Author: Lisa Mungovan

Martin Rees is a magician, with an extra trick up his sleeve; he breaks world records. The English prestidigitator performed 20 magic tricks in 3 minutes, while submerged underwater! His other world records include identifying the most cards in 1 minute, most tricks in a wind tunnel, most tricks while skydiving, and most tricks while blindfolded.

In Woomera Australia, scientists are getting ready for Hayabusa2’s arrival. The spacecraft was launched 6 years ago, by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. It has traveled nearly 3.3 billion miles, and collected material from the surface, of the asteroid Ryugu. Hayabusa2 will drop its capsule of asteroid specimens, and continue its flight for years to come.

Is there someone famous, you’ve always wanted to meet? A website called Cameo.com, lets you get a personalized message, from celebrities. Unfortunately, you have to pay for the privilege, but it could make an amazing gift for someone. Some people will also chat with you, or come to your Zoom meeting with your friends!

The Fibonacci sequence is a series of numbers, where the next number is found by adding the 2 numbers in front of it. 0+1=1, 1+1=2, 1+2=3, 2+3=5, 3+5=8, and so on. Keep the sequence going, for Fibonacci Day! Find the sequence in nature, by looking for spiral patterns in pine cones, sunflowers, or snails!

Today is Eat A Cranberry Day. They’re quite tart, so many recipes add lots of sugar, but raw cranberries are super-nutritious! It’s also Cashew Day. They’re actually seeds, formed on the bottom of cashew apples. Look up a picture of a cashew tree! Then celebrate Espresso Day, by sampling some strong coffee.

COVID-19 is making it dangerous for people to get together for the holidays, but one tradition is still safe. You can drive around, and look at pretty lights! A Texas company launched a light show extravaganza, called Radiance. Spectators drive a mile-long course of lights, while listening to Christmas music and drinking hot chocolate.

In 1994, Paul Davis lost his wallet on an Australian beach, at a New Year’s Eve party. Nearly 26 years later, Joseph Bewes found it! The wallet was buried in a sand dune, but still held credit cards and $5. Joseph successfully reunited the wallet with its owner, who rewarded him with a 6-pack of beer.

Did you know that when you surf the web, the search engine you use makes money? Ecosia is a search engine like google, but it uses all its profits to plant trees. They’ve planted over 100,000,000 trees so far! If you’d like to help plant trees while you watch cat videos, download the Ecosia browser.

The United Kingdom is making a big commitment, to fight climate change. By the year 20 30, they’ll ban the sale of cars, that use gas or diesel fuel. Electric cars are an important step, in creating a green industrial revolution. The UK is also focusing on wind energy and hydro power, to cut carbon emissions.

Today is Go For A Ride Day, and Cranberry Relish Day. You could ride your bike to the store, for cranberries! But the most exciting holiday to celebrate, is Start Your Own Country Day! Think of a name for your country, then draw a map, design a flag, and create a new language!