World Penguin Day

Today is World Penguin Day... you'll be forgiven for not having it marked on your calendar. According to PenguinGeek, April 25th(or thenabouts) is when the pinipeds begin their annual migration, though without the narrative assistance of Morgan Freeman.

Though all penguins are native to the Southern Hemisphere, they're not all native to Antarctica. Some have resettled in more tropical climes, such as South Africa and the Galapagos Islands. Flightless and somewhat clumsy on land, these birds are remarkably fast swimmers (no way could I keep up with them on South Africa, though I dominated them in foot-races). If you get too close to them, though, they bite with their serrated beaks. I'm told that it hurts, so look but don't touch.

Some penguin art projects

Ongoing penguin research projects

Monterey Bay Aquarium Penguin webcam

National Geographic:

Penguin factbook | Penguin coloring book (interesting, considering they tend to be black and white)

Evidence of prehistoric human-sized megapenguins

So how do we celebrate World Penguin Day?

... I was hoping you 'd be so jazzed by the links above that you'd forget to ask. Jarrett suggests dressing in tuxes (which I'd expand to include any black-and-white clothing, with yellow hats for you emperor-types). Ask your boss or teacher if you can go home and change.

Perhaps take a very cold bath.

Or just learn a bit more about the fascinating bird that is the penguin.