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Monthly Spotlight: Holidays!

Other Holiday's

Ralphie from a Christmas story quoting

1st: International Joke Day

Jokes to make your day a little brighter! (Provided by: CNN, The Guardian, INGCO International, & Country Living) And check out this mighty cool Joke Generator!

  1. Why don’t pirates take a shower before they walk the plank?
    1. They just wash up on shore.
  2. Why are elevator jokes so good?

    1. They work on many levels!

  3. Why was the man waiting near the signal with bread and butter in his hand?

    1. Because he heard there was going to be a traffic jam.

  4.  What do you call an alligator detective?

    1. An investi-gator.

  5. Why shouldn’t you write with a broken pencil?

    1. Because it’s pointless.

  6. A man asked his gym instructor, "Can you make me do splits", the gym instructor asks him if he is flexible and the man replies that he cannot do Tuesdays.

  7. Do you know the joke of "no me neither"?
    No.
    Me neither.

  8. What did the green grape say to the purple grape?
    Oh my God, breathe!

  9. There are two eggs in the fridge.
    One says to the other: "Hey, you're quite hairy for an egg."
    The other replies: "But I am a kiwi."

  10. Why do French people prefer to have small breakfasts?

    1. Because one egg is un oeuf!

  11. Did you hear about the restaurant on the moon?

    1. Great food, no atmosphere.

  12. "Why do fathers take an extra pair of socks when they go golfing?"
    1. "In case they get a hole in one!"
  13. "If April showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring?"
    1. "Pilgrims."
  14. "What did the janitor say when he jumped out of the closet?"
    1. "Supplies!"
  15. "Why do seagulls fly over the ocean?"
    1. "Because if they flew over the bay, we'd call them bagels."
  16. "What does a sprinter eat before a race?"
    1. "Nothing, they fast!"
  17. "Where do you learn to make a banana split?"
    1. "Sundae school."
  18. "Do you wanna box for your leftovers?"
    1. "No, but I'll wrestle you for them."
  19. "What country's capital is growing the fastest?"
    1. "Ireland. Every day it's Dublin."
  20. "I'm reading a book about anti-gravity. It's impossible to put down!"

Disney's Alice in wonderland cartoon Alice and fish taken away by a wave

4th: Alice in Wonderland Day

Want to learn some fun facts about a literary classic like Alice's Adventures in Wonderland? Take a look at our list below! And don't forget to take your chance and read the book HERE, or even watch many of the films HERE.

  • Originally, it came out in 1865
  • Author Lewis Carroll is actually a pen name
    • His real name is Charles Dodgson
  • Alice's character was based on a real person: Alice Liddell
  • Alice was actually a brunette, not blonde
  • After reading the story and loving it, Queen Victoria suggested Carroll dedicate his next book to her.
  • Lewis Carroll suffered from a rare neurological disorder
    • This causes hallucinations and affects the size of visual objects-- sound familiar?
    • This disorder also caused a rumor, in later years, that Carroll was 'high as a kite' when writing the book
  • The novels were banned in China in 1931
    • As "Animals should not use human language"
  • 25 years after the original release, a children's version was published

Take a look at the NICC Library and DCLD Library books and movies on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

View of the Hawaiian Islands from space

5th: National Hawaii Day

Take a look at the Hawai'i timeline below. Information was gathered from the following sites: National Archives, GoHawaii, Hawaii Tourism Authority, Nation State of Hawai'i, Pearl Harbor Tours

