WASHINGTON, Jan. 9, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9: NATIONAL STATIC ELECTRICITY DAY

Profile America — Wednesday, January 9th.  If you feel a special, hair-raising electricity in the air today, well that's no wonder — it's National Static Electricity Day.  Static electricity is the result of an imbalance between negative and positive charges in an object.  These charges build up on the surface until they are discharged.  This commonly happens when you shuffle about when the humidity is very low and then touch a conductor, such as a door handle or your pet's wet nose.  Static electricity has uses in air purifiers, photocopiers and painting automobiles.  Also sticking party balloons onto walls.  Generating and distributing more practical electricity is a $445 billion a year business in the U.S.  You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at www.census.gov.

Sources:  2007 Economic Census, NAICS 22111

Profile America is produced by the Center for New Media and Promotions of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button). 

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau