April 8 Solar Eclipse: Everything You Need To Watch It Safe

Ever since we were kids, there was always this wonderful mystery and magic surrounding the solar eclipse. "Are you going to watch it, oh you can't watch it directly!" The worlds smartest people line up to advise us how to watch the unwatchable. With the April 8 Solar Eclipse coming soon, we put together a list of fun facts to prepare you for the celestrial event of Spring.

Isn't it cool to know that people around the world are paid fulltime jobs with benefits to study things that they will never touch or visit. There is one major thing to know about the Universe. We'll never really know everything about it. Beyond a certain point, it is unknowable. Now, if you're a believer of life after our physical world, then that's whole new conversation. Order another beer!

According to AL.com:

People viewing the eclipse from the path of totality will be treated to the ghostly-white outer atmosphere of the sun, known as the corona, when the moon completely blocks out the sun’s disk during the total eclipse, NASA explained. Along the path, the sun will be blocked out for about 4-and-a-half minutes.

Coming on April 8, we will see The Great American Eclipse. Millions across the U.S. will have the opportunity to see a total solar eclipse. Experts have given the viewing area a wonderful dramatic name known as The Path of Totality. This path will cross over 15 states. This means that people in the path of totality will experience the greatest periods of darkness when the moon blocks out the sun.

The Path of Totality will cross Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, as well as small parts of Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee.

According to Nasa.com:

North America that will experience totality is Mexico’s Pacific coast at around 11:07 a.m. PDT, according to NASA. It will exit continental North America on the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland, Canada at 5:16 p.m. NDT.

You can plug in your zip code for the best viewing times using Nasa's zip code search tool. 

Local officals in the 15 state path of viewing are asking visitors to charge cell phones, and prepare for larger than normal crowds migrating to the states to view the event. The period of darkness should be for about 4 and 1/2 minutes. AL.com said:

New York State Police said they are coordinating with other state, local and federal law enforcement, emergency and transportation agencies to prepare for the massive number of visitors coming to the state on April 8. The crowds are likely to be substantial, officials said, citing the 2017 solar eclipse where some regions experienced a 100 percent increase in population in the days leading up to and during the eclipse.

Nasa advises:

If 50 years seem like a long time ago, it is, but these 5 things turning 50 years old that will surprise you might make you scratch your head and say "really"?

How does time fly so fast? One minute a new product or fad or invention debuts and the next moment we’re wondering how it’s been that long.

There are new things introduced every day. What makes something stand the test of time while other things are long gone and forgotten.

Remember the “pet rock” fad of the 70’s or The Sony Walkman from the 80’s or when MTV played videos. The 90’s gave us Zima beer and we were all doing the Macarena.

These all part of our long forgotten items and fads that didn’t stand the test of time.

It was in August of that year that President Richard M. Nixon resigned in disgrace after the Watergate scandal that brought down his presidency.

In 1974, television shows like Happy Days, Little House on The Prairie,  Good Times and Nova debuted.

The top 5 grossing movies of 1974 were The Towering Inferno, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, Earthquake and The Trial of Billy Jack.

The top 5 charting songs of 1974 were in order from number 1, Love Will Keep Us Together, Captain and Tennille, Rhinestone Cowboy, Glen Campbell, Philadelphia Freedom, Elton John, “Before the Next Teardrop Falls”, Freddy Fender and “My Eyes Adored You”, Frankie Vallie.

The top books from 1974 were, “Where the Sidewalk Ends” by Shel Silverstein, “Carrie” by Stephen King, and “Jaws, by Peter Benchley.

The average price of gas in 1974 was 53 cents per gallon,  a gallon of milk was $1.74,  bread was 25 cents,  and you could buy a dozen eggs for 78 cents.

as you can see, life was a lot more affordable back in 1974. For folks who remember probably didn’t think so at the time. A trip to the grocery store today would certainly give anybody from 50 years ago. Sticker shock. Who would’ve thought that you could pay up to eight dollars for one dozen eggs?

A guy accidentally invented a weak glue in 1968, but didn't know what to do with it. Six years later, another guy wanted a way to bookmark pages in his hymnal book at church, and Post-Its were born.

Invented in 1974 by a guy Hungarian guy named Erno Rubik.  He originally called them "Magic Cubes"

A guy from New Jersey named Joe Woodland came up with the idea, and drew it in the sand while vacationing in Florida.  The first bar code was scanned on June 26th, 1974, and then completely revolutionized shopping.

Cream-based liqueurs are common now, but it debuted as the first Irish cream on the market in 1974

 Dr. Henry Heimlich described it in an article in 1974.  It started as a theory, and it turned out it worked really well.  Before that, the advice was to smack a choking person on the back over and over again.