  • 1,500 years ago:
    • Polynesians arrived in Hawai'i after navigating the ocean using only the stars.
  • 1778:
    • Captain James Cook lands on Waimea Bay on the Island of Kaua'i, becoming the first European to make contact.
  • 1790-1810:
    • Civil wars in the islands, and ongoing to try and unite the islands.
  • 1820:
    • The first US "Safety Committee" (aka The Missionaries) arrives in Hawai'i
  • 1887:
    • US militia's affiliation illegally forced the king of Hawai'i to sign a new constitution, forcibly stripping him & native Hawaiians of their rights.
  • 1981:
    • Queen Lili'uokalani tried and failed in making a new constitution to restore her nation's rights.
  • 1893-94:
    • The illegal annexation treaty was forcibly signed by Queen Lili'uokalani before she was taken to a room and imprisoned.
    • President Cleveland is brought into the office.
      • He hears of these illegal constitutions and sends spy James Blount to look into the events.
  • 1894:
    • Cleveland makes Hawai'i a republic, "The Republic of Hawaii"
    • Sanford Dole (head of the "Safety Committee") refused to leave his position of power in Hawai'i and was thus given the title of First President of Hawaii
    • Rebellions from the Hawaiian Natives continue.
  • 1897:
    • President William McKinley was inaugurated.
    • He signed the treaty of annexation later in the same year, andit  was then submitted for ratification
    • Queen Lili'uokalani and her citizens successfully protested this by bringing their petition ( that was signed by over half of the Hawai'ian population) and reading it before the Senate, and formally accepted.
  • 1898:
    • The ensuing Spanish-American War, part of which was fought in the Philippine Islands, established the argument that the Hawaiian Islands would be strategically valuable as a mid-Pacific fueling station and naval installation.
    • The pro-annexation forces in Congress submitted a proposal to annex the Hawaiian Islands by joint resolution, which required only a simple majority vote in both houses.
      • With a 2/3 majority, the Hawaiian Islands were officially annexed by the United States.
      • Sanford Dole changed titles from the first President of Hawaii to the first Governor of the Territory of Hawaii
    • In a last, unsuccessful attempt to return control of her homeland to native Hawaiians, Queen Lili’uokalani sent a letter of protest to the U.S. House of Representatives. She stated that her throne had been taken illegally and that any US efforts to annex Hawaii without the due process of law would be unacceptable.
  • 1899-1958:
    • As a territory, Hawaii had little power in the U.S. government, holding only one non-voting representative in the House of Representatives.
    • The territory's status allowed rich, white plantation owners to import cheap labor and export their products to the mainland with low tariffs. These landowners used their power to keep Hawaii in territorial status.
    • Native Hawaiians and non-white Hawaiian residents, however, began to push for statehood. These residents wanted the same rights as U.S. citizens living in one of the 48 states. They wanted a voting representative in Congress and the right to elect their own governor and judges, who were currently appointed.
    • In 1937, a congressional committee found that Hawaii met all qualifications for statehood and held a vote on statehood in Hawaii. Although this resulted in a vote in favor of statehood, the attack at Pearl Harbor paused all talks as the Japanese population in Hawaii came under suspicion by the U.S. government.
  • 1959:
    • In March 1959, a Hawaii statehood resolution passed both the House and the Senate, and President Eisenhower signed it into law. That June, the citizens of Hawaii voted on a referendum to accept the statehood bill.
    • On August 21, 1959, President Eisenhower signed the official proclamation admitting Hawaii as the 50th state, marking the end of over half a century of work for Hawaiian statehood.

A little tabby kitten munching on his toe beans

10th: National Kitten Day

Did you know that having a cat can improve your health? Take a look at some of the studies below about the benefits of owning a cat:

  1. Lower risk of heart disease
  2. Purring helps heal bones, tendons, and muscles
  3. You'll sleep better
  4. Cats make you happier
  5. Reduce stress and anxiety
  6. For kids, cats lower the risk of developing allergies
  7. Even just watching cat videos is good for you

A happy lil cartoon bee buzzing along

10th: Don't Step on a Bee Day

Why is this a holiday? How did it come to bee? Why is it important? Are people willingly and knowingly stepping on bees? Take a look at the articles below to find out more!

 

A pod of sharks swimming in the ocean

14th: Shark Awareness Day

Why should we care about shark awareness?

Why does talking about sharks matter? 

How much do you actually know about sharks?

What can you do to help the sharks?

Take a look at some fun facts about sharks below:

  1. There are over 500 species of sharks
    1. 143 of those are under threat
  2. They are apex predators
    1. They can lose and replace thousands of teeth in their lifetimes
  3. They can vary dramatically in size
    1. From the size of a human hand to 12 meters long
  4. They live in most ocean habitats
    1. From tropical coral reefs to Arctic ice
  5. They come in various different forms
    1. Goblin sharks are pink while hammerheads have... well... hammer-shaped heads
  6. Most sharks are cold-blooded
    1. Cold like the water they swim in, HOWEVER, great whites are partially warm-blooded
  7. The UK gets some of the biggest sharks
    1. The basking shark (the second largest in the world) can be up to 11 meters and 7 tons
  8. They have a sixth sense
    1. No, they aren't seeing dead people. The ‘ampullae of Lorenzini’ are found on sharks' snouts and can sense the electric fields emitted by animals in the surrounding water.
  9. They have been here for literal ages
    1. For over 400 million years, long before dinosaurs, they've been swimming
  10. They're under threat
    1. From accidental fishing gear and shark fin delicacies to climate change and pollution in the ocean, they have a lot to combat to survive.

Scene from We Are The Millers, a fair carnie shows off his misspelled tattoo

17th: National Tattoo Day

Humans have marked their bodies with tattoos for thousands of years. These permanent designs—sometimes plain, sometimes elaborate, always personal—have served as amulets, status symbols, declarations of love, signs of religious beliefs, adornments, and even forms of punishment. 

