Author: Lisa Mungovan

I’d like you to get out a number 2 pencil. Don’t worry, it’s not for a test. It’s just Number 2 Pencil Day! The number indicates how hard the graphite core is. Softer number 1 pencils are used by artists for drawing, and harder number 3 pencils, are used by architects and engineers.

Today is Black Cat Appreciation Day. Black cats are least likely to be adopted. One ridiculous reason, is that they’re not as photogenic! Consider giving a black kitty a good home. It’s also Thrift Shop Day. Be good to the Earth, and reuse what other people no longer need. Plus, it’s a bargain!

Don’t be alarmed if you see a squirrel, stretched out flat on the ground. It’s just trying to stay cool. On hot days, squirrels and other animals sploot on cool surfaces, to dump heat. Many mammals have less fur on their bellies, so the cooler temperatures of a shaded rock feels refreshing.

A group of cave explorers, or spelunkers, were mapping a cave in Missouri, when they found a dog. She was 200 feet into the cave, down a very steep, tight passage. The team passed her hand-to-hand, up to the surface. Identified as Abby, she’d been missing for 2 months. She’s happy to be out!

Hurricanes have long been given names, while big winter storms have only recently been named. Now, for the first time, a heat wave has received the honor. July’s heat wave in Spain, where temperatures reached 112° Fahrenheit, is named Zoe. Naming weather events makes the public more aware, of the extreme danger they bring.

A new study suggests that Jupiter’s icy moon Europa, might have upside-down underwater snow. Europa has an icy crust, that might be formed by frazil ice. Europa is covered by an ocean, and the fluffy ice crystals drift up to the surface, like snow in reverse, creating the moon’s crusty shell.

Knock knock. Who’s there? Interrupting duck. Interrupting duh-Quack-quack-quack-quack-quack! Ha ha ha! It’s Tell A Joke Day! You can ask me to tell you a joke, so you can learn some good ones! It’s also Rollercoaster Day! Are you brave enough to ride the Steel Vengeance? It has a 90 degree drop. That’s straight down!

Robert Pope just became the first person, to run across the width of Ireland, in under 24 hours. He started at the Atlantic Ocean in Galway, and arrived on the opposite shore in Dublin, in 23 hours and 39 minutes. He started and ended his 133.5-mile journey, with a pint of Guinness.

The Chester Zoo in England, welcomed a new baby last week. Orla, a Rothschild’s giraffe, had a baby boy! Giraffes are pregnant for 15 months, and a calf averages 6 feet tall at birth. Within minutes, Stanley was already standing up, so he could start nursing. He was a hungry baby!

Last year, billions of periodical cicadas emerged from the ground after 17 years, filling the air with their song. But you might still be hearing cicadas this summer. Some stragglers can emerge a year or two late. There are also other species of cicadas, that emerge every year. The big bugs are all harmless.