Sea Monkey Day - May 16

If you were a kid in the 70s or 80s of the last century, you probably know sea monkeys, tiny creatures that come in the mail in the form of grains in a bag, pour them into an aquarium and they come to life and become cute little crabs.

May 16th is a day dedicated to these special creatures and the weird story behind the way they came to our aquariums.

It all started when a young American entrepreneur named Harold von Braunhut discovered in 1956 that fishermen in his hometown of New York were using as bait for fish in cute little crabs. These tiny crabs had a wonderful ability - in extreme dry conditions they enter a state of dormancy where they can stay for many years, and as soon as they are put back in the water they come back to life and become agile swimmers. In addition, fertilized crab eggs can develop within 24 hours and tiny white crabs hatch from them as soon as water with salt is added.

Brownhut's business sense immediately went into action and he realized that these sweet creatures could be marketed as pets to lots of people and make a lot of money.

The creatures that Brownhut discovered are called artemia. It is a type of tiny cancer that is common in lakes and salt lakes. Its commercial collection is possible in a handful of places around the world such as Siberia, the Great Dead Sea in Utah in the US and China. They are also found in the diesel lagoons and the Atacama Desert in South America.

Brownhut realized that people would not be excited to just buy crabs called Artemia as a pet, so he thought and thought and decided to call them "sea monkeys" because their long tails reminded him of monkeys.

He hired an illustrator named Joe Orlando who created comic books in which he built a whole world of magical characters from fairy tales of their own living in the underwater world.

American children were enthralled by the new animals that were discovered to the world and of course asked their parents to buy them, and sea monkeys became the flagship hit in America. Von Brownhut patented his invention and later developed with his team a "commercial breed" of Artemia - carefully selected and engineered crabs to suit longer aquarium life.

These tiny crabs have also become TV stars - they have appeared on shows like Spin City, Roseanne, Night Court, South Park, The Simpsons, Garry Shandling's show and Desperate Housewives. On October 29, 1998, sea monkeys went into space with astronaut John Glenn aboard the space shuttle Discovery. They returned to Earth after spending nine days in space and the eggs that hatched eight weeks later were apparently not affected at all by their travels.

A bag of sea monkeys - just add water and you immediately have living creatures in the aquarium! (Link)

© Hans Hillewaert

 Sea monkeys on Amazon

May 16 is also Biographers Day

International Camel Day - June 22

International Camel Day is celebrated on June 22 each year, to raise awareness that camels are very important animals and that they have the right to live a good life and be treated with compassion.

The camel is a mammal also called the "Ship of the desert", and is suitable for desert life. It can be found in the world in the Middle East, Australia and Africa, in desert regions.

Camels are captive animals and adapted to the needs of humans. Humans use them as beasts of burden and labor, and also as a source of milk, meat and wool.

There are two types of camels: the single-humped camel, which is the most common type of camel, and the endangered two-humped camel.

In honor of International Camel Day, get some fascinating and surprising facts about the camel

The camel is able to endure without drinking water for two weeks.

The camels do not store water in their hump! Some people think that the camel can get by for a long time without water available because it carries water in its hump, but the truth is that what is there is only pure fat. This fat is an insulation against the cold heat.

To deal with water deficiency in the body, the camel secretes concentrated urine that contains small amounts of water, so the body does not excrete much water. When the camel reaches a water source he drinks large amounts to make up for the missing water in his body and reach a proper water balance.

When the camel finds water, it can drink up to 160 liters (about 40 gallons) at a time!

The camel adapts to desert life by being active in the morning and in the evening, when the air is cool. In the hot hours of the day he lies in the shade or rests while standing.

When the camels are scared or nervous they tend to vomit. That's why you should never annoy a camel. He does not spit but vomits food contents from his stomach.

Camels have three sets of eyelids and two rows of lashes to keep sand away from their eyes. When there are sandstorms, they are able to completely close their nostrils.

Camels have thick lips that allow them to eat thorny plants that other animals cannot eat.

The camels can sit comfortably on very hot sand thanks to the thick leather cushions on their chest and knees.

The camels are very strong and can carry up to about  900 pounds for 25 miles a day.

Camel's pregnancy lasts 14 months.

The calves are born completely white and turn brown as they mature.

In Arabic, the word camel has more than 160 synonyms.

June 22 is also Onion Rings Day and World Rainforest Day

Reptile Awareness Day- October 21st

Every year on October 21, reptile enthusiasts celebrate Reptile Awareness Day. This day is intended to promote education for the conservation and assessment of reptiles, to learn about their natural habitats, their contribution to the environment and the factors that threaten them.

