National Picnic Month
July 16
Posted on the History Channel website, Historians agree that the English word “picnic” comes from the French term “pique-nique”, which was used from the mid-1600s on to describe gourmands who brought their own wine when dining out. But elegant meals outdoors were probably first eaten during the Middle Ages, when hunting became a favored pursuit of the leisure class. The French were the people who first introduced the modern idea of picnics when they opened their royal parks to the French public after the revolution in 1789. In the year 2000, a 600-mile-long picnic was arranged in France, on July 14, to showcase their support and celebrate the first Bastille Day of the new millennium.
World Snake Day
July 16
There are more than 3,400 species of snakes worldwide, and they exist on every continent except Antarctica. About 20% of those snakes are venomous and 250 of them can kill a human with one bite. The good news is more than 2,600 species of snakes are not poisonous. The heaviest snake in the world is the anaconda. It weighs over 595 pounds and can grow to over 30 feet long. Scales cover every inch of a snake’s body, even its eyes. Scales are thick, tough pieces of skin made from keratin, which is the same material human nails and hair are made from. Most snakes are not harmful to humans and they help balance the ecosystem by keeping the population of rats, mice, and birds under control. Depending on the species, snakes can live from 4 to over 25 years.
Today’s Birthdays of Note….
Oliver Redenbacher – Popcorn Manufacturer – born in Brazil, Indiana
Will Ferrell – Actor & Comedian – born in Irvine, California
