Author: Lisa Mungovan

In 17 93, the first balloon flight in North America took place, when the French inventor, Jean Paul Blanchard, demonstrated his hydrogen gas-filled balloon. He rode 1200 feet up into the air, astounding a crowd in Pennsylvania that included President George Washington! Balloon Ascension Day commemorates that event. Don’t release balloons to celebrate though. That’s littering!

Are you shocked to hear it’s Static Electricity Day? Static electricity is produced when the positive and negative charges of an atom become unbalanced. See static in action by rubbing a balloon against your head. It will stick! Shuffle around the carpet with rubber-soled shoes and try to zap someone. Yee-ouch!

A couple of chickens were causing trouble, at a McDonald’s in New Jersey. They were chasing customers in the parking lot, pecking at tires, and wreaking havoc. Animal control captured the chickens and took them to a shelter, where they were later reunited with their humans. Maybe they wanted their eggs back!

During a recent expedition in the jungles of Bolivia, researchers were happy to find some species that hadn’t been seen in years. They spotted devil-eyed and lilliputian frogs, satyr and metalmark butterflies, adder’s mouth and arrowroot orchids, and a new pit viper. They all live in the sky islands, of the Andean cloud forest.

Make time today for a nice long bubble bath. While you’re soaking, think of something neat to show off, and eat crispy English toffee! Apply soothing lotion, before getting dressed in diamond-patterned argyle socks. It’s Bubble Bath, Show & Tell At Work, English Toffee, Winter Skin Relief, and Argyle Day! Can you remember all that?

Today is Earth’s Rotation Day. The Earth spins on its axis, like a globe. It takes 24 hours, or 1 day, to make 1 rotation, but the rotation speed can change slightly. In 18 51, Leon Foucault demonstrated how the Earth rotates, by hanging a heavy ball, and watching its path change. Watching a Foucault Pendulum swing, is fascinating!

In 1981, Joan White decided to spread joy every January 8th. She thought happiness could be infectious, so she called it National Joygerm Day. Do something nice for someone, or write an e-mail or letter. Tell them you are spreading germs of joy and ask them to help you infect the world!

A team of chefs in the United Arab Emirates, has broken the world record for longest line of pies. They baked 2,029 pear pies, and lined them up at a resort in Dubai. The chefs, who worked at different hotels, had the added difficulty of working while social distancing. The pies were donated to charity.

States of matter, are the different forms in which matter can exist. The 4 most common states are solid, liquid, gas and plasma. Other states can only be created in a lab. Physicists have discovered a new state of matter, called liquid glass. They can only observe it at the microscopic level.

On January 7th 19 27, Abe Saperstein gathered a group of fantastic basketball players known as the Savoy Big Five, and formed the Harlem Globetrotters. Nearly 100 years later, people still enjoy watching the team’s skills, antics, and trick shots. Celebrate Harlem Globetrotters Day, by watching them and learning a few tricks of your own.