Author: Lisa Mungovan

Today is Tropical Fruit Day. They grow in warm areas of the world. Most people have eaten an orange or banana, but have you ever tried dragonfruit, rambutan, papaya, or guava? How about the super-stinky durian? It’s also Sour Candy Day, so stick to sour pineapple and lemon candy for dessert.

A dolphin in South Carolina, named Lucky, was stranded in a tidal lagoon, after swimming through a culvert during heavy rains. Once the tide went out, the water was only 2 feet deep! Firefighters and marine mammal specialists, lifted Lucky on a tarp, and released the 500-pound dolphin safely into the May River.

Although the state is known for its juicy peaches, farmers in Georgia lost more than 90% of their crop in 2023 because of a heat wave in February, followed by late-spring frosts. This year’s harvest is just the opposite, with loads of sweet, delicious peaches. I’m glad, because today is Peach Ice Cream Day.

In the 1960’s, Princeton University math students Michael Spivak and David Kelly, got obsessed with the number, 17. The prime number, which is a number that can only be divided by itself and 1, is also the sum of the first 4 prime numbers. To celebrate 17, they created Yellow Pig Day, with a 17-toed-and-toothed mascot.

On this day in 1938, Wrong Way Corrigan took his new plane on a transatlantic flight, from New York to Ireland. Actually, he was supposed to be flying the opposite direction, to California. He claimed his compass wasn’t working, and the clouds prevented him from noticing, he was flying over water instead of land.

Today is World Emoji Day! If you send a text message, don’t use words. Just use pictures! There are more than 3600 emojis, so take some time to scroll through all the newest ones! If you prefer pictures on your body, it’s also Tattoo Day. Time to plaster your arms with fake tattoos!

Do you like to put puzzles together? You might have a few block puzzles from when you were a baby, and perhaps you’ve helped your parents with a 500-piece puzzle. Liza Fireman loves puzzles so much, that she holds the world record for most jigsaw puzzles. She has collected 4,060 different designs since 2019!

Tuesday was Pet Fire Safety Day, but it was a day too late for a turtle in England. On Monday, the tortoise had knocked over his heat lamp, which landed on hay in his aquarium, starting a fire. Luckily, the London Fire Brigade quickly extinguished the fire, and the careless tortoise was not hurt.

Today is World Snake Day. Have you ever touched a snake’s smooth scaly skin? Medusa, a reticulated python, was the longest snake in the world, at 25 feet long. Dozens of people could touch her at once! Tiny threadsnakes, are only 4 inches long, and the width of a spaghetti noodle. How cute!

Today is Cherry Day. See if there’s a farm nearby, where you can pick your own cherries. Although they’re past their peak further south, they’re ripe through August in northern regions. Do you prefer tart cherries, sweet cherries, or maraschino cherries? Sit in your favorite chair, and taste-test all the cherries.