In terms of tattoos on actual bodies, the earliest known examples were for a long time Egyptian and were present on several female mummies dated to c. 2000 B.C. But following the more recent discovery of the Iceman from the area of the Italian-Austrian border in 1991 and his tattoo patterns, this date has been pushed back a further thousand years when he was carbon-dated at around 5,200 years old. -- Smithsonian Magazine

Getting tattoos can be painful, but did you know they were partly invented to treat pain? In the mid-18th century, Native American women tattooed themselves to alleviate toothaches and arthritis, similar to acupuncture. 

New York City is considered the birthplace of modern tattoos because it’s where the first professional tattoo artist Martin Hildebrandt set up shop in the mid-19th century to tattoo Civil War soldiers for identification purposes, and it’s where the first electric rotary tattoo machine was invented in 1891, inspired by Thomas Edison‘s electric pen. --Time Magazine

For more articles and the history of tattoos, click on the links below:

cartoon woman with her hand to her ear trying to listen

18th: National Listening Day

The purposes of World Listening Day are: (As provided by the World Listening Project)

  • to celebrate the practice of listening as it relates to the world around us, environmental awareness, and acoustic ecology;
  • to raise awareness about issues related to the World Soundscape Project, World Forum for Acoustic Ecology, World Listening Project, and individual and group efforts to creatively explore phonography;
  • and to design and implement educational initiatives which explore these concepts and practices.

Want to listen to some stories from yesteryear? Check out NPR's StoryCorps National Day of Listening

Keep up to date with World Listening Day prompts, events, previous years' events, and even this year's countdown.

Donald Duck on his hands and knees panting and sweating from heat

23rd: Hot Enough For Ya Day

The hottest days of the year usually happen in the last week of July. Don't believe me? Take a look at the articles below and see for yourself:

  • Backstory Archive
    • Listen to reporters talk about one of the hottest days in history in July 2018
  • Washington Post
    • Can you really fry an egg on the sidewalk? 
  • Climate.gov
    • They have a map that shows the average window for the day of the year with the highest maximum temperature
  • National Centers for Environmental Information
    • The U.S. Climate Normals is an extensive suite of data products that provide information about typical climate conditions for thousands of locations across the United States.
  • NOAA
    • Collect all the data that proves July is the hottest month

With all this heat, how are you to keep cool?

Amelia Earhart smiling and waving from her plane

24th: Amelia Earhart Day

The life of Amelia Earhart was definitely a wild one. Outside of her many accomplishments as a pilot and advocate for women in aviation, she has seen the world before even being in the air. She has also seen more than just the skies in her different careers. And when she actually launched her career in aviation, she made it the best it could be. Take a look at the lists below of all she's seen and done. Please note that the information was found through: Research Starters, NASA, and the National Air and Space Museum.

Places she lived:

  • Kansas City, Kansas
  • Des Moines, Iowa
  • St. Paul Minnesota
  • Chicago, Illinois
  • Rydal, Pennsylvania
  • Toronto, Canada
  • North Hampton, Massachusetts
  • Los Angeles, California

Education:

  • Studied automobile repair
  • Switched to medicine

Jobs:

  • Volunteered for the Red Cross
  • Pilot
  • English teacher
  • Social worker
  • Founder of an organization
    • The Ninty-nine Club
  • Advocate for women in aviation
  • Author

Records Set:

  • Feminine altitude record of 14,000 feet
  • The first woman to fly over the Atlantic as a passenger
  • Feminine speed record (surpassed it twice)
  • The first woman to fly an autogiro
  • Autogiro altitude record of 18,415 feet
  • The first woman (and only the second person) to fly solo and nonstop across the Atlantic
  • The first person to fly over the Atlantic twice
  • The first woman to fly solo and nonstop across the US
  • The first person to fly from Hawai'i to the US Mainland
  • Speed record between Mexico City and Washington, DC
  • First person to solo fly from Mexico City to Newark, New Jersey

A drawing of a large family with all the aunts and uncles around with

26th: Aunt and Uncle's Day

Aunt, noun

A. A sister of one's father or mother. Also: the wife or female partner of one's uncle.

B. A woman who is regarded with respect or affection similar to that often accorded to an aunt, despite not being linked by this specific kinship; esp. a close family friend or (chiefly regional, as a term of respect or affection) an elderly woman. Also, as a form of address or as a title preceding a first name.

Uncle, noun

A. A brother of one’s father or mother. Also: the husband or male partner of one’s aunt.

B. A man who is regarded with respect or affection similar to that often accorded to an uncle despite not being linked by this specific kinship, esp. an elderly man (chiefly regional) or, when used by a child, a close family friend.


Why are they important?

