Author: Lisa Mungovan

What can help protect your heart, lower blood pressure, is made from a bean, and is celebrated today? Bittersweet chocolate! The bitter tasting flavonols that carry health benefits are removed from cacao beans to make sweeter chocolate, so if you want your chocolate to be good for you, bitter is better!

Today is Peculiar People Day, in honor of those individuals who are a little strange. Do your own thing and be proud! It’s also Houseplant Appreciation Day. You might have even more houseplants in the winter, hiding out from the cold, so tell them thank you for giving you cleaner air!

Did you know there’s a Japanese toilet paper, made from used diapers? The cities of Shibushi and Osaki operate a program to separate disposable diapers from the waste stream. Tons of material is sanitized, bleached, and shredded, then mixed with recycled paper, to create thousands of poop-free rolls of toilet paper.

Lord Howe stick insects, also known as tree lobsters, were once believed to be extinct. 80 years later, in 2001, they were rediscovered. In recent years, a single wild population was discovered on a volcanic outcrop called Ball’s Pyramid, in Australia. 4 were removed and bred in captivity, producing thousands for future repopulation.

Every day, there are plant and animal species that go extinct forever. But sometimes, new species are also discovered. In 2025, hundreds of new plants and animals were recorded. Some discoveries were 3 species of toads that give live birth, a smiling bumpy snailfish, an aquamarine poison dart frog, and a caterpillar orchid.

In 1793, the first balloon flight in North America took place, when French inventor Jean Paul Blanchard, demonstrated his hydrogen gas-filled balloon. He rode 1200 feet up into the air, astounding a crowd in Pennsylvania, that included President George Washington! Balloon Ascension Day commemorates that event. Don’t release balloons to celebrate though. That’s littering!

Are you shocked to hear it’s Static Electricity Day? Static electricity is produced when the positive and negative charges of an atom become unbalanced. See static in action by rubbing a balloon against your head. It will stick! Shuffle around the carpet with rubber-soled shoes and try to zap someone. Yee-ouch!

As winter continues to bring snow, the snowplows are staying busy. Some cities have given their plows whimsical names. In Wichita Kansas, you can track the plows in real time, to see who’s coming to clear your street. Will it be Plowy McPlowface, Lil Snow Peep, Plowthagorean Theorem, or Snow Place Like Home?

Did you know, it’s World Typing Day? Typing on a computer, where you can delete mistakes, or move paragraphs around, is so easy. But try typing on a real typewriter today, so you can enjoy rolling the paper in, listening to the clacks and dings, and watching keys strike the paper. It’s so satisfying!

Today is Earth’s Rotation Day. The Earth spins on its axis, like a globe. It takes 24 hours, or 1 day, to make 1 rotation, but the rotation speed can change slightly. In 1851, Leon Foucault demonstrated how the Earth rotates, by hanging a heavy ball, and watching its path change. Watching a Foucault Pendulum swing, is fascinating!