Black Cats and Hurricanes - August 17

Lucky Learning

Monday, August 17, 2026

Today is National #2 Pencil Day, National Thrift Shop Day, Black Cat Appreciation Day, National Nonprofit Day, and Baby Boomers' Recognition Day.

Health and Wellness Resource of the Day: Sesame Street: My Cute Little Heartbeat
Sandwich of the Day: Egg Salad Sandwich

Today's Birthdays
Songs of the Day
Poems of the Day
Art of the Day
Today's Theme: Black Cats and Hurricanes

ON THIS DATE

1955 - Hurricane Diane makes landfall near Wilmington, NC, causing widespread damage and flooding, killing more than 184 people.
1969 - Hurricane Camille hits the Gulf Coast as a Category 5 storm, killing 248 people.
1998 - In grand jury testimony, President Bill Clinton admits he had an improper relationship with intern Monica Lewinsky.
2008 - Michael Phelps breaks the record for gold medals in a single Olympics by winning his 8th gold in the 400-meter medley relay at the Beijing Olympics.

BIRTHDAYS

1786 - Soldier and politician Davey Crockett
1887 - Jamaican journalist and political activist Marcus Garvey
1893 - Actor Mae West
1913 - Deputy Director of the FBI and Watergate source, Deep Throat, Mark Felt
1943 - Actor Robert De Niro
1960 - Actor Sean Penn
1960 - Singer and actor Donnie Wahlberg
1983 - Baseball player Dustin Pedroia

SONGS OF THE DAY

Janet Jackson - Black Cat - LISTEN
Stray Cats - Stray Cat Strut - LISTEN

POEMS OF THE DAY

Frances Shaw - The Black Cat
Marilyn Singer - Cat
David Bottoms - Hurricane

ART OF THE DAY
War, Socialism, and Cats: Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen's Political Artistic Practice

THEME: BLACK (and a FEW OTHER COLORED) CATS

Grades PreK-1 - Sesame Street - Elmo and Simon's Cat Take a Nap (2:56) -VIEW
Grades 3-12- NHPBS LearningMedia - Nature - Cats (8:28) - VIEW and DO
Grades 3-12- NHPBS LearningMedia - Nature - Cats: Yesterday and Today (6:54) - VIEW and DO
Grades 6-12 - NHPBS Video - EONS - How We Domesticated Cats (7:47) - VIEW
Grades 6-12 - Mental Floss - Black Cat Facts - READ
Grades 6-12 - NHPBS Video Theater of the Mind Radio Drama - The Black Cat (23:25) - VIEW
Grades 9-12 - Museum of Fine Arts Boston - Le Chat Noir Collection - READ and VIEW
Grades 9-12 - Van Gogh Museum - Le Chat Noir - READ and VIEW

Theme: HURRICANES

Grades PreK-1 - Sesame Street - Sesame Street Gets Through a Storm (55:55) - VIEW
Grades PreK-2 - Daniel Tiger - The Storm is Coming (1:40) - VIEW
Grades 4-6 - NHPBS LearningMedia - DragonflyTV - Scientist Profile: Hurricane Researcher (2:29) - VIEW
Grades 6-12 - NHPBS LearningMedia - Nova - Water Vapor Fuels Hurricanes (4:57) (Available in Spanish) - VIEW, READ, DO
Grades 6-12 - NHPBS Learning Media - Physics Girls - How to Make a Hurricane on a Bubble (3:28) - VIEW and DO
Grades 6-12 - NHPBS LearningMedia - UNC-TV Science - Hurricane Hunters (5:15) - VIEW and DO
Grades 7-12 - NHPBS Video - Nova - Killer Hurricanes - VIEW
Grades 9-12 - NHPBS LearningMedia - Nova - Killer Hurricanes: Hurricane Paths Over Time (5:36) - VIEW, READ, DO
Grades 9-12 - NHPBS LearningMedia - Nova - Killer Hurricanes: Hurricane Frequency Over Time (5:49) - VIEW, READ, DO
Grades 9-12 - NHPBS LearningMedia - Seasonal Science - Hurricane (3:46) - VIEW, READ, DO

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603-868-1100

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Director of Communications
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