Month: June 2017

June 30th National Meteor Watch Day

June Holidays, Unboxing the Bizarre

If you love to sky watch, tonight you’ll have something to watch for. It’s National Meteor Watch Day. A meteor occurs when space matter comes in contact with the earth’s atmosphere and becomes incandescent as it burns up, hopefully before reaching the surface.

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The best time for watching meteors is actually in August when the Perseid Meteor Shower occurs.

But since they have put the holiday in June, you need to start watching them tonight! Te good thing, or the bad, as Deeda from Canada reports, a meteor exploded in the sky on June 30th, 1908 over Siberia. It tore down trees and knocked out people as far as forty miles away. That was a shower you didn’t want to take!

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Though we call them shooting stars, a meteor is not actually a star. It is space matter, mainly small rocks that have broken away from a planet or star. They hurl themselves through space, very few actually reaching earth.

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That’s why so often you find a “shower” as explosions occur and send dozens of these small rocks through space. Some are larger and actually do reach the earth’s surface. It is said that if a large enough one should hit the earth, it might tip the axis we spin on. Lets hope that that does not happen in any of our lifetimes.

How to celebrate – If the night is clear, sit outside tonight and watch for meteorites. Make sure you make a wish on the ones you see! For a better view, set up a telescope. Take a camera and film what you see.

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June 29th International Mud Day

June Holidays, Unboxing the Bizarre

Wow, it’s time to get down and dirty! It’s International Mud Day, founded originally to give assistance to 58 children in Nepal. Now it belongs to the world (but it is still used to help children)!

It’s hard to imagine anything more tempting than jumping into a field covered in mud. Slipping and sliding, splashing and forgetting all the stuff your mom ever tried to teach you!

The World Forum for Mud Day was founded in 2009 by Australian Gillian McAuliffe and Nepal’s Beshnu Bhatti. Their intent was doing something fun, something nearly everyone can do and just letting go for a day.

And it’s fun for kids of all ages. No make-up required, forget finding just the right outfit, you don’t have to remember what fork to use, or about putting your elbows on the table (if you did they would probably slip off anyway!). It’s a day when everyone is equal, no one outshines another and the only true competition is trying to get on your feet, or stay on your feet.

Male or female, young or old, rich or poor.. we all look alike in the mud.

How to celebrate – Find a mud hole and dive in! Start your own International Mud Day charity in your area. Treat yourself to a mud pie.

June 28th Insurance Awareness Day

June Holidays, Unboxing the Bizarre

It seems like there is insurance for anything these days, probably even insurance for insurance. I know we need it, I know it is useful, but wow… when will it stop? The idea of purchasing insurance is always done with the hope we never have to use it. Reality says different.

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Of course if you use your insurance it goes up so that you can’t afford it anymore but I suppose that goes back to the hope that we never have to use it at all. Car accidents, health breakdown, flooding… have you ever noticed that if you live in a flood prone area the only kind of insurance you can’t buy is flood insurance!

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How to celebrate – Make sure all your insurance policies are paid up (that sounds like fun, huh!?!) Check out Lloyd’s of London. Pick a slow night and enjoy the sales pitch from an insurance salesman.

June 27th National Sunglasses Day

June Holidays, Unboxing the Bizarre

Did you know they had sunglasses back during the Civil War? No, not the recent movie but the real Civil War, the War Between the States. In fact they were known to be around in Nero’s time (Roman Empire) though hey may not have been used to actually block out the sun rays.

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Sunglasses serve a valuable purpose. Not only to they block out the sun rays that can hurt your vision but they also help you see better by removing the glare than comes from the sun, often revealing things you might not have seen otherwise.

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Of course, they make you look cool too and who doesn’t want that. Sunglasses were known to exist in 1757, though not widely used. It would be 1929 when they were first produced for the mass population.

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Naturally, sunglasses have been used to hide the secret identity of Hollywood stars, politicians, outlaws and suspicious people (Probably aliens from another planet.) And of course the coolest of cool wear their sunglasses at night! (Normally to hide the black eye they have from wearing them at night before and running into the wall.)

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Ho0w to celebrate – Proudly show off your sunglasses today. Pretend you are a movie star and see if you get people watching you. Go sun glass shopping to find the one that best defines your cool.

June 26th Forgiveness Day

June Holidays, Unboxing the Bizarre

People make mistakes. Sometimes they are huge mistakes, very difficult to recover from, some are just stupid things, easy to get over. But really, there is little we cannot be forgiven for and even less we cannot afford to forgive.

Robert Enright

Yes, someone may make you angry but what do you have to gain by being angry? High blood pressure, stress, and disappointment will follow. In the long run, it serves no purpose.

 

There are numerous forgiveness days (which we probably need). Today is actually on the National Level. (considered National Forgiveness Day). Global Forgiveness Day however, falls on August 27th, and Internationl Forgiveness Day is the first Sunday in August.

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So if not today, pick one of any of those days and start forgiving those who you feel have wronged you. It will certainly help them but it may even help you even more. The grudge you hold is actually harder on you than it is for the person you are holding the grudge against.

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How to celebrate – Remember you may need some forgiving one day so find someone that has wronged you and forgive them, making sure they know you have done so. Find someone you have wronged and ask forgiveness from them. Forgive yourself of things you know you have done wrong.

