Monday, 14 March, 2022
Aussies dig deep for flood communities; Singapore’s otter problem; Ronaldo’s record-breaking goal; and the man with snakes in his undies.
LINKS
Otters crossing: https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-60720259
The man with snakes in his pants: https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/local-media-release/cbp-officers-find-43-horned-lizards-and-9-snakes-and-under-man-s?_ga=2.263786959.2131210397.1647127588-1670403079.1647127588
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EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
THE LOWDOWN
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As the clean-up continues after last week’s record breaking floods in NSW and Queensland, and as the army moves into the worst affected communities in the NSW Northern Rivers region – Australians’ dug deep over the weekend to raise an astonishing $25 million to help fellow Aussies impacted by the disaster.
Kids emptied their piggy banks, big businesses donated hundreds of thousands – and generous Aussie pledged a remarkable $1 million of their own money to help people who’ve lost homes and livelihoods
To lose your livelihood means to lose the means by which you make a living – which is to say, lots of people lost their businesses to the floodwaters or the equipment or machinery they use for their jobs – meaning they are now reliant on others to help them eat each day and find shelter.
Which, in a country like Australia, is quite a remarkable thing.
Thirteen year old Jack Berne, founder of the charity Fiver For A Farmer – which was originally created a couple of years ago to help farmers affected by drought – did his bit too – donating $50,000 from his organisation – setting an example for the thousands of Aussie kids who dipped into their own pocket money to donate.
The Red Cross – which is an aid organisation that helps people in times of need – will now start to distribute the money to help flood affected Aussies get back up on their feet.
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 Singapore – where a romp of otters has had police escort to help it cross the road.
Ok – a few things to explain here. What’s a romp? That’s the collective noun for a group of otters when they are on land. Just like ‘herd’ is the collective noun for a group of cows or ‘pod’ is the collective noun for a group of dolphins.
Otters are native to Singapore – and for a long time, the population of otters there was very small, because of loss of habitat and pollution. But a program to give them back habitat has seen their numbers explode: so that multi-lane road crossings in downtown Singapore are becoming more and more common.
I’ve stuck a link to video of the otter crossing in today’s episode notes. Because who doesn’t need a bit of otter on a Monday morning?
SPORT TIME
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Australia’s women’s cricket team remain undefeated in the World Cup taking place in New Zealand, beating the home team by 141 runs in Wellington yesterday.
The Aussies turned in a stunning performance to now make it three wins from three games – and have them top of the table.
Elysse Perry and Tahlia McGrath both hit half centuries to help their side to an impressive 8 for 269 – a target the Silver Ferns – which is the name of the New Zealand womens’ cricket team – couldn’t get near.
This is Australia’s 100th one-day-international win against rivals New Zealand .. Go you good things!
And speaking of good things: Cristiano Ronaldo cemented his place at the top of world football stakes on the weekend by scoring his 806th career goal for his team Manchester United, breaking FIFA’s all-time record for most goals in competitive matches in men’s football history. Just extraordinary.
ANIMAL KINGDOM
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You’ve heard the saying “ants in your pants” before, right? Referring to when someone is a bit excited, or nervous, and can’t sit still?
Well, how about 43 live horned lizards and nine squirming snakes in your pants?
That’s what border officials in America found when they searched a 30-year-old man coming into California from Mexico… he had 52 live reptiles tied up in small bags and hidden in his undies, pants pockets, and jacket. The man was trying to smuggle—which means sneak—them into the United States, presumably to sell them. He was arrested, and the reptiles, some of which were endangered species, were taken into quarantine to be cared for. There’s a link to the US Customs Border Protection photos of them in your episode notes… we’re sure they’re a lot happier, now that they’re not tied up and stuffed down someone’s pants.
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 …
- Which team did the Aussie women’s cricket team crush in their World Cup match yesterday?
- A group of what sort of animals needed a police escort to cross the road in Singapore?
- How much did Aussies donate to the flood appeal over the weekend?
SHOUT OUTS
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It’s March 14 .. also known as World Pi Day. Confused? Then get stuck right into our latest Squiz Kids Shortcut, The Secret World of Maths. We’ll talk you through why pi is not just something you eat, how we can find maths in nature, and learn about some of the cool jobs that involve maths… like sports statistics and origami in space. Shortcuts exclusively available to classrooms who have signed up to Squiz Kids for Schools and parents who are Squiz Kids Apple subscribers .. links to free trials for both are in your episode notes.
It’s a special day for these Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday today …
Nimrat from Abbotsford, Jharome from Ashmont, Louis from Newcastle, Anisha from Riverbank, Billy from Ingham, Maksim from Redlynch and Sidney from Ballarat.
And belated birthday wishes go to… Chloe from Quirindi, Stella from Kellyville and Lacey and Tiffany from Ingham.
Classroom shout outs go to… class 5 red at Good Samaritan Catholic Primary School in Fairy Meadow, class 5JG at Albany Hills State School, to Mrs Potter and year 3 at Woodcroft College and to class 5EM at Wauchope Public School.
The S’Quiz Answers:
- New Zealand
- Otters
- $25 million