Happy Holidays! The Discovery Blog will be on vacation starting December 22 and returning January 3, 2012. We wish all of our readers a very happy holiday and a wonderful new year — see you in 2012 for another year of satisfying curiosity!
We leave you with this image of MythBusters‘ Buster and a friend celebrating in their own way.
-Amber and Gayle
If the barrage of Christmas music, sale emails, and holiday cards in your mailbox hasn’t been enough to get you in the holiday spirit, The Hub has a full schedule of holiday programming over the next week to get you in the mood. Here are some of the highlights:
Happy holidays!
Any procrastinators out there? If you’re still working on your holiday gift list and coming up short in the inspiration department, we have a few gift guides that might help you, even with the pickiest of recipients.
Animal Planet has a series of gift guides for hipster pets, overindulged pets, dog and cat lovers, and even green pet lovers. My favorite is the DJ Cat Scratch Turntable from Perpetual Kid:
Meanwhile, TreeHugger has a whole series of 2011 green gift guides for people as diverse as outdoor enthusiasts, foodies, DIYers, pop culture fans, fashion buffs, design junkies, and more. If you can’t find gifts here for the people on your list, then I’m thinking that a gift card is probably in order.
Finally, Parentables has a few gift guides of its own, such as this list of gifts under $35 or the 10 best gifts for new babies.
So put your feet up, do some surfing, and cross the gift list off your to-do list.
Our favorite sultan of slime and guru of grime, Mike Rowe, is back tonight in an all-new episode of Dirty Jobs tonight at 9pm ET/PT on Discovery Channel. In tonight’s installment, “Dr. Mike” tries his hand at treating Lily, an arthritic goat in need of an acupuncture treatment; next, Mike heads to New Mexico to make baby fish at a walleye hatchery as a “fish squeezer” — a job that takes split-second timing, steady hands and a lot of counting.
As with most Dirty Jobs episodes, I advise not eating dinner immediately before or during, but do make sure to hop on over to the Dirty Jobs Facebook page to connect with fellow Mike fans!
Want to help a homeless pet this holiday?
Next Tuesday, December 13, from 3-4pm ET, Petfinder is hosting a live Facebook Q&A session on how to help homeless pets — the topic that Petfinder Facebook fans voted on as the one they most wanted to learn more about. Sara Kent, Petfinder’s Director of Shelter Outreach, will be answering questions about everything from becoming a pet foster parent and volunteering at a shelter to how to set up a fun and unique awareness campaign and simple ways to trigger donations to help pets. To participate, people just need to be logged in to Facebook and like the Petfinder page.
So take an hour out of your busy December and find out how you can make a difference in the life of a pet that needs help.