Hey, Incredible People!

Today is Absolutely Incredible Kids Day. Celebrated annually on the third Thursday in March, this day is intended to make kids feel as special as they actually are to us. If you’re reading this post, chances are that you’ve got at least one kid in your life. And typically, when there’s a kid in your life, that kid is just absolutely incredible to you, right?

I don’t have kids, myself, but I’m the delighted uncle of three amazing little ladies! And that’s one of the great things about today. Whether you’re a parent, an older sibling or cousin, an uncle or aunt, a grandparent, or family friend, Absolutely Incredible Kids Day is a great day to celebrate the little ones in your life.

Established by a youth development organization called Camp Fire, this day is meant to boost and inspire the kids that we have in our lives. It’s extremely important that kids hear encouragement from the people they look up to. And an act as simple as telling a kid how great they are and what they mean to you can go a very long way for him or her.

While telling a kid face-to-face how absolutely incredible he or she is as well as communicating the message through some form of social media are perfectly good methods, there is another way that’s recommended before any other—writing a letter.

Letters are best because they are a hard copy of your written words. They’re personal and more-or-less permanent. Writing your thoughts down usually allows you to organize your words and say everything that you really want to say—things that you might hold back to say in conversation. And sometimes, a conversation of this sort, is enough to kind of embarrass a kid.

However you know the kids in your life, be sure to tell them what they mean to you and just how absolutely incredible they are! Happy Absolutely Incredible Kids Day!

Hey, Scouts!

Tomorrow is National Girl Scout Day! This organization’s popularity has skyrocketed since its small beginnings a little over a century ago and has become an essential part of summer to many little girls all across the country. First Lady, Michelle Obama, was a Girl Scout when she was little and, not that long ago, childhood star, Dakota Fanning earned her badges in the Scouts.

HECK! I’ve got a niece who’s in Scouts right now—HI, Tess!

Just to give you an idea of how large this organization has become, here are just a couple numbers: currently, there are over 3 million members of the American Girl Scouts Organization. Over the years, the Girl Scouts have amassed 59 million alumnae and counting. They’re EVERYWHERE!—which is a good thing because their cookies are amazing!

But what’s even more impressive than their current numbers, is just how small the Girl Scouts were back in 1912 when the first Girl Scout meeting was assembled. The entrepreneurial-spirited Juliette Gordon Low (or ‘Daisy’ as all the Scouts called her) gathered 18—only 18 girls in Georgia.

Daisy’s purpose in gathering these original 18 Scouts was to give them an experience that would get them out of the house and away from the routine of a domestic lifestyle. In doing so, Daisy knew that the girls would develop into their own selves. She knew how good the great outdoors are for a girl’s mind, body, and soul.

Daisy got these girls to embrace their community by giving back to it. They went hiking and camping. They would play basketball, learn to tell the time by looking at the sky, and study first aid.

By 1915, the American Girls Scouts Organization was officially formed and it didn’t take very long for Daisy’s idea to takeoff. Soon, girls all over the country would become Scouts! Maybe it’s time for you to join the millions and understand just how great the Scout experience is.

Happy, Girl Scout Day, Scouts!

Hey, Patriots!

Oh, say!—can you see that today is National Anthem Day? I think it’s safe to say that The Star-Spangled Banner is one song that every American knows word for word. Originally a poem, written in 1814 by a lawyer named Francis Scott Key at 35, his words have been sung from the mouths of every American generation since.

Francis never considered himself much of a poet, yet his words have lived on now for 200 years! Titled, “Defense of Fort McHenry,” his poem was about an assault of British ships on Fort McHenry that he’d seen during a battle in the War of 1812.

The words of his poem were set to the tune of “The Anacreon in Heaven” a popular British song written by John Stafford Smith in the 1760’s for the Anacreontic Society, a club of amateur musicians. It didn’t take long after the marriage of words and music that the piece was renamed and popularized.

Another thing that few people know about the National Anthem is that it’s actually got four verses—the poem had four stanzas anyway. I think it’s safe to say at this point that they aren’t really part of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” though people used to sing every verse. The first verse is the only one that anyone ever sings.

