Tuesday, 18 October, 2022
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
THE LOWDOWN
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As the flood crisis gripping Victoria entered its fourth day yesterday, there were warnings too that the impact of all those rivers rising could soon be felt at a supermarket near you.
No – I don’t mean your local supermarket in suburban Perth or Brisbane or Sydney or Adelaide is about to be swamped by the floodwaters that are rising in regional Victoria .. that would be alarming … but rather that a lot of the fruit and veg and meat we buy each week from our local supermarket and green grocer could soon be affected by Victoria’s floods.
That, my friends, is thanks to a little thing called the supply chain – which is something we’ve talked about before on the podcast. It’s the idea that a disruption at one end of what’s called the supply chain – has a ripple effect at the other end.
So farms in flood-affected parts of Victoria that grow fruit and veg— and breed cows and sheep and pigs that end up as meat in our supermarkets— are being impacted by all these flood waters. And because the floods have wiped out harvests of fruit and veg – there will be less stock available on supermarket shelves, and that means prices will go up.
Boo to that.
But you know what? All things are relative. More than 120 schools were closed yesterday – and with the government warning that the flood emergency was far from over, and that some 34,000 homes in regional Victoria, NSW and Tassie could still be flooded in the coming days and weeks – well, a little price bump for a lettuce, while not ideal, is a comparatively small price to pay.
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 India – which was yesterday celebrating a 16 year-old boy who defeated the current world chess champion.
Gukesh D – as he is known in chess circles – became the youngest player ever to beat the current reigning champion of the world, Norway’s Magnus Carlsen, during an online tournament staged yesterday.
Now – it’s one thing to beat the world champ at the age of 16 – but get this. Gukesh D is such an accomplished chess player that four years ago he became the second-youngest chess grandmaster in history, at the age of only 12.
A chess grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain … so, you know. It’s a thing.
Speaking after the game, Gukesh said he was pleased to have beaten the current world champion – but he didn’t think it was the best chess game he had ever played.
Brilliant and modest. That’s quite the combo.
SPORT TIME
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And it’s a big shout out this morning to the Australian wheelchair rugby team, the Steelers, who are riding high as champions of the world after beating the United States yesterday to take out the wheelchair rugby world cup.
(CHEER)
And don’t let anyone tell you it’s the men’s wheelchair rugby team—there are women on it as well! At a big game in Denmark yesterday, the Steelers fought off a determined US team to emerge victorious, 58 points to 55 – so it was a really, really close one.
It’s a sweet victory for the Steelers who missed out on a medal at the Paralympics in Tokyo last year.
And on the subject of para-athletes: a great big Squiz Kids Salute to Aussie wheelchair racer, Madison de Rozario – who was named Athlete of the Year at an Australian Women in Sport ceremony on Sunday night.
Madison – who won two gold medals at the last Paralympics and four gold at the recent Commonwealth Games in Birmingham – beat out a field that included swimmer Emma McKeon, canoeist Jess Fox, footballer Sam Kerr and tennis ace, Ash Barty.
So – you know – some pretty stiff competition.
ANIMAL KINGDOM
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Now I’ve got to say, I’m not much of a fan of Eels. Not the rugby team, because rugby isn’t my thing, nor the slimy, slithery marine animals.
But today’s Animal Kingdom has given me new respect for them. And that’s because a team of scientists has managed to track the mega-migrations that local eels undertake from rivers in Europe to a spot in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
By attaching teeny tiny tracking devices to eels in rivers in England, researchers have been able to track a one way journey that these eels undertake to reach their breeding grounds in a place called the Sargasso Sea – smack bang in the middle of the Atlantic.
Get this: adult eels make the treacherous 5000 kilometre journey from river to the sea – hopping over dam and weir walls, dodging boats and ships and predators, and fighting currents. Once they make it to the Sargasso Sea, they breed and have their baby eels which – as teeny, tiny, transparent mini-eels, drift on ocean currents back to the coastlines of Europe and make their way up river mouths to grow into adults. Only to repeat the process all over again years later. It’s the circle of life, people.
Oh – there goes the Classroom Companion Clarion – indicating that today’s worksheets for Squiz Kids for Schools subscribers relate to this news story .. dive on in and find out why Aristotle thought eels grew out of mud … not a Squiz Kids for Schools subscriber – give it a whirl via our free trial – link in today’s episode notes.
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’s the name of the Australian wheelchair rugby team?
- What country does chess champ Gukesh D come from?
- Which huge ocean are European eels crossing to get to their breeding grounds?
SHOUT OUTS
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It’s October 18 … birthday for High School Musical star, Zac Efron. It’s also National Chocolate Cupcake Day in the United States … why can’t we have that national day?
It’s also a special day for these Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday today…
Kitana from Forest Lake, Erica from Sydney, Madison from Green Valley, Caleb from Glenmore Park, Finn and Nik from Preston, Sebastian from Dee Why, Lily from Albany Creek, Finn from Bombala and Pau listening over in Manresa, Spain!
Belated birthday shout outs go to …Cecilia from Middle Harbour, Maggie from Northcote and Siena from Quirindi.
Classroom shouts go to…class 3/4Q and Miss Kew at Marayong Public School, year 5 and Mr Lawler at St Joseph’s Primary School in Wagga Wagga, Fish class with Mrs Frend and Ms Blake at GS Kidd Memorial School in Gunnedah and to the year 4’s with Mrs Pegoraro at Anne Hamersley Primary School in Ellenbrook.
A special shoutout goes to …Ms Brewster and Grade 3 at Scotch Oakburn College in Launceston who have recently subscribed to Squiz Kids for Schools on our Term 4 special promo. Welcome!
The S’Quiz Answers:
- Steelers
- India
- Atlantic Ocean