Author: Lisa Mungovan

Today is Bellydance Day. Watch a bellydancing tutorial, then give it a try. It’s also Train Day. Take a train ride, or count the graffiti-covered cars on a passing train. Give your best train-whistle, and say, “All aboard!” Then celebrate Windmill Day, by making your own pinwheel, and taking it outside for a spin.

Have you ever gotten a McDonald’s Happy Meal, or a Burger King Kids Meal? Do you still have the toy that came with it? A man in the Philippines, has collected 20,000 fast-food toys. Percival Lugue earned the world record for most fast-food toys in 2014, when he reached 10,000 items. Since then, his collection has doubled.

Wandering around the streets of Brooklyn New York, is a special superhero. Taylor Mali, also known as Plastic Bagman, uses his powerful Snatchelator, to pull plastic trash out of trees. He modified a 21-foot pole, adding metal pieces to the end, in order to snag derelict bags tangled in branches. Thanks Plastic Bagman!

A fossil found in Madagascar 6 years ago, has been identified as a new species. The prehistoric reptile, called the quick-mouthed frog turtle, lived during the late Cretaceous period over 66,000,000 years ago, around the same time as triceratops and pterosaurs. The turtle, with a flattened skull, and large tongue bones, was probably a suction feeder.

Scientists in the Netherlands may have found a new helper, in the fight against COVID-19. They trained bees to detect the virus, with their sense of smell. The bees could identify positive COVID samples in seconds. Scientists hope bees can help with coronavirus testing, in locations that don’t have high-tech lab equipment.

SpaceX successfully launched and landed, its prototype Starship 15. Previous test flights ended in explosions, but this time, the Starship rocket flew 6 miles up, then descended back to the landing pad. Aside from a small fire near the base, the launch was the first perfect takeoff and landing. It’s one more step towards interplanetary flights.

The National Air and Space Museum, has plenty of historic flying machines in its collection, like the Space Shuttle DIscovery. You can check out the first airplane, the Wright Flyer, or the fastest plane, a Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird. A Star Wars ex-wing Starfighter, is the newest exhibit. It’s undergoing conservation in Virginia’s Udvar-Hazy Center.

When you cross into a different state or country by road, a sign might welcome you. In a field, borders could be an invisible line, between 2 posts. A farmer in Belgium was annoyed by a stone border marker in his tractor’s path, so he moved it 7 feet away, accidentally making France a bit smaller.

Will you skip your homework, for No Homework Day? Don’t blame me if you get in trouble! Today is also Beverage Day. Did you know you can go for 3 weeks without food, but only 3 to 4 days without water? Water’s the best thing for your body to drink, but it’s also in most other drinks.