Thursday, 23 July, 2020
Volcanoes on Venus; Venice slims down; Battle of the Bums; and Turia Pitt answers your questions.
LINKS
Battle of the Bums
Turia Pitt Research Resources:
Turia video 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHoAdZfm7eE
Turia video 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AQXXMqUPuA
Turia Pitt website: www.turiapitt.com
Send your Turia Pitt questions to: [email protected]
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
THE LOWDOWN
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While the race is on to develop a coronavirus vaccine – and good progress is being made by scientists acrossthe globe – there was a reminder closer to home yesterday that we’ve still got to practice sensible social distancing and maintain good hygiene.
Victoria recorded the country’s largest number of new COVID cases in a single day yesterday, prompting the state’s premier, Daniel Andrews, to remind anyone feeling slightly ill or who has undergone testing for the coronavirus to self-isolate and stay at home.
He said while most people were doing the right thing, too many are breaking the rules – and it was letting the whole team down.
From midnight last night, all Victorians over the age of 12 have to wear masks when they leave their homes. A reminder that while news of a vaccine is promising, we have to remain on guard.
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Astronomers studying our neighbouring planet Venus have discovered that despite thinking the planet was flat and largely featureless, it actually boasts a collection of massive volcanoes.
Photos and data sent back from spacecraft that have been to Venus have revealed the planet has volcanoes whose craters measure up to 2500 kilometres from one side to the other. That’s the distance of Hobart to Brisbane! For comparison: the largest volcanic crater on Earth is in Hawaii – and the diameter of its crater is a comparatively small 120 kilometres.
Mind. Blown.
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 Venice, in Italy – the city famous for having water-filled canals between buildings instead of roads.
Venice is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world – and every summer it attracts millions of tourists. … And the most popular thing to do is take a ride in a gondola – which is a long, narrow boat rowed by a person called a ‘gondolier’.
The gondoliers this week decided to reduce the number of people allowed on their boats from six to five. Because the average weight of each tourist has increased over the years. And bigger, heavier, tourists means the boats are increasingly taking on water and threatening to sink.
Is it any wonder tourists are getting fatter? The gelato and pizza there is just so good ..
POP CULTURE CORNER
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From the canals of Venice to the museums of the world – where there is a most curious competition going on. On Twitter, it’s being described as the Battle of the Bums – as museums compete with one another to see whose museum has an art work with the most spectacular bottom. So far the competition has included sculptures, paintings and drawings – and lots of those marble statues you find in museums of Greek gods with hardly any clothes on.
There’s a link in today’s episode notes to some famous bums.
You’re welcome.
SQUIZ KIDS SALUTES — TURIA CALL OUT
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In this segment, we celebrate incredible people doing amazing things. And today – it’s a special Squiz Kids Salute – because the person we’re celebrating has also agreed to be the subject of our next special Squiz Kids Question + Answer session.
You might have already heard of the remarkable Turia Pitt. She’s an Aussie hero – an author, an athlete, a motivational speaker – and an all-round awesome human being.
In 2011, while running a marathon in the outback, Turia got caught in a bushfire and suffered severe burns. Doctors said she would probably not walk again – but she was determined to prove them wrong. Five years later, she successfully competed in not one, but two Iron Man competitions – one of the toughest sporting events on the planet.
She’s an inspirational Australian – and luckily for us, she’s agreed to answer your questions.
So if you’re interested in Turia’s advice on how to overcome problems or hardship in life, there are few Australians more qualified to talk about persistence, resilience and how, when something bad happens to you, you can always turn it into something good.
As with previous Squiz Kids Q+A sessions we’ve done with Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Dr Ginni Mansberg – we’ll be selecting the best questions from you lot and getting Turia to answer them in an upcoming episode.
And if you want to know a bit more about her, we’ve included a bunch of Turia Pitt Research Resources in today’s episode notes – including some great videos and website links. So don’t just sit there – get researching! You’ve got until Tuesday to send your questions to: [email protected]
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 planet that scientists have found has volcanoes on it?
- What’s the name of the city in Italy built on a series of water-filled canals?
- Name the awesome Aussie who’s agreed to answer your questions in an upcoming episode of Squiz Kids?
SHOUT OUTS
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It’s July 23… Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe’s birthday, boy band One Direction’s anniversary – look out for their new website today … plus its a special day for these Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday today …
Bryce from Crookwell (great name), Julian and Taj from Sydney, Callum from Newcastle, Jordan from Menai, Alannah from Erskineville, Georgia from Tallarook, Kevin from Abbotsford, Elodie from Essendon, JJ from Outerbanks, Addison from Brisbane, Artie from Ashgrove, Owen from Bonbeach, and Jasper from Corrigin.
And some belated birthday shoutouts to Honor and Stirling from North Sydney.
Happy birthday to you all.
Classroom shoutouts… Wollondilly Public School, including Mrs Facer’s 6F class, class 4FH with Mrs Hearne and Mrs Fitzgerald at Cromer Public School, class 6H from Lakes Grammar, Room 4 at Calista Primary School and Class 5B at Cronulla Public School.
The S’Quiz Answers:
- Venus
- Venice
- Turia Pitt