Aunts and uncles can also be the adult friends a child needs. The kids certainly want to address some issues with someone, but may feel their parents will be dismissive or explosive about what’s bothering them. Aunts and uncles may have a more relaxed approach with their nieces and nephews, offering different and more encouraging solutions to a child’s problems. They are more likely to tell their nieces and nephews embarrassing stories about their parents. These and other entertaining exchanges could help solidify a powerful and trusting relationship between aunts and uncles and nieces and nephews for many years. Aunts and uncles don’t necessarily have to be related to be influential. Over many years, aunts and uncles have taken on the role of “aunt” to several children they're not related to. --Washington Post

What makes having an aunt or uncle unique? --AARP

  • They don't have the responsibility to be a parent, allowing a more childish side to come out.
  • It can be easier to talk about tough topics with a close friend like an aunt or uncle than a parent.
  • Sometimes they can be extra providers (extra gifts, anyone?)
  • Can be a reachable role model
  • Being familiar but somewhat outside the situation when conflicts with parents arise can be a plus.
  • When mom and dad are busy or away, aunts and uncles can help fill the gap with extra attention, interest, and affection, as well as practical help such as making meals, taking kids to appointments, or helping with homework.
  • They can be your biggest cheerleaders

So, what's the role of an aunt/uncle?

It depends on the aunt or uncle, and part of that is because there’s no obligation of the aunt or uncle, unlike parenting; once you parent a child, you have a legal obligation. That doesn’t stop aunts and uncles from being involved in their nephews' and nieces’ lives. The more aunts and uncles a child has, the more influence a child has. If the uncle or aunt is a fantastic artist, the child may be inspired by that talent. The best thing about being an aunt or uncle is that a child doesn’t discriminate when it comes to love. --Forbes

The original Tom Forsythe's 1999 Barbie in a Blender photo

27th: Barbie in a Blender Day

Shout out to Tom Forsythe from Utah for the inspiration of this day. 

Back around 2003, Tom Forsythe made a series of art pieces revolving around dolls that suspiciously looked a lot like Mattels beloved Barbie doll. These art pieces included "Malted Barbie," featuring a nude Barbie in a blender; "Fondue a la Barbie," which featured Barbie heads in a fondue pot; and "Barbie Enchiladas," where Barbie dolls were wrapped in tortillas and roasted in an oven. All of these were for his series titled "Food Chain Barbie". 

Mattel, not wanting this to dilute or diminish the commercial value of their property, thus sued Tom for this art series. Tom, on the other hand,d fought back in court, claiming that this lawsuit infringed on his freedom of speech and expression. The other large portion of the case involves common terms such as copyright, trademark, and fair use.

  • Copyright: occurs when creative work is copied or used without permission.
  • Trademark: protects commercial products or services, and infringement occurs when a trademark is used without permission and causes a likelihood of confusion between the trademarked product and the unauthorized one.
  • Fair use: recognizes that new works draw inspiration from older works and that productive use of older works promotes the progress of science, the arts, and literature.

The conclusion of this court case was that the "Food Chain Barbie" series was a legitimate parody. Tom had transformed the meaning and intent into new and difficult work, and consumers were not likely to confuse a naked Barbie in a blender with an authorized Mattel product. And thus launched National Barbie in a Blender Day, to have people recognize freedom of expression in the art community.

Information gathered from: The Record, The New York Times, and The Daily Telegraph

A grown tiger being woken up by a little tiger cub

29th: International Tiger Day

Global Tiger Day is celebrated every year on July 29th as a way to raise awareness about this magnificent but endangered big cat. The day was founded in 2010 when the 13 tiger range countries came together to create Tx2 – the global goal to double the number of wild tigers by the year 2022. -- WWF

After the hit show that populated everyone's TV over the pandemic lockdown, Joe Exotic, many people had thoughts about how to help our big cats:

Big cat ownership is an epidemic in the U.S. Untold numbers of captive big cats live in shoddy roadside zoos or as pets living in homes. More often than not, these large, dangerous, wide-roaming apex predators are kept in small, barren cages where they can barely turn around. They are improperly fed, are not provided with appropriate veterinary care, and have no means to express their complex emotional and behavioral needs. Cubs are ripped away from their mothers to be offered to paying customers for feeding and petting sessions and for photo ops. Keeping big cats in these settings is not only inhumane but is also a serious public safety issue. 

And thus, the U.S. House of Representatives just passed the Big Cat Public Safety Act (H.R. 263) by a vote of 278 to 134. The bill would prohibit keeping tigers, lions, and other big cat species as pets, and ban direct public contact like cub petting. --Environment News Service

To learn more about tigers, tiger projects, and population growth, check out the articles below:

Spongebob and Patrick's best friends forever ring (with song lyrics as the caption)

30th: International Day of Friendship

The International Day of Friendship was proclaimed in 2011 by the UN General Assembly with the idea that friendship between peoples, countries, cultures, and individuals can inspire peace efforts and build bridges between communities.

The resolution places emphasis on involving young people, as future leaders, in community activities that include different cultures and promote international understanding and respect for diversity. --United Nations

So, what activities can you do to celebrate?

