Author: Lisa Mungovan

Today is Bridge Day, but it’s not really about bridges. It’s about BASE jumpers, the people who jump off bridges for fun, using parachutes or wingsuits! BASE stands for Buildings, Antennas, Spans, (like bridges), and Earth, (like cliffs). It’s also Adventure Day, so do something fun, and maybe less dangerous than BASE jumping!

When you break a toy, do you throw it away, or do you fix it? Today is International Repair Day, so practice fixing something broken. YouTube videos give you step-by-step instructions to fix cars, appliances, and even dolls. By repairing items yourself, you’ll save a lot of money, and keep stuff out of landfills.

Every year, a pumpkin shows up at the University of Montana during Homecoming. This is the 30th year a pumpkin has appeared, impaled on the spire atop the Main Hall. It was revealed during an anonymous interview, that a whole team of climbers and lookouts are responsible for the annual prank.

The sawfish, a type of ray, was once nearly extinct in parts of the world. In 2023, a scientist caught a 13-foot-long sawfish in Florida, and recently, a sawfish was found in South Africa. The fish with a nose like a chainsaw, may be increasing in numbers. That’s great news, for Sawfish Day!

Celebrate National Pasta Day with this fun fact: Kevin Cole holds the record for the Longest Spaghetti Nasal Ejection. He put a strand of spaghetti in his mouth, then blew it out his nostril 7 1/2 inches! He can also suck spaghetti in one nostril and pull it out the other, to floss his nose.

Today is Wear Something Gaudy Day, so get out your brightest, showy clothes! A neon shirt with sparkly pants and polka dot socks would be perfect! It’s also Pay Back A Friend Day. If you borrowed money from someone, pay them back today. If someone played a prank on you, it’s also payback time!

Playing cards is fun, especially with an unusual deck. There are cards shaped like pizza slices, cards with Star Wars characters, and clear cards for playing around a campfire. For Playing Card Collection Day, show off your favorite deck, while learning a new card game. Ask your parents how to play 52 Card Pickup

Restaurants are getting into the Halloween spirit, by dressing up their menus. Sonic is featuring Witch’s Brew Slush floats, with green apple slush and salted caramel bubbles. Burger King is serving up orange-and-black Jack O’Lantern Whoppers, Vampire Nuggets, Mummy Mozzarella Fries, and purple Franken-Candy Sundaes. Wendy’s Boo Bags meals come with Boo Books.

The Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off, in California, is the Super Bowl of Pumpkins. The new Pumpkin King of Half Moon Bay, grown by Brandon Dawson, weighed 2,346 pounds, beating the competition by 300 pounds! Last year his entry weighed more, at 2,465 pounds, but the winner was just 6 pounds heavier.

Today is World Food Day, created by the United Nations. This year’s theme is, “Hand in Hand for Better Foods and a Better Future.” Cooperation is key, to people getting enough to eat. Governments, farmers, communities and individuals must all work together. Food is essential, and everyone deserves to eat.