While it gained popularity quickly, it wasn’t recognized for official use as our national anthem until 1916 when President Woodrow Wilson brought it to the attention of men in Congress. Even then, it wasn’t officially made our country’s anthem until March 3 of 1931!

Before that, “Hail, Columbia” usually filled the role of America’s ‘anthem.’ Now “Hail, Columbia is the song we use to honor the Vice President. Also in the competition for national anthem was “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee.”

Oh yeah, and “The Star-Spangled Banner”—especially with all four verses—isn’t the easiest song to sing. See if you can sing all four verses without any trouble!

Hey, Loose-Toothers!

Do you have some pesky molar, canine, or incisor that just won’t fall out already? Sick of your tooth wiggling around in your mouth and hangin’ on by just a thread? Well, today would be a great day to lose that unchained chomper as it’s National Tooth Fairy Day! She’s a fairly generous fairy—especially on a day like today that’s made to honor her…it’s sort of like her birthday.

The Tooth Fairy has a rather short line of genealogy. Daughter of Father Time and Mother Nature, she has only one other sibling, (her baby brother, Cupid) and she’s second cousin to the Easter Bunny, once removed on her mother’s side.

Anyway, as I was saying, the decision to finally lose that annoying baby tooth, believe it or not, is up to you. There’s a number of ways to finally get those loose baby teeth out of your mouth by force if they won’t leave on their own!

One way is eating apple after apple after apple. Taking big crispy bites of this firm fruit might just be enough to push that stubborn tooth right out of place. Taffy can work well for this purpose as well. In fact, eating food in general is always a nice, easy way to give a loose tooth the push out the door that it may need.

I, myself, nearly ate my own tooth once after losing it as I ate a buttered roll. The tooth was well camouflaged against the butter, but thankfully I spotted it before my next bite. My brother was less fortunate when he swallowed his whole along with a burger he was eating.

Another great method for losing a loose tooth is to wrap floss around the tooth and make a criss-cross motion (almost like a scissors) to cut that dangler. If that doesn’t do it, there’s always the string tied to the doorknob trick, but that method can be a little…intimidating (not to mention nerve-racking).

Good luck with your loose teeth! Make sure to put them under your pillow tonight so the Tooth Fairy will compensate you handsomely. If you didn’t just loose your tooth, but actually LOST your tooth, don’t fret. The Tooth Fairy knows. She always knows. After all, my brother still got his payment after consuming is tooth burger!

Hey, Bear Buffs!

It’s National Polar Bear Day! These incredible creatures never cease to amaze. But just what is it that’s so FASCINATING about these albino bears? Well, that’s one thing right there—polar bears aren’t really albino—their fur’s actually colorless! But I’m getting ahead of myself. Just let me explain how cool polar bears are and you’ll see that there’s SO MUCH more to them than just soda advertisements.

First of all, polar bears are believed to have evolved from grizzlies around 150,000 years ago. Polar bears have since well adapted to their Arctic environment. Their white appearance gives them great camouflage. Their paws grow wider than a grizzly’s so to distribute their weight as they cross ice and snow. And they grow fur on the bottom of their paw to give better grip on ice and extra warmth.

Returning to the first point made, polar bears do not have white fur. Their fur is actually transparent, clear, see-through. It has no color at all. It only appears white because of the way that it reflects sunlight. And underneath all that fur, it turns out a polar bear’s skin is actually black. Black skin helps keep this giant mammal warm as it absorbs the sun’s heat.

Also unlike grizzly bears—or any other bear, for that matter—polar bears do not hibernate for the winter. They don’t hibernate at all unless they are pregnant in which case they go into a mild hibernation where their heart rate slows down and their body temperature is strictly regulated. Pregnant polar bear’s hibernation is easily interrupted.

Lastly, I think everybody knows that polar bears can swim, but do you realize how good they are at it? In fact, polar bears are able to swim for longer than an entire week without stopping at all!

So, as I said to begin with, polar bears are fascinating creatures, aren’t they? Happy Polar Bear Day!