Other Holiday's

Ralphie from a Christmas story quoting

1st: International Joke Day

Jokes to make your day a little brighter! (Provided by: CNN, The Guardian, INGCO International, & Country Living) And check out this mighty cool Joke Generator!

  1. Why don’t pirates take a shower before they walk the plank?
    1. They just wash up on shore.
  2. Why are elevator jokes so good?

    1. They work on many levels!

  3. Why was the man waiting near the signal with bread and butter in his hand?

    1. Because he heard there was going to be a traffic jam.

  4.  What do you call an alligator detective?

    1. An investi-gator.

  5. Why shouldn’t you write with a broken pencil?

    1. Because it’s pointless.

  6. A man asked his gym instructor, "Can you make me do splits", the gym instructor asks him if he is flexible and the man replies that he cannot do Tuesdays.

  7. Do you know the joke of "no me neither"?
    No.
    Me neither.

  8. What did the green grape say to the purple grape?
    Oh my God, breathe!

  9. There are two eggs in the fridge.
    One says to the other: "Hey, you're quite hairy for an egg."
    The other replies: "But I am a kiwi."

  10. Why do French people prefer to have small breakfasts?

    1. Because one egg is un oeuf!

  11. Did you hear about the restaurant on the moon?

    1. Great food, no atmosphere.

  12. "Why do fathers take an extra pair of socks when they go golfing?"
    1. "In case they get a hole in one!"
  13. "If April showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring?"
    1. "Pilgrims."
  14. "What did the janitor say when he jumped out of the closet?"
    1. "Supplies!"
  15. "Why do seagulls fly over the ocean?"
    1. "Because if they flew over the bay, we'd call them bagels."
  16. "What does a sprinter eat before a race?"
    1. "Nothing, they fast!"
  17. "Where do you learn to make a banana split?"
    1. "Sundae school."
  18. "Do you wanna box for your leftovers?"
    1. "No, but I'll wrestle you for them."
  19. "What country's capital is growing the fastest?"
    1. "Ireland. Every day it's Dublin."
  20. "I'm reading a book about anti-gravity. It's impossible to put down!"

Disney's Alice in wonderland cartoon Alice and fish taken away by a wave

4th: Alice in Wonderland Day

Want to learn some fun facts about a literary classic like Alice's Adventures in Wonderland? Take a look at our list below! And don't forget to take your chance and read the book HERE, or even watch many of the films HERE.

  • Originally, it came out in 1865
  • Author Lewis Carroll is actually a pen name
    • His real name is Charles Dodgson
  • Alice's character was based on a real person: Alice Liddell
  • Alice was actually a brunette, not blonde
  • After reading the story and loving it, Queen Victoria suggested Carroll dedicate his next book to her.
  • Lewis Carroll suffered from a rare neurological disorder
    • This causes hallucinations and affects the size of visual objects-- sound familiar?
    • This disorder also caused a rumor, in later years, that Carroll was 'high as a kite' when writing the book
  • The novels were banned in China in 1931
    • As "Animals should not use human language"
  • 25 years after the original release, a children's version was published

Take a look at the NICC Library and DCLD Library books and movies on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

View of the Hawaiian Islands from space

5th: National Hawaii Day

Take a look at the Hawai'i timeline below. Information was gathered from the following sites: National Archives, GoHawaii, Hawaii Tourism Authority, Nation State of Hawai'i, Pearl Harbor Tours

