Author: Lisa Mungovan

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.

Today is Fresh Spinach Day! Eat a spinach salad, or roll the leaves up and eat them like a carrot. It’s also Guinea Pig Appreciation Day. Give your furry pet lots of love, but only feed them spinach once a week. Guinea pigs are rodents, with individual personalities. They’re great pets, but need lots of space!

A pigeon in England, has become a tourist attraction. It’s easy to spot, because the bird is bright green! Bird specialists say the color is highly unlikely to have natural causes, like diet or genetics. Someone probably dyed the pigeon green, and it will stay that way until it molts its feathers.

Next month, spend a night under the stars, watching the Perseid meteor showers. August 12-13th will be the peak, as the Earth passes through fields of comet waste. The debris burns up, causing shooting stars in our skies. You can start searching the skies now, as they are visible from mid-July to late August.

Today is I Love Horses Day. Whether you horseback ride, or just enjoy watching them, horses are wonderful. If you’re lucky enough to have one for a pet, include them for Pet Fire Safety Day. Survey your home for ways your pets could start fires, and create an emergency rescue plan for them.

Today is Give Something Away Day. Maybe it’s a toy you don’t use anymore, or some shoes you outgrew, but someone out there is sure to find a use for it! It’s also Gummi Worm Day, and Tapioca Pudding Day. Put the worms in pudding, then give some servings of your yummy-gummy dessert away!

Are you irresistible to mosquitoes? They are attracted to some people’s odors more than others. Researchers found you can train mosquitoes to avoid your odor, by swatting at them and waving your arms around. Air vibrations make them uncomfortable, so they will avoid you for the day and bite your friend instead!

Today is World Chimpanzee Day. Chimps are not monkeys, but great apes. They are the closest genetic relatives, to humans, and like us, they don’t have tails. Chimpanzees are endangered, primarily due to their habitat loss in the forests and savannahs of Africa. They live in groups, but build their own individual beds each night.

Today is Shark Awareness Day. There are over 400 species of sharks, from the 7-inch dwarf lanternshark, to the 60-foot whale shark. Only 34 shark species have ever made a rare attack on a human, but humans kill over 100,000,000 sharks per year. You’re actually 20 times more likely to get killed by a cow, than a shark!