Author: Lisa Mungovan

Today is Butterfly And Hummingbird Day. They both fly and drink nectar from flowers, but their similarities end there. Butterflies are insects, that transform from caterpillars. Hummingbirds are tiny birds that can hover in midair, by beating their wings up to 200 times-per-second. They hatch from eggs the size of a small jelly bean!

Today is Look At The Leaves Day. Are they changing color yet? Collect a rainbow of colors, and press them in a book. It’s also Change A Light Day. Switch out your old bulbs, to LED bulbs. Light Emitting Diodes are bright and energy efficient, don’t get very hot, and last a long time!

A New York couple figured out a way, for their whole family to attend their wedding. Karen Mahoney and Brian Ray have relatives in Canada and the United States. Since the border is still closed due to COVID-19 restrictions, they got married right on the border, so people from both countries could watch!

Researchers studied the stress people feel, when they get work e-mail after-hours. How do you ignore a message until morning, without feeling guilty? The answer lies with the message-sender. They should add a sentence saying, “This is not urgent, so get to it whenever you can.” Middle-of-the-night texters, should also use that advice!

Planetary scientists know that Jupiter and Saturn have lots of ammonia in their atmosphere, but Uranus and Neptune don’t. The planets are all gas giants, so why are 2 planets missing ammonia? Scientists believe the ammonia combined with water in the atmosphere, to form mushballs, like slushy hailstones, that stay hidden in the clouds.

Today is International Frugal Fun Day. Frugal means thrifty, so do something that doesn’t cost a lot of money. How about a hike in the woods, to find different-colored leaves! You can make cards with them, for Card Making Day. It’s cheaper than buying a card, and a way to give frugal fun away.

What’s your car’s name? You ride in a car all the time, but you don’t even have a name for it? Well, today is Name Your Car Day, so pick a good one! It’s also World Farm Animals Day. Visit a farm with a pumpkin patch and cows, chickens, and goats just for fun!

Saturnino de la Fuente Garcia, is officially the world’s oldest living man, after passing 112 years and 211 days last month. The Spanish great-grandfather, was born in Spain in 1909. He says his secret to long life, is to live “a quiet life” and “do not hurt anyone.” He’ll turn 113 in February!

Every year, Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska has a “fattest bear” competition. Fat Bear Week features different bears each day. Today you can vote for Grazer, Chunk, Cub, and Walker, at explore.org. The brown bears have a few more weeks to stuff themselves, before they start to hibernate for the winter.

It’s Homemade Cookies Day, so here’s my favorite recipe. Mix 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup peanut butter, with 1 egg. Press balls of dough with a fork to make a criss-cross pattern. Bake at 350 degrees, for 10 minutes! It’s also World Vegetarian Day. Skip the meat! Cookies don’t have meat in them, so you can celebrate both!