Today, May 23, is World Turtle Day. But I suppose most of you already knew that.

Turtles rank high on the list of most-huggable animals. Though you really wouldn’t want to, and the turtles will give you a pass, as well. The little ones that the senior citizens among us remember buying to live (albeit briefly) in little plastic worlds complete with water and an island (with fake palm tree) … well, those little ones could carry salmonella. I have a vague recollection of feeding them raw hamburger, which could explain a lot. But they were always soggy, slippery little buggers, as well, and I imagine most of them ended up with a burial at sea, quietly conducted by my mother, via the nearest toilet.

Hmm.

How adorable are turtles? I’m going to invent a top 10 of most-adorable animals. Well-known animals, that is.

To wit:

10. Small dogs.

9. Young cats.

8. Shetland ponies

7. Chimpanzees

6. Turtles

5. Marmosets

4. Guinea pigs

3. Rabbits

2. Koalas

1. Pandas

So, turtles. No. 6 on my authoritative and well-thought-out list.

Why do turtles need A Day?

Seems as if turtles have had a tough go, the last 100 years or so. Diminishing habitat, hunting, pollution … makes it hard to be a turtle.

And given that most of us find them to be both interesting and attractive … and that we seem to attribute to them characteristics we admire (patience, steadiness, a hard shell, the ability to retreat inside their exoskeleton, swimming ability, often) … well, World Turtle Day is likely to gain a lot more attention than, say, World Crocodile Day — even if crocs may be in a world of hurt themselves.

I didn’t know this was World Turtle Day until I edited a story by a co-worker, Vesela Todorova, about how countries in the Gulf are working together to try to save the endangered hawksbill turtle.

And don’t actually hug a turtle. Odds are neither of you will enjoy it.  But don’t eat one, either.