Thursday, 24 November, 2022
Aftershocks hamper earthquake rescue; the world’s biggest goldfish; World Cup disappointment for Aussies; and ibis v cane toad.
LINKS
Tectonic plates map: https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/major-tectonic-plates-on-earth.html
World’s biggest goldfish: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-63707394
Newshounds
Get started on our free media literacy resource for classrooms
www.squizkids.com.au/newshounds
Squiz Kids + Lego ‘Build To Give’ Christmas Campaign
Help Lego give away Lego sets to families in need this Christmas.
- Build something using Lego
- Share your creation to Instagram (a story or a post)
- Tag @ squizkids and #buildtogive
We’ll re-share your post on our Instagram, and on December 9, reveal just how generous Squiz Kids are …
Squiz Kids For Schools – Classroom Activities tied to the podcast
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Stay up to date with us on our Squiz Kids Instagram!
Got a birthday coming up and you want a shout-out? Complete the form on our Squiz Kids website. Link: SHOUT OUTS or / send us an email at [email protected]
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
THE LOWDOWN
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Aftershocks from Monday’s devastating earthquake on the Indonesian island of Java continued to rumble through our near neighbour yesterday, making it dangerous for rescuers still scrambling to save people trapped in rubble.
Aftershocks are small earthquakes that follow large ones. As we discussed yesterday, earthquakes happen when tectonic plates grind up against one another. Tectonic plates are the overlapping bits of Earth’s crust. There are seven major tectonic plates – Australia sits on the Australian plate, Java – which is where the earthquake happened – sits on a spot where the Australian plate meets the Eurasian plate – the spot where plates meet is called a fault-line. Because the plates are slowly, gradually moving, they push up against one another – eventually the pressure becomes so great, there’s a sudden movement of plates, which causes the earth to shake.
As the plates settle into their new positions, there are smaller earthquakes – or aftershocks – and by yesterday afternoon there had been no fewer than 140 aftershocks. And that makes it hard for rescues to take place, because each time the earth moves again – houses which are partially collapsed start shaking again.
Making a bad situation even worse yesterday were reports that up to 80 schools were in the quake zone – with many school buildings destroyed. The quake struck at lunchtime on Monday – meaning many children were in class at the time.
Earthquakes happen very rarely in Australia – because we are not situated on a fault line.
To better explain the science of earthquakes and volcanoes, we’ve produced a Squiz Kids Shortcut on the topic – a ten minute, kid-friendly deep dive into why they happen, where they happen and how people that live in those places adapt … it will run immediately following this podcast if you’re listening on an app – or otherwise in the Squiz Kids feed or via squizkids.com.au. You’re welcome.
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 France – where a man fishing in a lake has caught the world’s biggest goldfish.
The fish in question, known as The Carrot for its bright orange colour, was plonked into the lake 20 years ago – and since then has grown, and grown and grown.
Despite many fisherman trying to catch The Carrot – he’s managed to avoid getting hooked – until recently, when he was reeled in and stuck on the scales where he weighed in as an impressive 30kg. That’s about half an adult human .. almost as much as a lot of you probably weigh. Wowsers.
The Carrot was let go once a bunch of photos were taken of him – and slipped happily back to the inky depths – presumably to grow even bigger. I’ve stuck photos and video of him in today’s episode notes.
SPORT TIME
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They came, they played their Socceroo hearts out – but ultimately they lost, as defending World Cup champs France showed why they’re the team to beat this tournament.
I’m talking of course about the Socceroos first game against France at the World Cup in Qatar – which took place yesterday morning as we all chowed down on our brekky cereal.
Hopes were running high after Aussie striker Craig Goodwin scored the first goal of the match – hinting that perhaps – just perhaps – Australia might pull off an early upset. But the French then scored four in a row .. oops.
The 4-1 final scoreline means Australia is now at the bottom of its group and will likely have to win both of its next two games against Tunisia and world number 10, Denmark if we’re going to progress to the knockout stage.
Another country licking its wounds yesterday was Argentina – one of the world’s best footballing countries, ranked 3rd in the world and featuring Lionel Messi amongst its ranks – which lost 2-1 yesterday to Saudi Arabia – which is ranked 51st in the world. You do the maths.
