Hey, Popcorn Lovers!

If you’re like everyone else on the planet, then you’re probably a pretty big fan of popcorn. If that’s right, then today is directly up your alley! It’s National Popcorn Lover’s Day! Not to be confused with National Popcorn Day, Popcorn Lover’s Day arrives every year on the second Thursday in March.

It comes as no surprise that we have, not just one, but two days throughout the year that celebrate this intriguing food AND the people who love to eat it. What’s not to love, anyway? Popcorn is one of those extremely versatile snack foods; it can take on a lot of different faces.

Traditionally (in the U.S. anyway), popcorn is topped with salt and butter, though some folks prefer their popcorn be cheeesy.  But even so, while the salty take on popcorn is definitely the more popular route, popcorn also likes to show off its sweet side. Dressing this treat up in caramel is genius to any sweet tooth. And who doesn’t love kettle corn?

But that’s only scraping the tip of the popcorn flavor iceberg. Let’s dig deeper—shall we?—to discover what experimental flavors are out there! Reminiscent of ‘Harry Potter Jelly Bellies’, popcorn can take on some pretty bizarre flavors. How bold are you when it comes to popcorn?

Would you try Eggnog Flavored Popcorn? What about Hot Sauce and Pickle Juice? Which, by the way, looks like this: The weird list doesn’t end there, though. Ever hear of Dill Pickle and Ice Cream? This combo is a favorite among pregnant women. You could also try Buffalo Wing and Blue Cheese. There’s Curry Coconut and Cashews. And Loaded Baked Potato—a combination of butter, sour cream, cheese, and bacon.

They may be weird, but weird ice cream flavors aren’t made just for the sake of being weird. They’re actually carefully concocted flavors meant to be enjoyed. I, myself, have never tried any strange popcorn flavors, so I can’t say if any of them are any good.

But, I can’t say any of them are bad either. But even if I could, there’s only one way for you to find out if YOU like it! Enjoy National Popcorn Lover’s Day and, as always, thanks for reading.

- John

Hey, Science Students!

Today is Create a Vacuum Day. This task is extremely involved and challenging. And, despite the fact that I wouldn’t expect or even encourage anyone to try creating their own homemade vacuum chamber, I DO believe it’s a subject that, at least, warrants a Blog post’s worth of discussion.

However, before we move on to what a vacuum chamber is, I want to quickly define what ‘space’ is. I’m not talking about space as in the final frontier, but more so, space, like the stuff that you take up (which isn’t really any different than outer space). Space is something that stuff inhabits—or DOESN’T inhabit.

I inhabit space. You inhabit space. My sister’s Chihuahua inhabits a considerably smaller amount of space. And when you travel from point A to point B, you’re traveling THROUGH space.

Okay, now let’s ask, what is a vacuum chamber?

No, it’s not some accessory on your Hoover or Dirt Devil (though this is where ‘vacuum’ cleaners get their name). A vacuum chamber is typically a jar of some sort that has been sealed up with nothing inside of it. And when I say ‘nothing’ I mean NOT a THING!

If I ask you to imagine a jar of nothing, what do you think of? A jar that’s been emptied of all the pickles and pickle juice (or whatever else) that was previously stored inside the jar? Yeah, some people might consider this an empty jar. But a vacuum chamber takes it one step further and empties the jar of AIR! It may seems excessive, but air, while invisible and virtually weightless, certainly is SOMEthing.

A vacuum chamber holds truly EMPTY space. Now that I’ve explained what a vacuum chamber is, you might ask what’s the point in creating one? Well, the fact is things behave differently in a vacuum than they do in the atmospheric world that we know and love. Among other strange phenomena, sound doesn’t exist!

Happy Create a Vacuum Day and, as always, thanks for reading.

- John

Hey, Phone Fans!

John isn’t in right now, but if you leave your name and number at the beep, he’ll be sure to get back to you. *BEEP*

Seriously though, today is a good day to record a funny, pranking, or absurd answering machine message since it’s National Inane Answering Machine Message Day. Depending on what generation you’re from, you may be more familiar with the (more-or-less) synonymous term, ‘voicemail message’ since cell phones no longer require answering machines that are separate from the phone.

