Author: Lisa Mungovan

This week, officers in Canada, rescued a dog from an ice floe. In Virginia, 7 fox kits were lifted out of a window well. A horse was saved from floodwaters in Illinois, a donkey was pulled from a canal in Arizona , and an abandoned bear cub was helped from a New Jersey ditch. Wow!

What looks like a hippopotamus, but is even cuter? A pygmy hippo! Pygmy hippos are much smaller than regular hippopotamuses, weighing only 400-600 pounds. A full-size hippo can weigh 4000 pounds! There are fewer than 2,500 pygmy hippos left in their native habitat, the West African rainforests. They’re nocturnal, so tell them Happy Pygmy Hippo Day tonight.

Today, eat all your meals packaged in pastry, because it’s Empanada Day. To make empanadas, fold dough around the filling of your choice. You could use cheese, vegetables, fruit, or whatever else you’d like. The pockets are then baked or fried. They’re so popular, some cities even have empanada carts on the street corners.

Today is Zoo Lovers Day. Look for the A-Z-A logo, to show that a zoo is accredited. That means they take great care of their animals! It’s also Draw A Picture Of A Bird Day. Try sketching the unusual birds at the zoo’s aviary, common ones at home, or crazy imaginary birds!

A cat in Kansas hates going to the vet so much, it took the fire department to get him there. The cat got stuck inside a mechanical reclining chair, while trying to avoid his annual checkup. Firefighters had to cut the chair open to free him. The cat’s vet visit went just fine.

Today is Beaver Day! Beavers are the national animal of Canada. The master engineers build dams and canals, and make lodges out of mud and sticks. Their dams create valuable wetlands. They can stay underwater for 15 minutes, and use their flat tails like rudders. Beavers eat trees for dinner, including the toothpick.

Today is World Health Day, commemorating the creation of the World Health Organization. This year’s theme is,  “Together for health. Stand with science.” Scientists around the world work together, to safeguard the health of humans, animals, plants, and the environment. Research and scientific evidence result in better disease prevention for everyone.

There are 12 inches in a foot, 3 feet in a yard, and 1760 yards in a mile. Also, there are 10 millimeters in a centimeter, 100 centimeters in a meter, and 1000 meters in a kilometer. The second group is the metric system, which certainly seems easier to remember. Happy Metric Day!

A flight to California from North Carolina was delayed, due to bees. A swarm of bees had landed in the airplane’s turbine, and beekeepers had to come out and remove them. Swarms are common in springtime, as bee colonies set out with their queen, in search of a new home.

Today is World Table Tennis Day. It’s a lot easier to fit a ping-pong table in your house, than a tennis court. Table tennis began as a parlor game in Victorian England, and became an Olympic Sport in 19 88. If you don’t have a ping-pong table in your house, use your dining room table instead!