11th July 2025

July

July – what a wonderful month: sunshine, holidays, ice lollies… As the exact middle of the year occurs on 2^ndof July, it is a downward slope to reach the end of the year for most of the month. But there is more to the month of July than this!

People born in July have a birth flower of a lily, and their star sign is either Cancer or Leo. Their birthstone is a red ruby.
Did you know that July is the month of junk food? Forget that barbeque, and head on down to your favourite fast-food place for a meal!
July was originally known as Quintilis (from the Latin word for five) and was the fifth month on the Gregorian calendar. Julius Caesar thought it would be a great idea to add two extra months to the calendar (January and February), which created the Julian calendar (which is still in use today). This made Quintilis the seventh month instead of the fifth, and it was renamed ‘July’ after the Emperor Julius Caesar.
July is one of the hottest months in the northern hemisphere. In fact, the hottest temperature ever recorded in the United States was in Greenland Ranch, California, when temperatures reached 134°F/57°C on 10th July 1913! It was so hot that you could fry an egg on a rock in seconds!
People living in the southern half of the world will see their coldest temperatures in July. In fact, the coldest season on record happened in July 1983 near the South Pole, where it was -129°F/-89.6°C at Vostok Station.
The first ever rabies vaccine was administered by Louis Pasteur on July 6th, 1885.
The first atomic bomb test was detonated in New Mexico on July 16th, 1945.
Now a summer staple, the first bikini debuted in Paris on July 5th, 1946 at the famous Piscine Militor swimming pool.
The 2^nd of July is World UFO Day.
The 6^th of July is International Kissing Day.
The lunar landing happened on the 16th July 1969, when Apollo 11 launched from Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. On the 20^th July, Neil Armstrong was the first human to set foot on the moon!
The month of July inspired many names: for boys there is Julius, Jules, and Julian. For girls there is Julie, Julia, Julianne, and Juliet.
The first ever international phone call was made on 1^st of July 1881 between the Canadian province of New Brunswick and the US state of Maine.
In the US, July lays claim to National Ice Cream Month, National Chocolate Month, National French Fry Month and National Hot Dog Month – they seem to really enjoy their junk food!