In this Sept. 2, 1945 file photo, U.S. General Douglas MacArthur, left, watches as the foreign minister of Japan, Mamoru Shigemitsu,
signs the surrender document aboard the USS Missouri on Tokyo
Bay. Lt. General Richard K. Sutherland, center, witnesses the
ceremony marking the end of World War II, with other American
and British officers in the background. (Source: AP Photo)

Aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, Japan formally surrendered to the
Allies (above) bringing an end to World War II.

By the summer of 1945, the defeat of Japan was a foregone conclusion. The Japanese navy and air force were destroyed. The Allied naval blockade of
Japan and intensive bombing of Japanese cities had left the country and
its economy devastated. At the end of June, the Americans captured
Okinawa, a Japanese island from which the Allies could launch an invasion
of the main Japanese home islands. U.S. General Douglas MacArthur was
put in charge of the invasion, which was code-named “Operation Olympic”
and set for November 1945.

NASHVILLE, Tenn.–This weekend, Dale Earnhardt’s iconic No. 3 Chevrolet
Monte Carlo will return to the racetrack to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Talladega Superspeedway and Richard Childress Racing.

Childress will drive the No. 3 to pace the field at Talladega on Sunday prior
to the start of the 1000Bulbs.com 500. The iconic team owner started his
NASCAR career at Talladega’s grand-opening weekend and the track is
also home to Earnhardt’s last career victory in October 2000.

Ralph Dale Earnhardt (April 29, 1951 – February 18, 2001)

On February 18, 2001, Dale Sr. lost his life at the 43rd running of
The Great American Race following a devastating collision on the
outside wall at Daytona International Speedway. He was 49 years
old.

 
NASCAR & International Motorsports Hall of Famer Richard Childress.

Then & now: Cracker Jack and its signature sailor mascot have
evolved over the years.

One of the oldest American forms of junk food, the Cracker Jack was invented
and trademarked in 1896 when the brothers who formed F.W. Rueckheim &
Bro., mixed molasses-flavored, caramel-coated popcorn and peanuts together.

Fredrich William Rueckheim

   
Louis Rueckheim
           

Today,January 19, celebrates all of the different ways the corn-based treat      
popcorn can be enjoyed savory or sweet, caramelized, buttered or plain.

The Popcorn Board, a non-profit started in 1998, says Americans consume
13 billion quarts of popcorn a year, more than any other country in the
world.

Parents Day was established in 1994 when President Bill Clinton signed
a Congressional Resolution into law for "recognizing, uplifting, and
supporting the role of parents in the rearing of children."

President Bill Clinton signing the Congressional Resolution.