World Rainforest Day
June 22
A rainforest is defined as a forest with heavy annual rainfall (more than 80 inches of rainfall a year). Rainforests only cover around 2 percent of the total surface area of the Earth, but about 50 percent of the plants and animals on the earth live in the rainforest. A fifth of our fresh water is found in tropical rainforests, the Amazon Basin to be exact. The Amazon rainforest is the largest tropical rainforest in the world. Scientists believe that there may be millions of plant and insect species in rainforests that have yet to be discovered. Rainforests used to cover 14% of the Earth’s surface but due to deforestation now only cover around 6%.
National Onion Ring Day
June 22
The first recipe for Onion Rings was a Crisco ad in a 1933 issue of the New York Times Magazine. A&W is credited for popularizing onion rings in the 1960s. The US produces more than 2 million metric tons of onions annually. Onions really do make you cry. That’s because of the sulfuric acid in them. The acid isn’t dangerous to eat, but it sure does burn your eyes. You can peel or cut an onion without crying if you cut the root end last and if the onion is cold or you cut it while holding the onion under cold running water.
Today’s Birthdays of Note….
Meryl Streep – Actress – born in Summit, New Jersey
John Dillinger – Gangster – born in Mooresville, Indiana
