Breaking Records and Signs

David Rush holds more than 250 world records. He just broke another record, with his 3-year-old daughter, Felicity. David would back-spin a hula hoop from 2 meters away, and Felicity would duck through it. They completed 9 pass-throughs in 30 seconds. Now all 3 of David’s children hold world records!

Plan Your Peak Leaf Peeping

It’s a beautiful sight, to see leaves turn red, orange, and yellow in the autumn. There’s a handy map for leaf peepers, to track when the colors are at their peak. SmokyMountains.com gathers data to update the Fall Foliage Prediction Map, so you can plan a trip to the forest, to collect leaf bouquets.

Pando Endures

The largest organism in the world, isn’t a whale, or a redwood tree. It’s a 106-acre stand, of quaking aspen trees. The group of trees is called Pando, and they all grow from the same root system. The forest is made of 47,000 genetically identical stems. It’s been producing new sprouts, for 14,000 years!

Sweet Coffee and Sweets

It’s Coffee Day! Even if they don’t like the taste of it, most people love the smell of fresh coffee. To celebrate Mocha Day instead, mix coffee with hot chocolate. Enjoy it with a sweet, double-baked biscuit, as it’s also Biscotti Day. The long shape makes it the perfect cookie, to dunk in coffee.

Fat and Furry

Have you checked out Alaska’s “fattest bear” competition? Vote for your favorite chunkers at explore.org/fat-bear-week. Will last year’s winner, Chunk 32, win again, or will another brawny bruin prevail? After you vote, watch all the bears catch salmon, on explore.org’s Brooks Falls bearcam. They’re fattening up for winter, before they go into hibernation.

At Least You Have a Captive Audience

Do you have pet fish? You probably enjoy watching them swim around in their fish tank. Tonight, let your fish watch you instead, because it’s Fish Tank Floorshow Night. Perform a song and dance for your aquarium audience. Maybe they’d like to hear songs, from The Little Mermaid. Just don’t expect any applause.

Don’t Take Any Chances!

Today is World Rabies Day. Louis Pasteur, who you can thank for pasteurized milk, also invented the rabies vaccine. It’s important to get your dogs and cats vaccinated, to protect them from animals that carry the deadly disease, like bats. Vaccinated animals also protect humans, in case their pet ever bites someone!

Useful Pits

Half of the olive oil in the European Union, is produced in Spain, resulting in 400,000 tons of olive pits. Instead of throwing them out, Spain uses the pits to create biofuel. The dried pits are turned into something similar to wood pellets, and used to heat homes and power oil mills.

Trace the Rivers on a Map

Today is World Rivers Day. The longest river in the world is the Nile, at 4160 miles long, although some scientists say the Amazon is even longer, depending on how you measure it. What’s the name of the river closest to your home? Where does it begin and end? Go visit it today!

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