MDBCs 20 Jul 2025

On July 20, look up at the sky and think back on all the advances humankind has made in exploring and understanding space because it is Space Exploration Day.

The annual holiday commemorates the anniversary of the first manned mission to the Moon. On July 20, 1969, Americans astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to step foot on the surface of the Moon.

In 1984, the day was proclaimed a holiday by United States President Ronald Reagan. The fifth manned mission of NASA's Apollo program, Apollo 11 was launched from Florida on July 16. It returned to Earth with the 3 astronauts - Armstrong, Aldrin, and Michael Collins on July 24.

Moon Day

The holiday, which is also sometimes called Moon Day, encourages people to learn more about space exploration. It attempts to inspire young adults to consider space sciences and space exploration as careers.

Everything you need to know about the Moon

How to Celebrate?

Visit your local space and science museums and spend the day there learning about space and our astronomical neighbors.
Join an astronomy club and participate in their Space Exploration Day activities.
If you have young children in your life, get them interested in space and related fields by reading them books about space and space technology.

Did You Know...

...that 12 people, including Armstrong and Aldrin, have walked on the surface of the Moon?

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Ice Cream Day

Cool down with a scoop (or two) of refreshing ice cream on Ice Cream Day. Celebrated annually since 1984 on the third Sunday of July in the United States, the unofficial holiday celebrates everyone’s favorite sweet treat.

The holiday was created by an official proclamation by President Ronald Reagan in 1984. At the time, the holiday was supposed to be only celebrated once - on July 15, 1984. The ice cream industry, however, decided to continue the tradition every year since. In addition to observing a National Ice Cream Day, the proclamation also designated July as National Ice Cream Month. This too has now become a tradition.

Chinese Origin

Traditionally made by freezing a mixture of cream or milk, sugar, and some kind of flavoring, ice cream is often eaten after a meal as a dessert or as a mid-meal snack. As a treat, ice cream has a long and varied history, though very little is known about its origins. Some historians believed that the Chinese were responsible for inventing the earliest versions of this dessert, while others suggest that the Romans mixed snow with honey and fruits to create the first prototype of ice cream. Either way, the early types of ice cream were nothing like the ice cream we are familiar with today.

Only for Royals

In the old days before refrigerators became common kitchen equipment, ice cream was a food reserved for the royals and the rich and it was only eaten during special occasions. The development of refrigeration technology quickly made ice cream a commonly enjoyed dessert around the world. Today, people can easily make ice cream at home with the help of portable ice cream makers.

How to Celebrate?

Many ice cream parlors and stores have sales and specials on their products on this day. Visit one of them to celebrate this fun holiday.
Have ice cream for all your meals. It can be considered as a nutritious food group for this one day.
Don’t live in the United States? We suggest that that shouldn’t stop you from celebrating this awesome holiday. After all, ice cream is a delicious treat in every culture. Make your own ice cream and serve it to family and friends.
Tired of the usual vanilla or strawberry ice cream? Get creative with your flavorings. What about adding mint to your strawberry ice cream? Or bacon bits to your caramel ice cream?
Don't like to have just plain ice cream? What about making some ice cream sandwiches or an ice cream cake instead?

Did You Know...

...that some studies have shown that people buy and consume more ice cream on a Sunday than any other day of the week?

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Did you ever notice that from the time you hang up the phone until the pizza guy shows up, the only conversation you have is

“Where’s the guy with our pizza?”

***

When my lifelong-bachelor uncle turned 78, he traveled across the country to visit a dozen or so  old girlfriends.

“How’d it go?” I asked when he returned.

“Thank God I never married any of them,” he said. “They’re all widows.”

***

A customer’s request to the general store in his vacation town:

“I would like to reserve a New York Times, Star-Ledger, and Post for every Saturday, Sunday, and Monday from June 22 till Labor Day. However, we will be in Greece from July 1 to July 8. My son may or may not pick up the papers then, we don’t know. We will be in Spain for two weeks in August. Not sure which two, though. We’ll try to let you know. Oh, and we don’t need the Times on any Mondays in July, except the 8th of July.”