Friday, 14 May, 2021
Shark suits for Olympic swimmers; Cape Cod’s hugging whales; New teams for AFLW; and Harry Styles’ new accent.
LINKS
Hugging whales
What’s Up Fox?
Watching: Lego Masters: https://9now.nine.com.au/lego-masters/fleur-sarah-builds-photos-lego-masters-2021/dc716b74-3ace-46ac-af74-6499e94456a7
Listening: Kim Sheehy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gxTZIpb7fg
Reading: The Audition: https://www.harpercollins.com.au/9781460753774/the-audition-maddie-ziegler-presents-book-1/
Swysh: personalised video messages from your favourite sports stars : www.heyswysh.com
Squiz Kids Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/squizkids/?hl=en
Got a birthday coming up and you want a shout-out? Send us an email at [email protected]
Squiz Kids is proudly supported by the Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas.
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
THE LOWDOWN
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Other than the fact they both spend a lot of time in the water, you’d think that Australia’s Olympic swimming team and sharks have very little in common. But thanks to a new swimsuit, unveiled yesterday – Australia’s swim team will be altogether shark-like when they hop in the pool at the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.
No, I don’t mean they’ll be looking for people to chomp – I mean they’ll be moving through the water with the same speed and ease.
That’s because scientists have come up with a swimsuit modelled on shark skin. They’ve been studying why water moves so efficiently across shark’s skin, and how that in turn helps them to move so effortlessly through the water, and incorporated the science of that into the Aussie team swimsuits.
How clever is that? The swimsuits were unveiled yesterday at a ceremony in Sydney – with some of our Olympic and Paralympic athletes showing them off.
But whether they get to actually wear the swimsuits at the Olympics remains to be seen. That’s because in Japan, calls to cancel the Games have been growing louder and louder.
A recent petition – which is something people sign to protest against something – calling for the Games received more than 300,000 signatures in less than 3 days – and three recent separate surveys of the Japanese population found that between 60 and 70 percent of the country want the Olympics canceled.
Why? Because COVID cases are back on the rise in Japan and the vaccination program there has been slow to roll out.
Watch this space, people.
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 in the chilly waters of Cape Cod Bay, in the state of Massachusetts in America .. where drone footage has captured the glorious sight of two whales hugging.
Marine biologists – who are people who study marine life – say they’ve never seen whales exhibit behaviour like this – and, just like a human hug, that it seems the two North Atlantic right whales are showing affection towards one another.
And that’s a good thing. Because this particular species of whale is one of the world’s most endangered, with only 360 or so left in the wild. Whales in the very busy North Atlantic ocean often get hit by ships or entangled in fishing nets.
Happily though, scientists say that the whales are slowly coming back in number: with more calves born last winter than has been seen since 2015.
And yes of course there’s a link to the video in today’s episode – because who doesn’t love a hug?
SPORTS TIME
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Hip hip hooray! The AFLW is expanding and by 2023, every single AFL team will have its very own AFLW team.
The AFL said yesterday it had invited the the four clubs who do not currently have an AFLW team to start to form one.
What that means is that if you’re a fan of Essendon, Hawthorn, Port Adelaide or Sydney – you can finally get behind your favourite team in the women’s competition too.
What it also means is that the women’s comp continues to grow in strength and stature. And for any of you girls out there who think you might like to one day play footy for your favourite team: the opportunities have just increased significantly.
The women’s league currently has 420 players – and with the new teams, it will expand to have 540 players. Go girls!
POP CULTURE CORNER
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What is it about accents this week? First Harry Styles – former One Direction boy band member turned style icon – copped an online pile on following his appearance at The Brit Awards on Wednesday with fans upset he had an American accent. And this week in Brisbane, a woman woke up after surgery to remove her tonsils to find she was suddenly speaking with an Irish accent. Despite the fact she had never even been to Ireland. Doctors say there’s such a thing as ‘foreign accent syndrome’ – and that sometimes after surgery, people’s brains are temporarily re-wired, causing them to speak in a foreign accent. Crazy but true.
Q+A CALL OUT
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Quick reminder to get your questions in for AFL star Josh Dunkley. Thanks to Swysh – the Western Bulldogs midfielder has kindly agreed to take the Squiz Kids hotseat and answer your questions.
But you’ve only got until Monday.
He’s also a proud member of the Swysh community – a great new service providing everyday Aussies with personalised video messages from their favourite sports stars. It’s an awesome gift, for birthdays and big celebrations, and every Swysh video raises money for charity.
Send through any questions you have for Josh to [email protected] … and for more info about Swysh, check out heyswysh.com – that’s swish with a y – or see the link in today’s episode notes. Oh — and the best question gets a free, personalised video message from Josh himself. How cool is that?))
WHAT’S UP FOX?
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And this week, we’re doing What’s Up Fox’s sister … and for a change of pace, we’re checking in with Rosie to see what she’s been reading, listening to and watching this week.
On the watching front, it’s been a Lego Masters sort of week. Her favourite duo is Sarah and Fleur – and she says she’s rooting for them to win the final which is coming up on Sunday night.
As for listening: she’s spinning around the house singing Voice contestant Kim Sheehy’s version of the Joni Mitchell classic, Both Sides Now. Because she’s choreographing a lyrical dance to it for her school’s Excellence Expo.
And as for reading: keeping with the dance theme, she’s loving The Audition, by Maddie Ziegler.
There are links to all of these cool things in today’s episode notes.
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 …
- Australia’s Olympic swimsuits have been modelled on the skin of what marine animal?
- Keeping with the marine animal theme: what sort of animals were filmed swimming and hugging in the North Atlantic this week?
- Name the pop star whose American accent has set his fans into a frenzy?
SHOUT OUTS
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It’s May 14… birthday of Aussie actress Cate Blanchett and Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg.
Birthdays… Remi from O’Conner, Cade from Beechworth, Arch from Inverloch, Zoe from Melbourne, Cynthia from Baulkham Hills, Kyren from Flagstaff Hill, Lily from Ararat, Lily from Camp Hill and Flynn from Bellbowrie.
And a belated birthday shoutout to… Aston from Forest Lake
Weekend birthday shoutouts…Lily from Morundah, Lucas from Brisbane, Brooke from Sydney, Maple from West Pennant Hills, Barney from Inverloch, Abigail from Orange, Caitlyn, Aleeah and Asher from Albany Hills, Grace from Meadowbrook, Theo from Heidelberg, Mila from Invermay, Archie from Chewton, Sofia from Port Macquarie, Arthur from Woolloomooloo, Ryan from Glen Innes, Spencer from Curtin, Athena from Bathurst and Charlotte, who’s listening in from Whistler in Canada.
The S’Quiz Answers:
- Shark
- Whales
- Harry Styles