June 25th National Log Cabin Day

June Holidays, Unboxing the Bizarre

The only thing the settlers found plenty of when they first arrived in America were trees. Naturally, needing shelter from the cold and storms, they used these trees to build homes for themselves.

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They weren’t very elaborate, the windows had no glass and normally there was a constant breeze blowing through them, but they were home to many and became a part of the American heritage.

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Eventually glass windows were added and the holes were patched up by mud or other materials to keep the wind out. Outhouses were built instead of using the closest tree (Normally not all that close after using them to build the house.) Entire towns grew out of log cabins and some of the most famous American’s were born and raised in these makeshift dwellings.

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Today they can be quite elaborate. In fact, places like Disney’s Fort Wilderness Hotel is built to resemble the log cabins of yesterday but do not leave out a single creature comfort.

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Log Cabin Day was created by Virginia Handy and the Bad Axe Historical Society on June 25th, 1986 to honor a part of American history.

How to celebrate – Build your own log cabin, perhaps out of Lincoln Logs if you can find them. Visit one of the original log cabins, many of which are still standing after a hundred years or more. Visit Disney’s Fort Wilderness.

June 24th Swim A Lap Day

June Holidays, Unboxing the Bizarre

It’s hot, one of the best ways to cool down is to jump into a pool of nice refreshing water. It’s also good for you too, in many ways it’s better exercise than jogging and with less wear and tear on your body!

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There are seven tips to becoming a better swimmer. 1.) Start slow. (For those of you who like to cannon-ball your way into swimming. 2.) Exhale while your head is underwater. 3.) Inhale when it is above water. (Ah, hello!) 4.) Each out as far as you can with one arm while rolling your head to the opposite side for breathing. 5.)Kick with your legs slightly bent at the knee but as straight as  possible. 6.) Point your toes. (Because you never know when a dance instructor may come by.) 7.) Push your chest down while stroking (That sounds perverted).

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I have decided there are seven more to pay close attention to as well. 1.) Do not swim while holding a cannon ball. 2.) Never choose a shark as your swimming buddy. 3.) Drinking straws should never replace a real snorkel. 4.) Do not try swimming the breaststroke in a bathtub. 5.) Always swim in the company of others. This does not include me, myself and I as your three friends. 6.) Make sure there is water in the pool before diving in. 7.) Do not swim in a business suit.

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Seriously though, swimming is good for you and a great way to cool down.  Just be safe and do not tempt our limits too far.

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How to celebrate – Enjoy the water but when you start to prune it’s time to get out. If you don’t have a pool, make a friend with someone who does. Get a shovel and start digging your own pool.

June 23rd National Take Your Dog To Work Day

June Holidays, Unboxing the Bizarre

Take Your Dog To Work Day June 23rd, 2017

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Who wouldn’t want to take their best friend to work with them, not just today but everyday! Of course they might keep you from getting a lot of work done but isn’t that sort of what their job is!?!

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To have a friendly face staring at you all day is so much better than looking at a computer screen, or writing up accounts, or whatever it is you do. Yes they will want to play, but a little play at work can lighten up the mood and actually help you to accomplish more!

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Today was created by Pet Sitters International in 1999, always the Friday following Father’s Day. For more information you can contact the Association at takeyourdog@petsit.com.

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How to celebrate – Take your dog to work! Remember to pack them a lunch and you may want to take along some of their favorite toys. By a suit for your dog to make them look “Official”.

June 22nd National Chocolate Eclair Day

June Holidays, Unboxing the Bizarre

Why are so many of our National Holidays related in some form or way to food? For all those on a diet I apologize. Today is Chocolate Eclair Day, perhaps the most fattening and tempting treat on the planet.

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Chocolate covered dough with a creme or custard filling. Once again, thank Christopher Columbus because if it weren’t for him we would probably all have to just settle for an Eclair without the chocolate.

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How to celebrate – Have a Chocolate covered eclair today! Be thankful you can have a chocolate covered eclair today. Try making your own version of a chocolate eclair adding something that makes yours even more delicious.

June 21st Summer Solstice

June Holidays, Unboxing the Bizarre

Today is the first day of summer according to the Meteorological Organizations. For those of us who live in the south and feel the heat…they are just a little behind. However, it is recognized as the longest day of the year, I guess we have to go along with that.

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In fact, the daylight will never go away today at the North Pole so if your thinking of napping and live there, you’ll need some sort of blinders. We call it summer solstice but it is also known as “Midsummer” (which makes no sense to me at all) or “Litha” (which I guess is Latin).

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Whatever you call it, sit back with a glass of iced tea and maybe some fruit and enjoy it. You’ll have a little longer to relax in the sun today than normal, so even though it’s the middle of the week, find a spot and relax.

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Even the ancient Brits studied today. It sort of makes me wonder why? We can’t change it, we can’t argue it, but I guess we can study it.  It is not the favorite day of the year for Polar Bears or Owls (owls like to hunt in the dark so they’ll have to wait a little longer for supper tonight).

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I’m not really sure how to celebrate today. Maybe by tanning for an extra hour (watch out for the burn!), or maybe just enjoy a little extra daylight for whatever it is you like to do in the daylight. Sorry for those of you who are vampires.

How to celebrate – Go to the beach today and soak in the rays. Study why the summer solstice is important to us. (then let me know). Have a summer solstice party!