Author: Lisa Mungovan

2 Japanese sisters, are the world’s oldest living identical twins. Umeno Sumiyama and Koume Kodama, were born November 5th, 19 13. That makes them 107 years old! The sisters rarely saw each other until they were 70, when they started traveling together. Japan is home to over 86,000 people in their hundreds, called centenarians.

A team of unusual landscapers, has been hired to manage the weeds in Howth’s Head Ireland. In response to a fire that roared through the area last year, a herd of Old Irish Goats were put to work, eating the underbrush. The Old Irish Goats are enjoying their jobs, as Howth’s Head’s newest firefighters.

Researchers developed a teeny-tiny flying structure, the size of a grain of sand. It’s a microchip with wings, that floats in the wind like a maple seed helicopter. The microfliers can help monitor the environment for contamination, or measure air pollution at different altitudes. To make them eco-friendly, they’re designed to dissolve in water.

Imagine a fearsome Tyrannosaurus rex, stomping through a forest. Did you picture him, with his tail wagging? Scientists believe dinosaurs swished their long tails from side to side when they walked. They wagged their tails even harder when they ran, helping them keep their balance. There’s no evidence dinosaurs wagged their tails from happiness.

It’s Dogs In Politics Day, originally called Checkers Day, after President Nixon’s dog. US Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush Junior, Obama, and Biden also had dogs in their First Families! Make your dog President for today, then have a family checkers tournament. Don’t cheat, because President Poochie won’t pardon you!

Does playing outside, help you to not get sick? A study in Finland showed that preschoolers had a stronger immune system, after mini forests were added to the playgrounds at daycare centers. Grass, plants, and soil, hold microbes and bacteria that can help the body fight disease. Playing in dirt is good for you!

Today is World Car Free Day. You could just stay home, but where’s the challenge in that? Instead, try to walk, bike, or use public transportation for your daily adventures. Then make a pact, to try to use cars less. It’s better for the planet, and the exercise will keep you healthy!

Pumpkin spice everything has been popping up for a few weeks now, but today is the official first day of fall in the Northern Hemisphere. The autumnal equinox occurs when the sun is directly in line with the Earth’s equator. In the Southern Hemisphere, it’s the first day of spring, called the vernal equinox!

It’s Hobbit Day, in honor of Frodo and Bilbo Baggins’s birthday. Hobbits eat breakfast, second breakfast, elevenses, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, and supper, so there’s plenty of time to celebrate White Chocolate Day and Ice Cream Cone Day. Then draw some tiny sketches for your favorite 100-year-old, since it’s Doodle Day, and Centenarian Day!

Today is World Rhino Day, and Elephant Appreciation Day. Both animals are endangered. Poachers hunt rhinoceroses for their horns, and elephants for their tusks. Their habitats are also disappearing. The white rhino is the largest rhino species, averaging about 5000 pounds and 6 feet tall, while the largest African elephant was 13 feet tall and 24,000 pounds!