Author: Lisa Mungovan

Today is Bird Day. There are around 18,000 different bird species! The largest non-flying bird is the ostrich, the kori bustard is the heaviest bird that can fly, and the wandering albatross has the largest wingspan, at up to 11 feet! The bee hummingbird is smallest at 2 1/4 inches long. The Australian lyrebird sounds like R2-D2!

Pie and hot chocolate are even better, with a tower of whipped cream sprayed on top! For Whipped Cream Day, try making your own. Simply put some heavy whipping cream in a jar, and shake it for a few minutes! Just don’t shake it too long, or it will turn into butter.

Last week, a llama that had been on the loose for over 2 weeks, was finally captured. He and his friend had jumped the fence on a New York farm, shortly after arriving. One 5-foot-tall llama was quickly recovered, but Gizmo continued to evade capture for 17 days! He was eventually lassoed, and returned safely home.

Due to the pandemic, Barbara and Clive Walshaw hadn’t hugged their grandsons since March. When the British couple saw full body polar bear costumes, they thought it would be the perfect protective equipment to wear, while giving their grandsons big bear hugs! The suits were a creative way, to give much-needed Christmas hugs.

Today is World Braille Day. The Braille alphabet is a pattern of raised dots, so blind people can read by feeling the letters. Did you know LEGO makes Braille Bricks? The bricks also have the letter printed on each piece, so everyone can learn to read by touch. The LEGOs connect to regular sets.

Name 3 things celebrated on January 4th. Give up? One answer is Hypnotism Day, Spaghetti Day, and Trivia Day! Make up your own trivia questions and play with your family, while eating a spaghetti dinner. Then try to hypnotize someone and tell them to act like a chicken! You’re getting very, very, sleepy.

Did you know pine needles, are full of Vitamin C? That’s one reason why old Christmas trees, are a treat for goats. The Lewis Adventure Farm and Zoo, in Michigan, would love to feed your old trees to their herd of 40 goats. Check farms in your area, to make some local goats happy!

When you breathe in oxygen, you breathe out carbon dioxide. Plants produce oxygen, and trap the CO2. But nature can’t handle all the harmful carbon released into the air from cars, factories, and burning fuel, and many forests have been destroyed. Reducing your carbon footprint, means you’re responsible for less carbon in our atmosphere.

At the beginning of each new year, millions of people make a resolution, to break a bad habit. Scientists believe that what you actually need to do, is form a new habit to replace the bad one. Be prepared to spend some time working on it. Breaking a longtime habit could take many months.

Today is Drinking Straw Day, but modern plastic straws can harm the environment and wildlife. Marvin Stone invented paper straws in 18 88, but ancient Sumerians were using gold straws to drink 5000 years ago! Argentinians use metal straws that end in sieves called bombillas. Invest in a reusable steel or bamboo straw to celebrate!