Top 10 Interesting Facts World Humanist Day

World Humanist Day is a Humanist holiday celebrated annually around the world on the June solstice, which usually falls on June 21.

According to the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU), the day is a way of spreading awareness of Humanism as a philosophical life stance and means to effect change in the world.

The holiday developed during the 1980s as several chapters of the American Humanist Association (AHA) began to celebrate it

From the late 1980s to the early 1990s, the AHA and IHEU passed resolutions declaring World Humanist Day to be on the northern summer solstice.

The manner in which World Humanist Day is celebrated varies considerably among local Humanist groups, reflecting the individuality and non-dogmatism of Humanism as a whole.

World Humanist Day has not yet become a fully celebrated holiday in all Humanist organizations, although many of them are beginning to recognize it and plan events and activities around the holiday.

In 2013, the first National Humanist Day will be organized in The Netherlands.

The Humanists of Florida Association has recommended groups hold Introduction to Humanism classes on World Humanist Day.

The Humanist Association of Ireland held poetry readings in the park to celebrate the day.

Some groups actually develop intricate social rituals, music, and proceedings which highlight the metaphoric symbolism of the solstice and the light (knowledge) which brings us out of darkness (ignorance).

Top 10 Interesting Facts about World Giraffe Day

World Giraffe Day is an exciting annual event initiated by GCF to celebrate the longest-necked animal on the longest day or night of the year – 21 June – every year!

The Giraffe Conservation Foundation is excited to announce that World Giraffe Day – 21 June 2017 is dedicated to saving Masai giraffe in Kenya and Tanzania.

By supporting World Giraffe Day (WGD) you directly help save giraffe in Africa. With only 100,000 giraffe remaining in the wild, the time is right to act NOW!

According to the GCF blog, this year, World Giraffe Day 2017 focuses on the Masai giraffe in southern Kenya and Tanzania.

Zoos, schools, NGOs, governments, institutions, companies and conservation organisations around the world are hosting events on 21 June every year to raise awareness and support for giraffe in the wild

Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and Cleveland Zoo Society are committed to securing a future for giraffe.

Not only is it a worldwide celebration of these amazing and much loved animals, but an annual event to raise support, create awareness and shed light on the challenges giraffe face in the wild.

The Giraffe Conservation Foundation, based in Namibia, is dedicated solely to the conservation of giraffe and its habitat and works closely with African and international government and non-government organizations, universities and other partners.

Giraffe populations in the wild have decreased 40% in the last decade. There are now fewer giraffe in the wild than African elephants.

Giraffes, like this baby pictured in Japan a few years back, are loved the world over. So the world pauses each year on June 21, or near that date, to pay tribute to the beautiful, neck-mazing beasties.

Top 10 Interesting Facts about World Music Day/ Fete de la Musique

The first World Music Day was celebrated in the year 1982, in Paris.

The Fête de la Musique, also known as Music Day, Make Music Day or World Music Day, is an annual music celebration taking place on 21 June.

World Music Day is the brainchild of former French minister of culture, Jack Lang, who wanted to encourage more people to take up music seriously and professionally.

Over 700 cities across 120 countries, including Germany, Italy, Greece, Russia, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico, Canada, the United States, and Japan celebrate World Music Day on june 21.

Amateur and professional musicians are encouraged to perform in the streets, under the slogan "Faites de la musique" ("make music", a homophone of Fête de la Musique).

In the western world, we are familiar only with scale, that known as the diatonic scale which should be familiar to anyone who took music classes or choir in school. But this is not the only or even the first scale that music can use.

There’s the chromatic scale, which has 12 notes instead of the 7, and the octatonic scale, which has 8 notes, but these are just the beginning.

The best way to Celebrate World Music Day is to spend the day listening to all your old favorites, and if you’re truly feeling adventurous start exploring YouTube for music from different cultures

Unlike other music festivals, the World Music Day allows any and every one to showcase their musical prowess.

Many free concerts are organized, making all genres of music accessible to the public. Two of the caveats to being sanctioned by the official Fête de la Musique organization in Paris are that all concerts must be free to the public, and all performers donate their time for free.

Top 10 Facts about World Sickle Cell Day

The 19 of June, has been chosen to celebrate every year the World Sickle Cell Day in order to raise awareness of the disease in the world.

It was celebrated first time on 19th of June in 2009.

It focuses on raising awareness of sickle-cell disease, also known as sickle-cell anemia, which is the most frequent genetic disorder worldwide.

Sickle-cell disease (SCD) is a hereditary blood disorder, characterized by an abnormality in the oxygen-carrying hemoglobin molecule in red blood cells.

This Day was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2008 in order to increase the awareness about the sickle cell disease and its cure among the common public.

It is celebrated annually by the active participation of the various government organizations, health funding agencies, non-government organizations, NGOs and other health organizations.

It is celebrated to develop courage among public and support them through the educational and dramatic activities aiming to remove social stigma and myths about sickle cell anemia.

Sickle-cell disease (SCD) is a group of blood disorders typically inherited from a person's parents.

