August 30: International Whale Shark Day, Birthday of the vacuum cleaner
Kyiv • UNN
The first scientific description of a whale shark caught off the coast of South Africa was made by British zoologist and researcher Andrew Smith in 1928. Whale sharks are common in the warm waters of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans.
Today, on August 30, animal rights activists and environmentalists in many countries of the world can join events on the occasion of the International Whale Shark Day, UNN writes.
The first scientific description of a whale shark caught off the coast of South Africa was made by British zoologist and researcher Andrew Smith in 1928.
Whale sharks are common in the warm waters of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. These sharks can be up to 18 meters long and weigh more than 20 tons.
Whale sharks have a very peculiar skin color - from brown to gray, with light stripes and spots on a dark background. The head of the fish is flat and wide, with a large mouth, and this resembles the head of a whale. Several protruding ridges - the so-called "keels" - run horizontally along each side of the body to the tail, and a large dorsal fin is also characteristic.
Whale sharks feed on plankton and small fish. These fish are apathetic, slow swimmers and pose little or no threat to humans.
Since 2016, the whale shark has been listed as an endangered species. Currently, there are no more than one thousand tiger sharks on the planet. Commercial fishing and, after its ban, poaching led to a decline in the population of these fish in the wild.
In captivity, whale sharks survive very poorly. Currently, several of these sharks live in oceanariums in Japan and Taiwan.
Today, lovers of cleanliness can celebrate the birthday of a vacuum cleaner.
On June 8, 1869, the American inventor Ives McGuffney patented a prototype of a household cleaning device that worked on a manual belt drive.
And on August 30, 1901, the British Hubert Cecil Booth received a patent for a vacuum cleaner.
Booth's first vacuum cleaner was very bulky and powered by a gasoline engine. It was delivered to the place of cleaning on a special cart. And during cleaning, the device made a lot of noise.
Later, Booth improved his device by equipping it with an electric motor.
Today, fans of horror and mysticism can join Frankenstein's Day.
On August 30, 1797, the writer Mary Shelley was born, who wrote the world-famous novel Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus.
Interestingly, according to the novel, Frankenstein was a scientist who created the monster. However, most people associate this name with the monster, which over the years has become the hero of numerous films, cartoons, and comics.
At the initiative of the United Nations, events have been held on August 30 since 2010 to mark the International Day of Enforced Disappearances.
According to statistics, every year about 50 thousand people on the planet disappear under unexplained circumstances or become victims of kidnapping.
According to the church calendar, today is the feast day of Saints Alexander, John, and Paul.
All three were at different times patriarchs of Constantinople and fought against heresy in the ranks of the Christian Church. They were harassed and persecuted by heretics and rulers who supported them.
Today, Alexander, Ivan, Paul, Jacob, Daniel, and Elizabeth celebrate their name days.
