Friday, 3 September, 2021
Paralympians get equal pay; Big John the triceratops; the firefighting goats; and the 9 year-old off to university.
LINKS
Swysh: Personalised video messages from your favourite sports stars
Big John the triceratops
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EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
THE LOWDOWN
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It’s a good day to be a Paralympian, following the announcement yesterday that Paralympians who win medals in Tokyo will receive the same cash bonus as athletes who won medals at the Olympics.
Aussie athletes who won in Tokyo Olympics received a $20,000 cash payment from the Australian government for a gold medal, $15,000 for a silver medal and $10,000 for a bronze.
Until yesterday’s announcement, Aussie Paralympians were not eligible for the same government payment.
But after widespread pressure, and calls from lots of people in the community suggesting it wasn’t fair to discriminate against our Paralympians like that, the government yesterday announced our Paralympic heroes would be rewarded the same as their able-bodied athletic brothers and sisters.
Woo-hoo.
The development was welcomed by Paralympians currently flying the flag for our nation in Tokyo – including wheelchair tennis ace Dylan Alcott – who will be playing for gold tomorrow morning at 11am – who tweeted that the change in policy was thanks to the enormous support the Australian public had shown our Paralympians in Tokyo.
So far Australia has won 60 medals, including 13 golds, at the Paralympics in Tokyo which are set to wrap up on Sunday.
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 France .. in the city of Paris, to be exact … where the world’s largest triceratops skeleton is about to be put up for sale.
Measuring 8 metres long – which is about as long as a bus – and weighing about 700 kg – which is about the same weight as a live cow – the skeleton goes by the name of Big John – and is expected to sell for about $2.4 million at auction.
An auction is when something is put up for sale, and people say how much they would be willing to pay – and the person who bids the highest amount usually wins the auction.
Big John is believed to about 66 million years old – and was found perfectly preserved in a state in the United States called South Dakota.
He is thought to be one of the best preserved, and most complete triceratops skeletons in the world.
I’d love to have him in my living room. Except it’s not big enough. And we probably wouldn’t be able to see the telly. Or each other. Oh, and I don’t have $2.4million lying around.
Fingers crossed he gets bought by a museum – and we can all go and see him in the flesh – or rather in the bone – sometime soon. There’s a link in today’s episode notes to a photo of Big John.
ANIMAL KINGDOM
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Firefighters in rural New South Wales have introduced a formidable weapon in their fight against bushfires: goats. No, they aren’t giving goats hoses and helmets! They’re letting them loose in the bush before fire season, in the hope that they’ll eat up the scrub that can fuel a fire. There are four really great reasons to give goats a go:
- First, goats have a reputation for eating anything and everything in sight
- Second, they’ll work when it’s wet, cold, and windy. Humans, not so much.
- Third, they’re nimble, and will happily munch their way over rocky, rough terrain … which cows and sheep will not.
- Fourth, they’ll eat introduced grasses and weeds, allowing native plants to grow back more easily… and native plants are more fire resistant.
Right now, kids in the central west and far south coast of NSW can spot goats out and about in their areas, and a third herd will be coming soon to the north. Goat to it goats!
SQUIZ KIDS SALUTES
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And a great big Squiz Kids salute to 9 year old Gold Coast primary school student, Allegra Clarke who has just been accepted to study physics at university.
Allegra is a mad keen science student – she especially loves physics – and yesterday it was announced she would be joining young adults ten years older than her in a university course in NSW.
According to her mum, when Allegra was four, she was reading chapter books, and by the age of 5, was explaining black holes to other kids in her class. And on the subject of girls studying science, Allegra say there should be more of it, because, and I quote: ‘Girls can be full of ideas that sometimes boys just don’t know’ …
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 …
- In which city in France will Big John the triceratops be auctioned off?
- What science subject will 9yo Gold Coast student Allegra Clarke study at university?
- What animals have been brought in to help reduce bushfire fuel in NSW?
SHOUT OUTS
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It’s September 3 …. 120th birthday of the Australian flag …
It’s also a Friday, and that means an extra long birthday shout out segment .. so let’s break out the trusty old birthday reggae tune … hit it …
And it’s a happy birthday today to … Chase from Exeter, Maddie from Greystanes, Freddie from Cherrybrook, Sophie from Romaine Park, Joseph from Dapto, Zack from Helens Park, Ava from Five Dock, Arlo from Brisbane, Mia from Townsville, Jaeger from the Gold Coast, Jade from Mount Compass, Eli and Omar from Randwick and Odette from Newcastle.
Not forgetting all of the Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday over the weekend … happy birthday to … Ella and Riley from Woodhill, Noah from Shoal Bay, Miracle from Inverell, Heidi from Mornington, Harry from Karabar, Allison from Balmain, Bella from Chapel Hill, Tilda from Thirroul, Mikayla from Brisbane, Bronte from Coogee, Charlotte from Kempsey and Charlotte from Canberra.
Plus!! … Because our friends in Victoria, Canberra and NSW are in lockdown – we’re sending out Home Learning Herograms …. To class 5B and Miss Kiely at St Charles Primary School in Waverley and also to the Grade 5 students at Beaconsfield Primary School. To Ms Portelli and class 3C and Ms Hallahan and Prep B – both from The Lakes South Morang College. A home learning shout out goes to class 1D at Hampton Primary School and birthday wishes to their teacher Mrs McLaren for today.
Lastly Miranda from Sydney would like to send a herogram to her cousins Arkin and Aivan – who have just arrived in Australia from the Philippines and are currently in hotel quarantine in Sydney. Miranda hopes that your time in quarantine goes quickly and you enjoy the reunion with your mum.
The S’Quiz Answers:
- Paris
- Physics
- Goats