  • 1,500 years ago:
    • Polynesians arrived in Hawai'i after navigating the ocean using only the stars.
  • 1778:
    • Captain James Cook lands on Waimea Bay on the Island of Kaua'i, becoming the first European to make contact.
  • 1790-1810:
    • Civil wars in the islands, and ongoing to try and unite the islands.
  • 1820:
    • The first US "Safety Committee" (aka The Missionaries) arrives in Hawai'i
  • 1887:
    • US militia's affiliation illegally forced the king of Hawai'i to sign a new constitution, forcibly stripping him & native Hawaiians of their rights.
  • 1981:
    • Queen Lili'uokalani tried and failed in making a new constitution to restore her nation's rights.
  • 1893-94:
    • The illegal annexation treaty was forcibly signed by Queen Lili'uokalani before she was taken to a room and imprisoned.
    • President Cleveland is brought into the office.
      • He hears of these illegal constitutions and sends spy James Blount to look into the events.
  • 1894:
    • Cleveland makes Hawai'i a republic, "The Republic of Hawaii"
    • Sanford Dole (head of the "Safety Committee") refused to leave his position of power in Hawai'i and was thus given the title of First President of Hawaii
    • Rebellions from the Hawaiian Natives continue.
  • 1897:
    • President William McKinley was inaugurated.
    • He signed the treaty of annexation later in the same year, andit  was then submitted for ratification
    • Queen Lili'uokalani and her citizens successfully protested this by bringing their petition ( that was signed by over half of the Hawai'ian population) and reading it before the Senate, and formally accepted.
  • 1898:
    • The ensuing Spanish-American War, part of which was fought in the Philippine Islands, established the argument that the Hawaiian Islands would be strategically valuable as a mid-Pacific fueling station and naval installation.
    • The pro-annexation forces in Congress submitted a proposal to annex the Hawaiian Islands by joint resolution, which required only a simple majority vote in both houses.
      • With a 2/3 majority, the Hawaiian Islands were officially annexed by the United States.
      • Sanford Dole changed titles from the first President of Hawaii to the first Governor of the Territory of Hawaii
    • In a last, unsuccessful attempt to return control of her homeland to native Hawaiians, Queen Lili’uokalani sent a letter of protest to the U.S. House of Representatives. She stated that her throne had been taken illegally and that any US efforts to annex Hawaii without the due process of law would be unacceptable.
  • 1899-1958:
    • As a territory, Hawaii had little power in the U.S. government, holding only one non-voting representative in the House of Representatives.
    • The territory's status allowed rich, white plantation owners to import cheap labor and export their products to the mainland with low tariffs. These landowners used their power to keep Hawaii in territorial status.
    • Native Hawaiians and non-white Hawaiian residents, however, began to push for statehood. These residents wanted the same rights as U.S. citizens living in one of the 48 states. They wanted a voting representative in Congress and the right to elect their own governor and judges, who were currently appointed.
    • In 1937, a congressional committee found that Hawaii met all qualifications for statehood and held a vote on statehood in Hawaii. Although this resulted in a vote in favor of statehood, the attack at Pearl Harbor paused all talks as the Japanese population in Hawaii came under suspicion by the U.S. government.
  • 1959:
    • In March 1959, a Hawaii statehood resolution passed both the House and the Senate, and President Eisenhower signed it into law. That June, the citizens of Hawaii voted on a referendum to accept the statehood bill.
    • On August 21, 1959, President Eisenhower signed the official proclamation admitting Hawaii as the 50th state, marking the end of over half a century of work for Hawaiian statehood.

A little tabby kitten munching on his toe beans

10th: National Kitten Day

Did you know that having a cat can improve your health? Take a look at some of the studies below about the benefits of owning a cat:

  1. Lower risk of heart disease
  2. Purring helps heal bones, tendons, and muscles
  3. You'll sleep better
  4. Cats make you happier
  5. Reduce stress and anxiety
  6. For kids, cats lower the risk of developing allergies
  7. Even just watching cat videos is good for you

A happy lil cartoon bee buzzing along

10th: Don't Step on a Bee Day

Why is this a holiday? How did it come to bee? Why is it important? Are people willingly and knowingly stepping on bees? Take a look at the articles below to find out more!

 

A pod of sharks swimming in the ocean

14th: Shark Awareness Day

Why should we care about shark awareness?

Why does talking about sharks matter? 

How much do you actually know about sharks?

What can you do to help the sharks?

Take a look at some fun facts about sharks below:

  1. There are over 500 species of sharks
    1. 143 of those are under threat
  2. They are apex predators
    1. They can lose and replace thousands of teeth in their lifetimes
  3. They can vary dramatically in size
    1. From the size of a human hand to 12 meters long
  4. They live in most ocean habitats
    1. From tropical coral reefs to Arctic ice
  5. They come in various different forms
    1. Goblin sharks are pink while hammerheads have... well... hammer-shaped heads
  6. Most sharks are cold-blooded
    1. Cold like the water they swim in, HOWEVER, great whites are partially warm-blooded
  7. The UK gets some of the biggest sharks
    1. The basking shark (the second largest in the world) can be up to 11 meters and 7 tons
  8. They have a sixth sense
    1. No, they aren't seeing dead people. The ‘ampullae of Lorenzini’ are found on sharks' snouts and can sense the electric fields emitted by animals in the surrounding water.
  9. They have been here for literal ages
    1. For over 400 million years, long before dinosaurs, they've been swimming
  10. They're under threat
    1. From accidental fishing gear and shark fin delicacies to climate change and pollution in the ocean, they have a lot to combat to survive.

Scene from We Are The Millers, a fair carnie shows off his misspelled tattoo

17th: National Tattoo Day

Humans have marked their bodies with tattoos for thousands of years. These permanent designs—sometimes plain, sometimes elaborate, always personal—have served as amulets, status symbols, declarations of love, signs of religious beliefs, adornments, and even forms of punishment. 

