Summer birthday of Paddington Bear- 25 June

June 25 is the summer birthday of Paddington Bear. Paddington, the cute little bear is a fictitious character in a series of books for children created by the British author Michael Bond.

In the first story the little bear was found by the Brown family, lost at the Paddington railway station with a note attached to his collar that read "Please look after this bear. Thank you." When the Browns asked him for his name he said his original Peruvian name was too complicated for them to pronounce, so they decided to call him Paddington. Also, since he was unsure of his age and since he was such a special bear they decided that he deserved two birthdays, just like the queen of England – his summer birthday on June 25 and his winter birthday on December 25.

Here are some interesting facts about Paddington Bear:

1.       The home address of the Brown family does not exist. Don't try to find it.
Many tourists who try to locate 32 Windsor Gardens, the address of Paddington's adoptive family, find out to their disappointment that there is no house with such a number in that street. Michael Bond invented that address as a combination of his and his parents' addresses.

 

2.       Had Michael Bond gone Christmas shopping earlier, Paddington Bear would not have been born.On Christmas Eve, 1956, Michael Bond entered a toy store looking for a present for his wife Brenda. On one of the shelves he noticed a small toy bear that had been left all by itself. Feeling sorry for it, Bond bought the bear, took it to his home near Paddington station, and sat down to write a few amusing tales about it just for fun. After ten days he realized that he had a book on his hands, not primarily intended to be specifically for children.

3.       Paddington Bear is a spectacled bear.
Bond wanted Paddington to be a bear that had "travelled all the way from darkest Africa", but his agent recommended that he change the original habitat as darkest Africa had no bears. So, Peru was selected, being the natural home of the spectacled bear. Paddington later reveals that his Peruvian name was Pastuso and that he was reluctant to disclose it fearing that no one would be able to pronounce it.

4.       Paddington Bear raised a political scandal.Mick Young, Australian Special Minister of State in Bob Hawk's government, was compelled to step resign in 1984 after failing to declare at customs a large Paddington bear and other goods carried by his wife in her luggage. The event became known as the Paddington Bear affair.

5.       Google loves Paddington Bear. On October 13, 2008, Google dedicated a doodle to Paddington Bear to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary since the publication of the first book in the Paddington Bear series.

6.       The Wellington boot manufacturers could hardly meet the massive demand for boots for Paddington Bear dolls.
The early Paddington Bear dolls were fitted with kiddy boots made by the Dunlop Corporation, in order to ensure that they stood up firmly. However, as demand stretched Dunlop's manufacturing capability to the limit, the doll makers Gabrielle Designs were forced to manufacture the boots by their own means. In the year 1978 the demand for Paddington Bears reached a peak of 87,000 dolls.

7.       Up to 2014 twenty four books were published in the Paddington Bear series.
Over thirty five million copies, translated into forty languages, were sold worldwide.

8.       Paddington appeared in the 2012 London Olympic Games.
The phenomenon that is often called the "Paddington effect" shows no sign of waning. Paddington Races Ahead was published in April 2012 as a salute to the London Olympic Games that took place in the summer of that year. In the book, Paddington, who repeatedly says that his legs "are a bit short for the pole vault", is mistakenly identified as a Peruvian hurdler by a film crew. Naturally, Paddington actually participated in the opening ceremony parade along the athletic track in the Olympic Stadium.

  Paddington Races Ahead - Free

June 25 is also Global Beatles Day

Yo-Yo Day - June 6

 Yo-Yo Day is celebrated every year on June 6th.

The yo-yo is a toy made up of two discs of equal size, made of plastic, metal or wood, and connected to each other in the middle of a hinge around which a wire is wound. To play yo-yo grab the wire at the end, throw it away from the body and yo-yo jumps down and returns up to the hand.

What makes Yo-Yo go back up is the gyroscopic inertia, the force in motion that causes the object to return to the state it was in.

The reason for choosing June 6 as the yo-yo day is unknown, but it may be because it is the birthday of Donald F. Duncan Sr., the American businessman who introduced the yo-yo into business and successfully marketed it as a modern toy in the 1930s. Duncan is sometimes mistaken for the invention of the yo-yo.

Yo-yo has a very long history. As early as 500 BC there is evidence that it was played in ancient Greece.

After the dolls, the yo-yo is the second oldest toy in the world.

Yo-yo became a popular toy in the ancient world through trade. He came to Scotland, England, India and Egypt and became a favorite game there as well.

To the modern world yo-yo came from the Philippines. In Filipino the origin of the name is "Tagalog" which means "to walk around".