And in other football news: fans of Man United were disappointed to learn yesterday that Cristiano Ronaldo would be leaving the club. Ronaldo’s sudden departure followed an interview on British TV in which he was critical of the club. It’s just all drama all the time in football land …
ANIMAL KINGDOM
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Ahhh… the ibis … otherwise known as ‘the bin chicken’ ‘the dumpster diver’, the ‘tip turkey’ and ‘the flying rat’ .. they’re the bain of picnickers everywhere – and while they might annoy folk – they might well prove to be the secret weapon in the fight against cane toads.
In what is shaping as an epic ibis v cane toad showdown – reports have been coming in from citizen scientists on the Gold Coast of ibises using a very clever method to eat cane toads.
Most animals won’t go near the cane toad – which is a pest, as well as being seriously ugly – because they secrete a toxin through their skin when they feel threatened or are picked up by a predator. But some ibis appear to have learned to pick up the toad, whack it around a bit so it lets out its poison, then go and wash the toad in the nearest creek before scoffing it down.
It’s gross and fascinating all at the same time ..
LEGO Christmas Charity Campaign
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Hands up who wants to win a super cool Super Mario Lego set this Christmas? Keep your hand up if you’d like to help out families in need this Christmas?
Then take that hand of yours that’s in the air and put it together with your other hand and get cracking on a LEGO build ..
Why? Because as part of our special Christmas charity campaign, Squiz Kids has teamed up with LEGO .. and for every LEGO build a Squiz Kid creates and shares on Instagram using the hashtag Build To Give – LEGO will donate a LEGO set to a family in need this Christmas.
It’s just genius … and already you’ve been showing us how clever you can be with LEGO. The builds that many of you have already shared are epic.
It’s really simple to give back this Christmas .. to share the festive joy. Simply create something with LEGO, share it on Instagram via your parents’ account – tag @squizkids and hashtag Build To Give – and with your parents’ permission, we’ll re-share it on our Instagram
Not only will you have done a good thing this Chrissy – you’ll also go into the draw to win one of two Super Mario LEGO sets or a copy of the Brickman’s Big Book of Better Builds …
But don’t dilly dally … we’ve only got until December 9 to show the world how generous Squiz Kids can be.
I’ve stuck details about the Build To Give campaign in today’s episode notes. So don’t just sit there – get building already!
THE SQUIZ
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This is the part of the podcast where you get to test how well you’ve been listening …
- What sort of fish was the enormous one an English fisherman pulled from a French lake?
- Which team beat the Socceroos at the World Cup yesterday morning?
- Which bird, common in Australia, also known as a bin chicken, has devised a clever way to eat cane toads?
SHOUT OUTS
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It’s November 24 .. only 30 days ‘til Christmas … this is getting serious people .. It’s Thanksgiving today in the United States – and the ARIA Awards tonight where the best and brightest of the Aussie music scene are celebrated …
It’s also a special day for these Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday today …
Blake from Cannon Hill, Kirsty from Yarrawonga, Niamh (pronounced Neev) from Brighton, Geordie from Appin, Zan travelling around Australia, Nik from Preston West, Adam from Old Bar, Ben from Cherrybrook, Pedro from Brisbane, Eman from The Gap, Amy from Branxton, Owen from Warooka and Lorelai from Melbourne. A special birthday shout out today goes to Jarvis from Bendigo – Jarvis is actually a Vision Australia Seeing Eye Dog puppy and he is heading off to Melbourne very soon for more training!
Belated birthday shout outs go to Elianna from Walpole and Charlie from Guildford.
And today’s classroom shoutouts go to ..
class 6B and Ms Bakkar at Girraween Public School, class 5/6 E and Ms Earl at Dobroyd Point Public School, class 4/5 Yellow and Mr Boughton at Saint Patricks Primary School in Bega, class 6O at Dysart State School and thank you to their teacher Miss Orr for an awesome final year of primary school, classes 5J, 5T and 3M at Trinity Anglican School in Cairns and also thank you to all the teachers for a great year. Lastly a shout out to Year 6 at Elermore Vale Public School and happy birthday to their teacher Mrs Brown. One more special shout out to Mrs Longbottom at Rutherford Public School and congratulations on your 30th anniversary of teaching!
The S’Quiz Answers:
- Goldfish
- France
- Ibis