TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1914, Ford Motor Company raised basic wages from $2.40 for a 9-hour day to $5 for an 8-hour day. In 1968, Alexander Dubcek came to power in Czechoslovakia, launching what is known as the "Prague Spring." In 1979, the Vietnamese captured Phnom Penh, ending the rule of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. In 2005, the dwarf planet Eris was discovered.
TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Walter Mondale (1928- ), former U.S. vice president, is 80; Umberto Eco (1929- ), author, is 79; Robert Duvall (1931- ), actor, is 77; Juan Carlos (1938- ), king of Spain, is 70; Diane Keaton (1946- ), actress, is 62.
TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1957, Jackie Robinson retired from Major League Baseball, 23 days after being traded from the Brooklyn Dodgers to the New York Giants.
TODAY'S QUOTE: "The real hero is always a hero by mistake; he dreams of being an honest coward like everybody else." - Umberto Eco
TODAY'S FACT: The National Weather Service issues a blizzard warning when a storm has sustained winds or frequent gusts of 35 miles an hour or more, and enough falling snow to cut visibility to under 1/4 mile for 3 hours.
TODAY'S NUMBER: 1,672 - number of performances of "The Wiz," Broadway's musical adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, at the Majestic Theatre in New York, after premiering this day in 1975.
TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter (December 31, 2007) and new moon (January 8, 2008).
