In the 12th and 13th Centuries, monks were tracking the looks of the moon, including lunar eclipses. Modern-day researchers took another look to see if some of those eclipses were actually volcanic eruptions. Plus: for Butter Day, a visit to the Butter Museum in Cork, Ireland.

Medieval monks accidentally recorded some of history’s biggest volcanic eruptions (University of Cambridge)

Cork Butter Museum

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Today in 2011, UK politician Ed Balls sent a tweet that just said "Ed Balls." He was trying to search for his name, not post it, but the inadvertent self-rep turned into a meme and a wonderfully weird annual tradition. Plus: for Arbor Day, the story of a guy from Quebec who set the world record for most trees planted in a single day. (It's a lot.)

Ed Balls Day Is Upon Us! Here Are the 8 Strangest Online Political Gaffes (Snopes)

Quebecer breaks Guinness world record, planting more than 23K trees in 24 hours (Globalnews.ca)

Forty years ago today, the first ever Sydney to Melbourne Ultra Marathon began. Five days later, the first guy to cross the finish line was a 61 year old farmer with arthritis in both legs. Here's how self-described "old turtle" Cliff Young pulled off such an unexpected win. Plus: tomorrow in Wilmington, Delaware, it’s day one of the Wilmington Coffee Fest.

When age and modesty won the race (Sydney Morning Herald)

The 61-Year-Old Shepherd Who Shuffled His Way to an Unlikely Ultra Win (Adventure Journal via Archive.org) 

Wilmington Coffee Fest

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Today in 1884, A.A. Adams of Kansas took what is the earliest-known photo of a tornado. Early storm photos are pretty remarkable, for a lot of reasons. Plus: this weekend, the incomparable cellist Yo-Yo Ma is set to play a one of a kind concert.

TORNADO PHOTO FROM AUGUST 1884 ON DISPLAY AT CULTURAL HERITAGE CENTER (South Dakota Historical Society Foundation)

World's Earliest Tornado Photos (Weather.com)

19th-Century Storm Chasers Took the First Tornado Photographs (Hyperallergic)

Yo-Yo Ma to play inside Mammoth Cave with Louisville Orchestra (WLKY)

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Today in 1947, the start of a big moment in the history of sweets: kids in Canada protested a hike in chocolate bar prices with what would eventually become known as the Candy Strike. Plus: for National Poetry Month, a look at the math-based form known as Fibonacci Poetry.

Historicist: The Candy Bar Strike (Torontoist)

Fibonacci Poetry (or The Fib): Poetic Forms (Writers Digest)

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It’s National Library Week, so let’s pay a visit to a couple very unusual libraries in Portugal where some of those who help protect the books are bats. Plus: the Brautigan Library in Vancouver, Washington is a physical and online library that collects unpublished manuscripts.

These Portuguese Libraries Are Infested With Bats — and They Like It That Way (Travel + Leisure via Yahoo!)

The Brautigan Library (Futility Closet)

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Today in 1972, astronauts John Young and Charles Duke stepped on the Moon during the Apollo 16 mission. Along the way, one of the moonwalkers revealed to the world, without meaning to, that orange juice had made him gassy. Plus: today in St. George, South Carolina, the start of the World Grits Festival.

The time an Apollo 16 astronaut swore about farting on the moon (Gizmodo)

World Grits Festival 

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In extremely cold Antarctic weather, some of the researchers and staff have come up with an unusual way to pass the time: rushing from an extremely hot sauna to the extremely cold conditions around the South Pole, in extremely light outfits (if any!). Plus: every year on April 20th, it’s… National Lima Bean Respect Day?

South Pole's 300 Club not for the cold-blooded (Reuters)

On Getting Naked in Antarctica (The Atlantic)

National Lima Bean Respect Day (National Day Calendar)

It's National Banana Day, so we've got the story of people in the UK who went to great lengths to simulate having bananas when the real deal was off limits during World War II. Plus: today in 1988, the Oklahoma State House approved a resolution describing the official state meal, which was kind of enormous.

To Cope With a Wartime Banana Ban, British Home Cooks Made ‘Mock Bananas’ (Atlas Obscura)

Senator wants state meal off the table (Tulsa World)

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He called it just another day of skydiving, but today in 1987, Gregory Robertson saved a fellow skydiver’s life with a high-speed free fall of more than a mile. Plus: on the anniversary of Paul Revere's ride, the story of the expense account he sent for reimbursement to colonial officials.

Man rescues fellow skydiver seconds before impact (UPI)

Revere's expense account revealed (Bangor Daily News via Google News Archive)

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