Author: Lisa Mungovan

The crowd roared at the Emerald Downs racetrack in Washington, but the racers may have roared even louder. More than 300 people wearing Tyrannosaurus rex costumes, participated in the annual T-Rex World Championship races. 3 skydiving dinosaurs added to the excitement before the race. The top Tyrannosaur was Andrew Stuber, from Texas.

July is full of fireworks, but do you know what creates different colors? Yellow bursts are made with sodium. Red, green, and blue flares come from strontium, barium, and copper. White bursts are created with aluminum or magnesium, while golden sparkles use carbon. Combining ingredients creates even more colors! Pyrotechnics require serious scientific knowledge!

In 1862, math teacher Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, entertained his friend’s daughter Alice, and her 2 sisters, with a fantastical story. The girls loved the tale so much, that he wrote it down. That book, published under the name Lewis Carroll, was “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”. Wear a mad hat, for Alice in Wonderland Day!

Today is Jackfruit Day. It’s high in protein and tastes similar to pork, so it’s a great food to eat instead of meat. That’s perfect, because it’s also Independence From Meat Day! Better yet, it’s Barbecue Day, and Caesar Salad Day, so you can barbecue slabs of jackfruit, and eat it with a salad!

The Fourth of July is known as Independence Day in the United States. This is the day they officially declared independence from the British Empire in 1776. Celebrate your independence from stoves, by participating in Sidewalk Egg Frying Day. The surface needs to reach at least 144 degrees Fahrenheit to start cooking.

The Juno probe is using its Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper, to study Jupiter’s moon Io. Juno has gathered data on cyclones the size of Australia, measured active volcanoes, and revealed that about 3% of the surface is covered in lava. Io is completely freckled with lava lakes, contained in caldera-like features.

Today is International Plastic Bag Free Day! Don’t use any plastic bags when you go shopping. Get reusable bags and vow to use them from now on! Then look in the mirror and tell yourself how awesome you are. It’s Compliment Your Mirror Day, and the person in your mirror is you!

Have you ever found, a colorfully painted rock? It’s fun to decorate a stone, then hide it for a stranger to find one day. There are local Facebook groups, to share the rocks you found, or show off the ones you decorated. Today is International Drop A Rock Day, so start painting!

Here are 2 days that are made for each other. It’s Stay Out Of The Sun Day, and Air Conditioning Appreciation Day. It’s okay to stay inside, and get away from the heat. It’s also Eat Your Beans Day. Beans tend to make you gassy. Maybe you’ll want to spend some time outside after all!

Do you ever get the hiccups? Some people think drinking cold water or holding your breath, can help you get rid of them. Neurologists developed a straw called HiccAway that seems to help, but sometimes patience is the only cure. Charles Osborne had the hiccups for 68 years! They stopped after about 430,000,000 hiccups.