odditudes-and-weirdities

The first human in space, the plight of street children, families enjoying books together, embracing your wild side, people who were an only child, licorice, grilled cheese, wind, and hamsters : Big Wind Day Drop Everything and Read Day Internation al Day for Street Children National Grilled Cheese Day National Licorice Day National Only Child Day Walk On Your Wild Side Day World Hamster Day Yuri's Night  AKA  International Day of Human Space Flight  AKA  Cosmonautics Day On this date in 1961 the USSR's cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space. On this date in 1934 a wind speed of 231 mph was recorded on Mount Washington, New Hampshire. This was the strongest recorded wind gust until 1996 when an Australian typhoon (easily) surpassed it. On this date in 1930 the zoologist Israel Aharoni went on an expedition to study the Syrian Hamster, ultimately leading to the domestication of our pet hamsters. Image by  Christine Trewer  from  Pixabay