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Monthly Spotlight: Holidays!

Nov 2024 Holidays

National Diabetes Month

Originally: a disease characterized by the passage of large quantities of urine or by incontinence of urine.

In later use: spec. any of a group of metabolic disorders in which the body’s ability to produce or respond to the hormone insulin is impaired -Oxford English Dictionary

Symptoms of diabetes may occur suddenly. In type 2 diabetes, the symptoms can be mild and may take many years to be noticed.

Symptoms of diabetes include:

  • feeling very thirsty
  • needing to urinate more often than usual
  • blurred vision
  • feeling tired
  • losing weight unintentionally

Over time, diabetes can damage blood vessels in the heart, eyes, kidneys, and nerves.

People with diabetes have a higher risk of health problems including heart attack, stroke, and kidney failure.

Diabetes can cause permanent vision loss by damaging blood vessels in the eyes.

Many people with diabetes develop problems with their feet from nerve damage and poor blood flow. This can cause foot ulcers and may lead to amputation. --World Health Organization

Jellyfish Day -November 3rd

  • Jellyfish are 95% water
  • They don't have brains, lungs, or hearts
  • They are a type of cnidarian
    • Cnidarians are jelly-like marine animals that have radical symmetry and sting their prey using cells on their tentacles called ‘cnidocytes’, which explode when stimulated
    • Other cnidarians include sea anemones and coral
  •  Jellyfish have bells containing fluid and circular muscles instead of bones
    • Jellyfish can propel themselves along by contracting their muscles and squirting water in the opposite direction from where they want to go
      • Or to save themselves the effort of doing this, jellyfish can also drift along with the ocean’s currents
  • Smaller species can live for a few hours while larger species can live for a few years
  • The Irukandji jellyfish can be as small as one to two centimeters with a bell only a few millimeters wide
    • While the largest species - lion’s mane - can grow up to two meters wide and have tentacles as long as 36 meters
  • The lifespan of a jellyfish goes from a polyp to a ephyra to a medusa
    • Turritopsis dohrnii (also known as the immortal jellyfish) can drop to the seabed and become a polyp all over again if injured, starved, or from being in water that's too hot or cold
  • Box Jellyfish are the only ones that have eyes
    • They have 24 eyes spread across all four sides of their bell, meaning that they have 360-degree vision.
    • They are also one of the fastest swimmers as they can move up to six meters per minute

Information from the Marine Conservation Society.

National Stress Awareness Day -November 6th

Take a look at these tips to help deal with stress in a positive way from the CDC.

  • Take breaks from watching, reading, and listening to news stories.
    • Including social media
    •  Limit your exposure
    • Try disconnecting from electronics more
  • Take care of your body
    • Eat healthy
    • Exercise
    • Plenty of sleep
    • Give yourself a break if you start feeling stressed out
    • Avoid excessive alcohol, tobacco, and substance use
    • Take deep breaths, stretch, or meditate 
  • Take time to unwind
    • Do something you enjoy!
      • Read a book
      • Play a game
      • Watch a movie
  • Talk to others
    • Sharing your problems can often help lift them

International Tongue Twister Day -November 10th

A fun holiday for some, a horrible holiday for others, it's International Tongue Twister Day! Now giving your brain a little challenge can always be fun, but remember, we are in the midwest which means we are cursed with the 'lazy language' or more often called a 'drawl'. Lazy language/ drawl basically means we alter words in our everyday speech to make it easier for us to get our point across. For example y'all, dunno, could/should/would-ya, or even just taking off the 'g' in words ending in -ing. So, I give you a test. Can you pronounce these tongue twisters?

  1. No need to light a night light on a light night like tonight.
  2. A synonym for cinnamon is a cinnamon synonym.
  3. Six sick hicks nick six slick bricks with picks and sticks.
  4. Betty bought butter but the butter was bitter, so Betty bought better butter to make the bitter butter better.

Guinness World Records Day -November 16th

1955 is when it all started. The first printing of the Guinness Book of Records was published with a preface by co-founders Norris and Ross McWhirter. 187,000 books sold (after 4 reprints) within a year. -Guinness Timeline

With next year being the 70th anniversary, let us take a look at some of the previous year's record holders:

  • Newest Breed of Cat: Selkirk Rex (aka Poodle Cat) -2013
  • Largest Margarine Sculpture done by Devwrat Anand Jategaonkar in 2017
    • Done in India and weighed 1506.800 kilograms (about 3,321.93 pounds)
  • Most Slices of Carrots Sliced While Blindfolded in 30 Seconds: Wallace Wong in 2023
    • Don in Niagara Falls, Canada with a total number of 121
  • Most Human Targets Hit with Plungers in 1 Minute: Chris Ivan in 2023
    • Done in L.A. with a total of 16 landed plungers
  • Most Big Mac Burgers Eaten in a Lifetime: Donald Gorske in 2024
    • Fond Du Lac, US with a total of 34,128 burgers
  • Loudest Scream by a Crowd (Outside): Matias Viitasalo in 2005
    • In Siilinjarvi, Finland at 127.2 Decibels (A-Wieghted) -About as loud as a jet plane taking off
  • Shortest Dog Living: Pearl F. Semler in 2022
    • From Orlando, FL, and standing 9.14 centimeters tall
  • Most Dangerous Tree: Manchineel (Hippomane Mancinella) from the US in 2011

Information gathered from Guinness World Records Showcase

National Game and Puzzle Week -November 20th-26th

After the Thanksgiving holiday, National Game and Puzzle Week emerged to encourage families to spend more time together. It is a way to appreciate your family, spend time with them, and unwind for/after Thanksgiving and other holiday celebrations. -National Today

Here are some of the most recent popular games: (From Wired)

Here are some classic games: (From Reader's Digest)

White Ribbon Day -November 25th

What is it?

White Ribbon is the world’s largest movement of men and boys working to end violence against women and girls, promote gender equity, healthy relationships, and a new vision of masculinity.

The Vision: A future free from all forms of gender-based violence and discrimination.

The Mission: White Ribbon promotes healthy masculinities, advances gender equity, and builds allyship.

How to help:

Stats:

  • 66% of men have anxiety over raising a daughter due to challenges that women face in society
  • 42% of women have experienced the assumption that women should be the primary caregivers when it comes to handling childcare, cooking, and housework
  • 51% of young Canadian women have experienced men reacting with hostility after being rejected sexually or romantically
  • 70% of Canadian men state that they’ve been protective of women in regard to safety around other men, or observed other men doing so.
  • The First Daughter Effect shows that having a daughter changes most men’s beliefs around the issues women face – whether they be societal, political or personal.

National Personal Space Day -November 30th

National Personal Space Day is an initiative of the “For the Love of Peach” foundation. The foundation was established by Public Health Specialist, Carol Winner, in 2015. Winner’s life experiences shaped her thinking and motivated her to establish a day that highlights the importance of respecting people and their personal space.

How to set boundaries and ask for personal space:

  • Saying “no” when you’re uncomfortable or overwhelmed
  • Asking for space when you need time alone
  • Communicating your needs directly and respectfully
  • Limiting how much time or energy you give to others
  • Setting physical boundaries, especially around your body and consent
  • Being able to walk away when someone doesn’t respect your boundaries