Monday, 7 December, 2020
Space capsule falls to earth; chicken nuggets from the future; the Wallabies tie again; and All I Want for Christmas is You.
LINKS
Anthem in Eora: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-06/olivia-fox-and-the-wallabies-sing-anthem-in-eora-langauge/12955080?nw=0
Check out our parent podcast and daily news email for adults: The Squiz: www.thesquiz.com.au
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Squiz Kids is proudly supported by the Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas.
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
THE LOWDOWN
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Something amazing happened in the sky above outback Australia early on Sunday morning. A space capsule fell to earth – turning into a fireball as it burned through the atmosphere before landing safely near Woomera in South Australia – bring to an end a six-year journey of more than 5 billion kilometres.
And why was the capsule so important? It was carrying samples from an asteroid – which is to say that a probe onboard Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft was able to land briefly on an asteroid as it sped through space, dig beneath the asteroid’s surface and pull out some rocks to bring back to Earth. It did that because scientists believe the samples might hold some answers to some baffling questions. Like how our solar system formed and where elements, such as water, came from. Astrophysicist Lisa Harvey-Smith who was watching things closely said the capsule’s landing was an “amazing technological achievement”. “It’s not always good when space rocks fall to earth,” she said. “But fortunately, this was a very controlled one.” How good is science?
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 the world’s first chicken-nuggets grown in a science lab will soon be available for sale.
Normally, chicken nuggets are made from – you guessed it – chicken meat. But as the world’s population gets larger and there are more mouths to feed and concerns about taking up more land to farm chickens – or pigs or cows for that matter – lab-grown meat – alongside meat-substitutes made from plants – have emerged as a potential food solution.
Oh – and obviously, no chooks get hurt in the process.
Ah – but what does it taste like? We’ll have to wait to find out – or book a trip to Singapore when we’re allowed to leave the country again. Nuggets are all about the sauce, anyway, aren’t they? I’m a honey mustard man myself.
SPORTS TIME
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Ah the Wallabies… Our national rugby side has certainly taken fans on a rollercoaster ride this year finishing up with a 16-all draw against Argentina’s Puma’s on Saturday night. It’s their third draw in six games and after coming so close to a win so many times, captain Michael Hooper said the team was a bit frustrated. One highlight of the night was 16-year-old Sydney schoolgirl Olivia Fox singing the Australian national anthem in Eora language, and then in English. Eora is a traditional Indige nous language spoken in the Sydney region. There’s a link to a video of Olivia singing in your episode notes.
POP CULTURE CORNER
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Look – it may well be true that all American pop singer Mariah Carey wants for Christmas is you … but does she need to tell us over and over and over again? Apparently so: if the streaming stats out of the United States over the weekend are any guide.
Carey’s hit song – made especially popular after Love Actually, the classic Christmas movie in which it was featured – is already one of the most popular songs of all time, and has raked in some $80 million in royalties for the singer – and according to Spotfiy, in the week just gone, All I Want For Christmas Is You clocked up one million streams a week in the United States alone.
Which tells me two things: one – people are seriously in the mood for Christmas – and two – add some sleigh bells to a catchy tune and throw in a pop-star with an incredible vocal range and you’ve got yourself a sure-fire Christmas hit. Ho, ho, ho.
SUMMER PROGRAMMING
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Can you hear that? That’s the sound of summer holidays approaching. And what a beautiful sound it is. And this to let you know that while the daily Squiz Kids service will stop on Dec 18 – when all schools in all states are officially on holidays – we’ve got a whole bunch of summer programming lined up, to keep you entertained throughout the holidays.
From the first ever Kids v Adults Bumper Quiz, to the first ever Squizie Awards for Best, Weirdest, Funniest & Most Inspiring news stories of the year, to a weekly quiz that will be release every Monday until school resumes … there’ll be something for everyone.
And the best way to make sure you don’t miss out is to make sure you subscribe to Squiz Kids on whatever your preferred podcast app is.
We know a lot of you listen to Squiz Kids in the classroom via the website – and you’ll still be able to access all the holiday content that way too: but by subscribing – or getting the adults in your life to subscribe via a podcasting app – you’ll receive a notification each time some new content drops.
It’s totally technical, dudes.
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 …
- In the outback of which Aussie state did a capsule carrying rocks from space land on Sunday morning?
- In which country will you soon find lab-grown chicken nuggets?
- In what Indigenous language was the national anthem sung before the Wallabies played in Sydney on Saturday night?
SHOUT OUTS
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It’s December 7 …. National Letter Writing Day … on which we celebrate how nice it is to write a letter to someone we care about – and how super nice it is to receive one. Not an email. Not a text message. Not a Snap. But a letter. With a pen and paper. Try it .. you might like it.
It’s also only 18 sleeps ‘til Christmas … aggh …. it’s the most marvelous time of the year!
Plus it’s a special day for these Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday today … Courtney from Silverdale, Wilson from Caulfield North, Angela from Hurstville, Isla from Eden Hill, Edmund from Watson, Evie from Caringbah South, Zara from Elderslie, Molly from Bowning, Anissa from Chipping Norton, Josh from Bendigo, Jesse from Wagga Wagga.
And some belated birthday shoutouts… Emma from North Rocks, William from Sydney and Jasper from Jasper’s Brush.
Happy birthday to you all.
Today’s classroom shoutouts… 5/6F/P with Mrs. Fasset and Mr. Pinnington at Trevallyn Primary school, 6W with Ms White, and 6F with Mrs Fairley at St Helens Park Public School, 5/6M and 5/6S at Griffith Public School, and Mr Dowsett and 5/6D and 5/6K with Miss King at Mandama Primary School.
The S’Quiz Answers:
- South Australia
- Singapore
- Eora