Author: Lisa Mungovan

Dot-dash, dot-dash-dot-dot, dot, dash-dot-dot-dash, dot-dash. That’s my name! What’s yours? It’s Learn Your Name In Morse Code Day. Morse code assigned a pattern of short and long taps to each letter, to communicate by telegraph before telephones were invented. Use it to send messages by flashlight, or tapping on your desk.

Melting snow makes great slush puddles. They’re perfect for Step In A Puddle And Splash Your Friends Day! You should probably warn them first, so they can either run away, or get ready to splash you back. After all, we wouldn’t want it to become Everyone’s Mad At You For Getting Them Wet Day!

It’s sometimes hard to concentrate in school, when you’re sitting at your desk for hours. If your school is doing virtual learning because of the pandemic, it might be even harder. Researchers found that a short burst of exercise, can help your concentration. Take a brisk walk or do jumping jacks, to focus better.

Don’t forget to watch, for a triple conjunction of planets tonight. 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 find them. Then use binoculars, to get a closer look!

Today is Save The Eagles Day. It started in 2015, as a way to save a pair of bald eagles named Alice and Al, whose nest was threatened by developers. The day expanded, to raise awareness of the many eagles around the world. There are over 60 varieties, the largest with over 7-foot wingspans!

What can help protect your heart, lower blood pressure, is made from a bean, and is celebrated today? Bittersweet chocolate! The bitter tasting flavonols that carry health benefits are removed from cacao beans to make sweeter chocolate, so if you want your chocolate to be good for you, bitter is better!

Today is Peculiar People Day, in honor of those individuals who are a little strange. Do your own thing and be proud! It’s also Houseplant Appreciation Day. You might have even more houseplants in the winter, hiding out from the cold, so tell them thank you for giving you cleaner air!

Can you do a push-up? How long would it take you to do 85? Laithangbam Vidyasagar Singh can do 85 push-ups in 1 minute, with only 2 fingers touching the ground on each hand! The Indian athlete broke the record for most 4-finger push-ups in 1 minute. If I tried that, I’d probably just break my fingers!

The UK’s first geothermal power plant, in Cornwall, will soon supply electricity to 10,000 homes. It creates power by using the Earth’s own heat, 3 miles below the surface. Drilling a hole that deep, is harder than erecting solar panels or windmills, but sun and wind are not constant. Earth’s outer core is always red-hot!

Today’s dogs are descended from wolves, which scientists believe were domesticated 30,000 years ago. A new study believes humans and wolves were able to get along, because they weren’t competing for the same foods. Ancient humans needed more carbs, so they could give their extra meat to wild wolves. Canines have always enjoyed table scraps!