Author: Lisa Mungovan

The peak of the Perseid meteor showers, is tonight and tomorrow morning, before dawn. Stay up late or get up early, to watch as the Earth passes through fields of comet waste. The debris burns up, causing the shooting stars in our skies. Dark skies are best, to see the trails of light.

Elephants are the largest land mammals in the world. Their skin is an inch thick. They can weigh over 12,000 pounds, and grow 10 feet tall. They eat 300-600 pounds of food a day, with around 220 pounds coming back out as poop. Celebrate these amazing animals, for World Elephant Day!

Today is the United Nations’ International Youth Day. The theme this year, is “Local Youth Actions for the Sustainable Development Goals and Beyond”. Young people like Greta Thunberg have taken global ideas, and put them in action in their local communities. Adults can be inspired by kids, to make changes.

Today is Vinyl Record Day. These big flat discs with a spiral groove, store sound. Dig out a record player and dance!! Or, watch the Slow Mo Guys Spin a vinyl record so fast that it shatters, on their YouTube channel. Their camera films 343,000 frames-per-second. Everything’s amazing in slow motion!

Alex Babich has been growing a magnificent sunflower, in Indiana. Last week, his sunflower, named Clover, broke the US record for tallest sunflower, by reaching 26 feet, 8 inches. Clover kept growing, and surpassed the world record as it stretched to 30 feet 1 inch. Maybe it’s trying to get closer to the Sun!

Some people with conditions like diabetes, develop sores that take a long time to heal. One kind of bandage, can help chronic wounds heal faster. The bandage has electrodes that come into contact with the wound, and a water-activated battery. The electrical field reduces inflammation, and speeds up healing, by 30%!

I hear crickets chirping! Male crickets chirp to attract females, by rubbing their wings together. Crickets can also tell you the temperature outside! Count how many times a cricket chirps in 14 seconds, then add 40, for an approximate temperature in degrees Fahrenheit. For Celsius, count the chirps in 25 seconds, divide by 3, then add 4.

Today is Son’s And Daughter’s Day, which seems a little silly, because everyone was born as someone’s son or daughter! Any excuse to celebrate is welcome, so try to be the kind of kid that would make your parents proud. Let’s all be nice and helpful, and kind to each other!

Grab your buckets and shovels, because today is Play In The Sand Day. Make a sand castle at the beach, or a construction zone in the sandbox. If you’d rather stay home, you’re in luck. It’s also Global Kinetic Sand Day. The squeezable sand, was originally mixed with beeswax, to make it less messy.

Today is World Lion Day. The “King of the Jungle” actually inhabits grasslands. A lion’s roar can be heard for 5 miles! They live in groups of about 15, called prides, with a male as the leader. The mane of hair around his neck gets darker with age. Lion populations are shrinking. Let’s save the lions!