October 4: World Animal Day, Smile Day

Today, on October 4, animal rights activists in many countries of the world can join various events on the occasion of World Animal Day, UNN writes.

This event was first celebrated in 1925  on the initiative of the German writer and well-known animal rights activist Heinrich Zimmerman. Two years later, at the Congress of Animal Advocates in Florence, the event gained official status. October 4 was chosen as the date of the celebration in honor of Francis of Assisi, a Catholic priest and patron saint of animals who died on this day.

The purpose of today's event is to draw public attention to the fact that due to deforestation, drainage of water bodies, destruction of other wildlife habitats, climate change, poaching, etc. many species of animals have disappeared from our planet forever, and many more are on the verge of extinction.

There are 45,000 species of vertebrates and eight million species of invertebrates on our planet, of which only one and a half million have been described.

According to some scientists, three animal populations disappear on the planet in one hour.

Today, the first Friday of October, is also World Smile Day.

In 1963, the artist Harvey Ball was commissioned by an American insurance company to create a symbol to boost employee morale. At that time, due to a merger with another company, employees were not sure about their future, so they became irritated, sad and confused, and this had a bad impact on the business.

Ball drew a smiling face in yellow and received $45 for it.

The customers liked the symbol created by Ball and it was made into a badge and given to employees and clients of the insurance company. The smiley face badges were so successful that the company had to produce another 10,000 copies.

In 1999, Ball created the World Smile Foundation and launched the corresponding holiday.

October 4 is also the Day of Improvements in the Office.

Statistics have proven that people who work in good conditions are much more productive and produce positive results. Comfortable chairs, modern office equipment, proper lighting, air conditioning, and a recreation area are all key requirements for an employer. Today, every employee can not only suggest some improvements for the office, but also do something to improve working conditions for themselves and their colleagues.

Today is the Day of the Veterinary Service in the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The Service performs tasks related to the supervision of the sanitary condition in livestock farms and processing enterprises, identification of sources of dangerous infections and their localization, and production of high-quality and safe animal products.

Since 2000, World Space Week has been celebrated on October 4 at the initiative of the United Nations.

It was on October 4, 1957, that the first artificial Earth satellite was launched into orbit.

According to the church calendar, October 4 is the Day of Remembrance of the Martyr Hierotheos.

Hierotheus was baptized and ordained a bishop by the Apostle Paul. The man preached a lot.

He died at the hands of pagans during the intensification of the persecution of Christians.

On October 4, Volodymyr, Pavlo, Stepan, and Veronika celebrate their name days.