billion galaxies in the observable universe, each with about 100 billion stars. That’s way more than all the grains of sand on all the beaches in the world.
The largest snowflake ever recorded was 15 inches wide and 8 inches thick. It fell in January 1887 in Fort Keogh, Mont.
In 1896, the Anglo-Zanzibar War between the British Empire and the Sultanate of Zanzibar holds the record for the shortest war in history, lasting only 38 minutes. The British emerged victorious in record time.
Today’s birthdays
Actor Andrea Martin is 78. Football Hall of Famer Randy White is 72. Actor-director Mario Van Peebles is 68. Boxing Hall of Famer Bernard Hopkins is 60. Actor-director Regina King is 54. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is 48. Former NFL quarterback Drew Brees is 46. Rapper-reggaeton artist Pitbull is 44. Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro is 41. DJ-music producer Skrillex is 37. Actor-singer Dove Cameron is 29. Singer-songwriter Grace VanderWaal is 21.
The Edge is compiled by Katie Clohessy. She can be contacted at kclohessy@lmtribune.com.
