Author: Lisa Mungovan

Every year, thousands of puppies and kittens are given to animal shelters. Sometimes they don’t even have room for them all. Today is World Spay Day, which reminds people to spay and neuter their dogs and cats, so the shelters won’t be so full! They already have enough rescue animals for you to adopt!

Crunch-crunch-crunch. Today is Tortilla Chip Day! In Los Angeles in the 1940’s, Rebecca Webb Carranza noticed all the misshapen tortillas that were rejected at the El Zarape Tortilla Factory. She cut them into triangles and fried them, then sold them for 10 cents a bag. Corn + oil + water + salt = delicious!

There’s a stretch of land between North and South Korea, where people aren’t allowed. For more than 70 years, the 160-mile-long Demilitarized Zone has created a buffer between the 2 countries, and a safe zone for animals. Endangered cranes, musk deer, otters, bears, and 6,000 other species, are thriving in the human-free habitat.

Automobiles have inflatable airbags, that protect passengers during a car accident. But motorcyclists can’t depend on their bike for protection. That’s why the Airbag Inside company, created inflatable jeans. Mo’cycle jeans contain hidden airbags, covered in super-strong denim. The airbags automatically deploy when a rider is thrown from their bike, to cushion the impact.

Dallas International Airport, in Texas, is collecting energy in an unusual way. Before planes take off, pilots run a series of checks while the engines idle. The JetWind company built pods that turn that 10 minutes of airflow from the jets, into eco-friendly energy. The energy helps power the airport.

Today is Banana Bread Day. It started out as a way to use up the mushy bananas that nobody wanted to eat, but it’s delicious! It’s also Dog Biscuit Day, so give your poochie a treat. Find a good recipe, and bake him a batch of biscuits so good, that you’d eat them too!

There’s more to the sport of curling, than sliding a big rock down the ice. Sweepers heat up the pebbled ice, causing it to melt and reduce friction, but the rotation, speed and pressure are equally important. Today is Curling is Cool Day! It’s also Play Tennis Day, if you want something less complicated!

Today is Walking The Dog Day. Dogs love to go on walks, even if they have big fenced-in yards. They want to smell what’s going on in the neighborhood! It’s also good exercise for you. Just remember to bring a plastic bag, and be a responsible poop-picker-upper. Nobody wants to step in that stuff!

People have been eating sweet potatoes for thousands of years, but when’s the last time you ate one? Today is Cook A Sweet Potato Day, so eat sweet potato pie, fries, chips, casseroles, or simply baked. While your sweet potatoes cook, celebrate World Yoga Day, by learning some yoga poses and meditating.

Studies show that playing card games, keeps your mind sharp. A deck of cards gives you loads of games in a tiny package! Today is Play More Cards Day. Ask your parents to play their favorite card games with you, or play solitaire. I bet your grandparents can teach you to play 52-Card-Pickup!