There's a bit to choose from if you are looking to celebrate Charles Darwin's 205th birthday today. There are events taking place all over the world, including a panel discussion this evening in Charleston, South Carolina, on what it means to be human (weather permitting), a series of geology lectures in Genoa, Italy, put on by the Beigua Park Authority and Natural History Museum of Genoa, and a fossil road show at the Beaty Biodiversity Museum in Vancouver.
Darwin came back from his voyages with a number of specimens, including a pet tortoise from James Island, now known as Santiago. That tortoise, though, went missing for some 170 years, the Guardian writes. It was recently unearthed in the Zoology Dry Storeroom No. 1 of the Natural History Museum in London when a collections manager was going through unlabeled specimens. Among them was the tortoise, which was labeled with a number, though rather hidden, that identified it as the James tortoise. It is part of the Spirit Collection tour, the Guardian notes.
On a smaller scale, the International Darwin Day Foundation notes that many Darwin aficionados host potluck 'phylum' dinners, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.
HBO has also aired this week a documentary called Questioning Darwin that explores the conflict between evolution and religion. The New York Times says the documentary takes a "refreshingly unusual approach to a polarizing subject, then finds a way to deepen it."
In the US, Representative Rush Holt (D-NJ) has introduced a bill to the House of Representatives again to designate February 12th as Darwin Day in honor of Darwin's contributions and acknowledge "the importance of science in the betterment of humanity." The bill, GovTrack.us notes, has been sent to committee.
But if you are just looking to give a special someone a card or a gift in celebration of Darwin Day — rather than a tortoise or legislation — Zazzle has a few e-cards such as one with Darwin's picture saying he naturally selects you and Etsy has a number of intriguing items including a sock puppet portrait of Darwin and a wrist cuff engraved with a quote from On the Origin of Species.