Author: Lisa Mungovan

Have you ever made a wish on a shooting star? When a meteoroid, sometimes as small as a pebble, falls through Earth’s atmosphere, it heats up. That’s the streak of light we see! Most meteoroids burn up, but if any part reaches Earth, it’s called a meteorite. Today is Meteor Watch Day. Good luck!

Quick, what’s 8 times 7? 3 times 9? 6 times 12? If you learn your times tables flawlessly, you might be able to beat the world record, of England’s 10-year-old Nadub Gill. He spent studied math on the Times Table Rock Stars app during quarantine. He recently beat 700 other students, by answering 196 multiplication and division questions, in 1 minute.

Mexican wolves in the United States and Europe, were once hunted to extinction. They were reintroduced in 20 15, and numbers are starting to bounce back. The Mexican Wolf Interagency Field Team, breeds wolf pups in captivity, then places them in established packs, to be raised. At least 163 Mexican wolves, now live in the Southwestern US.

Michelle Brenner was looking for things to do, while the store where she worked was closed, during the COVID-19 shutdown. She went grocery shopping for friends, and was dismayed to see frozen lasagna on their shopping list. The Italian-American started making homemade lasagna for anyone who asked, and has given out 1200 pans so far!

Waffles are a great invention. They’re like pancakes, but designed to hold pools of syrup! Today is Waffle Iron Day, so I’m going to use my Darth Vader and Hello Kitty irons to make fun waffles! It’s also Camera Day. Learn all the special features on your camera, and take lots of pictures!

Today is International Mud Day! A lot of animals roll in mud to cool off, and some people put mud on their faces to help their skin. Sometimes it’s just fun to play in the mud! If you can’t find any mud, grab a hose, spray it on some dirt, and make your own!

Ocean Voyages Institute, has been hard at work cleaning up the ocean. They spent 48 days in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, removing 103 tons of fishing nets and plastics from the water. They carried the haul of debris back to Hawaii for recycling, and are headed back out for more. Donate at ocean-voyages-institute.org, to help.

A few years ago, Mark Clark won $4,000,000 playing a scratch-off lottery ticket. His luck hasn’t run out yet, because he just hit another jackpot for $4,000,000! He used a lucky coin, given to him by his father before he died, to scratch the ticket. He’s only 50, so he can enjoy a long life of luxury.

A dust cloud nicknamed Godzilla, is touring the United States, after traveling 5000 miles from Africa. A cloud of sand and dust from the Sahara Desert, gets swept up into the atmosphere every year, and travels around the Earth. The Saharan Air Layer temporarily causes hazy skies, redder sunsets, and annoying allergies. Breathe in Africa.

Today is Happy Heart Hugs Day. It was created for anyone who “fills your heart with happy, that’s not close enough for regular-type hugs.” They’re the perfect socially-distanced hug. It’s also Tapioca Day. Tapioca is a starch made from the cassava plant. They’re the beads that look like frog eggs, in tapioca pudding.