Author: Lisa Mungovan

Oops! A street sign in North Carolina for Autumn Oaks Lane, forgot about the silent “N.” It also changed the Lane to Drive. Spellcheck must not work, on street signs! The sign had recently been replaced, after being hit by a car. Always proofread your work, especially when the whole world will see it!

There are some extraordinary trees growing, on the Israeli-Jordanian border. 2 date palms, named Methuselah and Hannah, were sprouted from 2000-year-old seeds. This spring, Methuselah pollinated Hannah, and she produced 111 delicious dates! The project brought Jewish and Arab scientists together, in an area of political conflict. Trees don’t care about man-made borders!

Today is Pepperoni Pizza Day. If you want to look fancy for your pizza feast, use the Glamlite Pizza Palette. It’s a pizza-shaped makeup kit, but the pepperonis are different colored powders! You can have hot sauce and red onion eyes, or use black olive, green pepper, and mushroom for a camouflage look!

Today is Punch Day. No, you don’t get to punch somebody! It’s a sweet, fruity drink. Mix your own fruit punch! Make some fried rice to go with it, because it’s also Fried Rice Day. Take day-old rice, and fry it in a pan combined with diced vegetables, ginger, and soy sauce. It’s delicious!

The Annals of Improbable Research held their annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony virtually. The Materials Science Prize went to researchers who made a knife out of poop. Another team won the Acoustics Prize, for their study of an alligator’s voice on helium. Indian and Pakistani diplomats won the Peace Prize, for playing Ding-Dong Ditch.

Satellite technology may be a useful tool, to fight wildfires. The California Forest Observatory is using a new satellite imaging program, to map every single tree in the state. It will help wildfire authorities predict where fires are starting, and which direction they’ll spread. Wildfires are still raging throughout the US West Coast.

If you went to the beach this summer, did you see any trash? Whether it was left by rude beachgoers, scattered out of trashcans by the wind, or carried in on the waves, trash needs to be picked up by humans. Hit the beach with a garbage bag today, for Coastal Cleanup Day.

It’s International Eat An Apple Day! If there’s an apple orchard near you, go pick your own, because they’re ripe now. It’s also International Red Panda Day. Over 100 zoos worldwide will be celebrating, by creating Red Panda Rangers: children who spread the word about endangered red pandas. They are more like raccoons than pandas.

R! It’s me favorite day matey! It’s Talk Like A Pirate Day! Repeat all your favorite pirate phrases, and make sure you use a gruff, sea-weathered voice all day long! Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum! Except make that a bottle of butterscotch pudding, since it’s also Butterscotch Pudding Day. Now whar’s me pudding!

Transportation officials in the UK, had to remind people that wearing a snakeskin mask is unacceptable, when it’s attached to a live snake. A man on a Manchester bus, had a snake wrapped around his neck and mouth. It may not have protected him from COVID-19, but it certainly made people keep their distance!