Author: Lisa Mungovan

There’s another corpse flower blooming, this time at the Missouri Botanical Garden. Lucy is a corpse flower that blooms once every 7 years, and smells like rotting flesh! The giant flower only lasts 48 hours, and opens at night. See the pictures on MoBot’s Facebook page, and be glad you don’t have smell-o-vision.

It’s Rocky Road Day! Rocky road ice cream and fudge is made with marshmallows, nuts and chocolate. No rocks. Speaking of fudge, it’s also Yell “Fudge” At The Cobras In North America Day. Since everyone knows snakes hate fudge, it’ll make them slither away in disgust. Yell “fudge” at noon, with the whole continent!

Aurora borealis, or the Northern Lights, are colorful light displays in the sky that usually occur over northern polar regions. Due to a huge solar storm on the Sun on Friday, the aurora could be visible much further south tonight. Your phone’s camera, can capture even more colors. Look north around after midnight.

Did you know, some sunscreens are harmful to coral reefs? It’s World Reef Awareness Day, and these important ecosystems are in trouble. Plastic pollution in the ocean, harmful chemicals from tourists’ sunblocks, or rising water temperatures of only 2-4 degrees Fahrenheit, can cause coral reefs to eventually die. Let’s all work to save the reefs!

Can’t find your shoes? Who cares! It’s Go Barefoot Day! Feel some lush grass, warm sand, or fuzzy carpet between your toes. It’s also Nail Polish Day, so paint your toenails. You could make them green, in honor of Oscar The Grouch Day. The loveable grump from Sesame Street turns 56 today!

Remember your New Year’s resolutions? It’s New Year’s Resolution Recommitment Day, to let you try again to keep them. It’s also Dare Day, so I dare you to wear a dress, flip a coin, eat an olive, and drink some milk, to celebrate World Milk, Olive, Wear A Dress, and Flip A Coin Day.

You’re such a nice person! I like that shirt you’re wearing. Today is Say Something Nice Day. Complimenting someone can really brighten their day. Try it and see! It’s also Pen Pal Day. Texting and e-mail are easy ways to write to people, but sending a hand-written letter in the mail is something special.

Today is World Parrot Day. Parrots are very intelligent birds, who can develop large vocabularies. One African gray, knows more than 1000 words. Parrots sometimes use plants, as their own pharmacy. There are more than 350 different parrot species, many of them endangered. Some types of parrots, can live to be 100 years old.

If you know someone who’s trying to quit smoking, tell them to sniff pleasant odors! Researchers found that deliberately inhaling a nice aroma, can reduce the urge to light up. It’ll sure smell better than cigarettes, and will help them celebrate World No Tobacco Day. Maybe people who chew tobacco, can eat violets instead.

Do you wear headphones or earbuds when you’re watching videos? Maybe you listen to loud music. Today, on Save Your Hearing Day, try to give your ears a rest. Go outside and listen to the birds instead, or reed a book and let your imagination furnish the sounds. Your ears will thank you!