Author: Lisa Mungovan

Springtime brings allergies for many people, and you could be super-sneezy. Remember to sneeze into your elbow! Also, wash your hands with soap for 20 seconds, every time you blow your nose. Watch the Mythbusters Contamination Experiment, and Safe Sneeze, on YouTube. You’ll see how easy it is to spread your snot to everyone. Gross.

Today is Barbie Day. Ruth Handler made the first Barbie doll, over 60 years ago! Barbie has held many jobs over the years, from fashion designer, to astronaut, to paleontologist. If you visit Washington DC, check out a wacky collection of Barbies, in a garden on Q Street. The display changes with the holidays.

Oh no! You’re late for school! Just kidding, I only wanted to help you celebrate Panic Day. Are you upset because I tricked you? Forget about it, because it’s Get Over It Day. It’s also False Teeth Day. George Washington had a set made from animal teeth, set in led!

If you live where Daylight Saving Time stole an hour of your sleep yesterday, get it back today by stealing a nap! It’s Napping Day! It’s also Fill Our Staplers Day. Those papers aren’t going to staple themselves. Check your staplers before napping, so you don’t have nightmares about running out of staples.

Today is International Women’s Day, which was first celebrated in 1911. This year’s theme is, “Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls.” Women have not always had the same rights as men, so they had to work hard to gain equality. Many places in the world, still limit the rights of women. No one should be left out.

Today is Oregon Day. Did you know the state is home, to the deepest lake in the United States? Crater Lake is nestled in the top of a sleeping volcano. Mount Mazama was 12,000 feet tall before it erupted and collapsed 7,700 years ago. Its crystal clear, deep blue water, comes entirely from rain and snow-melt.

Two day is Poofreading Day. I mean proofreading. You might thin spellcheck will catch all your mistakes, but if you spell worms right, but really meant to write words, you’re going to really confuse the reader. And don’t even get me started on autocorrect fails. Always double-check what you wrote, before you click submit.

Whenever the time changes, you know it’s also Check Your Batteries Day. It’s time to test your smoke detectors, to make sure the batteries are still working! Remind the adults to check them all, or install detectors if they’re missing. Just for fun, make your own battery, with aluminum foil, copper pennies, and salt water.

Spring forward, fall back. Clocks moved forward one hour last night, in North America, for Daylight Saving Time. It’s dark again when kids get up for school, but there’s more natural light in the evening to play outside! It’s good for businesses, and saves a little on electricity. But I’m still sleepy!

On March 7th 1876, Alexander Graham Bell received the first patent for a telephone. A patent gives the owner the rights to their invention. Elisha Gray and Antonio Meucci also invented versions of the telephone, but Bell got his patent first! Celebrate Alexander Graham Bell Day, by talking to someone on a phone.