Friday, 4 February, 2022
Shipwreck of Endeavour found; Man fights croc in Mozambique; Squiz Kids Correspondents returns; and the YouTuber who made a light saber.
LINKS
‘Endeavour’ wreck explored by divers
Squiz Kids Apple Subscriber Content
How To Become A Squiz Kids Correspondent
Got a birthday coming up and you want a shout-out? Send us an email at [email protected]
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
THE LOWDOWN
——
If you’ve ever done history at school – and well, who hasn’t done history at school? – then you might know that the ship that Captain James Cook sailed in when he first visited Australia was called the Endeavour.
It’s a really famous old ship – and for years – there’s been lots of people trying to find the wreck of the Endeavour after it was deliberately sunk – or scuttled – in a harbour in New York in the United States in during a war that was being fought there over 240 years ago.
Yesterday maritime archaeologists in Sydney – who are people who search the bottom of the oceans for shipwrecks – said they had found what they were certain was the wreck of the Endeavour – sitting in mud and silt at the bottom of the Newport Harbour.
Hours after the Australians had made the announcement, archeologist colleagues in the US said they weren’t 100 percent sure it was the Endeavour – and that the Aussies – in their enthusiasm had jumped the gun. And so, a little argument between competing historians ensued.
Whether it’s the Endeavour or not will be known in the weeks and months to come – as more studies are undertaken. What is for certain is that, after more than 240 years sitting at the bottom of the sea, there’s not all that much left of the once mighty ship.
Scientists reckon there’s only about 15 percent of the original vessel left.
The Endeavour, as your history teachers will tell you, famously carried Captain Cook from England to Australia and New Zealand in 1770, where he charted Australia’s east coast and the coast of NZ – which means to make maps of the coastlines.
Watch this space …
I’ve stuck a link in today’s episode notes to video of scuba divers exploring the wreck of the Endeavour/Not Endeavour.
SPIN THE GLOBE
——–
Each day we give the world globe a spin and find a news story from wherever it stops … and today we’ve landed in Mozambique, on the southeast coast of Africa, where a man and a crocodile have gotten into a huge fight. The fisherman, whose name is João Armando, had set out his fishing nets for the day when he noticed a crocodile tearing at his net. Not only was the croc trying to steal his catch, it was also damaging the equipment he needed to make a living! João tried to pull the net free, and that’s when the croc pulled him into the water. They got into a huge fight, with Joao trying to fight off the reptile and the croc biting João’s arm before people nearby jumped in and rescued him. He’s now being treated at a local hospital… no word on how the croc is doing. Or who got to keep the net …
POP CULTURE CORNER
——
If you, like me, are a big fan of the Star Wars movies, then you’re going to love this next one.
A Star Wars super-fan and popular YouTuber from Russia has just entered the Guinness Book of World Records for creating the world’s first ever replica, hand-held light saber!
Now I can sense some of you out there scratching your heads and saying ‘light what’? It’s a light saber, people – the super coo laser sword made famous in the Star Wars film .. it’s the weapon of choice of the Jedi don’t you know?
YouTuber Alex Burkan has been working on the light saber for almost nine years – and as you’ll see from the video link in today’s episode notes, while his creation looks a little different to the light sabers in the movies, it still does a good job of burning a hole in everything it touches not least because it creates a plasma blade that reaches up to 2,800 degrees celsius. Yikes.
Alex’s light saber – impressive though it is – isn’t quite as powerful as that of fellow YouTuber, Hacksmith – but his needs to be connected to a backpack to work. Pfffft.
May the force be with you.
SQUIZ KIDS CORRESPONDENTS
——
Do you know what a correspondent is? In journalism – a correspondent is a reporter who lives overseas, or in another state and send back reports from wherever they are.
Did you know that due to the huge number of kids who listen to Squiz Kids each day, here in Australia and overseas, we’ve created Squiz Kids Correspondents – where we ask you to send us a report about what life is like wherever you happen to live.
Maybe you’re in Melbourne in an inner-city suburb, or on a farm, a regional centre or somewhere in the outback … maybe you’re one of the many Squiz Kids who listens every day from their home overseas.
We’d love to hear from you. Check out the link in today’s episode notes explaining how you can become a Squiz Kids Correspondent … and meanwhile, please welcome this week’s correspondent Franca from Singapore … Take it away Franca …
THE S’QUIZ
—————–
This is the part of the podcast where you get to test how well you’ve been listening …
- What did a man in Mozambique jump into the river to try to rip from the jaws of a crocodile?
- Name the ship that carried Captain Cook and his crew from England to Australia?
- Which country does light-saber-making YouTuber Alex Burkan come from?
SHOUT OUTS
——————-–
It’s February 4 … the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics takes place today … ask your parents if you can stay up late to watch it…
It’s also a special day for these two Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday today … Jasper from Perth and Emily from Ashmont.
A belated birthday shout out to Benjamin from Whittlesea.
And it’s a happy birthday to another Jasper – from Canberra who is celebrating a birthday over the weekend.
And finally – a special shout out to Michelle Parton from Orange – a home educator who has just signed up as a fully-fledged Squiz Kids for Schools member – welcome onboard.
The S’Quiz Answers:
- Fishing net
- Endeavour
- Russia