February 15: The World Hippo Day

Every year, February 15th is celebrated as "World Hippo Day". Of course, Hippopotamus, the world's 3rd largest mammal deserves a day. The blue whale and the African elephant are the only two mammals in the world that are larger than the hippopotamus.

It’s easy to assume that hippos would be related to elephants and rhinos. However, DNA evidence has shown that hippos are the closest relatives of whales. Maybe that's the reason, Greeks named them hippo, which means "river horse". They love water.  On an average day, they spend 16 hours in water.  They mate and give birth in the water.  

Hippos are native to Africa. These herbivores live up to 50 years in the wild. There are only two species of hippos on the planet. These include the common hippopotamus and the pygmy hippo.

Predators of the hippo include hyenas, lions, and crocodiles. But, we, humans are the primary predators. While some hunt hippos for their meat, others hunt them for ivory canine teeth.  Due to this, like most other animals, hippos were also classified as vulnerable in 2006 by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Though we don't know why Hippo Day is celebrated on February 15th, let's take a pledge to preserve them.  

I usually write something about the stamps I have.  But I am very desperate to create awareness to save this giant mammal.  It's a shame that I don't have even a single Hippo stamp in my collection.  If anybody would like to help me with hippo stamps, used or new, it would be appreciated.

The below Pygmy hippo stamp was issued by DDR in the year 1975.  I have taken it from the internet.

February 13th : UNESCO World Radio Day

The history of radio goes back more than 100 years.  But still, Radio continues to be one of the most trusted and far-reaching mediums of communication in the world.   During this Covid pandemic, it's the medium of education for rural and poor people who either couldn't afford the advanced technology or there is no internet connectivity.

It all started off with a young Italian named Guglielmo Marconi who invented “the wireless telegraph”. He used radio waves to transmit Morse code and the instrument became known as the radio. In 1895 he successfully sent and received a telegram over the first radio signal.

In 2011 the member states of UNESCO proclaimed February 13th as World Radio Day (WRD), as it was the anniversary date of the UN international broadcasting service, which was created on February 13, 1946.   It was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2012. On January 14, 2013, the UN General Assembly formally endorsed it.

As an Indian, I would like to trace the history of radio broadcasting in India.  It traces back to August 1920 when one of the first radio broadcasts was transmitted from the roof of a building and in 1923, the first radio programme was aired by the Radio Club of Bombay as a private venture.  After a brief while, it was shut down and some other players tried their hand.  However, things didn’t work out. Finally, the government took over the broadcasting facilities and began the Indian State Broadcasting Service (ISBS) on April 1, 1930. This went on to become All India Radio (AIR) on June 8, 1936.  When India became independent in 1947, AIR - was renamed Akashvani. Current PM Modi's "Mann ki Batt" is one of the popular programs in India.

The below stamp was issued by Brazil Post in 2018, the four stamps can be folded to make a Radio model.