Author: Lisa Mungovan

Have you ever made a flip-book? When you draw a slightly different picture on each page, then flip the pages rapidly, the picture appears to move. 17-year-old Max Budgen, recently created the world’s longest hand-drawn flip-book. His 1300-page story, called Thunder Strikes, is full of animated stick-figure action.

Bears at the Alaska Zoo, were given a fun challenge, testing out bear-resistant trash cans. The Anchorage sanitation department wanted to see how bear-proof their new trash bins were, by giving them to the experts. Unfortunately, the bears entirely destroyed some of the trash cans. There’s apparently no such thing as bear-proof.

A New Jersey group called Clean Ocean Action, organizes beach clean-up events. Last year, they removed 276,899 pieces of trash. Along with the usual plastic bottles and caps, straws, cans, and cigarette filters, they also found a rubber foot, vampire teeth, a bathroom sink, a punching bag, and a gallon of maple syrup.

Today is Cheese Fondue Day. Get a pot of melted cheese, some hunks of bread or vegetables on sticks, and dive right in! It’s also Submarine Day, so pretend your snack-on-a-stick, is sneaking up on the enemy. The US Navy’s first sub was named Alligator. An earlier Revolutionary War submarine, was named Turtle.

Barbershop quartets, are groups that sing in 4-part harmony. Celebrate Barbershop Quartet Day, by singing with your pets, because it’s also Pet Day. Your dog can bark the base line, while kitty-cat meows the tenor. If you recorded your song on an 8-track tape, you’d be celebrating 19 60’s technology, for 8-Track Tape Day. Groovy!

Did you ever wonder how astronauts get rid of their poop, pee, and vomit? They don’t want to bring it back to Earth, and chucking it into space is no solution. NASA is holding a LunaRecycle Challenge, to find a way to recycle human waste, on future missions. The top team will win $3,000,000!

Roses are red.
Violets are blue.
A hug full of hair,
is waiting for you!
In case you haven’t hugged your dog yet, here’s your reminder that it’s Hug Your Dog Day! It’s also Poem In Your Pocket Day. Carry your favorite poem, to share with others. You could even write your own!

Today is Encourage A Young Writer Day, so I’m encouraging you, yes you, to write a story! Use your imagination, to make it as silly, scary, or realistic as you like. It’s also Farm Animals Day, so you could add a talking cow, or a chicken that wears a tutu. Anything is possible!

Today is Siblings Day, so thank your brothers and sisters for being born! You might not always get along, but you can always love each other. It’s also International Safety Pin Day. In 1849, Walter Hunt sold the rights to his amazing little invention, the safety pin, to the W R Grace Company for only $400!

Ride-sharing company Uber, has released its annual Lost & Found Index, listing some of the most unusual items left behind. They include a Ghostbusters ghost trap, a chainsaw, 10 living lobsters, a 5-gallon bucket of beans, a turtle, a mannequin head with human hair, a urinal, 24 cans of corn, and Shrek ears.