According to National Day Calendar, Jan. 22 is the day set aside to celebrate blonde brownies.  The difference between blonde brownies and regular brownies is substituting brown sugar for cocoa and anything else you want to add, such as white chocolate or toffee.  And according to National Day Calendar, the dessert was invented in Upper Sandusky, Ohio.  https://www.wtol.com/article/news/break-out-the-brownie-pans-its-national-blonde-brownie-day/512-5dae3be2-e139-4d63-b14a-faeead7d4db9   

In probability theory, the birthday problem asks for the probability that, in a set of n randomly chosen people, at least two will share the same birthday. The birthday paradox refers to the counterintuitive fact that only 23 people are needed for that probability to exceed 50%.  The birthday paradox is a veridical paradox:  it seems wrong at first glance but is, in fact, true.  While it may seem surprising that only 23 individuals are required to reach a 50% probability of a shared birthday, this result is made more intuitive by considering that the birthday comparisons will be made between every possible pair of individuals.  With 23 individuals, there are ⁠23 × 22/2⁠ = 253 pairs to consider, more than half the number of days in a year.  Real-world applications for the birthday problem include a cryptographic attack called the birthday attack, which uses this probabilistic model to reduce the complexity of finding a collision for a hash function, as well as calculating the approximate risk of a hash collision existing within the hashes of a given size of population.  The problem is generally attributed to Harold Davenport in about 1927, though he did not publish it at the time.  Davenport did not claim to be its discoverer "because he could not believe that it had not been stated earlier".  The first publication of a version of the birthday problem was by Richard von Mises in 1939.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birthday_problem# 

Oliver George Hutchinson (1891–1944) was a Northern Irish businessman who played a key role in popularising John Logie Baird's invention of television.  Hutchinson had met Baird while both were apprentices at the Argyll Motor Works in Glasgow.  During the First World War, he served as an officer in the Army Cyclist Corps and Tank Corps.  After the war Hutchinson developed several successful businesses in London, including one selling soap.  After meeting Baird by chance he agreed to support his work on the first television system. Hutchinson provided funds and publicised the operation, and even appeared as the subject of the first public demonstration of the technology in 1926.  Hutchinson was later joint managing director of the Baird Television Development Company and presented a documentary in New York when the first trans-Atlantic broadcast was made in 1928.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Hutchinson    

The Buffalo Bills have never won a Super Bowl.  Meanwhile, their AFC Championship Game opponent, the Kansas City Chiefs, have an opportunity to become the first NFL team to win three consecutive Super Bowls.  The Washington Commanders haven't won a Super Bowl since the 1991 season.  Their NFC Championship Game opponent, the Philadelphia Eagles, have only won one Super Bowl, but they could win a second championship in eight seasons.  One of those four teams will win Super Bowl LIX, which is set for Feb. 9, 2025 in New Orleans.  https://www.bleacherreport.com/articles/10152238-super-bowl-2025-final-predictions-odds-before-afc-nfc-championship-bracket-games    

The first new moon of the lunar calendar falls on January 29 in 2025, kicking off the 15-day Spring Festival.  Celebrations vary depending on the country or region, but there are a few common traditions.  Incredibly complex, the Chinese zodiac calendar is best described as a 12-year cycle represented by 12 animals, in this order:  Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig.  Your personal zodiac animal sign is determined by your year of birth, meaning 2025 will welcome plenty of baby Snakes.  Children born in the last lunar calendar year were Dragons, while those born on or after the Lunar New Year in 2026 will be Horses, and so on.  There are countless folktales attached to Lunar New Year, but the myth of Nian stands out as one of the most fun.  According to the legend, every Lunar New Year’s Eve this ferocious underwater beast with sharp teeth and horns would crawl onto the land and attack a nearby village.  On one such occasion as the villagers rushed into hiding, a mysterious old man showed up and insisted on sticking around despite warnings of impending doom.  To the villagers’ surprise, the old man and the village survived utterly unscathed.  The man claimed to have scared Nian away by hanging red banners on his door, lighting firecrackers and donning red clothing.  This is why wearing the fiery color, along with hanging banners and lighting firecrackers or fireworks, are Lunar New Year traditions, all of which are still followed today.  Some of the prep work isn’t quite as enjoyable.  Many believe that a big cleanup should take place at home on the 28th day of the last lunar month, which falls on January 27, 2025.  The aim is to rid your home of any bad luck that’s accumulated over the past year.  Some believers won’t even sweep or take out the trash for the first five days of the new year, fearing they will wash away all that fresh good luck.  On a related note, many say you shouldn’t wash or cut your hair on the first day of the new year either.  https://www.cnn.com/travel/chinese-lunar-new-year-2025-guide-intl-hnk/index.html    

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 2899  January 27, 2025