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On April 27, 2011, the United Nations General Assembly declared an official International Friendship Day. Originally so-named for July 30, in many countries it is celebrated on the first Sunday in August.

Friendly countries can agree to disagree, and celebrate friendship whenever they want.

Biologists believe the evolutionary origins of human friendship are displayed from a wide variety of animals. Horses, elephants, hyenas, dolphins, monkeys, and chimpanzees all demonstrate friendships that last for years.

In all species, friendships do not depend on familial kinship, but rather on the...