Category: Kids News

It’s International Orangutan Day, celebrating the expressive orange-haired apes. They are an endangered species, found only in Borneo and Sumatra. While orangutans grow only about 5 feet tall, their arm span can reach 7 feet from tip to tip! Palm oil plantations are the biggest threat to the wild population, destroying their rainforest homes.

Hooray, it’s Potato Day! Have some baked potatoes and hash browns and potato dumplings and French fries and potato chips and home fries and sweet potatoes and tater tots and mashed potatoes! Dress up your spud in a bow tie and take its photo, since it’s also Photography Day and International Bo Day.

In 19-oh-3, Orville and Wilbur Wright made history in their engine-powered airplane. The Wright brothers’ plane flew for 120 feet, with Orville as the pilot. It was the first controlled, powered, and sustained, heavier-than-air human flight. Today, Orville’s birthday, is Aviation Day. Celebrate by flying paper airplanes, drones, or taking an actual plane ride!

A grocery store in Australia, had its shelves stocked with a slithery surprise. Shoppers were shocked, to find a 10-foot python in the spice section. One customer was also a volunteer snake catcher, so she grabbed her equipment and captured the snake. She released the calm and friendly snake, back into the wild.

Some well-meaning grandchildren in Ohio, thought they were helping their grandma clean out her freezer. Unfortunately, along with outdated food, they threw out an envelope full of cash. They called the trash company, to stop the truck before it got to the landfill, and employees dug through garbage until they found the $25,000.

Many kids are beginning school in-person, for the first time since COVID-19 restrictions started. Every school district has different rules to help keep kids safe, but you can keep yourself safe also. Keep washing your hands, don’t stand too close to people, and wear a mask, whether your school requires it or not.

I hear crickets chirping! Male crickets chirp to attract females, by rubbing their wings together. Crickets can also tell you the temperature outside! Count how many times a cricket chirps in 14 seconds, then add 40, for an approximate temperature in degrees Fahrenheit. For Celsius, count the chirps in 25 seconds, divide by 3, then add 4.

Roses are red. Violets are blue. Some poems rhyme, but this one doesn’t. It’s Bad Poetry Day! Write a really bad poem for fun. It might be so bad, it’s good! It’s also Fajita Day. When you order a fajita you get your own sizzling pan of veggies, and tortillas to wrap them up!

Have you ever visited someplace, and been impressed by the bathroom? An Ohio company wants to find America’s Best Restroom. The 10 finalists were chosen based on hygiene and aesthetics. They had to be clean, unique, and make a lasting impression. You can vote for your favorite, at bestrestroom.com.

Every year, New Zealand’s North Island conducts a Kiwi Call Count. Volunteers listen for the birds’ distinctive shrieks and growls, to record the populations of 5 different kiwi species. Many areas that were silent in 2016, are now full of kiwi calls. That’s great news. It means the endangered birds are making a comeback!