Editing Mole Day

{{Short description|Unofficial holiday related to chemistry}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2017}}
{{Infobox holiday
| holiday_name  = Mole Day
| type          = academic
| image         = 
| imagesize     = 
| caption       = 
| observedby    = Chemists
| significance  = [[Avogadro constant]]
| begins        = 6:02{{nbsp}}am on October 23
| ends          = 6:02{{nbsp}}pm on October 23
| date          = October 23
| scheduling    = same day each year
| duration      = 1 day
| frequency     = Annual
}}
'''Mole Day''' is an [[unofficial holiday]] celebrated among chemists, [[chemistry]] students, and chemistry enthusiasts on October 23 between 6:02&nbsp;a.m. and 6:02&nbsp;p.m.,<ref name=ncw>{{citation
  | periodical = [[Chemical & Engineering News]]
  | title = National Chemistry Week Celebrates 20 Years
  | volume = 85
  | issue = 51
  | date = December 17, 2007
  | url = http://pubs.acs.org/cen/acsnews/85/8551acsnews1.html
  | access-date = February 14, 2010
  | archive-date = October 5, 2008
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081005030647/http://pubs.acs.org/cen/acsnews/85/8551acsnews1.html
  | url-status = live
  }}</ref><ref>{{citation
 |publisher   = [[American Chemical Society]]
 |title       = This Week in Chemical History
 |url         = http://portal.acs.org/portal/acs/corg/content?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=PP_ARTICLEMAIN&node_id=124&content_id=WPCP_011088&use_sec=true&sec_url_var=region1&__uuid=5c4d375c-a061-4f8d-9254-6e08a1b8985f
 |access-date  = February 14, 2010
 |url-status  = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110724224014/http://portal.acs.org/portal/acs/corg/content?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=PP_ARTICLEMAIN&node_id=124&content_id=WPCP_011088&use_sec=true&sec_url_var=region1&__uuid=5c4d375c-a061-4f8d-9254-6e08a1b8985f
 |archive-date = July 24, 2011
 |df          = mdy-all
}}</ref><ref>{{citation
  | periodical = [[Chemical & Engineering News]]
  | title = Chemistry In The Spotlight
  | volume = 88
  | issue = 50
  | date = December 13, 2010
  | url = http://pubs.acs.org/cen/acsnews/85/8551acsnews1.html
  | access-date = February 14, 2010
  | archive-date = October 5, 2008
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081005030647/http://pubs.acs.org/cen/acsnews/85/8551acsnews1.html
  | url-status = live
  }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cm-life.com/2004/09/27/chemicalclubwinsnationalrecognition/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130119142820/http://www.cm-life.com/2004/09/27/chemicalclubwinsnationalrecognition/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 19, 2013 |title=Chemical club wins national recognition |publisher=Central Michigan Life |date=September 27, 2004 |access-date=October 8, 2012 }}</ref> making the date 6:02 10/23 in either [[Calendar_date#Date_format|MDY or YMD date formats]]. The time and date are derived from the [[Avogadro constant]], which is approximately {{val|6.02|e=23}}, defining the number of particles (atoms or molecules) in one [[mole (unit)|mole]] (mol) of [[amount of substance|substance]], one of the seven base [[SI]] units.

==Overview==
Mole Day originated from a celebration by educator Margaret Christoph.<ref name="Christoph">{{cite journal |last1=Christoph |first1=Margaret |title=Mole day |journal=The Science Teacher |date=October 1985 |volume=52 |issue=7 |pages=47–48 |jstor=24145769 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24145769 |access-date=24 October 2022 |language=en |archive-date=October 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221024124225/https://www.jstor.org/stable/24145769 |url-status=live }}</ref> She wrote an article about her experiences in ''[[The Science Teacher]]'' in the 1980s.<ref name="mole-history">{{cite web |url=http://www.moleday.org/htdocs/history.html |title=History of National Mole Day Foundation, Inc. |publisher=moleday.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101023075040/http://www.moleday.org/htdocs/history.html |archive-date=October 23, 2010 |df=mdy-all |access-date=October 23, 2007 }}</ref> Inspired by this article, Maurice Oehler, a high school chemistry teacher from [[Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin]], founded the National Mole Day Foundation (NMDF) on May 15, 1991.<ref name="mole-history"/>

Many high schools around the United States, South Africa, Australia, and Canada celebrate Mole Day as a way to get their students interested in chemistry, with various activities often related to chemistry or moles.<ref name="mole-history"/>

The [[American Chemical Society]] sponsors [[National Chemistry Week]],<ref name=ncw/> which occurs from the Sunday through Saturday during which October 23 falls. This makes Mole Day an integral part of National Chemistry Week.{{cn|date=July 2022}}

==See also==
*[[Pi Day]]
*[[Square Root Day]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.garrityfuneralhome.com/obituary/Maurice-Oehler Maurice Oehler obituary] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205180318/https://www.garrityfuneralhome.com/obituary/Maurice-Oehler |date=February 5, 2021 }}
{{Science commemorative events}}

[[Category:Chemistry events]]
[[Category:Observances about science]]
[[Category:October observances]]
[[Category:Unofficial observances]]