Infect Everyone!

In 1981, Joan White decided to spread joy every January 8th. She thought happiness could be infectious, so she called it National Joygerm Day. Do something nice for someone, or write an e-mail or letter. Tell them you are spreading germs of joy and ask them to help you infect the world!

What’s for Dessert?

A team of chefs in the United Arab Emirates, has broken the world record for longest line of pies. They baked 2,029 pear pies, and lined them up at a resort in Dubai. The chefs, who worked at different hotels, had the added difficulty of working while social distancing. The pies were donated to charity.

The State of States

States of matter, are the different forms in which matter can exist. The 4 most common states are solid, liquid, gas and plasma. Other states can only be created in a lab. Physicists have discovered a new state of matter, called liquid glass. They can only observe it at the microscopic level.

Basketball With a Twist

On January 7th 19 27, Abe Saperstein gathered a group of fantastic basketball players known as the Savoy Big Five, and formed the Harlem Globetrotters. Nearly 100 years later, people still enjoy watching the team’s skills, antics, and trick shots. Celebrate Harlem Globetrotters Day, by watching them and learning a few tricks of your own.

Rock Around the Clock

Today is Old Rock Day. Spend some time with your favorite rock, whether it’s an awesome fossil, a soothingly smooth stone, a colorful conglomerate, or just a hefty hunk of gravel! Get a pet rock, or decorate one and leave it for someone to find, or go climb a rock! Old Rock Day rocks!

Battered Bobbleheads

Today is Tempura Day. Tempura is a Japanese dish of vegetables or seafood, that are dipped in batter and deep-fried. Tempura sounds tempting! It’s also Bobblehead Day. The toys with big heads bobbing on springs, have been around more than 100 years! Just be sure you don’t deep-fry your bobbleheads today!

Rock and Roll

The National Zoo’s giant panda cub, Xiao Qi Ji, is getting bigger and more adventurous. He has started climbing a rock wall, and looks adorable when he rolls off! You can watch pandas in real time on the zoo’s pandacam, at NationalZoo.s i.edu, or watch older videos, and see how he’s grown.

Fungus for Your Feet

A sportswear company, is bringing new meaning to the words, foot fungus. Adidas is making shoes, out of mushrooms! The new Stan Smith design, uses mycelium instead of leather. The strong plant-based material, is another step in Adidas’s journey to be more climate-friendly. Adidas also recycles cotton, and plans to use only recycled plastic.

Planets Gather for a Group Shot

This weekend, grab a pair of binoculars and check the sky, for a triple conjunction of planets. Saturn, Mercury, and Jupiter, will form a tight triangle towards the southwest horizon. Your best view will be 45 minutes after sunset. There are lots of free star tracker phone apps, to help you map the night sky.

Modern Beans

Today is Bean Day, and also Technology Day. To celebrate, make a big bowl of 15-bean soup. Then use computer technology to find “Vegetable Soup”, a great kids’ television show, on YouTube. Instead of watching it at 6:00 Saturday morning like kids in the 19 70’s, you can enjoy it with your bean soup lunch!

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