Author: Lisa Mungovan

Did you make any New Year’s resolutions? If you promised yourself you would change something in your life, and it’s working, congratulations! If you’ve failed, don’t worry about it, because it’s Ditch New Year’s Resolutions Day. Be proud of your broken resolutions for today, and you can start fresh again tomorrow.

On this day in 1706, Benjamin Franklin was born. Did you know he invented swim flippers when he was 12? That’s why today is Kid Inventors’ Day. Kids also invented popsicles, ear muffs, the trampoline, and Braille. Have you ever invented anything? Start writing all your ideas down. You might have the next great invention!

Bird-feeders are a great way to attract birds to your yard. But birds aren’t the only ones that love seeds. Squirrels, chipmunks, raccoons, and bears might also raid your feeder. Last week, a wildlife officer in Colorado, had to rescue a mule deer, that had gotten its head stuck in a bird feeder.

Soon there will be a trail for hikers and cyclists, that stretches all the way across the United States. The Great American Rail-Trail will connect with 145 existing paths, to complete a 3700-mile trail from Washington DC, to Washington state. Rail-trails are built on old railway tracks that are no longer used.

Glow-in-the-dark clothes are awesome. Even lizards know it! The web-footed gecko, found in the desert in Namibia, has glow-in-the-dark skin. They have skin cells called iridophores, that are filled with guanine crystals. Many reptiles also glow under ultra-violet light, and even have fluorescent bones! It helps them see each other over long distances.

Did you receive any gift cards, as holiday presents? Don’t let them get lost or forgotten. Today is Use Your Gift Card Day, so start spending! You can shop online, or order takeout, if you’re home because of the pandemic. It’s also Fig Newton Day. Eat the fruit-filled cookies while you shop.

Today is Nothing Day. Since that was so boring, people created other things to celebrate besides nothing. It’s also International Hot And Spicy Food Day, and Appreciate A Dragon Day. You can pretend you’re a dragon, by eating a Carolina Reaper pepper. Your throat will be on fire! You’ll wish for Nothing Day again.

Have you ever forgotten your password in a game like Minecraft, and had to start all over? A man in San Fransisco forgot his password, and it will probably cost him millions of dollars. He has $220,000,000 worth of Bitcoin cryptocurrency locked on a hard drive, that erases after 10 password attempts. He’s already tried 8 times.

States of matter, are the different forms in which matter can exist. The 4 most common states are solid, liquid, gas and plasma, while other states can only be created in a lab. Physicists have discovered a new state of matter, called super Tonks-Girardeau gas. The line of atoms forms in a quantum gas.

The Virginia Zoo has its first new baby of the year. A Masai giraffe calf was born January 11th, weighing 148 pounds, and measuring over 6 feet tall! Her parents are Imara and Billy, but the zoo is asking for help naming the calf. Donate to their conservation efforts, and submit a name at virginiazoo.org.