3 to know for 26th

While searching for something to create for 26th January, I found rather something more intriguing. Instead of focusing on one country, I prefer to know about all others. That ways you get to think broadly. Here are 3 things happening on 26th Jan, As that is, India's Republic Day 2018, not only.

India's Republic Day 2018

​On this day in 1950, India solidified its sovereignty by putting into effect the Constitution of India, a governing document that took nearly three years of careful deliberation to finalize, and whose eventual enactment was joyfully celebrated across the country.

The first Republic Day was commemorated with a grand parade at the Rajpath, a tradition that continues to the present day. An important element of this parade is the celebration of India’s rich cultural history, which serves as the inspiration for today’s Doodle by New Delhi-based illustrator Ibrahim Rayintakath.

The geometrical shapes that form the Doodle's background are inspired by the vibrant colors and patterns of traditional hand-loom draperies from different states. The foreground elements symbolize unique crafts, music and traditional practices from across the country. You can see a man blowing the Sringa, an ancient musical instrument; Kathputli, a form of traditional puppetry used to narrate folk tales; and the spinning wheel, an important symbol of India’s history. Ceremonial dances form an important part of rituals during the many festivals celebrated across India, and today’s Doodle depicts the Bihu dance from Assam. You can also spot the majestic elephant, a key figure in such festive ceremonies in most regions. Finally, the overall outline and motifs are a tribute to Mughal architecture.

All these elements of local culture in bright, warm colors and distinctive patterns are reminiscent of India’s rich cultural heritage, and come together to celebrate a happy 69th Republic Day!

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​Australia Day 2018

​Today’s Doodle celebrates the unique and beautiful national parks that bring Australians together.

Australia has more than 500 national parks, each populated with extraordinary plants and animals you won’t find anywhere else. For example, millions of people flock to Port Campbell National Park and Twelve Apostles Marine National Park (featured in today's Doodle) for the stunning scenery.

Located along the southwest coast of Victoria, the parks’ cliffside viewpoints overlook their most iconic sight: seven pillars of stacked limestone, battered by wind and waves, that still rise above the crashing surf to give the marine national park its name.

But below the surface, the full force of the Southern Ocean has created a seascape of canyons, caves, arches, and fissures. Nutrients delivered by perpetually churning waves provide the energy needed to maintain the subtidal and intertidal reefs, which support the greatest diversity of invertebrates on limestone reef in Victoria.

Swirling kelp forests are home to sea urchins, lobsters, and abalone, while a little deeper, the offshore reefs are inhabited by colorful sponges, and of course, fish. This marine metropolis is visited by the flippered forms of local fur seals and commuting little penguins.

Back on the beach, lucky human visitors may spot the rare hooded plover feeding at the water’s edge (also featured in today's Doodle). The bird is one of the continent’s tens of thousands of endemic species — i.e., found only in Australia — that call the parks and surrounding areas home.

Happy Australia Day 2018!

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​Wilder Penfield’s 127th birthday

​You don’t have to be a brain surgeon to know why we’re celebrating Wilder Penfield’s 127th birthday today, but it doesn’t hurt! Penfield was once considered “the greatest living Canadian” for his trailblazing advancements in mapping the brain and brain surgery techniques to treat epilepsy.

A Rhodes scholar trained at Oxford and Princeton, Penfield believed studying medicine was “the best way to make the world a better place.” Penfield later became Montreal’s first neurosurgeon and established the Montreal Neurological Institute in 1934.

By 1950, he experimented with using electrical probes to treat seizure activity in the brain while a patient was fully awake. This surgery, called the Montreal Procedure, led to a greater discovery: stimulating certain physical parts of the brain could evoke memory recall, like the smell of burnt toast (depicted in today’s Doodle). Penfield’s contributions to modern neuroscience elevated Canada’s global status in healthcare, science, and discovery while his innovations created better lives for people with epilepsy.

In later years, Penfield became an author and a champion of university education and childhood bilingualism, commemorated by the Montreal streets, schools, and universities that bear his name. He was awarded the Lister Medal for surgical science and was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame. He also became a cultural icon when Philip Dick’s novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, described the fictional Penfield Mood Organ, a device used to change a mood by “dialing it in” on a number pad.

Happy 127th birthday, Wilder Penfield!

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Whatever you are celebrating, have fun and stay happy.