In 1866 James L. Haven and Charles Hettrich patented  Yo-Yo's in U.S. But yo-yo became a success story in 1928, when Pedro Flores, an American of Filipino descent, opened a yo-yo factory in Santa Barbara, California.

How to celebrate Yo-Yo Day?

It is best to celebrate this day in a yo-yo competition, where everyone brings their unique yo-yo and together throws them. The winner is the one who managed to make his yo-yo fall down and come back up the longest, without stopping and without getting involved.

You can also learn to do very complicated and impressive tricks with your own yo, as in the video here:

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Want Yo Yo with your name? You can order here

June 6 is also Russian Language Day 

Paper Airplane Day - May 26

Paper Plane Day is a national unofficial day celebrated in the United States on May 26 each year, in honor of the beloved but so simple toy that is made entirely of paper and creativity. A paper plane is a toy plane made entirely of folded paper, yet it can provide hours of Competitive game and fun.

Paper Plane Day is usually celebrated at social gatherings where participants create and fly paper airplanes. Among the participants it is customary to hold competitions in which the basic categories are the distance reached by the plane and the time spent in the air.

Interesting facts about paper airplanes

The common hypothesis is that the use of paper planes began 2,000 years ago in China, because the Chinese even then liked to fly kites as a pastime.

The earliest date for the creation of modern paper planes was 1909.

In Japanese paper plane called  Kami Hikouki (紙 飛行 機 Kami = paper, Hikouki = plane). Paper airplane is probably the most common form of origami (Japanese art of paper folding).

The largest paper airplane had a wingspan of 59.74 feet. Students and workers from Germany created it on September 28, 2013.

Joe Ayoob documented the longest distance a paper airplane has flown in February 2012. His airplane flew 226 feet (which is 10 inches or 69.14 meters).

The longest paper plane flight took 29.2 seconds.

How to celebrate Paper Plane Day?

You can celebrate Paper Plane Day in several ways. One is to challenge yourself in building a paper airplane and hone your aerodynamics skills by designing new paper airplanes that will go as far as possible and spend as much time in the air as possible. You can play with family or friends in a paper airplane competition. If you have children or little nephews, today is to teach them how to make a paper airplane. Watch videos about paper planes on YouTube. Use the hashtag #PaperAirplaneDay to share on social media. No matter how you celebrate Paper Aircraft Day, you are sure to have fun!

So have a happy paper airplane day!

May 26 is also Dracula Day

Toy Soldier Day - March 4

Toy Soldiers Day is a holiday for everyone who has toy soldiers, from small to large, from young to old. This is the day to take the soldiers out of the box, drawer or closet where they are hiding, play with them, show them off, compare them with other people's toy soldiers, buy new soldiers to increase the collection and most importantly - fight a toy war.

Kids really like to play with toy soldiers, and today when screens have taken over our lives, they tend to play more with soldiers in computer games rather than physical dolls. If you have children, it's time to get them off the screens and let them play with the soldiers' dolls which are usually made of plastic.

The history of Toy Soldiers Day

The Toy Soldiers Day was created by fans of musician Dr. Steele. Dr. Steele began his career in 1999 in Los Angeles, performing on the street in shows that incorporated puppets in a special style called steampunk.

Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction that presents a world that is technologically based on mechanics and steam engines that also contain elements of fantasy and horror. The steampunk genre depicts an alternative world in which technologies such as digital electronics and the diesel engine have not evolved, and in their place the old technologies based on mechanics and steam engines have thrived. The "punk" component refers to a particular emphasis on the true nature of man driven by low instincts - lust, anger, arrogance, greed and jealousy. The scenery of the steampunk works is usually similar to the British Victorian style or the American Wild West. It consists mainly of cars, locomotives, telephones and other objects that look outdated. In the steampunk style you can find fashion, design, cinema and music.

Dr. Steele began his career in steampunk-style videos and later went on to perform in clubs and released several CDs. Dr. Steele's stage personality was very original - he introduced himself as a mad scientist determined to take over the world and become his emperor, which was also why Need an army of toy soldiers.

The Army of Toy Soldiers consists of four battalions: Toy Soldiers, Nurses, Toy Scouts and Engineers, and is currently led by 2 site managers, based in the United States and the United Kingdom. The Army was created on March 4, 2006, hence the decision to celebrate this date today Toy Soldiers Every Year.

The Army's mission is to advance Dr. Steele's philosophy on transhumanism, freedom of thought, and subjective reality, which he performs by so-called "occasional" invasions of theme parks around the world. When Dr. Steele's toy soldiers invade parks, they are dressed. In full uniforms appropriate to the battalion to which they belong. They are also famous for the charity work they do in military uniforms.

