Friday, 30 October, 2020

Halloween: what does it mean?; the world’s smallest boat; the Wallabies moment of truth; and the blue crayfish craze.

 

LINKS

World’s smallest boat: https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/28/europe/tiny-boat-microswimmer-intl-scli-scn/index.html

Blue marron crayfish: https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2020-10-29/blue-marron-demand-claws-to-record-high-prices/12822502

What’s Up Fox:

Reading: Goosebumps: https://kids.scholastic.com/kids/books/goosebumps/ 

Listening: Thriller: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOnqjkJTMaA&list=PLBF29177C5D2545EF

Watching: Hotel Transylvania: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4RK3jY7AVk

Squiz Kids Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/squizkids/?hl=en

 

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

 

THE LOWDOWN

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So you’ve got your costume sorted, you’ve made plans with your friends and you’ve even worked out which neighbours give out the best treats – but how many of you know what Halloween is all about? I mean, besides the trick-or-treating and huge consumption of sugar?

Halloween started out as a religious festival – it was a day to honour the dead. Hence why we all run around in ghost and zombie costumes to this day. 

For the Ancient Celts – who lived in the United Kingdom and Northern France – November 1 was the start of a new year. They believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. 

Halloween wasn’t all that widely celebrated for centuries, until the Americans took it up with gusto – and trick-or-treating became a thing. 

The idea behind trick or treating: you rock up to a stranger’s house and give them the option of giving you a treat, or having a trick played on them. 

And while our shops are all full of orange and black these days – Halloween has only really been celebrated widely in Australia for about the last ten years. When your parents were your age: it just wasn’t a thing. 

Here’s a fun fact: one quarter of all chocolates and lollies sold in a single year in the United States is purchased for Halloween. 

That’s one hell of a lot of sugar-comas – and a whole lot of visits to the dentist..

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’re in The Netherlands … again … huh .. that’s funny, that’s where the globe stopped yesterday too. Must get that globe looked at … where, scientists have created the world’s smallest boat using a 3D printer. 

It’s so small that you cannot see it without a really strong microscope. Measuring only 30 micrometres in length, it’s about one third the thickness of a human hair. Not even the thickness of human hair! But one third! Wowsers. 

The experiment to create a teeny, tiny boat is part of effort to create microscopic vessels capable of travelling through the human body, for the delivery of medicines. How about that?

SPORTS TIME

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Australia’s national rugby team, the Wallabies, will be playing to defend our honour in Sydney tomorrow, in the final match of the Bledisloe Cup. 

The Bledisloe Cup is a tournament that happens every year where the Aussies take on New Zealand’s rugby team, the All Blacks.

The Wallabies drew the first game in Wellington, lost the second one in Auckland two weeks ago – and will be hoping to emerge victorious in tomorrow’s clash before a home crowd.

The Canberra Brumbies’ Noah Lolesio and Irae Simone will make their Wallabies debut – which is to say, this will be their first time playing for Australia. And all eyes are expected to be on the massive All Black winger, Caleb Clarke who exploded on debut against the Aussies a fortnight ago. The Wallabies coach has reportedly told his team to keep the ball away from him at all costs.  

 

ANIMAL KINGDOM

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The latest craze to sweep the world of aquariums and keeping-fish-as-pets? That would be the Australian-made blue crayfish – or blue marron, as it is more properly known. They come from WA, they are a striking royal blue in colour – and aquarium owners from all over the world are clamouring to get their hands on one – because they look amazing in a freshwater aquarium.

Marron farmers near Perth are breeding them as fast as they can. Which is no bad thing: as numbers of blue marron in the wild have dropped in recent years as their habitat has been disturbed. And yes: there’s a link to a photo of a blue marron in today’s episode notes. 

 

WHAT’S UP FOX?

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Every Friday we catch up with Squiz Kids ambassador, Flynn, known as the Fox to his friends, to see what he’s been reading, listening to and watching.

This week he’s been getting well and truly into the spirit of Halloween…

Author R.L Stine’s Goosebumps books have been pulled down off the shelf, dusted off and given a re-read .. the evil adventures of Slappy never disappoint .. 

On the listening front .. he’s been streaming Michael Jackson’s Thriller over and over again … if you;ve never seen the video and you’re up for a bit of a scare, it’s well worth a look…

And in order to get some Halloween costume inspo – he’s been watching the Hotel Transylvania movie series this week.

Ha ha ha …. That’s my best evil laugh …

 

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 …

  1. Name the calendar event happening this weekend that was once an ancient religious festival, now a good excuse to dress up and beg for lollies in the street..
  2. The Australian rugby team is named after what native Australian animal? 
  3. What colour are the unusual coloured marron highly prized among aquarium lovers?

 

SHOUT OUTS

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It’s October 30 …  today is World Teacher’s Day … woo-hoo .. a day to celebrate the amazing job that teachers everywhere do, educating the adults of tomorrow … that’s you mob.

So give your teacher a great big round of applause …. Go on then … what are you waiting for?

It’s also 56 sleeps til Christmas …so close you can smell it …

And it’s a Friday .. and that means an extra long Shout Out segment – so cue the birthday reggae tune … feel free to dance … 

Happy birthday to these Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday today … Beau from Gosford East, Aanya from Minto, Tia and Angelique from Sydney, Trent from Melbourne, Tia from Wentworthville, Clara from Murwillumbah, Sandy from Clifton Hill, Heidi from Beecroft, Max  from Mosman, Eamon from New Lambton Heights, Haruto from South Guildford, Johnny from Broome, Aaliyah from St Peters, Hridhan from Perth, and Hayden and Declan from Taree.

And a special belated birthday shoutout to Owen from St John’s Park, who is a vision-impaired student who listens to Squiz Kids every day, and completes the quiz every day either in Braille or verbally. His teacher Mrs Tasker, who is currently off work with an injury, says she misses him very much.  

Weekend birthday shoutouts…Xavier from East Melbourne, Darragh from Lake Coogee, Elena from Belrose, Summer from Blacktown, Matilda and Elissa from Melbourne, Angus from Plympton Park, Jessica from Northlakes, Jorja from Wellington Point, Celine from North Strathfield, Lewis from Sunshine, Casey from Sydney, Hayley from Lane Cove, Eloise from Coolbinia and Aran from the Gold Coast.

Happy birthday one and all!

The S’Quiz Answers:

  1. Halloween
  2. Wallabies
  3. Blue