UK, 
US, 
Australia & 
IrelandAt A Glance
17 August 2012 at a glance
- Day of the week
- 17 August 2012 was a Friday.
- Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
- The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen.
- Top Film of 2012
- The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 2012 was The Avengers.
- Bestselling Novel of 2012
- “Fifty Shades of Grey” by E. L. James was No. 1 on Publishers Weekly's US fiction list for 2012.
- Top-Rated TV Show
- “NCIS” (CBS) was No. 1 in the Nielsen ratings for the 2012–13 season.
- Star sign
- The star sign for 17 August is Leo.
- Chinese zodiac
- In the Chinese zodiac, 17 August 2012 fell in the Year of the Dragon.
- Birthstone
- The birthstone for August is Peridot.
- Moon phase
- The moon phase on 17 August 2012 was New Moon.
On this day: 17 August
- 1985 The 1985–86 Hormel strike begins in Austin, Minnesota.
- 1998 Lewinsky scandal: US President Bill Clinton admits in taped testimony that he had an "improper physical relationship" with White House intern Monica Lewinsky; later that same day he admits before the nation that he "misled people" about the relationship.
- 2004 The National Assembly of Serbia unanimously adopts new state symbols for Serbia: Bože pravde becomes the new anthem and the coat of arms is adopted for the whole country.
- 2005 The first forced evacuation of settlers, as part of Israeli disengagement from Gaza, starts.
- 2008 American swimmer Michael Phelps becomes the first person to win eight gold medals at one Olympic Games.
Famous people born on August 17
- Robert De Niro, American actor, entrepreneur, director, and producer (born 1943)
- Phoebe Bridgers, American singer/songwriter (born 1994)
- Sean Penn, American actor, director, and political activist (born 1960)
- Larry Ellison, American businessman, co-founded the Oracle Corporation (born 1944)
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Choose your country: the charts, news and leaders change to match.
Events of 2012 in the United States
A selection from Wikipedia's '2012 in the United States'. Not a complete list.
- March 2 – Dr. Seuss' The Lorax is released in theaters.
- March 20 – John Carter records one of the biggest losses in cinema history, forcing Disney to take a $200 million writedown and chairman Rich Ross to resign.
- May 4 – The Avengers, directed by Joss Whedon, is released by Marvel Studios as the sixth film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and the final film in its "Phase One" slate.
Life in the US in 2012
President
Barack Obama
Gas (per gallon)
$3.68
Loaf of Bread
$1.84
Average House
$256,900
Weekly Wage
$757
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