In terms of tattoos on actual bodies, the earliest known examples were for a long time Egyptian and were present on several female mummies dated to c. 2000 B.C. But following the more recent discovery of the Iceman from the area of the Italian-Austrian border in 1991 and his tattoo patterns, this date has been pushed back a further thousand years when he was carbon-dated at around 5,200 years old. -- Smithsonian Magazine

Getting tattoos can be painful, but did you know they were partly invented to treat pain? In the mid-18th century, Native American women tattooed themselves to alleviate toothaches and arthritis, similar to acupuncture. 

New York City is considered the birthplace of modern tattoos because it’s where the first professional tattoo artist Martin Hildebrandt set up shop in the mid-19th century to tattoo Civil War soldiers for identification purposes, and it’s where the first electric rotary tattoo machine was invented in 1891, inspired by Thomas Edison‘s electric pen. --Time Magazine

For more articles and the history of tattoos, click on the links below:

cartoon woman with her hand to her ear trying to listen

18th: National Listening Day

The purposes of World Listening Day are: (As provided by the World Listening Project)

  • to celebrate the practice of listening as it relates to the world around us, environmental awareness, and acoustic ecology;
  • to raise awareness about issues related to the World Soundscape Project, World Forum for Acoustic Ecology, World Listening Project, and individual and group efforts to creatively explore phonography;
  • and to design and implement educational initiatives which explore these concepts and practices.

Want to listen to some stories from yesteryear? Check out NPR's StoryCorps National Day of Listening

Keep up to date with World Listening Day prompts, events, previous years' events, and even this year's countdown.

Donald Duck on his hands and knees panting and sweating from heat

23rd: Hot Enough For Ya Day

The hottest days of the year usually happen in the last week of July. Don't believe me? Take a look at the articles below and see for yourself:

  • Backstory Archive
    • Listen to reporters talk about one of the hottest days in history in July 2018
  • Washington Post
    • Can you really fry an egg on the sidewalk? 
  • Climate.gov
    • They have a map that shows the average window for the day of the year with the highest maximum temperature
  • National Centers for Environmental Information
    • The U.S. Climate Normals is an extensive suite of data products that provide information about typical climate conditions for thousands of locations across the United States.
  • NOAA
    • Collect all the data that proves July is the hottest month

With all this heat, how are you to keep cool?

Amelia Earhart smiling and waving from her plane

24th: Amelia Earhart Day

The life of Amelia Earhart was definitely a wild one. Outside of her many accomplishments as a pilot and advocate for women in aviation, she has seen the world before even being in the air. She has also seen more than just the skies in her different careers. And when she actually launched her career in aviation, she made it the best it could be. Take a look at the lists below of all she's seen and done. Please note that the information was found through: Research Starters, NASA, and the National Air and Space Museum.

Places she lived:

  • Kansas City, Kansas
  • Des Moines, Iowa
  • St. Paul Minnesota
  • Chicago, Illinois
  • Rydal, Pennsylvania
  • Toronto, Canada
  • North Hampton, Massachusetts
  • Los Angeles, California

Education:

  • Studied automobile repair
  • Switched to medicine

Jobs:

  • Volunteered for the Red Cross
  • Pilot
  • English teacher
  • Social worker
  • Founder of an organization
    • The Ninty-nine Club
  • Advocate for women in aviation
  • Author

Records Set:

  • Feminine altitude record of 14,000 feet
  • The first woman to fly over the Atlantic as a passenger
  • Feminine speed record (surpassed it twice)
  • The first woman to fly an autogiro
  • Autogiro altitude record of 18,415 feet
  • The first woman (and only the second person) to fly solo and nonstop across the Atlantic
  • The first person to fly over the Atlantic twice
  • The first woman to fly solo and nonstop across the US
  • The first person to fly from Hawai'i to the US Mainland
  • Speed record between Mexico City and Washington, DC
  • First person to solo fly from Mexico City to Newark, New Jersey

A drawing of a large family with all the aunts and uncles around with

26th: Aunt and Uncle's Day

Aunt, noun

A. A sister of one's father or mother. Also: the wife or female partner of one's uncle.

B. A woman who is regarded with respect or affection similar to that often accorded to an aunt, despite not being linked by this specific kinship; esp. a close family friend or (chiefly regional, as a term of respect or affection) an elderly woman. Also, as a form of address or as a title preceding a first name.

Uncle, noun

A. A brother of one’s father or mother. Also: the husband or male partner of one’s aunt.

B. A man who is regarded with respect or affection similar to that often accorded to an uncle despite not being linked by this specific kinship, esp. an elderly man (chiefly regional) or, when used by a child, a close family friend.


Why are they important?