While cell/smartphones certainly seem to be phasing out the landline home phone, many families still own landline telephones and use an answering machine as the phone’s trusty sidekick. Answering machine messages can be as simple as,

“Leave a message and we’ll return your call as soon as we can,”

or as elaborate as,

“Hello! You’ve reached the Wattersons. We’re sorry none of us were able to come to the phone right now, but leave a message for Sharon and David, Michael, Bobby, Sarah, or Sue—*Woof Woof* Haha! OR Spot—and we’ll be sure to return your call as soon as possible.” A good prank—and one that’s gotten me more than a couple times—is ‘answering the phone’ within the voicemail message. For instance, you record for your message, “Hello?….Who is this?….How did you get this number?” The idea is that, if it’s done well, the caller will start talking to the voicemail message. I know I’VE responded to these messages more than once!

I’ve creatively crafted my own voicemail message to lead people to think that I’m much more important than I actually am. It goes something like this: “John knows what devastating disappointment it must cause you to learn that he is unavailable to come to the phone right now. But if you leave your name and number, he will know that you have called.”

Maybe you ought to rerecord your voicemail or answering machine message today to give it a little flare! Happy Inane Answering Machine Message Day! As always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Writers!

Chances are, assuming you’re older than a three-year-old, you’ve already written something today. Whether it was your name on a quiz at school, mailing information on an envelope, or a love poem for your sweetie, writing is definitely a staple art form in the world today. That’s why today is National Handwriting Day.

Of course, HANDwriting isn’t nearly as common as it used to be since modern technology has provided us with a speedier alternative to generate “written” words. Yes, the Qwerty keyboard and texting certainly gives the written word (*ahem*—HANDwritten word) a run for its money, however, handwriting is indeed, an art form and one that the world will be hanging on to for a while, I think.

After all, being a writer myself, I can certainly attest to the fact that there is a very different feeling between typing words out and scratching your pen against paper as it leaves a trail of your inky thoughts behind. It’s an intimate feeling shared by just you the pen and the paper without some bright, white, electronic page staring you down.

Of course, I appreciate the efficiency and speed of computers—I’m typing right now! At the same time, I hope that our modern technology doesn’t stop people from writing by hand altogether. It would be a horrible loss. Signatures would lose their flare. The callous would go away on the side of your middle finger. Stock in Bic would plummet.

But most importantly, we would lose an extremely unique way of expressing ourselves. Did you know that you can learn a lot about a person just by looking at their handwriting?

It’s called Graphology. By studying how big or small you write your letters, how much space you leave between your words, how much of an angle you give your letters, and more, you can tell whether a person is organized or not, shy or outgoing, punctual or a born-procrastinator, and much, much more.

Put a pen to some paper and enjoy analyzing your own handwriting today! For now, I'll thank you all for reading today's post and end it there. Till next time, Camp Folks!

- John

Hey, Penguin People!

Penguins are a popular bird—probably an easy favorite for most people. With so many fans, it only makes sense that we have a day dedicated to penguins. And, actually, our love for these flightless birds runs even deeper as there are two days throughout the year that we’ve dedicated to penguins!

Today is Penguin Awareness Day, which consistently lands on January 20 (not to be confused with World Penguin Day—which consistently lands on April 25). There are 17 different species of penguins—all of which live in the southern hemisphere of the world (unless they live in the zoo). Penguins are naturally found in Antarctica, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, and Peru, as well as the Falkland and Galapagos Islands.

The biggest of the 17 species of penguins is the Emperor penguin. Reaching an average of 4’ in height, and weighing anywhere from 50 to 100 lbs, Emperor Penguins are quite a big bird, but I know of a penguin that was even bigger! It may surprise you to discover that the cute, waddling penguins that we know and love today would have, at one point, towered over the majority of modern man!

Along with the end of the dinosaurs, the era of mammals brought drastic changes to life on this planet as well as this big bird that stood 6’ 7” tall. Yep, you read that right: these cute, blubbery birds stood much taller 37 million years ago than they do today. It’s been called ‘The Colossus Penguin’ (also known as Mega Penguin) and they came around at the same time as the world’s first horses, whales, and monkeys.

While the penguin may have arrived in the era of mammals, they cannot be exclusively classified as such because they live both on land and in the water. This bird is classified not only as a mammal, but as a fish and an amphibian as well. It’s no wonder that we find these creatures so fascinating! Happy Penguin Awareness Day, Everyone! You can learn more about our feathered friends here. And, as always, thanks for reading.

- John