Author: Lisa Mungovan

The Hayabusa2 spacecraft, will drop its shipment of alien space rock, into the Australian outback today. The Japanese mission collected dust from the asteroid Ryugu, before returning 5.5 million miles back to Earth. The treasure box of asteroid samples, will look like a fireball streaking through the sky. Watch the JAXA livestream on YouTube.

Have you ever tried to pick up a box, while wearing gloves? It’s hard to get a grip on the smooth surface. That’s why we have fingerprints. The ridges on your hands and feet hold moisture. Sweat glands underneath, release extra sweat when you touch hard surfaces, and close up before things get slippery!

Ireland is not known, for its dinosaur bones. Fossils are often found in sedimentary rocks, which have eroded away or become buried in Ireland. The only 2 dinosaur fossils found on the island, have finally been identified. One is from an herbivore called Scelidosaurus, and the other is from a carnivorous neotheropod. They’re 200,000,000 years old!

Let’s celebrate earth today. Not the planet Earth, but dirt. It’s World Soil Day! After you play in the dirt, you can celebrate Bathtub Party Day. Make it nice and bubbly! It’s also International Ninja Day. Move silently, and see if you can slip around unseen.

The Premier Inn, in Holyhead Wales, had an unexpected visitor. A sheep escaped from a nearby field, and entered the hotel through the automatic doors. The sheep, nicknamed Sydney, was found waiting for the elevator. Maybe the hotel guests wanted to count sheep, to help them go to sleep!

Today is World Wildlife Conservation Day. Many species of Earth’s wild animals are endangered, and need special protection. They are hunted by poachers, and their habitats are shrinking and becoming polluted. Organizations like the World Wildlife Fund, use donations to help endangered species. They’ll let you symbolically adopt an animal, and learn all about it.

Today is International Cheetah Day. The fastest land animal, the big cat can go from 0-60 miles-per-hour in 3 seconds, speeding up to 75 in short bursts! They live mainly in Africa. You can identify a cheetah by its spots, and black lines on its face. They sound more like a chirping bird, than like a lion!

Today is Sock Day. What socks will you wear? Whether they’re short, long, woolly, stretchy, striped, or mismatched, make sure they’re clean! It’s also Brown Shoes Day, so now your feet are dressed. Since it’s Faux Fur Day too, wear a fake fur coat to top off your outfit. How about pink tiger stripes?

Today is Dice Day. Dice have been found in Egyptian tombs, that were 4000 years old! A standard die has 6 sides, but role-playing games have dice with 4, 12 or even more sides. It’s also Cookie Day. How many cookies do you get to eat? Roll a 120-sided die, and you might get 10 dozen!

A south African man reached new heights, while setting a world record. Thomas Van Tonder climbed a 164-foot rope, in 3 minutes and 19 seconds. That’s as tall as a 16-story building! The rope was suspended between 2 buildings. I wonder if he got rope burns on his hands, while sliding back down!