Author: Lisa Mungovan

The village of Piplantri, in Rajasthan India, started a wonderful tradition. Since 2006, whenever a girl is born in their community, they plant 111 fruit trees! The number 111 is believed to bring success, and the 350,000 trees planted so far, have succeeded in bringing resources to the village. What a fruitful way to celebrate girls!

Today is Cappuccino Day, a delicious version of coffee made with espresso and foamy steamed milk. Speaking of steam, it’s also National STEAM Day, which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math. The day was created to inspire kids to explore those subjects, for possible careers in the future.

There was a parade in Brazil at Cumbuco Beach, but it wasn’t marching down the sand. Instead, 640 kite surfers formed a procession in the water. Only 596 of the surfers completed the 1 mile parade, in order to break the world record. It must have been hard to avoid getting tangled up with each other!

Oh no, the toilet paper roll is empty again. If only they made gigantic rolls for your house, like they have in some public restrooms. Charmin just made that wish come true! Now you can buy 3 giant Forever Rolls of toilet paper, with a freestanding holder, for $30. Whoever’s strongest can change the empty roll.

As an alternative to the Melbourne Cup horse race, an animal sanctuary in Australia held the Compassionate Stakes, T-Rex Cup races. The Little Oak Sanctuary organized dinosaur footraces and roller skate races in Canberra, to raise money to take care of former racehorses. Clumsy, colorful T-Rexes were more fun to watch, and cruelty-free!

Have you seen Bigfoot? Someone stole him! A 300-pound, 8-foot-tall statue of Sasquatch was taken from the Mattress Monsters store in Florida last month. There have been thousands of possible real ‘Squatch sightings over the years, but there’s still no proof that the legendary creature actually exists. The statue should be easier to spot!

Gather all your teddy bears, and start hugging. It’s Hug A Bear Day! Although wild bears look cute and fuzzy also, it’s best to leave them alone! It’s also Bittersweet Chocolate With Almonds Day. It’s not the most common candy bar, so today would be a good day to make your own delicious treat!

A toilet at an Expo in Hong Kong, is anything but ordinary. This throne is made of gold, with 40,815 diamonds embedded in the bulletproof glass seat. The toilet may qualify for a new world record, for most diamonds in a toilet seat. Don’t forget to flush, to keep it sparkling!

Have you ever observed a sunflower throughout the day? The flower’s face tilts toward the sun as it moves across the sky. Scientists have used nanotechnology to create solar panels, that copy the sunflower’s ability to follow the sun. Tiny stems on their experimental SunBOTs bend towards light, to absorb maximum energy!

When 6-year-old Ethan wandered off with his dog in Minnesota, 600 people gathered to find him as temperatures dropped. While their search line combed the area, Steve Fines flew his company’s heat-seeking drone across the fields. The 30,000 dollar drone finally located Ethan and his dog a mile from his house, cold but unharmed. Great job!