Author: Lisa Mungovan

Today is Electricity Day, also known as Fly A Kite Day. On this date in 1752, Benjamin Franklin flew a kite in a thunderstorm, to prove that lightning was an electrical discharge. It led to the invention of lightning rods, which channel lightning safely into the ground. What a shocking discovery!

Today is Megalodon Day. Millions of years ago, Megalodon shark babies were bigger than a human at birth. Paleontologists believe the shark pups hatched from their eggs in the womb, growing bigger and stronger before they were born. The 6-foot newborns would grow into 50-foot long mega-sharks, and lose 40,000 teeth over their lifetime.

Today, celebrate everyone’s not-so-secret power. It’s Smile Power Day! See how easy it is to make other people feel better, just by giving them a big smile! It’s also Nature Photography Day. Head outside with your camera or phone, and focus on a blade of grass, the moon, or that cheeky squirrel!

Melbourne Australia, is home to a high-rise office building, that will be able to provide all its own electricity. The 8-story building will be covered with over 1000 solar panels, that look like ordinary glass. The panels can harvest clean energy from the Sun, making the building self-sustainable.

All the planets we can see with the naked eye, are lined up in the sky. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, are arranged from left to right, in order of their distance from the Sun. Get up before the sun rises, to check them out, all through June. Mars is the reddish one.

James Harrison has saved the lives of more than 2.4 million babies in Australia. His blood contains a rare antibody, that neutralizes rhesus disease in pregnant women, and scientists used it to create a vaccine. You don’t need special blood to save lives though. People donate blood every day, to people who need it!

Over 2200 years ago, the Greek mathematician, Archimedes, discovered that an object’s volume could be measured by submerging it in water. He had this revelation while taking a bath, so we celebrate International Bath Day. Today is also Pop Goes The Weasel Day. Learn the words, and find a jack-in-the-box to play along with you.

What’s better than cake? How about mini-cakes? Today is Cupcake Day, so bake a batch to share. Don’t just lick all the icing off. It’s also Strawberry Shortcake Day, so you might have to make a short strawberry cupcake. Please be sure to save one for me!

A British man has a strong touch. Steve Keeler broke a world record, for lifting the most weight with a single finger. He used his middle finger, to lift 285 pounds! Steve is a martial artist, who has been practicing karate since he was 18. He started strength training 4 years ago. It worked!

It must have felt like a scene from Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, for 2 candy factory employees. They were working at the Mars Wrigley plant in Pennsylvania, when they got trapped in a tank, filled waist-deep with chocolate. They were taken to the hospital, but were not badly hurt. I hope the chocolate was tasty.