Author: Lisa Mungovan

It’s not Halloween yet, but the last Saturday in October is Trick Or Treat Day. Many communities have Trunk Or Treat events, where you collect candy from decorated cars. Shopping malls, pumpkin patches, and school fall festivals, may also be good places to show off your costume, before Halloween night. Go find some fun!

If you come across mysterious holes, in freshwater riverbanks, they could be from catfish. Wildlife officials have found many examples, in Florida. Sailfin catfish, also known as plecos, use the burrows for nesting sites to protect their young. Unfortunately, plecos are an invasive species, and the catfish condos destabilize banks and disrupt ecosystems.

Kangaroos are easy to recognize, jumping around with their big feet and long tails. They are native to Australia, and are marsupials, which means their baby joeys develop in a pouch. The largest species of kangaroo, the red kangaroo, can grow more than 6 1/2 feet tall! Practice your best hop, for Kangaroo Day.

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.

Today is a good day to go a little wild, because it’s Crazy Day! Wear some wacky clothes, and mix up your food. French fries in ice cream is always delicious! Since it’s also Good & Plenty Day, you could sprinkle some of the delicious pink and white candies, which contain licorice, on your spaghetti!

The annual West Coast Giant Pumpkin Regatta took place last weekend, in Oregon. People lowered their gargantuan gourds into the lake, carved them into boats, got dressed in costumes, and began the race. Most pumpkins weighed about 6-700 pounds. Paddling around in the hollowed-out gourds isn’t easy, but it’s fun to watch!

It’s Snow Leopard Day! The big cats 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 threatens the species.

Do you ever wear Crocs? The foam shoes were invented for boaters, because they float. The comfy shoes have been made with KFC charms, little bum-bags, and even high heels. Today is Croc Day, so wear ’em if you have ’em. It’s also Boston Cream Pie Day, the official state dessert of Massachusetts. Yummy!

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.

Today is Mole Day. It’s not about 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 October 23rd, Avogadro’s Number is represented. 6.02 x 10^23 is roughly the number of particles per mole.