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    Jan. 13: National Rubber Duckie Day, Blame Someone Else Day, National Peach Melba Day, Public Radio Broadcasting Day

    By Pam Gaulin | Yahoo! Contributor Network – Sun, Jan 8, 2012
    This story comes from the Yahoo! Contributor Network, where individuals publish their unique perspectives on some of the world’s most popular websites.
    Do you have a story to tell? Become a Yahoo! contributor

    National Rubber Duckie Day

    They're as cute as Peeps and just as recognizable: they're rubber duckies. The rubber duckie's origins are bathed in mystery. Their creation is connected to the beginning of rubber manufacturing in the late 1800s. Rubber itself was discovered accidentally when "India rubber and sulfur into contact with a hot stove," according to The Trivia-Library. "Charles Goodyear had been trying for seven years to make a "useful" rubber. One day he brushed off his hands a powder consisting of the useless rubber and some sulfur. The powder fell onto a hot stove. The rubber naturally melted; it then reacted with the sulfur to form the vulcanized rubber we use today."

    * Jim Henson, Ernie and the "Rubber Duckie" song are credited with popularizing the rubber toys.

    * Attend National Rubber Ducky Day at the Children's Museum in Seattle, Wash. There will be duck races, Quacker parades and more.

    * Take a bubble bath with a rubber ducky and relax.

    Blame Someone Else Day

    Duck! It's Friday the 13th. Even the most logical and rational among us harbor superstitions. But don't worry, you won't get hurt, you're covered. Thank Blame Someone Else Day, celebrated annually on the first Friday the 13th of year. If you'd rather take a more proactive approach to your day, do something towards making your goals come true, and celebrate Make Your Dream Come True Day. Otherwise, keep up the blame game.

    According to the Yahoo! Finance, people use some pretty odd excuses when calling in sick, including blaming other people:

    * Blame the bats: An employee said she had bats in her hair. Maybe she meant her belfry?

    * Blame the kids: One man did not have transportation because he said his 12-year-old daughter stole his car. Give the guy a break, he has bigger issues than missing a day of work.

    * Blame the dog: So much for homework, one guy claimed his puppy gave him a cold.

    National Peach Melba Day

    What could be tastier than sweet peaches, vanilla ice cream and raspberry puree? Chef Auguste Escoffier claims he created the dessert and named it after an Australian opera diva whose stage name was Nellie Melba (nee Helen Porter Mitchell) according to according to "The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink." The chef is also responsible for Pears Helene. Update the recipe by making Peach Melba puffs.

    Public Radio Broadcasting Day

    Inventor Lee DeForest successfully arranged the world's first radio broadcast on Jan. 13, 1910. The broadcast consisted of music from the Metropolitan Opera in New York, N.Y. DeForest had more than 300 patents, including the "audion amplifier, which established the principle of the vacuum tube, in 1907. This basic 'triode' tube made it possible to amplify and transmit sound, such as music and voice. His breakthrough boosted the development of radio, television and hundreds of other electronic marvels" according to the Consumer Electronics Association.

     

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