Author: Lisa Mungovan

A traveling businessman, left his painting at a German airport. He asked the airport to hold it for him, but it had disappeared. Police stepped in to help find the painting, which was worth $340,000. It was finally located, still packed in its cardboard box, in the bottom of a large recycling container. Yikes!

A family in Hampshire England, found a buried treasure, while digging in their garden. It was a stash of 63 gold coins! The 15th century coins, are just one of the 6,251 valuable discoveries made in the UK, while people were on pandemic lockdown. If you’re bored, go dig a hole. Who knows what you’ll find!

Today in the United States, the Electoral College meets to officially cast their votes, to elect the next President, Joe Biden, and Vice-President, Kamala Harris. Each state has a certain number of electors, based on its population. The electors cast their votes for the winner of the popular vote in their state.

You’ve heard the song that begins, chestnuts roasting on an open fire, but have you ever eaten one? Today is Roast Chestnuts Day, so buy some chestnuts if you don’t happen to have a chestnut tree. Roast them on a campfire, grill, or in the oven, until the skin splits, then peel and eat!

Today is Monkey Day! It started as a joke when a college student wrote “Monkey Day” on his friend’s calendar, but it’s now celebrated around the world. Did you know, almost all monkeys have tails? The smallest monkeys are Pygmy marmosets, at only 4.6 inches long! Jump around like a monkey today, and eat bananas!

At a Dairy Queen restaurant in Minnesota, a chain of kindness grew 900 cars long. A man started the chain, by paying for the order of the car behind him. That customer decided to pay it forward, by paying for the next car. People kept the generosity chain going for 3 days!

Scientists may have discovered a new species of whale. The beaked mammal was first heard off the coast of Mexico in 2018, but they were able to photograph one this year. Beaked whales spend most of their time thousands of meters underwater, so they’re hard to study. Researchers have lots of investigating ahead of them!

Horses have lived on Earth for over 50,000,000 years. Humans domesticated them, to help them travel, farm, or compete in races, but there are still horses that live in the wild. Horses can run up to 55 miles-per-hour! The world’s tallest horse, Big Jake, is over 7 feet tall. Thumbelina, the world’s smallest horse, was only 17 inches!

Today is Cocoa Day! The ancient Mayans first created chocolate drinks 2000 years ago. By the 15th century, cocoa was an important part of Aztec culture in Mexico. Hot chocolate used to be a treatment for stomach ailments. Now, hot cocoa is popular all over the world. Add some cayenne pepper, for cocoa with a kick!

Today is Violin Day, the first instrument that many kids learn to play. If your school has a strings program, be sure to sign up! Listen to classical, bluegrass, or Irish music to hear fantastic fiddling! It’s also World Choral Day, if you’d prefer singing. Sing holiday songs with your family!