Winnie the Pooh Day
January 18
Winnie the Pooh Day is celebrated on the birthday of A.A. Milne, the author of the children’s books about the loveable little bear. In Milne’s first book (1926) he named the friends of Pooh like Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore. Kanga and Roo after stuffed toys of his son, whose name happened to be Christopher Robin. In 2002, Forbes ranked Pooh bear as the most lucrative fictional character, with over 50 million copies of his books sold globally. Not too shabby for a bear with very little brain!
National Gourmet Coffee Day
January 18
Foodimentary, the website and book that highlights food holidays presents interesting facts about gourmet coffee, including “Until the invention of vacuum-packed coffee tins in 1900 by Hill Bros. Coffee, almost every city or large town in America had their own local coffee roasters. An important export commodity, coffee was the top agricultural export for twelve countries in 2004.” Just three countries consume 65% of the world’s coffee: USA, France, Germany. Over 2.25 billion cups of coffee are consumed in the world every day.
Today’s Birthdays of Note….
Cary Grant – Actor – born in Bristol, England
Kevin Costner – Actor – born in Lynnwood, California
