Author: Lisa Mungovan

Today is Gobstopper Day! If you like your candy to last a long time, get a giant jawbreaker, also known as gobstoppers. The candy ball is too hard to bite, so you can lick it for weeks instead. It’s also Cream Filled Doughnut Day, so stop by the doughnut shop to choose your favorite!

A hoagie is a wonderful thing. You might also know it as a sub, a hero, a torpedo, a po’boy, a grinder, or simply a sandwich on Italian bread. There are as many options to put inside your sandwich, as there are names for it! Today, for Eat A Hoagie Day, make yours perfect.

Scientists are noticing that some parrots in the Amazon, don’t sound quite like they used to. Yellow-naped Amazon parrots have different accents depending on where they live, just like humans. By adapting their shrieks and whistles, the parrots can communicate with parrots from other regions, expanding their chances for survival.

Okay kids, what are we having for dinner tonight? It’s Kids Take Over The Kitchen Day! I suggest preparing something with peanuts, pickles and fortune cookies, because it’s also Peanut Day,  Fortune Cookie Day, and Snack A Pickle Day. Write your own fortunes for the cookies, like, ” Reward your children for making you dinner.”

The Studebaker Company started out, making buggies and wagons in 1852. They switched to cars after automobiles were invented, and stayed in business until 1966. Today is Drive Your Studebaker Day, so keep an eye out, for antique cars. Since it’s also Lacemaking Day, watch a demonstration of someone making lace. It looks confusing.

Today is Roald Dahl Day, in honor of his birthday in 19 16. The children’s author wrote books like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The BFG, Fantastic Mr Fox, and James and the Giant Peach. Roald was also a World War 2 Ace fighter pilot, a spy, a chocolate taste-tester, and an inventor.

Some people think the number 13, breaking a mirror, or spilling salt, is bad luck. These are called superstitions, and are not actually true. Today is Defy Superstition Day, so feel free to walk under ladders, step on all the cracks, and open umbrellas indoors. Just make sure there’s nothing in the way first!

A company called Form Energy in Maine, is building the biggest battery ever, capable of 8,500 megawatt-hours of storage. It can store the energy produced by wind and solar sources, and discharge it as needed using a process called reverse rusting. It will store enough energy to power 85,000 homes, for 100 hours.

Today is the first World Dolphin Day. Dolphins are mammals. Even though they spend their life in water, they need to breathe air. They are very intelligent, have excellent eyesight and hearing, and can make a wide range of sounds. There are 40 different species of dolphin. The Amazon River dolphin is pink!

On Cloud Appreciation Day, people from around the world look up, photograph their sky, and describe how it makes them feel, at cloudappreciationsociety.org. Share your view of the sky today, or simply take some time to watch the clouds. Look up the differences between cirrus, stratus, and cumulus clouds. What’s your favorite cloud?