Five Things to Know Today, Feb. 3

Welcome to Friday and the almost-beginning of the weekend. Here are some things to know as you head into them.

The weather: Mostly sunny, the National Weather Service says, with a high of about 64 degrees. There's a 30 percent chance of rain tonight, with a low of about 44.

Gas prices haven't changed in Lilburn over the last few days, according to those reported to www.geogiagasprices.com. The lowest price for a gallon of regular is still $3.41 (at Kroger, 3050 Five Forks Trickum Road near Oak Road, and at two other places). The highest was $3.49 (at Chevron, 4784 US-29 at Killian Hill and at five other places).

The Day the Music Died. A small plane carrying Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson crashed in Iowa on this day in 1959, killing all three and pilot Roger Peterson. It was a shocking tragedy for the young genre of rock n’ roll music. Investigators blamed the crash on a combination of bad winter weather and pilot error.  

Bubbles. Long before the American housing market rose and fell, one of the first documented economic bubbles burst on this day in 1637. It wasn’t houses or gold or tech stocks that jumped in price back then, but bulbs of the newly introduced tulip in Holland. Contracts for bulb deliveries were traded on exchanges in a free market. Speculation fueled by demand for the trendy new flower drove the costs for just one bulb as high as 10 times the annual wages of a skilled craftsman. Then, as bubbles do, the demand just went away. Sellers suddenly couldn’t find buyers to take their contracts. Prices collapsed to 1 percent of  peak values. More than 350 years later, we still seem prone to market-driven excess.

Hearts and feet. There are a bunch of family and daddy-daughter Valentine dances coming up next weekend, Feb. 10-11, in the Gwinnett parks system, at community recreation centers including Pinckneyville in Norcrosse and Rhodes Jordan Park in Lawrenceville. Check out the parks department schedule for a full list and registration info.