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January 2
The Interstate Highways in Texas cover 3,233.4 miles (5,203.7 km) in the state. The freeways are maintained by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) as the state agency responsible for all state highways, including the Interstate Highways in Texas. There are ten primary routes, six auxiliary routes and two branches of Interstate 35 (I-35) as it splits into eastern and western branches near Fort Worth and Dallas. The Interstate Highway with the longest segment in Texas is I-10 (interchange with I-45 pictured) at 878.6 miles (1,414.0 km), making it also the longest continuous untolled freeway under a single authority in North America; the shortest in the state is I-110 at 0.9 miles (1.4 km). The construction of the Interstate Highway System in Texas actually began well before these routes were designated as such. Part of the Gulf Freeway between Galveston and Houston was opened in 1951, eight years before it was designated I-45. The opening of a short section of I-27 in 1992 completed the system. Planning is ongoing for a proposed extension of I-69 southward from its current terminus in Indiana through Texas to the United States–Mexico border, the first segment of which was added in December 2011. (Full list...)
January 9
Twenty-six U.S. states have an official state reptile. Oklahoma was the first to name an official reptile, the collared lizard, in 1969, and nominations have gathered pace since the 1980s; however, state reptiles are yet to catch up in popularity with state birds, flowers, trees, or mammals. Because they are cold-blooded, reptiles are more common in warmer climates: 19 of the 26 state reptiles represent southern states. Of these 26, turtles comprise more than half, with the painted turtle the most frequently chosen. Several state reptiles are threatened species. Although there is no national reptile, the timber rattlesnake (now West Virginia's state reptile) was an element in Revolutionary War flags and is still used in the U.S. Navy Jack. (Full list...)
January 16
Nearly 50 of Croatia's islands are inhabited in the sense that at least one person resides on that island. In the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea, there are 718 islands, 389 islets and 78 reefs, which make the Croatian archipelago the largest in the Adriatic Sea and second largest in the Mediterranean Sea. Some sources indicate that Croatia has 67 inhabited islands, which is the number of islands that have a settlement on them, but 19 of these islands have lost all of their permanent population as a result of population decline. The islands of Croatia have been populated since the times of Ancient Greece. The main industries on the islands are agriculture, fishing and tourism. The local economy is relatively underdeveloped while the cost of living is 10 to 30% higher than on the mainland, so the Croatian government provides various kinds of support and protection through its Islands Act to stimulate the economy of the islands, including charging no tolls on bridges, and providing cheaper or free ferry tickets for islanders. (Full list...)
January 23
Ninety-five athletes won at least one medal at the 1936 Winter Olympics, held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. The Games featured 17 events, including alpine skiing for the first time, which was the first women's event that was not part of the figure skating programme. Of the 28 participating National Olympic Committees, 11 had athletes represented on the medal winners' list. Medal winners included Sonja Henie (pictured), who won the last of her three gold medals in Olympic figure skating, and Ivar Ballangrud, whose four medals in speed skating took his career tally to seven. Just 9 of the 95 medal winners won more than one medal; 5 of the 9 won at least one gold medal in addition to their other medals. The British men's ice hockey team were also among the medallists; their gold medal remains to date the sole British Olympic title in ice hockey. (Full list...)
January 30
The Smithsonian museums are the most widely visible part of the United States' Smithsonian Institution (pictured) and consist of nineteen museums and galleries as well as the National Zoological Park. Eleven of these museums are located on the National Mall, while the remainder are located elsewhere in Washington, D.C., as well as New York City and Chantilly, Virginia. The museums have roughly 137 million objects such as works of art, natural specimens, cultural artifacts, etc., in their collections, and are visited by over 25 million people every year. The birth of the Smithsonian Institution can be traced to the acceptance of James Smithson's legacy, willed to the United States in 1826. In 1838, this legacy, which totaled more than $500,000, was delivered to the US Mint and in 1846, the Smithsonian Institution was established. The Institution grew slowly until 1964 when Sidney Dillon Ripley became secretary. Ripley managed, over a twenty year period, to expand the institution by eight museums and upped admission from 10.8 million to 30 million people a year. The newest Smithsonian museum, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, is slated to open in 2015. (Full list...)