Read more about Dr. Steel and his toy soldiers army

Poster for the recruitment of Dr. Steele's toy soldiers - Source

In 2010 Dr. Steele announced his intention to start working on a new album, called "Toymonger". However, in July 2011, after a long period of silence, he announced that he was retiring from music. He wrote this in a personal letter to the current head of the Toy Army. The military decided to continue as an organization, shifting the focus from advancing Dr. Steele to advancing the philosophy he presented, such as the creative importance of building your own utopian playground.

Image source: Amazon

March 4 is also Scrapbooking Day

Rubber Duckie Day- January 13

The rubber ducks have a long and respectable history in the world of children, and most of us had at least one rubber duck in the collection of childhood toys.

It is not clear why January 13 was announced as the rubber ducks day, but it is quite clear that this bath toy deserves a respectful day of its own.

Fun facts about rubber ducks:

The first rubber ducks were made in the 19th century and were yellow in color. The manufacturers used vulcanized rubber, invented by Charles Goodyear. The ducks could not float at that time but were used as chew toys.

In the 1940s sculptor Peter Ganine created a floating duck toy and patented it. The toy has sold over 50,000,000 units.

In the 1970s, Jim Hanson created a song that Eric from Sesame Street sang about his rubber duckling, which boosted the sales of the rubber ducklings.

In 1992, 29,000 rubber ducks were lost at sea on their way from China to Seattle, USA. They fell from a ship during a storm. After more than a decade and voyage across three oceans, the ducks reached the shores of New England in the USA.

In 2001 the rubber ducklings became famous again when a rubber duck with an inflatable crown was discovered in the bath of Queen Elizabeth II of England. The duck was discovered by one of the workers who repaired the bathtub after the duck got stuck in the pipes.

In 2007, a world Guinness record was set for the largest collection of rubber ducks in the world, which included 1,439 rubber ducks, by Charlotte Lee.

In 2013, the rubber ducks entered the "American Toy Hall of Fame." This hall is a place where old toys have been preserved for many years and it contains only 63 toys since it was established in 1998.

The largest rubber duck in the world is found in Sydney, Australia, 16.5 meters high, 20 meters wide and 32 meters long. It weighs 600 pounds.

In Europe, the USA and Australia rubber duck races are held in different lakes.

Today you can buy rubber ducks in different colors, disguised as different characters (both movie and culture stars and even politicians) and in different sizes.

Poop-shaped brown rubber ducks (link)  

How to celebrate Rubber Ducks Day?

If you have rubber ducks at home, you can take a bath with them, take photos and upload them to the social network (you do not have to take photos with them).

You can go to a lake, stream or pool and do rubber duck racing with friends.

If you do not have a rubber duck, you can buy one. You can start a collection of rubber ducks in different shapes, figures and colors.

What is important, today is to remember the rubber ducks and the experiences you had with them in the bath as a child.

In the photo: Who has no memories of rubber ducks in the bath with foam? (source)  

       

January 13 is also Sticker Day and Skeptics Day

Rainbocorns coloring pages

Rainbocorns free printable coloring pages. Rainbocorns, made for kids ages 3 and up, are a collection of colorful plush animals blended with unicorns. Each comes in an a pink plastic egg with a protruding unicorn horn and a sequined heart in the middle. Kids don't know exactly which of the 12 Rainbocorns they'll discover when they open the egg.

There are 12 different Rainbocorns based on 6 cuddly cute animals and every animal comes in two fun, funky designs. Collect them all - Puppycorns, Kittycorns, Hamstercorns, Bunnycorns, Unicorns and Monkeycorns along with their 12 unique sequin surprises that reveal what they love!

Choose the coloring page of the Rainbocorn you want to paint, print and paint for your enjoyment. To print the page you would like to color, click on page and then click Ctrl+P.

Rainbocorns Giant Big Bow Surprise Mystery Egg - Amazon

Slinky Day - 30 August

You know that cute spring that's put on a step and he keeps going down the stairs himself? If you did'nt, then it's called Slinky and it was invented in 1943 by a mechanical engineer in the US Navy, Richard James. 

This happened when James and his friend experimented on objects to see how stable they were during the cruise on the sea. One of the springs used for the experiment fell off the table, but to James's surprise, instead of falling and rolling as expected, the spring "skipped" like a "walk" on the floor. James immediately estimated that the move has marketing value and should be turned into a game. He spent two years experimenting on springs of various materials to find the spring that would go the most successful way. James's wife, who was a partner to the idea and experiments, proposed to spring the name "Slinky" and in 1945 they began to produce it. In 1947, the couple patented the product.

