Thursday, 10 December, 2020
Here comes the rain; Kenya’s giraffe rescue; Googling toot paper; and return of the pygmy possum.
LINKS
Pygmy possums: https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-australia-55240839
Giraffes on a raft: https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-africa-55238533
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EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
THE LOWDOWN
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If you’ve got a brolly, this weekend could be a good time to whip it out – with the weather bureau forecasting heavy rains and even flooding in some parts of the country in the next few days.
North-eastern NSW and south-east Queensland – yes, I’m looking at you Brissie – are expected to cop the brunt of what’s being called a ‘major rain event’ – with up to 150 mm of rain expected over the weekend.
Sydney will cop a bit of rain, Melbourne’s cooler temperatures will continue through the weekend while the warm days are expected to continue in Adelaide. And the end of scorching temperatures is in sight for Perth, where it’s expected to cool down.
After sweltering through the hottest November on record and enduring heatwave conditions across most of the country, all eyes now are on whether the La Nina weather pattern means we’re in for a wet Christmas.
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Speaking of rain … residents and conservationists of Fraser Island – the big sand island off the coast of Queensland – were yesterday breathing a sigh of relief as showers helped to put out some of the fires that have been burning there since mid-October.
Fire has ravaged much of the island in the last month – damaging many hectares of pristine rainforest – with scientists now waiting anxiously for the smoke to clear so they can assess the extent of damage to the island’s wildlife – including its famous dingo population.
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 Kenya – in Africa – where a rescue operation to save eight giraffes has seen them rafting across a lake.
The giraffes were living on a peninsula on a lake – which is a bit of land that juts out into water. When flooding turned the peninsula into an island – the giraffes were trapped with no way off. Giraffes don’t much swim, you see.
So a clever group of local vets and conservationists created a raft – with high walls and a packed-earth floor – to transport the giraffes across the lake to their new home. It was a complicated process that involved tranquilising and then blindfolding the animals – but in the end, Operation Giraffe was a great success.
Did you know that a group of giraffes is called ‘a tower of giraffes’? Quite appropriate really.
There’s a link in today’s episode notes to a video of Operation Giraffe Raft.
BIGGEST, FURTHEST, LONGEST
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What does the coronavirus, sourdough bread, Kobe Bryant, the US election and toilet paper all have in common?
Only that they were all among the most Googled things in 2020.
The internet search engine has released the most Googled terms in Australia for the past year, and it says a lot about the crazy year that just was.
The most Googled sports were NBA and the English Premier League, followed by the State of Origin; and the most Googled recipes were for hand sanitiser followed closely by sourdough bread. Because those two taste excellent together …
ANIMAL KINGDOM
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Major cute alert … combined with an excellent feel good story. The pygmy possums of Kangaroo Island are alive and well. And they might just be the cutest animals on the planet.
Following the bushfires that tore through the island, off the coast of South Australia, at the start of this year, conservationists worried entire populations of pygmy possum may have been wiped out.
But a recent survey of bushland found a community of the marsupial thriving.
There’s a link in today’s episode notes to video of the pygmy possums.
And I know it’s not allowed, but I totally want one for Christmas.
SUMMER PROGRAMMING
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Hey team – just a reminder that we’ve only got one more week of daily Squiz Kids episodes before we go into summer programming.
What’s summer programming? There will be a quiz every Monday, the first ever Squizzie Awards for the best, weirdest, funniest and grossest news stories of the year, plus the highly anticipated Kids v Adults Super Quiz – where you get to find out who’s smarter – kids or adults?
And the best way to make sure you don’t miss out is to subscribe to Squiz Kids on whatever your preferred podcast app is.
Everything will still be available via the website – but by subscribing – you’ll receive a notification each time some new content drops. Because I’d hate for you to miss out.
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 bushfire ravaged island off the coast of Queensland?
- What animals were transported across an African lake on a raft?
- What sort of animals have reappeared on Kan garoo Island after the bushfires there?
SHOUT OUTS
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It’s December 10 …. The beginning of the Jewish holiday, Hannukah … Happy Hannukah to all Squiz Kids of the Jewish faith.
It’s also only 15 sleeps ‘til Christmas … jingle all the way!
Plus it’s a special day for these Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday today …
Jaxon from Griffith, Adelaide from Yarralumla, Henry from Moorebank, Sam from Yarra Glen, Jack from Vale Park, Benny from Allambie Heights, Peter from Dural, Nate from Bendigo, Thomas and William from Kangaloon, Natalia from Claremont, Kade from Stockton and Lucas from Eastwood.
Today’s classroom shoutouts …
Miss Neilson and S2N and Mrs Booth and S3B at Winston Heights Public School, class 5B at St Francis de Sales College, all the Year 4 kids at Cranbrook Junior School, and Year 5/6 at Anderson’s Creek Primary School, with Mr Smith who is celebrating a birthday today.
The S’Quiz Answers:
- Fraser Island
- Giraffes
- Pygmy possums