Author: Lisa Mungovan

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!

The number pi, represents the ratio of a circle’s circumference, to its diameter. The exact number is 3.141592, followed by an infinite number of digits. That doesn’t stop people from trying to be as precise as possible. Swiss researchers used a supercomputer, to calculate the mathematical constant, to 62.8 trillion figures. It took 108 days!

I’d like you to get out a number 2 pencil. Don’t worry, it’s not for a test. It’s just Number 2 Pencil Day! The number indicates how hard the graphite core is. Softer number 1 pencils are used by artists for drawing, and harder number 3 pencils, are used by architects and engineers.

Today is Black Cat Appreciation Day. Black cats are least likely to be adopted. One ridiculous reason, is that they’re not as photogenic! Consider giving a black kitty a good home. It’s also Thrift Shop Day. Be good to the Earth, and reuse what other people no longer need. Plus, it’s a bargain!

The next time you have 4 hours with nothing to do, try balancing a field hockey stick, on your finger. Maybe you can break Raj Gopal Boi’s world record. The Indian man just set the record, after balancing a field hockey stick upright on his index finger, for 3 hours and 35 minutes.

A man in South Korea bought a used kimchi fridge online, and was surprised to find $130,000 in cash, taped to the bottom. He reported it to the police, to try to find the rightful owner. Because of low bank interest rates, some South Koreans started storing their money in refrigerators, instead of banks.