To produce the Slinky, Richard and Betty took a $ 500 loan and founded the James Springs and Wire Company. Richard invented a machine that could wrap and turn twenty-four feet of metal tape, to Slinky, in about 10 seconds. The metal used to make the slinki came from Sweden. The first production was of 400 units. 

The meaning of the name Slinky is: convoluted, elusive, and graceful. 

Sales to the stores did not succeed at first. The shop owners were not interested in the spring of the move and did not think they could sell it to their customers. Only in December 1945 did the positive turnaround occur: Richard and Betty James were allowed to demonstrate the new toy descending on "mini steps" placed at the end of a sales table in the game department of the Gimbales department store in Philadelphia. Before the show, Slinky Betty was so afraid that no one would buy, that she had called her friend and suggested that she give her a dollar to buy the first Slinky. Apparently it was not necessary. After the Slinky offer came down the stairs, when Betty and her husband arrived at the stand, they found dozens of people clustering round the table waving dollar bills. Within 90 minutes, all 400 units in their possession were sold. 

Today, the plastic Slinky is manufactured in various colors, and by 2007, more than 350,000 Slinky units were sold worldwide. 

For Slinky Day, sit on the steps with your Slinky and let him gracefully descend below. 

A video of Slinky descending the escalator:

Buy a slinky

World Doll Day - Second Saturday in June

World Dolls Day was announced on June 14, 1986 by a nice lady named Mildred Seeley, a doll collector, doll business entrepreneur and doll book author. The date then changed to the second Saturday in June each year.

Mildred had a huge collection of French porcelain dolls sold a year after her death, in 2002. One collection of her dolls sold for $ 1,800,000 while the price for one doll was $ 215,000.

This day is not only meant to celebrate the existence of the dolls, but also the care, nurturing and love that people have in general.

Pictured: Dolls from Mildred Seeley's doll collection

Dolls Day is traditionally celebrated by giving a doll to anyone, child or adult no matter what type of doll.

Doll care is an essential part of the lives of young children. They see them as a scaled-down version of themselves and they treat them with love, concern and caring.

Dolls can also be used as a role-play and give children a way to express their emotions, even the negative ones.

World doll day greeting cards

It is very important to maintain the custom of playing with dolls. New generations may miss this great opportunity. Little girls nowadays are more preoccupied with other aspects of life, like fashion and grooming, or playing games on smartphones. It is very important to continue to let children play with dolls and Mildred Seeley's Dolls Day can be a reminder of that.

When will World Doll Day come out in the coming years?

2022- June 11

2023- June 10

2024- June 8

2025- June 14

Special gifts for people who have everything (or don't know what they want) - challenging games and toys for adults

Looking for a gift for father's day or mother's day or any other adult who has a birthday and doesn't know what he wants? 

Well, adults also like to play and have fun, so why not give them games and toys? Get some games and toys for adults looking for a challenge and not smartphones, which can be amazing special gifts:

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A ship in a bottle of Lego-

This LEGO kit has 962 parts from which you can build an ancient warship in a bottle, with authentic details - cannons, staff accommodation, masts, printed sail elements and more. Link

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The puzzle you will not be able to finish all your life - a 32,000 piece puzzle of 32 paintings by artist Keith Herring produced by Ravensburger. This puzzle is presented in Guinness Book of Records as the puzzle with the most parts that can be bought commercially. It costs a total of 350 dollars. link

Also there is a 40,320 pieces puzzle of Disney's Mickey mouse 90 years edition wite 6.8 meters width and 1.9 meters high link:

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Lego coffee-
If you like Lego, there's no reason for you to give it up because you're grew up. This is a cup whose outer surface is a Lego surface and there are also cubes and figures that you can put together while you drink your coffee like an adult. You can also buy it for a kid who drinks hot chocolate.

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If you want the door to be a challenge, buy that lock, just hope that the person on the other side doesn't have to go to the toilet while they try to open the door.

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Colors for smartphone- iCrayon colors are cool colors you can draw on your smartphone and tablets! These colors are actually engravings, writing tools that do not really draw, but through the movement of engraving on the screen. They come in seven colors and are made of soft material. Draw on the screen and the image is saved within the app on your smartphone or tablet. Excellent for students and work meetings. Link

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iPhone case with maze - Another cool thing to bored people is a retro iPhone cover, with a maze with a ball. The cover is also a shield for the smartphone and also serves as a toy game if you are bored or you are out of battery and you can not use your smartphone in the usual way. Just turn it over and try to get the ball to the end of the maze. Link

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