Friday, 12 August, 2022
Egg shortage sweeps nation; Italy says no to Dominos; tennis player’s tear-jerker video; and sea sponge snot.
LINKS
Roger Federer’s tear-jerker ad
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57RpNFLTAZU
Listen to the Squiz Kids Shortcut on the Circle of Life ..
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EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
THE LOWDOWN
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If you had to put a number on it, how many eggs do you reckon Australians eat every day? A couple of hundred? A few hundred thousand? Try 17 million … yep – that’s right. As a nation, we get through 17 million eggs every single day.
Except at the moment, we don’t – because there’s a national egg shortage.
That pile of scrambled eggs you were planning for brekky tomorrow? That pile of pancakes, those egg soldiers? Yeah – you might want to re-think it – as supermarkets all over the country run out of eggs.
It’s all due to a combination of factors, according to egg farmers. First up: the pandemic (why is it always the pandemic??) – saw a drop in demand which meant farmers reduced the number of chickens in their flocks.
Secondly: more and more of us are eating free-range eggs. And the really cold winter we’ve just had has meant colder, shorter days – which in turn means chickens lay fewer eggs each day.
But don’t worry: the shortage is only expected to be temporary. You’ll be back up to your eyeballs in googy eggs before you know it .
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The rugby league world was shocked yesterday following news of the sudden death of former North Queensland Cowboys and former Queensland Maroons coach, Paul Green.
His death comes in the same week that Australia paid its respects to singer, Olivia Newton-John after she passed away following a long battle with cancer.
And while death is not something we talk a lot about – either here on the podcast or more generally as Australians – the circle of life touches us here in Australia as much as it does in every other part of the world.
This week’s Squiz Kids Shortcut is on exactly that topic: the circle of life. How lives of the people we love are commemorated or celebrated here in Australia and in other cultures around the world.
If you’re a parent – you can access our Squiz Kids Shortcuts by signing up for a free trial of our Apple Subscriber Specials … if you’re a teacher, you can access Shortcuts through our Squiz Kids for Schools program. There are links to free trials of both in today’s episode notes.
SPIN THE GLOBE
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Each day we give the world globe a spin, and find a news story wherever it stops. And today, we’ve landed in Italy, the home of pizza, where the locals have said “no, grazie” – which means no thank you in Italian – to Domino’s. Domino’s, as you probably know, is an American pizza delivery company that also operates in Australia.
Back in 2015, Domino’s started opening stores in Italy, saying that they planned to have 880 outlets by 2030. But it turns out that the country that invented pizza was not interested. Have you ever heard the saying “it’s like trying to sell honey to a bee”?
Newcastle was a coal mining town in England, so it would be useless trying to sell them coal… and the Inuit live in the Arctic, surrounded by ice. Perhaps we should add “like trying to see pizza to Italians”… because Domino’s managed to open only 29 branches in seven years, and has now closed down completely.
SPORT TIME
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All eyes this morning will be on Aussie tennis players Alex de Minaur and Nick Kyrgios as the battle it out in the next round of the Canadian Open. The pair took to the court just as this podcast was going to air – and the game comes hard on the heels of Kyrgios remarkable defeat on Wednesday of world number one Danill Medvedev. All of which is excellent preparation for the upcoming US Open – the next Grand Slam on the professional tennis players’ touring circuit.
And yet: the week still belonged to an old tennis favourite – Roger Federer – who has punched out another tear jerker of an advertisement for the pasta company he endorses. In the ad, Roger brings a kid tennis player’s dreams true by secretly showing up to play a game against him.
It’s got all the feels – and because it’s a Friday, I’ve stuck a link to the video in today’s episode notes. Enjoy.
ANIMAL KINGDOM
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I’ve always thought I’d like to live under the sea. Little Mermaid. Aqua Man. Octonauts. I’d always envied for them being to live underwater. But the most recent study into the habits of sea sponges in the Caribbean has given me pause for thought … which is a fancy way of saying I’m not so sure anymore.
Scientists have discovered that sea sponges in that part of the world sneeze. As in, they produce snot, just like humans do – and every now and then, to get rid of the snot, they sneeze it out into the surrounding water.
And get this .. lots of marine animals apparently quite like to eat sea sponge snot … euuuugh.
Each to their own, I suppose.
THE SQUIZ
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This is the part of the podcast where you get to test how well you’ve been listening …
- Which country has turned up its nose at Dominos pizza?
- What is there currently a shortage of on supermarket shelves around Australia?
- When sea sponges in the Caribbean sneeze, fish like to feed on their what?
SHOUT OUTS
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It’s August 12 .. today is World Elephant Day. If you’re near an elephant today – give it a hug.
It’s also a Friday – and that means lots of birthday shout outs for which we’re going to need to crack out the ol’ birthday reggae tune … hit it ….
And it’s a happy birthday today to … Ella from Cannon Hill, Charlotte from Pottsville Beach, Simran from Craigburn, George from Balmain, Jade from Forest Lake, Matty from Hill End, Dylan from Warrnambool, Jesse from Abbotsford, Jacob from Sans Souci, Christian from Glenalta, Lachlan from Pullenvale, Arianna from Quirindi and special a birthday shout out to Molly from Coburg . Molly I hear you’ve got a special guest attending your party today … hope it’s a good one.
Belated shout outs go to Indi-Lee from Quirindi and Max from Eden Hill.
And not forgetting our Squiz Kids who are celebrating a birthday over the coming weekend….Max from Lilyfield, Eddie from Bendigo, Lily from Wynnum, Divjot from Bathurst, Charlotte from Cobar, Alex from Mount Keira, Max from Stockton and Mason – who’s listening all the way over in Oahu, Hawaii – Aloha Mason!
Two special shout outs today: to Ms Aguiar’s grade 5/6 students at Cannon Hill State School – who are heading off to Canberra for school camp on Monday morning – pack your warm things – and to Miss Hoad at Christ Church Grammar School in Perth, who is celebrating a birthday this weekend!
And finally … a big thank you to class 3/4M at Marayong Public School in Blacktown who voted me as their favourite news reporter! I am humbled and touched. Thank you very much.
The S’Quiz Answers:
- Italy
- Eggs
- Snot