This day was created not only for reptile enthusiasts who already know reptiles, but also those who are ignorant, afraid of reptiles and think that everyone of them is dangerous and venomous. Many snakes are killed every year by people who thought they were poisonous. For example, snakes of the Coluber species that are common in populated areas are mistakenly identified as a viper and many times when people encounter them, they kill them.

In the picture:  Platyceps Najadum, non-venomous snake that is not dangerous to human.

Reptiles are a group of cold-blooded animals with nearly 10,000 known species.

What characterizes reptiles is that they are not mammals, not birds, they have cold blood, scales or shells and they bring offspring to the world by laying eggs.

Among the reptiles can be found turtles, snakes, lizards, crocodiles and more.

Reptiles are called reptology. No, the snails are not reptiles, they belong to the molluscs department, to Subdivision of cochlear.

snakes animated gifs

International Sloth Day- October 20th

The International Sloth Day is celebrated not in honor of the lazy persons in this world, but in honor of the monkey-like mammals, called sloths, living on trees in the forests of South America.

International Sloth Day was created in 2010 by AIUNAU, a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to protect all forms of wildlife. The AIUNAU members in Colombia have been working for the sloth of 1996. They were appalled at how many sloths are killed every year by cars or power lines, and how many were taken to be sold as pets.

After saving the sloths, they feed them and take care of their recovery, and then release them to nature, to the forests to which they belong.

The sloths are cute creatures, quiet and shy, especially large and with slow movements (hence their name).

Because they crawl slowly on the ground, they spend a lot of time on the trees to protect themselves from animals that might devour them like jaguars, anaconda, and birds of prey like the harpy eagle.

When they feel threatened, they can move at a high speed of 4.5 meters per minute, but most of the time they barely move.

They sleep on the tree hanging upside down and there they eat and mate. They only get out of the tree once every few days, to poo and pee.

The sloths eat mostly leaves and bark, and sometimes small lizards and insects. They get the fluids they need from the fruits and leaves they eat, and seldom get off the trees to look for water. And it's not that they can not swim-on the contrary, they swim very well, they're just... being lazy to do it.

The sloths are not particularly social creatures. Most of the year they live alone, far apart.

The pregnancy of a sloth lasts about 5 months and the pup that is born depends on it for several weeks.

How to Celebrate International Sloth Day?  

One option, if you're not lazy, is to go to a zoo and see them there. The second option is to get inspiration from the sloths and sleep 15 hours a day.

International Octopus Day – October 8

Each year on October 8, people everywhere pay tribute to one of the most unique creatures that inhabit our planet – the octopus:

The date October 8 was chosen to celebrate the Octopus day because the octopus has eight arms. It is clear why the eighth day  in Octoberwas chosen. October was chosen because "Octo" means eight in Latin, and October was the eighth month in ancient Roman calendar. 

On the occasion of Octopus Day, here are some facts compiled to better acquaint you with this remarkable resident of the oceans.

Octopuses (not "octopi", which is considered grammatically incorrect) have three hearts.

Octopuses are among the earliest living creatures known to have occupied our planet. Fossils of their ancestors dating back to almost 300 million years ago have been discovered, implying that they preceded the earliest dinosaurs.

The size of a new born octopus is about the same as that of a flea.

Octopuses are very intelligent. Having about 500 million neurons distributed in their brains and arms, they can perform activities beyond instinctive reactions. They can plan, draw conclusions and solve problems.

Octopus wrestling competitions became a popular American West Coast sport in the nineteen-sixties. Such performances were carried out by human divers who grappled with octopuses in shallow waters in an attempt to drag them out to the shore.

People in Korea eat live octopuses.

Picture showing divers holding their  catch, a giant Pacific octopus that they had dragged out of thewater in the 1963 World Octopus Wrestling Championships

Laboratory experiments on vertebrates without using anesthesia is prohibited by law in many countries. This is especially true for octopuses, due to their high intelligence that is assumed to aggravate their agony.

 The word "octopus" implies that it has eight legs. Actually it has six arms and two legs.

The blue-ringed octopus is one of the most venomous marine animals in the world. Its bite can kill a human being.

There are about 300 known species of octopuses, distinguished by a variety of colors and sizes. The highest recorded weight of an octopus belonged to a giant pacific octopus that weighed about 272 kilos (about 600 lbs).

October 8 is also National Pirozhki Day

International Raccoon Appreciation Day - October 1st

The International Raccoon Appreciation Day is a holiday in honor of the cute raccoons, which are considered by many to be harmful or annoying, but are actually an important part of our ecosystem.

