Author: Lisa Mungovan

A Walmart had to be evacuated recently, when a skunk wandered inside. He was discovered shopping in the men’s shoe section. Maybe he was testing shoes, to see how long it took them to stink. Wildlife rescuers were called in to safely remove the skunk, and release him back into the wild.

Some people want Halloween trick-or-treating to take place, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. They’ve designed safe ways to hand out treats, like a candy chute or pinwheels staked in the lawn. A family in Connecticut, built a candypult. It’s a catapult that launches candy at kids, so everyone stays safe and socially distant.

Imagine a football field full of trees, getting cut down in 1 minute. That’s how fast the Amazon rainforest is being destroyed. Brazilian tribes who live deep in the rainforest, like the Eru Eu Wau Wau, use flying drones, to detect illegal logging activity. With recorded evidence, authorities can stop unauthorized loggers and ranchers.

A rescue dog named Eba, is a Conservation Canine. She’s helping to save killer whales, by sniffing their poop. Deborah Giles, a marine biologist who studies orcas, depends on Eba to find whale scat in the water. She then tests the whale pod’s feces, for stress levels, health, toxicity in their diets, and pregnancies.

Today is National Food Day, with the goal of getting people to eat natural, healthier foods. Go for the day without processed snack foods, and make a meal with fresh ingredients. It’s United Nations Day also. The UN works for all people on Earth, offering help during natural disasters, medical emergencies, and war.

When a car whooshes by you, it creates a breeze. That gust of air can be turned into electricity! Wind turbines installed on lamp posts, can harness the energy from passing cars, to power the street lights. Eventually, they could power entire towns. The turbines are part of the UK’s green industrial revolution.

According to NASA, the space agency has an exciting new discovery about the Moon! They ‘ll make the announcement on Monday, leaving you with the weekend to speculate. What do you think the news will be? Maybe the Man in the Moon has a brother, or the Cow pooped while jumping over the Moon.

San Juan Capistrano, in California, has a huge population of cliff swallows. Every year, the birds leave around the same time, to migrate south. 6000 swallows leaving at once, is quite a spectacle, so the town celebrates Swallows Depart From San Juan Capistrano Day. After they winter over in Goya Argentina, the swallows will return.

Snow leopards are big cats, that live in the mountains of South and Central Asia. They grow up to 5 feet long, with a 3-foot tail, that they can wrap around their faces for warmth. Snow leopards can leap up to 50 feet in a single bound! Climate change is the biggest threat to the species.

Today is Mole Day. It has nothing to do with the animals that tunnel underground, or skin growths, or the sauce made from chilies and chocolate. It refers to the unit of measurement for a substance. At 6:02 on 10/23, Avogadro’s Number is represented. 6.02 x 10^23 is roughly the number of particles per mole.