August 19, 2017

Today we celebrate:


National Sandcastle and Sculpture Day - Let’s head to the beach today people! If you go to the right beach, you might be lucky enough to find a sandcastle and sculpture competition. If not, create your own competition or just sit quietly in a pile of sand and form your own creation just because it’s fun. If you do make something in the sand today, post a picture so we can all enjoy it!

International Orangutan Day - This is a day to focus on saving the Orangutans from extinction. Orangutan numbers have declined at ridiculously high rates because of deforestation. Whether you believe they are long lost cousins or not is irrelevant. They are an amazing species and we don’t want to lose them, or any other species on our watch. It would be a sad world indeed if our grandchildren have to learn about Orangutans the same way we learned about Dodo birds, in history books. Show your support for the cause and the people dedicated to saving these fantastic creatures by tagging a photo with #OrangutanDay feel free to include a message and mention the name of the day.

National Hot & Spicy Food Day - I’m not a hot and spicy food person, but I know plenty of people who love it and just can’t get it hot and spicy enough. So this is a day to stretch your palate and take it to the limits as far as you can stand.

World Photo Day - On this day in 1839, the French government purchased the patent for the Daguerreotype, a way of making photographs that was created by Joseph Nicephore Niepce and Louis Daguerre a couple of years earlier. The French announced that the invention was a gift “Free to the World”, which is pretty impressive and generous of them. Since the Daguerreotype was the first practical photographic process, and was gifted to the world by the French government, this day was selected as the best day to celebrate photography. So go out and take a whole bunch of fantastic pictures today.

National Aviation Day – Established by Presidential Proclamation from President Franklin D. Roosevelt, this is a day to celebrate the development of aviation. This day was chosen because it is Orville Wright's birthday. He was born in 1871 and was still alive when the proclamation was made in 1939.

Potato Day – This is a day to celebrate the potato. My oldest daughter would prefer to miss this day since she doesn’t care for potatoes, but she is not cooking dinner tonight, I am. I think I'll make homemade french fries. Potatoes have been an important food source for humans for hundreds of years, possibly longer.

"Black Cow" Root Beer Float Day – The root beer float is made with root beer and vanilla ice cream and ends up a light brown color. However, if you make it with chocolate ice cream, it is not a traditional root beer float and so it is instead called a “black cow” root beer float, or in some areas, a “brown cow” root beer float. Drink up!

World Humanitarian Day – This is a day to honor humanitarians all over the world who have worked for a humanitarian cause. It particularly honors those who have died in the course of their humanitarian work. This is not the same as Humanitarian Day, which we celebrated on January 15th, because this is a world wide day that was established by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 2008.

International Geocaching Day – Celebrated on the third Saturday in August, Geocaching is an activity where participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver to find containers called “geocaches” or “caches” hidden anywhere in the world. These caches can be any kind of container and usually contain a log book for the finder to sign and date and replace for the next geocacher to find. Sometimes they contain little trinkets or toys for the geocacher to take as a momento of the hunt. This is a great activity to do with your kids if you are looking for a way to get them off the video games and out of the house.

International Homeless Animals Day – Celebrated on the third Saturday of August, this is a day to raise awareness about the problem of pet overpopulation. There are too many pets and not enough loving owners. Make sure you spay/neuter your pet so you don't add to the problem.

National Honey Bee Day - Celebrated on the third Saturday in August, this is a day that was created by a group of beekeepers to raise awareness of the benefits of bees to the environment and our food sources, as well as the hazards that bees face in their daily lives that are causing their numbers to decrease at alarming rates. They wish to honor the people dedicated to beekeeping and work together to further knowledge, skills and support for each other.

No comments:

Post a Comment