Earth Day Trivia Questions

Earth Day Network estimates over 1 billion people in 190+ countries take part, making it the largest secular civic event in the world.

Earth Day is fixed on April 22, not the equinox. The equinox Earth Day was proposed in 1970 by John McConnell but never became the official date.

Senator Nelson always planned Earth Day as an annual teach-in. It was never meant to be a single event; the first year's success ensured it continued.

The UN recognizes April 22 as International Mother Earth Day, but it is not a public holiday in most countries. No one gets a paid day off for it.

The 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill galvanized public outrage, leading Senator Gaylord Nelson to propose a national teach-in on the environment, which became the first Earth Day.

The first Earth Day flag, designed in 1970, used the famous 'Blue Marble' photo taken by Apollo 17 astronauts in 1972—though the flag actually debuted two years before that photo.

The event was always called Earth Day. The name was coined by media consultant Julian Koenig, who liked the alliteration with 'Ecology Day' and chose Earth Day instead.

The massive public mobilization of Earth Day 1970 built political momentum that helped create the EPA later that same year, along with the Clean Air Act.