Five Things to Know Today, Jan. 9

Welcome to Monday and a new week. Here are some things to know today.

The weather: More rain is likely today, the National Weather Service says -- the chance is 70 percent. Fog is in the forecast, too, until 10 a.m. The high today will be about 66 degrees, and the low tonight around 46.

Gas prices: Nationwide, gas prices are 10 cents higher than a week ago, AAA says, and Georgia is one of a handful of states where prices are in the middle of the country's range. In Lilburn, prices reported to www.georgiagasprices.com on Sunday ranged from $3.25 (at Chevron, 4784 Highway 29 at Killian Hill Road) to $3.39 (at Shell, 612 Rockbridge Road at Lilburn Stone Mountain Road). The price most often reported was $3.35.

Not Ariel. Christopher Columbus kept detailed logs on his long sailing journey from Spain to the Caribbean. On this day in 1493, he noted what he thought were mermaids near what is now the Dominican Republic. He wrote that the mysterious creatures were "not half as beautiful as they are painted." What Columbus was probably reporting were manatees, which live in waters in the West Indies, around Florida, the Amazon and West Africa. The big, ocean-dwelling mammals have no natural predators but are endangered because of human activity. And beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder -- I think they're perfectly lovely.

Lunch & Listen. The Gwinnett Public Library is getting ready for its latest lunch event with a notable author next month: mystery writer Lisa Gardner, who’s books have been New York Times best sellers. Her detective D. D. Warren novels include The Neighbor, Hide, and Alone. Her FBI Profiler novels include Say Goodbye, Gone, and The Killing Hour. Tickets are on sale now for the Feb. 9 lunch in Lawrenceville at $10 a person (they’ll be $15 each at the door). Gardner will read from her latest Novel, Catch Me, which will be released that week, then take questions and sign books. Proceeds benefit the county library system.

Shocking. Rub your feet on the rug, put that sweater in the dryer without a Bounce sheet: It’s National Static Electricity Day. Go online and find out what creates this sparkly phenomenon (hint: electrons). Or just relax and discharge. Zap!