August is the month of abundance. Farm stands are heaped with tender sweet corn and peaches so gloriously fragrant you can smell them from down the block.
The month of two full moons this year. Summer’s grand finale. This is when we cram in one more day at the beach or weekend camping trip before getting back to business. It’s also (we’ve just learned) national Happiness Happens Month when everybody is encouraged to focus on the positive aspects of life, however simple.
To that end, we bring you this end-of-August harvest of fun, happy facts to top off your summer celebrations. Enjoy reading them from your beach chair or hammock!
When you were born, you were, briefly, among the 4.5 youngest people on the planet.
nastuffa/Envato Elements
Gene Cernan, the last astronaut to walk on the moon, wrote his daughter Tracy’s initials, "TDC," in the dust on the moon’s surface before boarding the lunar module to head home.
Harrison Schmitt
If you fake laugh long enough, you'll actually start to laugh for real.
Godisable Jacob/Pexels
Gentoo penguins propose by giving their prospective mate a pebble.
Daily Record/PA
A group of flamingos is called a flamboyance.
Pexels
Baby puffins are called "pufflings."
BBC Earth
The official "Space Jam" movie website hasn't changed since it launched in 1996.
Spacejam.com
Cows have best friends.
fotyma/Envato Elements
Blind people smile even though they’ve never seen anyone else smile.
AnnaStills/Envato Elements
Rats laugh when tickled.
Imgur.com
People who volunteer live longer.
Meals on Wheels Sarasota, FL
Iktsuarpok is an Inuit word for that attentiveness you have when you're waiting for someone to arrive.
Chalabala/Envato Elements
Voice actors who portrayed Mickey and Minnie Mouse got married in real life in 1981.
Mickey and Minnie Mouse voice actors Wayne Allwine and Russi Taylor. Photo by Frank Anzalone
Looking at pictures of cute animals can make you more productive.
ddem/Pexels
Babies laugh long before they learn how to speak.
Arunachal Art /Unsplash
Night rainbows are real. They’re called moonbows.
WherezJeff/Flickr
A group of butterflies is called a kaleidoscope.
Jean Beaufort/Publicdomainpictures.net
When playing with female puppies, male puppies will often let them win, even if they have a physical advantage.
Hilary Halliwell/Pexels
The Beatles used "love" 613 times in their songs.
Beatles 4 Roger/Flickr
Switzerland banned guinea pigs from living alone because they're so sociable.
sglazkova/Envato Elements
Crows drop nuts on the street and wait for passing cars to crack them open.
arbyreed/Flickr
Window washers at many children's hospitals delight kids by dressing up like superheroes.
UCLAHealth.org
Otters hold hands when sleeping so they don’t drift away from each other.
Joe Mindluge/Flickr
Laughing for about 10 minutes can burn between 10 and 40 calories.
Okkult Motion Pictures
Header photo: biletskiy/Envato Elements
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