Aunts and uncles can also be the adult friends a child needs. The kids certainly want to address some issues with someone, but may feel their parents will be dismissive or explosive about what’s bothering them. Aunts and uncles may have a more relaxed approach with their nieces and nephews, offering different and more encouraging solutions to a child’s problems. They are more likely to tell their nieces and nephews embarrassing stories about their parents. These and other entertaining exchanges could help solidify a powerful and trusting relationship between aunts and uncles and nieces and nephews for many years. Aunts and uncles don’t necessarily have to be related to be influential. Over many years, aunts and uncles have taken on the role of “aunt” to several children they're not related to. --Washington Post

What makes having an aunt or uncle unique? --AARP

  • They don't have the responsibility to be a parent, allowing a more childish side to come out.
  • It can be easier to talk about tough topics with a close friend like an aunt or uncle than a parent.
  • Sometimes they can be extra providers (extra gifts, anyone?)
  • Can be a reachable role model
  • Being familiar but somewhat outside the situation when conflicts with parents arise can be a plus.
  • When mom and dad are busy or away, aunts and uncles can help fill the gap with extra attention, interest, and affection, as well as practical help such as making meals, taking kids to appointments, or helping with homework.
  • They can be your biggest cheerleaders

So, what's the role of an aunt/uncle?

It depends on the aunt or uncle, and part of that is because there’s no obligation of the aunt or uncle, unlike parenting; once you parent a child, you have a legal obligation. That doesn’t stop aunts and uncles from being involved in their nephews' and nieces’ lives. The more aunts and uncles a child has, the more influence a child has. If the uncle or aunt is a fantastic artist, the child may be inspired by that talent. The best thing about being an aunt or uncle is that a child doesn’t discriminate when it comes to love. --Forbes

The original Tom Forsythe's 1999 Barbie in a Blender photo

27th: Barbie in a Blender Day

Shout out to Tom Forsythe from Utah for the inspiration of this day. 

Back around 2003, Tom Forsythe made a series of art pieces revolving around dolls that suspiciously looked a lot like Mattels beloved Barbie doll. These art pieces included "Malted Barbie," featuring a nude Barbie in a blender; "Fondue a la Barbie," which featured Barbie heads in a fondue pot; and "Barbie Enchiladas," where Barbie dolls were wrapped in tortillas and roasted in an oven. All of these were for his series titled "Food Chain Barbie". 

Mattel, not wanting this to dilute or diminish the commercial value of their property, thus sued Tom for this art series. Tom, on the other hand,d fought back in court, claiming that this lawsuit infringed on his freedom of speech and expression. The other large portion of the case involves common terms such as copyright, trademark, and fair use.

  • Copyright: occurs when creative work is copied or used without permission.
  • Trademark: protects commercial products or services, and infringement occurs when a trademark is used without permission and causes a likelihood of confusion between the trademarked product and the unauthorized one.
  • Fair use: recognizes that new works draw inspiration from older works and that productive use of older works promotes the progress of science, the arts, and literature.

The conclusion of this court case was that the "Food Chain Barbie" series was a legitimate parody. Tom had transformed the meaning and intent into new and difficult work, and consumers were not likely to confuse a naked Barbie in a blender with an authorized Mattel product. And thus launched National Barbie in a Blender Day, to have people recognize freedom of expression in the art community.

Information gathered from: The Record, The New York Times, and The Daily Telegraph

A grown tiger being woken up by a little tiger cub

29th: International Tiger Day

Global Tiger Day is celebrated every year on July 29th as a way to raise awareness about this magnificent but endangered big cat. The day was founded in 2010 when the 13 tiger range countries came together to create Tx2 – the global goal to double the number of wild tigers by the year 2022. -- WWF

After the hit show that populated everyone's TV over the pandemic lockdown, Joe Exotic, many people had thoughts about how to help our big cats:

Big cat ownership is an epidemic in the U.S. Untold numbers of captive big cats live in shoddy roadside zoos or as pets living in homes. More often than not, these large, dangerous, wide-roaming apex predators are kept in small, barren cages where they can barely turn around. They are improperly fed, are not provided with appropriate veterinary care, and have no means to express their complex emotional and behavioral needs. Cubs are ripped away from their mothers to be offered to paying customers for feeding and petting sessions and for photo ops. Keeping big cats in these settings is not only inhumane but is also a serious public safety issue. 

And thus, the U.S. House of Representatives just passed the Big Cat Public Safety Act (H.R. 263) by a vote of 278 to 134. The bill would prohibit keeping tigers, lions, and other big cat species as pets, and ban direct public contact like cub petting. --Environment News Service

To learn more about tigers, tiger projects, and population growth, check out the articles below:

Spongebob and Patrick's best friends forever ring (with song lyrics as the caption)

30th: International Day of Friendship

The International Day of Friendship was proclaimed in 2011 by the UN General Assembly with the idea that friendship between peoples, countries, cultures, and individuals can inspire peace efforts and build bridges between communities.

The resolution places emphasis on involving young people, as future leaders, in community activities that include different cultures and promote international understanding and respect for diversity. --United Nations

So, what activities can you do to celebrate?