July 31 Holidays

National Avocado Day celebrates the creamy green drupe — technically a fruit — whose American consumption has grown from 436 million pounds in 1985 to more than 2.8 billion pounds in recent years, driven by guacamole, avocado toast, and the health-fat rebranding of the 2010s. National Mutt Day was founded in 2005 by Colleen Paige to celebrate mixed-breed dogs and to drive awareness that mutts account for more than 75 percent of shelter populations — and that their genetic diversity confers documented health advantages over inbred purebreds. Harry Potter Birthday marks July 31, 1980, the fictional birthday of Harry Potter — as established by J.K. Rowling, who shares the same birthday. System Administrator Appreciation Day is observed on the last Friday of July to honor the IT professionals who keep networks, servers, and digital infrastructure running — the invisible workforce on whom every modern organization depends. A ripe avocado, a wagging mixed tail, a lightning bolt scar, and a server rack.