4 Interesting Facts about the History of Earth Day

Today, Earth day is a widely celebrated and recognized event, with numerous environmentally friendly activities and projects taking place around the world. However, it did not used to be this way.

Below are some interesting facts about Earth Day. Take a quick read and learn a little more about the origins of our environmental celebration day.

1. The original founder of Earth Day is somewhat of a confusing topic.

While Earth Day is now celebrated in numerous countries, it was originally started in the United States. Unfortunately, the varying accounts and numerous amount of self proclaimed founders have somewhat muddled the true origins of the celebration. According to the Denver Post, Earth day was originally proposed by activist John McConnell and was combined with Senator Gaylord Nelson's idea for an environmental educational day scheduled on April 22nd.

2. Earth Day became a worldwide event in 1990.

With the success of Earth Day in the United States, in 1990 activists asked the Earth Day national coordinator, Denis Hayes, to put together a larger global campaign. Earth Day was then recognized all over the world, with over 200 million people in 141 countries highlighting the environment and need for protection in their own countries.

3. The Earth Day flag was designed by John McConnell, the same activist who proposed the idea.

The Earth Day flag, featuring a simple image of the Earth on a blue background, was designed to highlight the awe-inspiring and wondrous image of Earth. Before the famous picture of the Earth was taken from space, few people had seen our planet as viewed from outer space. John McConnell was said to have been moved when he first saw the image on LIFE magazine, and decided to use it as the basis for his flag.

4. April 22nd was chosen to avoid any conflict with students schedules in order to best educate them.

Senator Gaylord Nelson had been trying to identify an ideal time for his "environmental education" day (which later became the Earth Day John McConnell had envisioned), and wanted to select a time where students would have the least distractions. As a result, he chose April 22nd in order to fall right between the times for Spring Break and Final Exams at most universities. This time was selected for Earth Day over the original Spring Equinox date proposed by John McConnell.

 Thanks to the efforts of activists in the past, Earth Day is now a day where we highlight the growing environmental movement that has emerged over the decades. Our very own YooHoo & Friends are a great way to celebrate Earth Day, with each character highlighting an endangered or threatened animal friend that you can learn about today!

YooHoo & Friends is about the adventures of 5 animal friends: YooHoo, Pammee, Roodee, Chewoo, and Lemmee. YooHoo and his friends live on the magical island of Yootopia and help endangered animals everywhere. YooHoo & Friends was created to deliver an eco-friendly message to children and families and educate them about the need for protecting the environment. Since the brand’s launch in 2007, over 80 Million YooHoo & Friends products have been sold worldwide.