Thursday, 2 July, 2020

TikTok banned in India; World UFO Day; Spain’s airplane parking lot; and the A-League’s crowded month.

 

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

 

THE LOWDOWN

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TikTokers in India have been left high and dry – without a platform to upload their versions of the renegade dance craze to – after the government there banned the popular social media app.

TikTok is one of 58 apps owned and operated by Chinese companies that have been blocked by the Indian government as tensions between the two countries rise.

India and China share a border high up in Himalayan mountains – and two weeks ago, there was a clash there between Indian and Chinese soldiers. 

The Indian government said it was banning the apps, including TikTok, to protect users’ data – including their personal information – from being collected and stored by computer servers located in China. 

India has a population of 1.3 billion people – that’s billion with a b. In India, TikTok has more than 200 million users.

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Look up in the sky … it’s a bird, it’s a plane … no, it’s a …. UFO. Well, if ever you were going to see an unidentified flying object, today’s the day to do it – as July 2 is World UFO Day. It’s a day for believers in alien life forms to get together and stage ‘sky watching parties’ – where they stare up at the night’s sky hoping to glimpse evidence of visitors from outer space. The World UFO Day Organisation – or WUFODO for short – has asked all open minded people to send good thoughts up into the sky tonight to let aliens know they’re welcome to visit. But only if they’re nice ones. 

 

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 Spain … high in the dry plains of central Spain where a little known airport has become a massive parking lot for the world’s airplanes.

As the coronavirus has put a stop to pretty much all air travel, airlines have had to find somewhere to park their planes. They can’t keep them up in the air, afterall, and there’s not enough room in big city airports to park all of the planes that exist in the world.

So an airport in Spain, in a place called Aragon, hundreds of huge jets have been flown and parked. Why there? Because the air is dry, there is little humidity or rainfall, and when you are putting into mothballs a machine as sophisticated as an airline jet – a warm, dry place without much moisture – is the best place to do it. 

 

SPORTS TIME!

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Twenty seven games in twenty eight days … that’s how the remainder of the A-League season is going to play out after a rise in coronavirus cases in Victoria forced the national soccer league to relocate almost all remaining matches to NSW.

There’s going to be a game played almost every day for a whole month starting on July 16, before a super-fast final series takes place over the course of a single week in August. Phew.

Great news if you’re an A-League fan … not so hot if you’re a player. 

 

POP CULTURE CORNER

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With the lifting of many social distancing restrictions in Queensland tomorrow – including at pubs, clubs, restaurants and cafes – there’s what might easily be described as a whole state’s worth of pent-up energy ready to burst like a champagne cork from a bottle. But those who venture to a nightclub tomorrow night – while they’ll be able to go with friends and be on a dance floor – the government has decreed that they must remain seated at all times. It’s been dubbed social dis-dancing … and will see nightclub patrons all over the state working out how best to get their groove on while remaining seated. Kind of like musical chairs, but without the prize at the end.

 

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 …

1. Which country has just banned Tik Tok?
2. In which country in Europe is the airport which has become an airplane parking lot? 
3. Which Aussie sport is about to cram in its 2020 season by staging 27 games in 28 days?

 

SHOUT OUTS

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It’s July 2 … We already know today is World UFO Day, but did you know it’s also Freedom From Fear Of Public Speaking Day –  where all people who hate getting up to speak in front of a crowd are encouraged to do it? So don’t just sit there! 

It’s also a special day for these Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday today… Archie from Shoal Bay, Emma from Kempsey, Alice from Hornsby Heights, Vincent from Albany Hills, Vivian and Lucas from Melbourne, Joel from NSW, Audrey from Canberra, Lily from Brunswick West, Jarrod from Cairns, Evie from Secret Harbour, Mia from East Gosford, Eloise from Maroubra, Connor from Brisbane, Mia from Perth, Danielle from Putney and Samson from Abbotsford.

And some belated birthday shoutouts… Nick from Sydney and Shreya  from Carlingford.

Happy birthday to you all. 

Today’s classroom shoutouts…  Mr Trovato’s class at Baulkham Hills North Public School, 6R and Miss Russell from Putney Public School, who want to say thank you and goodbye to their practicum teacher Miss Scarchella, and a shoutout to Miss Hall’s 3/4 class and Mr Stuart’s 5/6 class at Boorowa Central School from their Learning Support Officer Skye, who is leaving at the end of term to travel Australia. 

And finally a special shout out to Mr Smith and his Year 3 Legends at Narromine Christian School – who sent in an awesome photo this week of the whole class listening along to Squiz Kids as they do each morning. 

Love your work Narromine.

 

The S’Quiz Answers:

1. India
2. Spain
3. The A League