Friday 4 September, 2020
Maccas in the mother of all bunfights; the man who floated into space; when black holes collide; and Crazy Frog is back.
LINKS
David Blaine’s balloon stunt: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-03/david-blaine-ascension-stunt-breaks-youtube-record/12624116
Crazy Frog (earwig alert): https://youtu.be/k85mRPqvMbE
What‘s Up Fox?
Reading: The Silver Sword – https://www.penguin.com.au/books/the-silver-sword-9780141362649
Listening: Soaked – Benee – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubE_ac2wYPQ
Watching: Black Panther: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxWvtMOGAhw
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
THE LOWDOWN
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What’s in a Big Mac? That’s the a question that a judge in one of the highest courts in our land is going to consider after McDonald’s yesterday filed a lawsuit against Hungry Jack’s claiming the Big Jack is a rip-off of the Big Mac.
Wait? What?
The Big Mac you’ve probably heard of, right? One of Micky D’s signature burgers. Well, just a few weeks ago, Hungry Jacks, a rival burger chain, started selling the Big Jack.
The problem, according to Ronald McDonald’s lawyers, is that not only does the name of the burger sound too much like their own version, but the way it is prepared, sold and advertised is too close to the Big Mac. And in the business world, there are things called trademarks and intellectual property and copyright. And companies can sometimes use the courts to decide if other companies are copying too closely what they do.
As a dedicated reporter: I hereby undertake to taste test both versions over the coming days and report back. Not because it will make any difference to the court case between two of the country’s fast food giants – but because it’s a sacrifice for my profession I’m willing to undertake for you all. You’re welcome.
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 deserts of Arizona, in the United States. Where a celebrity-stuntman called David Blaine has broken all sorts of records – but thankfully no bones – after floating to a height of 7,620 metres by hanging on to a bunch of really big balloons.
That’s as high as the average jetliner travels. So high, in fact, that the stuntman had to put on an oxygen mask half way through his trip to the clouds because the air at that altitude is so thin it’s hard to breathe.
What comes up, must come down – which Blaine did by letting go and deploying a parachute that was strapped to him – to land safely back on earth.
The whole thing was streamed live on YouTube – and attracted a record viewing audience for a live-streamed event.
There’s a link in the episode notes to a video of the stunt. Goes without saying: do not try this at home.
SPACED OUT
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Have you ever wondered what would happen if two black holes crashed into one another?
No – me neither. But we got the answer anyway yesterday with news reports about a shockwave from just such an event, which contained the same energy as eight of our Suns. That. Is. Nuts.
And get this: the massive shockwave took seven billion years to get from where the black hole crash happened, far, far away in space, to us here on Earth.
A black hole is a region of space where matter has collapsed in on itself. The gravitational pull of a black hole is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape. Black holes are created when stars die. Some are truly enormous and are billions of times the mass of our Sun.
Ok – now my head hurts and I need to lie down.
POP CULTURE CORNER
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Oh dear no …. just when you thought it was safe to venture back out onto the internet comes news that Crazy Frog may be back.
Most of you will be too young to remember Crazy Frog. It was an animated frog who was responsible for a song that went viral when it was released back in 2009 – and which is so annoyingly catchy, that once you hear it, you cannot get it out of your head.
Well yesterday, a Tweet from an account claiming to be Crazy Frog, seemed to hint the frog was back – and working on some new music.
There’s a link in today’s episode notes for anyone wanting to do some revision before the next frog assault. But don’t say I didn’t warn you about it getting into your head and lodging there for at least a week …
WHAT’S UP FOX?
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Every Friday we check in with Squiz Kids ambassador Flynn, known as the Fox to his friends, to see what he’s been reading, listening to and watching.
His book of the week is a classic. It’s called The Silver Sword – it’s set in World War 2 – and it tells the amazing story of three siblings who travel across the battlefields in search of their parents. I read it when I was his age: and it’s stayed with me ever since.
On the listening front, he’s listening to Crazy Frog … no he’s not, just kidding. He’s listening to the song ‘Soaked’ by the exceedingly cool New Zealand pop artist, Benee.
And this week on the watching front: he went back and watched Black Panther – in honour of the movie’s lead actor, Chadwick Boseman who passed away last week. Wakanda forever.
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 …
- What’s the name of the hamburger that has McDonald’s all hot under the collar?
- What did stuntman David Blaine hang on to to fly 7,000 metres above the Arizona desert?
- What’s the name of the animated critter tipped to be making a musical comeback?
SHOUT OUTS
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It’s September 4 ….. International Taekwondo Day … so if you know how to do it – be sure to have a bash today. But not literally. And preferably not in the playground or with your little sister or brother.
It’s also a Friday, and that means … you guessed it … the funky reggae birthday tune …. Hit it …
Happy birthday to Zachary from Shoal Bay, Jacques from Melbourne, Jaden from Ermington, Jo from Manly, Yuchen from Jindalee, Angela from Bateman’s Bay, Matthew from Mount Pritchard, Abbie from Kempsey, Allison from Balmain, Rose from Brunswick East, Khloe from Barmedman, Jonah from Clovelly, Abbie Rose from Kempsey, Ash from Craigburn, Hope from Ashmont and Caden from Caloundra.
And some weekend birthday shoutouts… Zoe from Brisbane, Reuben from Perth, Krystal from Fennell Bay, Miley from Dubbo, Eadie from Abbotsford, Angus from Double Bay, Evie from Brisbane, Noah from Kings Langley, Ismail from Canberra, Thomas from Grange, Alex from Murwillumbah, Ella from Craigburn, Ethan from Sydney, Lucas from Spreyton and Isla from Adelaide.
Happy birthday one and all!
The S’Quiz Answers:
- Big Jack
- Balloons
- Crazy Frog