Wednesday, 21 October, 2020
Thailand’s Hunger Games protests; Wifi on the Moon; Ash Barty’s off to the footy; and jellyfish for dinner!
LINKS
Sucking dust from an asteroid: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-54592163
Squiz Kids Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/squizkids/?hl=en
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Squiz Kids is proudly supported by the Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas.
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
THE LOWDOWN
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If you’ve ever read the book ‘Hunger Games’ or seen the movies starring Jennifer Lawrence as Catniss Everdeen – you’ll know that there’s a three fingered salute that the downtrodden people of Panem hold aloft to indicate they are no longer prepared to be bullied by the lawmakers in the Capital.
That three-fingered salute has been seen a lot on the streets of Bangkok recently – where students have been leading an uprising against Thailand’s government and its King.
For months now, there have been protests in the streets of the Thai capital and yesterday, the government moved to shut down the rallies by closing down the popular messaging app, Telegraph, which the protestors have been using to communicate with one another.
In Thailand, it’s against the law to publicly criticise the King. So the fact these protests are happening at all – and that the three-fingered salute is being used to show the Thai people’s defiance – is remarkable. Watch this space – as things look like they will become more dramatic before they calm down.
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Meanwhile .. here in Australia … jellyfish could soon be on the menu after scientists here suggested that the blobby sea-dwellers could one day be a really good substitute for fish.
Eating jellyfish is described as ‘like eating gristle’ and ‘having a chewy crunchy texture’ .. none of which sounds especially appetising.
But with estimates that over 90 species of endangered fish are caught every year by industrial fisheries, turning to jellyfish for nutrition might be one way of helping the environment.
So – what’s it to be? Brown or blue jellyfish for dinner? Bon appetit …
SPIN THE GLOBE
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Each day we give the world globe a spin and find a news story from wherever it stops, and today, we’ve landed on the Moon … where a phone company from Finland is planning to install WiFi.
What the what? Why would there be a need for a 4G network on the Moon?
It’s all part of NASA, the American space agency’s plan, to have humans on the moon again by 2024.
NASA’s Artemis project will not only see lots of humans up on the moon, but also quite a bit of hi-tech machinery – all of which will function more smoothly with WiFi.
So it’s not for astronauts to binge on YouTube or play Roblox … because I know that’s what you were all thinking …
SPACED OUT
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On the subject of all things inter-galactic … while you were fast asleep, in the wee small hours of this morning, far above your head – a spaceship sent from Earth that has been circling an asteroid for the past two years flew down close to the surface of that asteroid and sucked up a bit of dust.
It’s the latest remarkable achievement from scientists who have been monitoring the asteroid, called Bennu, which is flying in space between Earth and Mars.
Why do we want to collect a bit of dust from this asteroid? Because asteroids are like time capsules travelling through space – little petri dishes with samples of planetary rock from the far reaches of our galaxy – and by studying that rock, we can potentially learn about the distant corners of our solar system.
There’s a link to a cool video in today’s episode notes of exactly how the dust-sucking manoeuvre will be pulled off. And to say that it’s a really tough assignment, requiring a monster amount of planning and precision, would be an understatement.
SPORTS TIME
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Ash Barty – our world beating tennis champ is getting fired up for this Saturday’s AFL grand final. Not only is she a red hot Richmond Tigers fan, she’s been asked by the club to present them with the Premiership Cup if they’re lucky enough to take out the title. She said she was “surprised and honoured” by the invitation. Barty, who was raised in Ipswich – which is a city just outside of Brisbane – has been hanging out in Queensland because of the coronavirus. She’s one of the lucky Queenslanders who will go to the AFL season decider – which is being played away from Melbourne for the first time in its history. And she’s not the only one who is keen – tickets for the grand final went on sale to the general public yesterday morning and were snapped up in 20 minutes. I wonder if anyone got one for me…
ANNABEL SUTHERLAND Q+A
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Ok sports fans … the wait is over … the Squiz Kids Q+A with rising cricket star, Annabel Sutherland goes live today – and she wastes no time facing up to all the spinners and googlies and yorkers you chucked at her – answering the excellent questions you sent in just as she’s about to pad up for the start of the Big Bash league which starts this weekend. The Q+A should play directly after this episode of Squiz Kids if you’re listening to us via an app – or it’s otherwise located in all good podcasting apps or on our website www.squizkids.com.au.
THE S’QUIZ
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This is the part of the podcast where you get to test how well you’ve been listening …
- Name the country where protestors have started displaying the three-fingered salute from the Hunger Games.
- Where is a Finnish company planning to install WiFi for astronauts?
- Who’s the Aussie tennis star that Richmond have requested hand them the trophy if they win this weekend’s AFL Grand Final?
SHOUT OUTS
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It’s October 21 … International Day Of The Nacho — and no, I am NOT making this up. It’s an actual day – where everyone everywhere is encouraged to eat nachos all day long. Aye carumba.
Plus it’s a special day for these Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday today … Alexandra from Thornbury, Indi from Williamstown, Ana-Sofia from Blackburn, Henry from Mornington, Dylan from Kempsey, Isabelle from Murwillumbah, Gary from Weetangera, Zachary from Artarmon, Liam from Hurlstone Park, Grafton from Orange, Eloise from Sydney, Kyuss from Blackalls Park, Pedro from Penrith
Today’s belated birthday shoutouts go to… Saskia from Sydney, Lucas from Canberra, Michael, Cooper, Jed and Ruby from Albany Hills, Arthur and Rose from Perth, Irisa and Aamarley from Denistone East and Claude from Balaclava.
Happy birthday one and all!
Classroom shoutouts… 5C from Montmorency South Primary School, class 1/2 at Waverly Meadows Primary School, class 2T at Berowra Public School with Mrs Dewar, who is taking over for two weeks while their teacher Mrs Still is off exploring NSW in her caravan, and class S3H at Tomaree Public School, with Mrs Zimmermann who has her last day with them today.
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The S’Quiz Answers:
- Thailand
- The Moon
- Ash Barty