Friday, 18 June, 2021
China’s new space milestone; Botswana’s big diamond; Records tumble at Olympic swim trials; and the lambs of Instagram.
LINKS
China’s space station mission blasts off : https://edition.cnn.com/2021/06/16/china/china-manned-mission-space-launch-intl-hnk-scn/index.html
Lambs of Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tracey_kruger/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=dc13f939-dbce-4412-8346-b2b7ae458b7b
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.
THE LOWDOWN
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By the time you woke up this morning, three Chinese astronauts will have arrived in their new home … 450 kilometres above the Earth’s surface.
The astronauts blasted off from a remote desert location in China yesterday afternoon, and following a journey of only six hours – arrived at the country’s space station, which is currently under construction high above our heads.
The three men will now spend three months living aboard the space station – called Tiangong, or Heavenly Palace.
While there, they will do a couple of spacewalks – which means going outside in spacesuits and floating about in zero gravity – as they undertake the next phase to help build China’s very own, fully-operational space station.
China has decided to build its own space station.
Earlier this month, another rocket was sent up the space station filled with food and other supplies the men will need while they are up there.
It’s the latest development in an international space race that just seems to be getting hotter and more competitive with every year that passes.
Remember right now on Mars: there’s a rover that was sent there by NASA – the American space agency, as well as one that was sent there by China.
And in the next three years, there are multiple missions to the Moon being planned by everyone from America, to the European to the Chinese. And that’s before we even take into account all of the space tourists who are hankering to get into space.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: it’s starting to get crowded up there.
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 Botswana …which is nice, because we rarely find ourselves in Africa – where the third largest diamond in the world has been unearthed.
It weighs over 1000 carats. To put that in context, a sizeable diamond ring that you might see in a jewellery store could feature a diamond that weighs one carat. So what is a carat? No, not the vegetable you push around on your dinner plate every other night. It’s carat spelt C-A-R-A-T .. and it’s the unit of measurement used for diamonds.
So how much is this Botswana diamond worth? We don’t know yet: but the second largest diamond ever found, which was also discovered in Botswana and was just a little bit bigger than this one, sold for almost $70 million.
SPORT TIME
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The records were tumbling faster than an Olympic diver last night in the pool in Adelaide as the Australian Olympic swim team trials wrapped up.
While pop-star turned Olympic hopeful Cody Simpson failed to qualify for the Tokyo Games – he nevertheless turned in an impressive performance in the men’s 100m butterfly – clocking an impressive time of 52.94 seconds. Race winner Matthew Temple set a new Australian record with a time of 50.45 seconds.
Rising swim star Emma McKeon owned the evening, smashing the competition in the women’s 50m freestyle – beating Olympic champ Cate Campbell by only one one-hundredth of a second.
Fellow Queenslander Ariarne Titmus also set a new Australian record in the women’s 800m freestyle, while new sensation Kaylee McKeown broke her own Commonwealth record in the women’s 200m backstroke.
Things are certainly looking good for Team Australia in the swimming pool with the Tokyo Games just over a month away .. Aussie, Aussie, Aussie …
ANIMAL KINGDOM
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They’re called the lambs of instagram – they get around in woolly jumpers on a farm in Victoria, and thanks to their cuddly appeal and baby animal antics – they’re becoming incredibly popular on social media.
Victorian sheep farmer Tracey Kruger is always busy at this time of year as lambs are being born left, right and centre on her property. It’s called the lambing season .. for obvious reasons.
Sometimes smaller, weaker lambs get left behind by their mums in the paddock – so Tracey runs around collecting them, dressing them up in woollen jumpers to keep them warm, and photographing and filming them for a worldwide audience on her Instagram feed. And she has fans who write to her all the way from New York City saying how the daily upload of a lamb in a wooly jumper makes their day.
And why wouldn’t it?
TO make your day – there’s a link in today’s episode notes to Tracey’s Instagram account – and some seriously cute photos of lambs. Hey it’s Friday, it’s the least I can do.
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 …
Which country has just sent astronauts to live on a space station orbiting 450kms above Earth?
Which stroke did pop singer Cody Simpson swim last night to almost qualify for the Tokyo Olympics?
What animals from a farm in Victoria have become Instagram stars in their woolly jumpers?
SHOUT OUTS
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It’s June 18 … International Sushi Day … what a wonderful day that is! So if you’re a fan of Japanese cuisine and love nothing more than a sushi train – get involved today.
It’s also a Friday … and you know what that means?
Happy birthday to these Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday today… Emma from Craigburn, Marcus from Haberfield, Nina from West Ryde, Kayne from North Nowra, Duke from North Bondi, Louis from Rose Bay, Akash from Flagstaff Hill, Alec from Perth, Nate from Geelong, Aleisha from Adelaide, Nolan from Mosman and Chloe from Randwick.
And a belated birthday shout out to … Bobby from Adelaide.
And weekend birthday shoutouts… Will and Lucy from Exeter, Maci from Hughenden, Ella from Beecroft, Spencer from Point Lonsdale, Lydia from Wheelers Hill, Myles from Mornington, Kendi from Collaroy, Matt from Macleod, Hamish from Gosford East, Holly from Craigburn, Max from Perth, Zac from Fadden, Albert and Oliver from Jindalee, Kayden from Ashmont, Jack from Albany Hill, Adithya from Melbourne, Braxten from West Wallsend, Douglas from Dunoon, Hayden from Newcastle, Jesse from Maroochydore, Dylan from West Pennant Hills, Theo from Frenchs Forest, Isla from Middle Park, Ciarne from Moss Vale, Amelie from Canberra and Michael from Inverloch.
The S’Quiz Answers:
1. China
2. Butterfly
3. Lambs