Author: Lisa Mungovan

During a recent expedition in the jungles of Bolivia, researchers were happy to find some species that hadn’t been seen in years. They spotted devil-eyed and lilliputian frogs, satyr and metalmark butterflies, adder’s mouth and arrowroot orchids, and a new pit viper. They all live in the sky islands, of the Andean cloud forest.

Make time today for a nice long bubble bath. While you’re soaking, think of something neat to show off, and eat crispy English toffee! Apply soothing lotion, before getting dressed in diamond-patterned argyle socks. It’s Bubble Bath, Show & Tell At Work, English Toffee, Winter Skin Relief, and Argyle Day! Can you remember all that?

Today is Earth’s Rotation Day. The Earth spins on its axis, like a globe. It takes 24 hours, or 1 day, to make 1 rotation, but the rotation speed can change slightly. In 18 51, Leon Foucault demonstrated how the Earth rotates, by hanging a heavy ball, and watching its path change. Watching a Foucault Pendulum swing, is fascinating!

In 1981, Joan White decided to spread joy every January 8th. She thought happiness could be infectious, so she called it National Joygerm Day. Do something nice for someone, or write an e-mail or letter. Tell them you are spreading germs of joy and ask them to help you infect the world!

A team of chefs in the United Arab Emirates, has broken the world record for longest line of pies. They baked 2,029 pear pies, and lined them up at a resort in Dubai. The chefs, who worked at different hotels, had the added difficulty of working while social distancing. The pies were donated to charity.

States of matter, are the different forms in which matter can exist. The 4 most common states are solid, liquid, gas and plasma. Other states can only be created in a lab. Physicists have discovered a new state of matter, called liquid glass. They can only observe it at the microscopic level.

On January 7th 19 27, Abe Saperstein gathered a group of fantastic basketball players known as the Savoy Big Five, and formed the Harlem Globetrotters. Nearly 100 years later, people still enjoy watching the team’s skills, antics, and trick shots. Celebrate Harlem Globetrotters Day, by watching them and learning a few tricks of your own.

Today is Old Rock Day. Spend some time with your favorite rock, whether it’s an awesome fossil, a soothingly smooth stone, a colorful conglomerate, or just a hefty hunk of gravel! Get a pet rock, or decorate one and leave it for someone to find, or go climb a rock! Old Rock Day rocks!

Today is Tempura Day. Tempura is a Japanese dish of vegetables or seafood, that are dipped in batter and deep-fried. Tempura sounds tempting! It’s also Bobblehead Day. The toys with big heads bobbing on springs, have been around more than 100 years! Just be sure you don’t deep-fry your bobbleheads today!

The National Zoo’s giant panda cub, Xiao Qi Ji, is getting bigger and more adventurous. He has started climbing a rock wall, and looks adorable when he rolls off! You can watch pandas in real time on the zoo’s pandacam, at NationalZoo.s i.edu, or watch older videos, and see how he’s grown.