Tuesday, 16 August, 2022
Fish and chips on endangered list; Germany’s cat lockdown; AFLW moves to Marvel; and Ravi the adventurous red panda.
LINKS
Red panda falls from the sky … sort of
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EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
THE LOWDOWN
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Last week our morning pancakes were under threat thanks to a national egg shortage – this week its fish and chips … when will the torment end?
That was the question being asked – mostly by me – yesterday following the news that fish and chip shops around the country have been forced to hike their prices due to a shortage of the oils needed to cook the salty, crispy goodness – and a shortage of potatoes.
I know it’s hard to imagine: but the war in Ukraine, a drought in Canada and a little thing here in Australia called inflation – have all combined to make your piece of deep fried cod and family box of hot chips from the fish and chip shop down the road temporarily more expensive.
How is that possible? We’ve spoken about this before on the podcast: how something called global supply chains means a hiccup on one side of the earth can have an impact all the way over on the other side of the planet.
Or put more simply: potatoes that are used to make hot chips – are grown here in Australia, but also in places like Canada. But a drought there has affected how many potatoes they’ve been able to grow – and that means despite the fact the country of Canada is thousands of miles away – a big bag of potatoes for a fish and chip shop has gone from $24 to $41. Which makes the price of chips go up.
And there’s your economics lesson for the week. 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 Germany, where the small town of Walldorf (pronounce: Valldorf) has lifted its cat lockdown after three months. Yes, you heard that correctly—just like humans were locked down at the start of the Coronavirus pandemic, cat owners in Walldorf were told in May that they either had to keep their cats indoors, or keep them on a short leash if they went outside. The reason? To protect the town’s six remaining crested larks.
The birds, which are endangered across Germany, were in their breeding season, and if a cat snuck out and killed a crested lark baby or parent, the owner of that cat could cop a fine of more than $72,000! Now that the babies are older and stronger, the town’s cats have been allowed back out. But next May, when breeding season hits again, they’ll be hit with another lockdown. I wonder if cats like to watch Netflix? I did a lot of that during lockdown…
SPORT TIME
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And so yesterday the word went out across the AFL land … MOVED TO MARVEL … was the post that went up on Essendon football club’s Twitter feed – noting that due to an overwhelming demand for tickets – the first round clash in the AFLW between Essendon and Hawthorn had been moved from North Port Oval in Melbourne to the much larger Marvel Stadium in the Docklands.
The change of venues was prompted by all 12,000 tickets to the North Port Oval venue being sold out within 24 hours of going on sale.
The game is set for August 27 .. so just over a week’s time – when the 2022 of the AFLW season kicks off around the country.
And get this: both the Bombers and the Hawks – along with Sydney and Port Adelaide – were only added to the AFLW competition this year … meaning it’s the first game for both teams.
Further proof – if indeed any were needed – that girls and football are a match made in heaven.
ANIMAL KINGDOM
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A red panda with a taste for adventure has been returned safe and sound to his enclosure at Adelaide Zoo after staging a daring escape and spending 48 hours on the run.
The panda, called Ravi, went missing from its enclosure and was found two days later up a fig tree in the Adelaide botanical gardens.
Zoo keepers did their best to lure it out of the tree – trying to tempt it back down to earth with its favourite foods. But Ravi wasn’t having a bar of it.
Eventually they had to shoot a tranquilizer dart into Ravi’s bum – and wait at the bottom of the tree ready to catch the falling panda … i’ve stuck video of the rescue effort in today’s episode notes.
Ravi is now safely back in his enclosure – with a tummy full of his favourite foods – and no doubt planning his next daring escape.
The zoo officials meanwhile are scouring CCTV footage to try and pinpoint exactly when – and how – Ravi pulled off his zoo-scape. See what I did there?
THE SQUIZ
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This is the part of the podcast where you get to test how well you’ve been listening …
- Name one of the two AFLW teams whose first round game has been moved to Marvel Stadium .. (essendon, hawthorn)
- What sort of animal staged a daring escape from Adelaide Zoo?
- What domestic animal has been in lockdown in the German city of Walldorf?
SHOUT OUTS
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It’s August 16 … birthday of 80s pop queen Madonna, and Thor movie director, Taika Waititi … if you’ve never seen one of his earlier movies Boy – do yourself a favour .. it’s a classic.
And it’s also a special day for these Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday today …
Darcy from Woongarrah, Farheen from Wahroonga, Katelynn from Broken Hill, Emily from Campsie, Greer from Yarrawonga and Jared from Maroubra.
And a belated birthday shout out goes to Finn from Kotara South.
Classroom shoutouts today go to… class 6C and Miss Pearson at Echuca Primary School, class 6T and Miss Zee at Labrador State School, class 5/6L from Bourke Street Public School in Surrey Hills, Room 4 with Mr Darbyshire at East Fremantle Primary School and a whole school shout out to Marist College in Ashgrove who are celebrating 150 years of schooling this year.
The S’Quiz Answers:
- Essendon or Hawthorn (Bombers or Hawks)
- Red panda
- Cats