Author: Lisa Mungovan

Today is Bison Day. The American bison, the USA’s national mammal, is North America’s largest land mammal. They can grow 11 1/2 feet long! Although people also call them buffalo, the scientific name is Bison bison. Buffalo species, like the cape buffalo and water buffalo, are beardless, and don’t have the giant shoulder hump.

Today is Go Cook For Your Pets Day, so look up a healthy recipe for your little buddy. Continue being kind to animals by celebrating World Vegan Day, and the beginning of World Vegan Month. Vegans don’t eat meat or animal products. Have a dinner tonight that has no meat, fish, or dairy ingredients!

The Earth has imaginary lines marking longitude, that go up and down, and latitude, that go around. Every 15° longitude, is a meridian line, representing 1 hour of the Earth’s rotation. In 1884, officials from 25 nations met, and decided 0° longitude, the Prime Meridian, would run through Greenwich England.

Today is Calzone Day, Vinegar Day, and Cinnamon Day. Calzones are like pizzas folded in half, so the toppings are inside. But vinegar and cinnamon probably wouldn’t be very good fillings. It’s also Author’s Day, so reed a story by your favorite author. Maybe it’ll inspire you to write a story also!

Today is packed! It’s Increase Your Psychic Powers Day. Can you read my mind? If your psychic powers fail you, try sleight of hand instead, since it’s Magic Day! It’s also Carve A Pumpkin Day, Candy Apple Day, and Caramel Apple Day. My favorite trick is to make a few caramel onions too!

Celebrate Frankenstein Friday, by watching the classic movie, reading the book by Mary Shelley, carving a Frankenstein pumpkin with scars and neck bolts, or practicing your best monster lurch. It’s also Bandana Day, so dress your monster as a pirate, a cowpoke, or a considerately masked sick person.

Knock knock. Who’s there? Boo. Boo who? Aw, don’t cry! It’s just Tell A Knock Knock Joke Day! It’s also Doorbell Day, so should we be telling Ding Dong jokes instead? And when you go trick-or-treating, should you ring the doorbell, yell “Trick-or-treat,” or say “Knock knock”. I’m so confused!

Today we celebrate Halloween. Many kids go trick-or-treating, where you go door-to-door to show off your costume, and get rewarded with candy. Or, you could hand out the candy, and eat all your favorites. Some people like to set up spooky decorations, or scare themselves at haunted houses. Whatever you do, have fun safely!

There’s a new world record, for heaviest pumpkin ever. The gargantuan gourd, named Muggle, weighs 2,819 pounds. Twin brothers Ian and Stuart Paton have been growing gargantuan gourds for 50 years. They transported their supersized-squash 2 hours away to Reading England, to be officially weighed. Luckily, Muggle arrived unscathed.

The Cape May Zoo in New Jersey, has a couple of new babies running around. 2 healthy capybara pups were born, to mama Buttercup and papa Goomba. Another capybara, named Marigold, is also due to give birth soon. Capybaras are the world’s largest rodents, native to Colombia. They’re related to guinea pigs.