SCD is most prevalent in Africa, Asia, North and South America and parts of Italy and Greece

All the doctors will be given the good training facility for better prevention, research work and proper implementation of the resources minimizing disease complications.

WORLD SICKLE CELL DAY THEME
2016 -  Exhibit courage and address ineffective areas of support
2015 - Stop your Silence and Share your Truth
2014 - Break the Silence on Sickle Cell Disorder
2013 - know your sickle cell status
2012 - Keeping Hope Alive
2011 - Educate and Unite
2010 - Awareness, Education and Hope
2009 - The Burden of Sickle Cell Disease – a Public Health Approach
2008 - recognition of sickle-cell anemia as a public health problem

Top 10 Facts about LIGO

The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory is a large-scale physics experiment and observatory to detect cosmic gravitational waves and to develop gravitational-wave observations as an astronomical tool.

The three most prominent physical differences between LIGO, a gravitational wave observatory, and astronomical observatories- First - LIGO is blind, Second - LIGO is the opposite of round. , Third - LIGO cannot function alone.

LIGO operates two gravitational wave observatories in unison: the LIGO Livingston Observatory (30°33′46.42″N 90°46′27.27″W) in Livingston, Louisiana, and the LIGO Hanford Observatory, on the DOE Hanford Site (46°27′18.52″N 119°24′27.56″W), located near Richland, Washington.

LIGO’s arms are so long that the curvature of the Earth is a measurable 1 meter (vertical) over the 4 km length of each arm.

Construction of LIGO's original gravitational wave detectors was completed in 1999.

Length: 4,000 m (13,123 ft 4 in) , Wavelength: 43–10000 km; (frequency 30–7000 Hz)

LIGO will be used for research into the nature of gravity, and it will open up an entirely new window onto the universe. It will thus be a scientific tool both for physics and for astronomy.

The gravitational waves detected by LIGO on that fateful day were generated by two black holes colliding and merging into one nearly 1.3 BILLION light years away!

LIGO-India, or INDIGO, is a planned collaborative project between the LIGO Laboratory and the Indian Initiative in Gravitational-wave Observations (IndIGO) to create a world-class gravitational-wave detector in India

LIGO is designed to detect a change in distance between its mirrors 1/10,000th the width of a proton! This is equivalent to measuring the distance to the nearest star to an accuracy smaller than the width of a human hair!

Top 10 Interesting Facts about Gilbert Baker

Gilbert Baker was born June 2, 1951, in Chanute, Kansas. His mother was a teacher, his father was a judge and his grandmother owned a women’s clothing store.

Gilbert Baker, the creator of the rainbow flag, a symbol of the LGBT community, is being celebrated with a Google Doodle on what would have been his 66th birthday.

He said the clothes and fabrics interested him from a young age.   In 1984, he designed flags for the Democratic National Convention. He came out as gay when he was 19.

Baker told the New York Times he was outgoing as a child, but felt like an outcast because he was gay.

Baker served in the United States Army from 1970 to 1972. He worked as a medic and was stationed in San Francisco.

Baker designed displays for Dianne Feinstein, the Premier of China, the presidents of France, Venezuela, and the Philippines, the King of Spain, and many others.

He worked at a military hospital, treating injured soldiers who had served in the Vietnam War

In 1979, Baker began work at Paramount Flag Company in San Francisco, then located on the southwest corner of Polk Street and Post Street in the Polk Gulch neighborhood.

He was discharged honorably in 1972 and stayed in the city, joining the movement.

He became friends with Harvey Milk, Cleve Jones, who was his roommate, and other leaders.

Top 10 Interesting Facts About the Rainbow Pride Flag

The rainbow flag, commonly known as the gay pride flag or LGBT pride flag, is a symbol of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) pride and LGBT social movements

The most common variant consists of six stripes: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. The flag is typically flown horizontally, with the red stripe on top, as it would be in a natural rainbow.

Gilbert Baker was an American artist and gay rights activist who designed the rainbow flag in 1978

There are several independent rainbow flags in use today. The most widely known worldwide is the pride flag representing LGBT pride.

The original gay pride flag flew in the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade on June 25, 1978.

The flag originally consisted of eight stripes; Baker assigned specific meaning to each of the colors: Hot pink-sex, Red- life, Orange - Healing,Yellow - Sunlight, Green - Nature, Turquoise- Art, Indigo - Harmony, Violet - Spirit

The largest LGBT pride flag was 30 feet wide and 1 mile long. The giant rainbow flag was carried by more than 10,000 people during New York’s Gay Pride parade in 1994. The parade was in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots.

Hot pink is no longer a non-standard color in flag fabric production. Baker was recently able to create the world’s longest Rainbow Flag – restored to its original eight colors – to celebrate the flag’s silver anniversary.

In 1989, the rainbow flag came to nationwide attention in the United States after John Stout sued his landlords and won when they attempted to prohibit him from displaying the flag from his West Hollywood, California, apartment balcony.

Spirit Day, the first observance of which took place on October 20, 2010.The name Spirit Day comes from the purple stripe of the rainbow flag, whose creator Gilbert Baker defined it as "representing 'spirit'".