Friday, June 16, 2023
Tennis champ admits he’s human; the crazy cost of a creepy doll; sheep dog trials get underway; and a slithering bathroom intruder.
LINKS
Doll auction https://www.businessinsider.com/creepy-looking-doll-destined-dumpster-sold-for-66k-at-auction-2023-6
Snake in Qld bathroom https://www.news.com.au/technology/science/animals/snake-catcher-recounts-scary-moment-man-found-10kg-python-while-on-the-toilet/news-story/317b2cef27996f348a4bedb4322a6551
Sea Turtle Day https://www.seaturtleweek.com/world-sea-turtle-day
Ashes trophy. https://www.sportsadda.com/cricket/features/ashes-trophy-size-history-whats-written-on-it
Squiz Kids Book Club: https://www.squizkids.com.au/book_club/may-2023/
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THE LOWDOWN
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Nick Kyrgios is one of Australia’s most famous and successful tennis players of this generation. He made it all the way to the final of Wimbledon last year – the most prestigious tournament in the tennis world. He’s won trophies, has legions of fans and seems happy and confident on and off the court.
But even for someone at the height of their success, Kyrgios has opened up about his personal struggles.
In a revealing interview, Kyrgios has spoken about how he really struggled with depression back in 2019, after a highly publicised loss to Rafael Nadal which sent him into a downward spiral.
He talked about how the pressure of having all eyes on him really affected him.
He’s proud to say that after seeking help and talking to mental health professionals that he has turned his life around.
It’s a reminder for everyone that no matter who you are, what you do, or where you come; anyone can experience personal struggles and if you do, it’s good to ask for help.
The 28 year old is currently number 25 in the world tennis rankings and says he is in a much better place and really looking forward to his next Wimbledon tournament which starts in a few weeks time.
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 Middlesbrough, which is a town in the North of England where an auction just took place and an old, kind of creepy doll sold for the crazy price of 90 thousand dollars.
As the saying goes: one person’s trash is another one’s treasure.
A family, who were clearing out the attic of a relative’s house saw the doll and firstly threw it away. The antique was then rescued from the garbage bin and taken to be valued.
The auctioneer knew the doll would be a collectors’ item, as there are very few left in the world today. It was made in Germany back in 1910, so it’s 113 years old and has extremely real life features. So real, the creepy doll is said to look more like an actual kid than a toy. I’ve stuck a link to a photo of it in today’s episode notes.
Even though, at some point in the last 100 years, a naughty dog chewed off it’s foot; it was still bought for the outrageous amount by an American collector, who outbid another buyer from Germany.
So when your parents are asking you to throw out your old toys, just remind them your toy could perhaps be a treasure too.
SPORT TIME
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You may be thinking one of the biggest sport stories of the day would be the start of the Ashes. The cricket series where Australia, the reigning champs take on England. Well it does begin tonight our time, with this year’s highly-anticipated duel being held over in England. It’s also another chance to mention how funny the Ashes tiny trophy is for a such significant sporting event. If you don’t know what it looks like, I’ll put a link in your episodes notes.
But I’m going to talk about the other big event on the sporting calendar – the start of the trans-Tasman sheep dog trials.
It’s been a staple in the agriculture community for 40 years, started by South Australian farmer Bob Clarke in his local town of Barmera in the Riverland region of South Australia.
Sheep dogs are travelling from all across the country and flying in from New Zealand to take part and due to the record amount of entries this year, the competition will go across 5 days.
Bob says the highlights are seeing the smiles on the kids faces, bringing tourists into their small town and the most fun is the novelty race when all the sheep run through the town’s usually quiet main street.
ANIMAL KINGDOM
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Imagine being in your own home, and doing something very normal, like go to the bathroom. Well then imagine sitting on the toilet, about to do your biz ness, when above your head you see two piercing eyes staring straight at you. A Gold Coast man got the fright of his life, in fact he said he almost peed his pants, so luckily he was in the right place.
When he saw an almighty large python wrapped around his shower door frame and hanging down hear his head. After the startled man screamed in terror, and ran out of the bathroom he called the snake wranglers for help.
It only took the wrangler 30 seconds to coax the snake down, he put the reptile in a pillowcase and released him back into the wild.
The experienced snake catcher said he’s used to catching up to 3 snakes a day in people’s houses, but this was by far the funniest, when he heard the poor man only spotted the snake when he was on the loo.
The coastal carpet python was thought to be as heavy as 10 kilos and six feet long.
Despite it’s large size, the snake wrangler said the python was harmless. He said the venomous snakes are mostly in hiding now, through the winter months.
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 sport does Nick Kyrgios play?
- An antique doll was sold for a huge amount, even though he was slightly damaged because of a naughty dog. What did that dog do?
- True or false; the coastal carpet python that frightened a Queensland man in his bathroom was a venomous snake?
SHOUT OUTS
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It’s June 16 – World Sea Turtle Day. Did you know Sea Turtles have been around for 150 million years, since the Jurassic age. They can be found in most oceans, just not in the polar regions. Green sea turtles are herbivores, so they basically are what they eat. Others like the Leatherback Sea Turtle are omnivores, as they eat jellyfish. I’ll put a link in your episode notes for more Sea Turtle facts.
It’s also a Friday – and you know what that means? Heaps of birthday shout outs for today and the coming weekend – for which, I reckon we need to dust off the ol’ birthday reggae tune … hit it ..
And it’s a happy birthday today to … Tom and Lilly from Junee, Zara from Nowra Hill, Jacob from Helensvale, Sylvie and Romen from Melbourne, Eleni from Wynnum, Eray from Epping, Lily from Springfield, Sienna from Sydney, Kendra from Barossa Valley, Mila from Toukley, Mike from Abbotsford, Miguel from Kingsgrove, Sammy from Moana and Yome listening all the way over in Beijing in China.
And belated shout outs go to…. Sapphire from Heathpool and Annabele from Albion Park.
Not forgetting all the Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday over the weekend …
Nate from Camden, Evelyn from Westbrook, Anna from Exeter, Einstein from Glenfield, Mason from Altona Meadows, Mia from Forest Lake, Harrison from Lower Mitcham, Matthew from Narromine, Olivia from Tarago, Taneeshka from Springfield, Charlotte from Flagstaff Hill, Lachlan from Abbotsford, Isla from Earlston, Gabriel from Sydney, Grace from The Gap, Elka from Orange and Rosie listening over in Tokyo, Japan, Yuzuki in Chiba, Japan and Isla listening over in Ontario, Canada.
The S’Quiz Answers:
- Tennis
- A dog chewed off it’s foot
- False. That snake was harmless.
Don’t forget .. if you’ve got a birthday coming up and you want a shout out – or if you want a classroom shout out – drop us a line at [email protected] or fill out the form on our website.
That’s all we have time for. Thanks for listening to Squiz Kids Today – we’ll be back again on Monday.
In the meantime, get out there and have a most excellent weekend. Over and out.