Thursday, 5 November, 2020
US Election: too close to call; Antarctic iceberg on a collision course; Queensland wins the State of Origin; and Eric the firefighting parrot.
LINKS
Iceberg collision course: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-54798031
Vote for Squiz Kids in the Australian Podcast Awards: https://australianpodcastawards.com/vote
Squiz Kids Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/squizkids/?hl=en
Got a birthday coming up and you want a shout-out? Send us an email at [email protected]
Squiz Kids is proudly supported by the Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas.
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
THE LOWDOWN
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While you were sleeping, the sun came up on a new day in the United States – and Americans still had no idea on who would be their president for the next four years.
Record numbers of Americans showed up to polling booths to cast their votes for either Donald Trump or Joe Biden – but by the end of the day, the race was too close to call.
Not that it stopped either man claiming they had won. Biden told supporters he believed he was on track to win, followed shortly thereafter by Trump, who said, as far as he was concerned, the presidency was his. Again.
In truth: neither man had gotten enough votes to claim victory – and it will now come down to some painstaking counting of votes in a just a handful of undecided states.
It’s what’s known in election circles as a ‘nailbiter’.
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 Antarctica – the frozen continent to Australia’s south – where the world’s biggest iceberg is on a collision course with the island of South Georgia.
South Georgia is home to many thousands of penguins, seals and walrus – and a handful of humans in the form of scientists who live and work there.
The iceberg – which is about twice the size of the Australian Capital Territory and weighs hundreds of billions of tonnes – has been on the move for three years – slowly drifting towards South Georgia, where it is expected to run aground in shallow waters off the coast.
The worry is that the iceberg is so huge, it could block the normal sea routes that wildlife on the island use to get out to sea and hunt for fish to feed their young.
The iceberg, called A68 – is a couple of hundred kilometres away from the island – with scientists saying there’s a chance it could eventually be pushed east and swing past the island.
Imagine how many snow cones you could make out of that?
SPORTS TIME
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They went in as underdogs and emerged as victors … we’re talking about the Maroons – and we’re talking about the surprise victory they pulled off last night in Adelaide in game one of the State of Origin rugby league series.
Despite having a team packed with rookies – or first time Origin players – the Queensland team proved too strong against their NSW rivals, winning the match at Adelaide Oval by 18 points to 14.
The Blues – otherwise known as the NSW team – led 10-0 at half-time, but the inexperienced – but highly energised Maroons barnstormed through the second half to claim the win. Game two is in Sydney next week…
SQUIZ KIDS SALUTES
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Eric the parrot was being hailed as a hero yesterday after waking his owner in the middle of the night with his loud squawking – alerting him to a fire burning in their Brisbane house.
Eric’s owner Anton was fast asleep and woke after hearing Eric calling his name.
“Anton! Anton!” Eric is said to have squawked – alerting Anton to the fire that ripped through their home well before the smoke alarm went off.
“Everything’s alright so long as I have myself and the bird,” Anton said.
Give that parrot a medal already … though I don’t know where you’d pin it ..
FILO Q+A
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It’s Filo Day people! The Squiz Kids Q+A with Junior Masterchef contestant, Filo goes live today – and it might be the best little kids-only Q+A we’ve done yet. It’s certainly the most mouth-watering one … as Filo reveals his favourite meal ever, what it’s like to cook against the Masterchef clock, who his favourite judge is and what kitchen implement he couldn’t live without… If you’re listening via an app, the episode should play automatically after this episode of Squiz Kids – otherwise it’s available on our website, squizkids.com.au. A huge thank you to all you kids who sent in questions .. you really are an excellent bunch of humans. And don’t let anyone tell you otherwise …
VOTE 1 SQUIZ KIDS
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Are you frustrated at not having had a chance to vote in the US Presidential Elections? Then why not exercise your voting muscle and cast a vote for Squiz Kids in the upcoming Australian Podcast Awards.
The Listener’s Choice award is an open vote: meaning the podcast with the most votes wins. There are a whole bunch of adult podcasts vying for the prize – but i reckon if we all band together – we can win this one for the kids of Australia.
Visit australianpodcastawards.com/vote to cast your vote – or see the link in today’s episode notes.
https://australianpodcastawards.com/vote
Voting Closes 18 Nov
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 …
- Name the frozen continent to the south of Australia where an iceberg is on the loose?
- Who won last night’s State of Origin? NSW or Queensland?
- What is the name of the pet parrot who saved his owner’s life when their house caught fire?
SHOUT OUTS
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It’s November 5 … National Love Your Red Hair Day in some countries … a day for redheads everywhere to celebrate the fact they have the rarest hair colouring in the world.
It’s also only 50 sleeps ‘til Christmas … Santa’s making his list …
It’s also a special day for these Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday today … Carly from Broken Hill, Jenil from Griffith, Jasmine from Melbourne, Alex from Engadine, Nikolai from Barmedman, April from Sheoak Grove, Yvette from Bellevue Hill, Johnny and Bill from Sydney, Marley from Bellbrae and Caitlin from Kirrawee.
And a belated birthday shoutout…. Jack from Port Stephens
Happy birthday one and all!
Classroom shoutouts… Mrs Doyle and 1D at Coal Point Public School, all the kids and teachers at Cronulla Public School, Years 5 and 6 at Bermagui Public School, class 4/5 from Culcairn Public School, and Years 3 and 4 at North Ainslie Primary School.
The S’Quiz Answers:
- Antarctica
- Queensland
- Eric