Halloween is said to have originated with? the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain.? The Celts celebrated their new year on November 1st.? The Celts believed that on the night before the? new year, the boundary between the worlds of? the living and the dead became blurred.? They celebrated Samhain on October 31st,? and believed that on that night,? the dead returned to earth.?

The Celts would light bonfires, and wear costumes? in an attempt to ward off evil spirits.? They also practiced fortune telling and witchcraft.? The ancient Celts believed that their priests? (known as Druids) had the power to predict the future.?

Many of these traditions can be found? in modern day Halloween celebrations.?

Today, Halloween is celebrated around the world.? Many people celebrate Halloween by dressing in costumes,? going trick-or-treating and attending costume parties.? Trick-or-treating is a common Halloween tradition.? The tradition of trick-or-treating originated from the? early All Souls (or All Hallows) Day parades in England.

Saint Patrick’s Day commemorates Saint Patrick,? the patron saint of Ireland.? Saint Patrick’s Day began as a religious holiday,? but has come to be celebrated as a cultural? and national holiday as well.?

Saint Patrick was born in Roman Britain? in the fourth century.? He became a missionary in Ireland,? and he converted most of the Irish to Christianity.? Saint Patrick used the shamrock to teach about the? Christian doctrine of the Holy Trinity.? Saint Patrick died on March 17th, 461 AD.

Burns Night is a celebration that has been? celebrated in Scotland for over 200 years.? The night is reserved for eating traditional Scottish foods,? including haggis, neeps and tatties? (turnips and potatoes),? and of course, drinking plenty of whisky.?

Robert Burns was born on January 25th,? 1759 in Alloway, Scotland.? He is considered by many to be? the national poet of Scotland.? He is often called the “Bard of Ayrshire”,? and he wrote in the Scots language.? Burns Night celebrates the life and work of Robert Burns.

When Jack died, he was turned away from Heaven because of? his evil ways, and was forced to walk the earth for eternity? with only a burning coal from Hell to warm him.? As he walked, he would toss his glowing coal into? a hollowed out turnip or potato.? This was to frighten away evil spirits? that were attempting to follow him.?

The Irish began to refer to this eerie light? as a “Jack O Lantern” and eventually began? carving scary faces into their own turnips and? potatoes to frighten away their own evil spirits.?

To this day, Halloween lanterns are carved out of pumpkins? in Ireland, but the original 8th century? Jack O Lanterns were carved out of turnips.

People who take part in extreme ironing will try to? find new and exciting places to do some ironing.? For example, in 2003, three extreme ironing? participants ironed the Union Jack flag,? just above the Everest base station.?

Extreme ironing has inspired many other? extreme sports, including extreme cello playing!

Highliners don’t use poles for balance, but they do? use harnesses and ropes as they walk across highlines.? Highlining is practiced all over the world,? with lines set up between tall buildings and cliffs.

The wings have airpockets which give? the pilot more control over their flying.? The wingsuit allows a skydiver to? glide through the air, much like a flying squirrel.

Roller coasters are known for their speed.? Many popular roller coasters? achieve speeds of over 100 mph.? The Formula Rossa roller coaster in Abu Dhabi,? for example, has recorded speeds of 149 mph? (which is faster than many racing cars).?

Of course, it’s not just the speed which excites people.? Many popular roller coasters also have extreme drops.? The Kingda Ka roller coaster in the? United States has a drop of 418 feet.?

It’s really not surprising that people say that? roller coaster rides leave them with their hearts in their mouths!

Over time it has developed into a past time that’s? popular with a wide range of people of all ages.? In 2020, for the first time, skateboarding featured as one? of the sports in the Summer Olympic Games,? with Japan winning three of the four gold medals on offer.

Since then, the rubber ducks have been washed up around the world.? Some have washed up on the shores of Hawaii, Alaska,? South America, Australia and the Pacific Northwest,? while others have been found frozen in Arctic ice.? Still others have somehow made their way as far? as Scotland and Newfoundland in the Atlantic.?

These rubber ducks have quite a following,? with people tracking their progress around the world.? While many of the ducks found their way ashore,? there are many still lost at sea with many of them? presumably floating around the Pacific Ocean.

Well, the answer is one large one!? Or, to be more precise, 421,842,105.?

How is this calculated?? We know the Earth’s circumference is? 40,075 kilometres which is 40,075,000,000 mm.? We also know that the average? pork sausage is 95mm in length.?

Therefore, if we divide 40,075,000,000 by 95? (the size of one sausage),? we get the total of 421,842,105 sausages.? Wow!