Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg (c. 1393–1406–1468) was a German inventor and craftsman who introduced letterpress printing to Europe with his movable-type printing press.  Though not the first of its kind, earlier designs were restricted to East Asia, and Gutenberg's version was the first to spread across the world.  His work led to an information revolution and the unprecedented mass-spread of literature throughout Europe.  It also had a direct impact on the development of the Renaissance, Reformation and humanist movement.  His many contributions to printing include the invention of a process for mass-producing movable type; the use of oil-based ink for printing books; adjustable molds; mechanical movable type; and the use of a wooden printing press similar to the agricultural screw presses of the period.  Gutenberg's method for making type is traditionally considered to have included a type metal alloy and a hand mould for casting type.  The alloy was a mixture of lead, tin, and antimony that melted at a relatively low temperature for faster and more economical casting, cast well, and created a durable type.  His major work, the Gutenberg Bible, was the first printed version of the Bible and has been acclaimed for its high aesthetic and technical quality.  Described as the "man of the millennium", Gutenberg is often cited as among the most influential figures in human history.  He has been commemorated around the world and is a frequent namesake.  To celebrate the 400th anniversary of his death in 1900, the Gutenberg Museum was founded in his hometown of Mainz.  See graphics at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Gutenberg  

The first official Groundhog Day celebration took place on February 2, 1887 in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.  The annual ritual has roots in pre-Christian traditions and was brought to the U.S. by German immigrants.  Falling midway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, February 2 is a significant day in several ancient and modern traditions.  The Celts, for instance, celebrated it as Imbolc, a pagan festival marking the beginning of spring.  https://www.history.com/news/groundhog-day-history-and-facts  

January 31, 2023  The last time that the green comet was visible, there were rhinoceros-size wombats living in Australia, along with some ginormous kangaroos.  Though some comets swing by Earth only once, many visit periodically.  Halley’s Comet comes by every seventy-five years or so.  The comet that’s approaching us now—it will be closest to Earth between the first and second of February—is uncatchily named C/2022 E3 (Z.T.F.), and it visits every fifty thousand years.  (If it gets ejected from the solar system before its next loop, however, it won’t return.)  Rivka Galchen  The New Yorker 

January 30, 2023  Ira “Bob” Born, a candy company executive known as the “Father of Peeps” for mechanizing the process to make marshmallow chicks, has died.  He was 98.  Just Born Quality Confections, the 100-year-old family-owned company Born led for much of his life, died peacefully on January 29, 2023.  Born began his life in New York City on Sept. 29, 1924.  His father, Sam Born, was a Russian immigrant who started Just Born shortly before his son's birth.  The family later moved to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where Just Born is still based.  Bob Born graduated from Lehigh University with a degree in engineering physics.  He enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served as a radar specialist and a lieutenant on a destroyer in the Pacific.  Later, the Navy sent him to the University of Arizona and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for graduate work in math and physics.  Born applied to medical school and was accepted, but while he was waiting for his classes to begin, he went to work at Just Born.  He fell in love with the candy business and decided to stay.  In 1953, Just Born acquired Rodda Candy Co., a jelly bean maker that had a side business producing shaped marshmallow candies by hand.  At the time, it took about 27 hours to make the marshmallows.  Bob Born saw the candies’ potential, so he and an engineer at the company designed and built a machine to make them in less than six minutes.  The company's current machines, which are still based on Bob Born's design, now pump out 5.5 million Peeps per day.  Seventy years later, Peeps remain Just Born’s most recognizable candy brand, the company says.    Just Born makes around 2 billion Peeps each year, or enough to circle the globe two-and-a-half times.  It sells the most at Easter, but also has versions sold for Halloween, Valentine's Day and other holidays.  DEE-ANN DURBIN  https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/father-peeps-marshmallow-candies-bob-born-dies-98-96779560 

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 2626  February 1, 2023