Author: Lisa Mungovan

Soon there will be a trail for hikers and cyclists, that stretches all the way across the United States. The Great American Rail-Trail will connect with 145 existing paths, to complete a 3700-mile trail from Washington DC, to Washington state. Rail-trails are built on old railway tracks that are no longer used.

Glow-in-the-dark clothes are awesome. Even lizards know it! The web-footed gecko, found in the desert in Namibia, has glow-in-the-dark skin. They have skin cells called iridophores, that are filled with guanine crystals. Many reptiles also glow under ultra-violet light, and even have fluorescent bones! It helps them see each other over long distances.

Did you receive any gift cards, as holiday presents? Don’t let them get lost or forgotten. Today is Use Your Gift Card Day, so start spending! You can shop online, or order takeout, if you’re home because of the pandemic. It’s also Fig Newton Day. Eat the fruit-filled cookies while you shop.

Today is Nothing Day. Since that was so boring, people created other things to celebrate besides nothing. It’s also International Hot And Spicy Food Day, and Appreciate A Dragon Day. You can pretend you’re a dragon, by eating a Carolina Reaper pepper. Your throat will be on fire! You’ll wish for Nothing Day again.

Have you ever forgotten your password in a game like Minecraft, and had to start all over? A man in San Fransisco forgot his password, and it will probably cost him millions of dollars. He has $220,000,000 worth of Bitcoin cryptocurrency locked on a hard drive, that erases after 10 password attempts. He’s already tried 8 times.

States of matter, are the different forms in which matter can exist. The 4 most common states are solid, liquid, gas and plasma, while other states can only be created in a lab. Physicists have discovered a new state of matter, called super Tonks-Girardeau gas. The line of atoms forms in a quantum gas.

The Virginia Zoo has its first new baby of the year. A Masai giraffe calf was born January 11th, weighing 148 pounds, and measuring over 6 feet tall! Her parents are Imara and Billy, but the zoo is asking for help naming the calf. Donate to their conservation efforts, and submit a name at virginiazoo.org.

Today is Bagel Day. The dense and chewy bread can be toasted, and topped with anything you like! Enjoy it with some booch, for Kombucha Day. The fermented drink is made from tea, and contains billions of probiotics, just like yogurt. You can brew your own kombucha, and flavor it with your favorite fruits.

Hooray, it’s that day. What day? Hat Day. Hats can keep you warm, make you look dressed-up, or be fun. Wear different hats all day long! It’s also Pothole Day. See who can find the biggest hole in the road! Since it’s Strawberry Ice Cream Day too, the prize is ice cream for everyone!

Have you ever blown a bubble, inside another bubble? A man in Taiwan, is the soap bubble master. Chang Yu-Te blew 783 bubbles inside a larger bubble, to break the world record. That must’ve been hard to count! He also holds the record for the most bounces of a soap bubble, at 290.