The raccoon lives mainly in North America and Europe. In the US many of them can be found in urban areas.

Raccoon Appreciation Day is designed to teach us about the benefits that raccoons bring to the ecosystem and how they are beneficial to the environment: they help maintain cleanliness because they eat carrion, they prevent the culture of harmful animals by eating them, they scatter seeds of nuts and fruits as they eat and thus spread them .

The idea to create a special day in honor of the raccoons was proposed by a girl from California in 2002. She saw that although many refer to raccoons as a nuisance, there are also those who love them and want to keep them. In the United States even raccoons are allowed to be kept as pets and many people adopt them. She decided to create this day to show the positive sides that raccoons have and the role they play in the ecosystem. At first the day was celebrated only in the United States and in the following years the idea was adopted by more countries in the world and it became International Raccoon Evaluation Day.

Raccoons live in a diverse climate, and in rural, urban and suburban areas. Despite the loss of their habitats in the wild, their population continued to grow in North America.

Six species of raccoons live in North and South America. The Common Raccoon is the most common species of raccoon in North America. Other raccoons live in the more southern regions such as the Crab-eating raccoon that lives in Central and South America, and the pygmy raccoon (Cozumel raccoon) that lives only on the island of Cozumel west of the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. The pygmy raccoon is in serious danger of extinction in the wild because of all sorts of human developments that have increased tourism and thus reduced its habitats and also because of illegal hunting.

Raccoons are omnivores that eat both animals and plants. Among their foods are turtles, snails, worms, rabbits, waterfowl, frogs, nesting birds, eggs, mollusks, compost, grains, seeds, nuts, fruits and vegetables. On the one hand they help get rid of garbage and on the other hand they also steal pet food in residential areas.

Raccoons have many receptors on their hands that allow them to identify their food through the sense of touch without seeing it and also to find food in streams. When they wash their hands before eating, the water stimulates the nerve endings in them and they feel better about their food. This is why the raccoon is also called a "washing bear". Even when the raccoons are eating, they are constantly busy holding and feeling their food.

The black "mask" around their eyes is known to help them see better because it absorbs light and reduces glare. Raccoons reach a length of 40 to 70 cm and a weight of 4 to 26 kg.

Raccoon as a pet (source)

Raccoons tend to live in burrows in trees or caves, but also in barns and abandoned buildings.

Raccoons are nocturnal creatures that sleep during the day, and in the winter months they sleep much longer, although they do not go into hibernation like bears.

The birth period of raccoons is in early summer. Their launch contains one to seven raccoons for pregnancy. They live up to 7-16 weeks with their mothers. At the age of 8 months to a year they become completely independent.

How to celebrate International Raccoon Appreciation Day?

On International Raccoon Day, you will learn about raccoons. You can go visit zoos to see them or even adopt a raccoon as a pet. You can watch movies starring raccoons like Over The Hedge of Dreamworkds or the Japanese movie Pom Poko. You can watch funny movies with raccoons on Youtube. You can draw or color raccoons. You can find a lot of things to do with raccoons this day but the most important thing is that you will appreciate these lovely animals!

October 1 is also International Coffee Day

Snake Day- 16 July

The snake is an animal with a bad reputation. Already in Genesis, when he was in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve, he tempted Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil and pass on the divine law.

The snake, Eve and the apple

There is something that makes us fear a snake from earlier eras. This may be it's slow crawl and flick out the tongue looks like he's up to do something poisonous, maybe these horror stories we heard from an early age about snakes biting or choking or it's an evolutionary fear. Whatever the reason, the fact is that most people are afraid of snakes.

Snake Day is a day of dealing with our fears and think about snakes as living creatures on earth, like every other creature.

Snakes have different image in different cultures.

Jewish law and tradition, expressing aversion to snakes. Snake in Judaism is a symbol of cunning and evil. In the ancient Aztec culture, Mesoamerica in 600-900 AD, the Quetzalcoatl, "feathered serpent", was a divine figure.

Even in Hindu Asia, snake or "Naga", considered the spirit of nature. Naga is the protector of springs, wells and rivers and snakes bring rain and fertility.

Nowadays, the snake wrapped around Rod of Asclepius, god of medicine in Greek mythology, is the symbol of medicine.

Caduceus winged staff- the symbol of medicine

The snake is an animal who you fear from it and admire it at the same time. Therefore it's justified to give it his special day. If you want to celebrate the day of the snake, you can visit a snake in the zoo and be brave enough to hold a non-poisonous snake.

Did you know that 2013 was the year of the snake in China?

Animated gifs of snakes