Tuesday, 19 July, 2022
Calls for TikTok to be banned; Cam Smith’s claret jug; elephant orphans find new families; and some intriguing new emojis.
LINKS
“This one’s for Aus”—Cam Smith wins the British Open: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-18/cameron-smith-wins-the-open-rory-mcilroy-st-andrews/101246252
New emojis :https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-62177610
Have A Go at Table Tennis!: haveago.olympics.com.au
Teachers: Squiz Kids for Schools – Free 30 Day Trial: https://www.squizkids.com.au/squiz-kids-for-schools/
Parents: Squiz Kids Apple Subscriber Content – Free Trial: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/squiz-kids/id1494238283
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
THE LOWDOWN
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Hands up if you’ve ever heard of the social media app TikTok?
Of course you have. It has a billion users worldwide! You, your parents or your teacher might be one of them. But there were loud calls yesterday for TikTok to be banned in Australia, after it was revealed that the Chinese-owned company collects a LOT of information about its users.
For example, if you have the app installed on your phone, it will run hourly checks on your location… access your calendar constantly… it will collect info on what other apps you’re using, and it can access information about every person in your contacts.
Why would TikTok need that data? Well, the authors of a report by an Australian and American cyber security firm called Internet 2.0, say they don’t. None of the information being collected by TikTok is needed to run the app properly, which leads them to conclude that it could be used for hacking, or even spying.
The report will be presented today to the American government, which is holding a hearing on TikTok… so the headlines calling for changes to the app and its privacy protections are likely to continue. Watch this space.
SPIN THE GLOBE
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Each day we give the world globe a spin, and find a news story wherever it stops. And today we’ve landed in Scotland, where Aussie golfer Cameron Smith has made history by winning the British Open. It’s Cam’s first major tournament victory ever, and he’s the first Aussie to win the open in almost 30 years.
Now what I knew about golf yesterday morning, you could have written on the back of a postage stamp. But I’ve done a lot of research since then, and it turns out that Cam Smith’s last of four rounds was one of the greatest in golfing history. A round of golf, if you didn’t know, has 18 holes… meaning the golfer has to tee off, then hit the ball as few times as possible before getting it to go into the hole with the flag sticking out of it.
In his final nine holes—known as the back nine—Cam chased down two other players by hitting five straight birdies. No, that doesn’t mean he hit a bird with a golf ball! It’s the expression for getting the ball into the hole with one fewer shot than expected, and every single one of them counted for the Queenslander. He ended up winning by one shot over American Cameron Young, and dedicating his trophy—known as the claret jug—to Australia. I’ll pop a video of some of his shots, and his acceptance speech, in your episode notes.
ANIMAL KINGDOM
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If you ever suspected elephants were a whole lot like us, we got further proof yesterday, with the release of a scientific study that found orphaned elephants do better when they’re adopted into big, loving family groups.
Sadly, lots of elephants lose their mums or dads each year: sometimes from natural causes, sometimes from poaching, which is the illegal hunting of wildlife.
But by collecting and studying baby elephant poo, of all things, a group of scientists have found that baby elephants who are adopted straight away into a big family herd will suffer much less stress than those that weren’t.
Which stands to reason. Because even if you’re one of the biggest, most impressive animals in the wild – at the end of the day everyone needs a cuddle.
POP CULTURE CORNER
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How many times have you been on your folks’ phone and wanted to say ‘jellyfish’ in a text? Or call someone a goose without having to actually write the word? Or send an emoji that indicates you’re in the middle of an earthquake?
Well – you’re in luck – because the next batch of emojis have just been released and should be available for use on a smart device near you by September.
As well as a shaking head emoji – supposedly inspired by what it feels like to be in an earthquake – there’s the goose emoji, the moose emoji, the donkey emoji, the jellyfish emoji and the long-awaited pink and blue heart emojis – a total of 31 new emojis for us to play with.
I’ve stuck a link in today’s episode notes to a chart featuring the new emojis. You can send me a blue heart to say thanks later.
OLYMPICS – TABLE TENNIS
(sound of clock ticking) … Hear that? That’s the clock counting down to the Brisbane 2032 Olympic & Paralympic Games – which if you can believe it, are only 10 years away…. And to celebrate the Australian Olympic Committee has launched ‘Have A Go Month’ – and today’s Olympic sport in the Squiz Kids spotlight is table tennis.
Did you know that table tennis is one of the most played sports in the entire world?
That’s because it’s so accessible. All you need is a table, a net, a couple of paddles – no, not the ones you use with a canoe – and a ping pong ball and away you go! Maybe you have a table tennis table at home – maybe you already play with friends and family.
You’re guaranteed hours of fun whether you’re a beginner, your neighbourhood champion or on your way to playing at the Olympic Games… after all, all you need to do is have a go.
To discover the right sport for you and to find out more about ‘Have A Go Month’ go to haveago.olympics.com.au – I’ve stuck a link to it 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 is the expression for a round of golf with one fewer hit than expected?
- What are the two colours of the new heart emojis?
- What did scientists collect and examine to determine the stress levels of baby elephants?
SHOUT OUTS
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It’s July 19… the birthday of actor Benedict Cumberbatch. You may know him as Dr Stephen Strange, from the Marvel Cinematic Universe; or Agent Classified, from the Penguins of Madagascar; or as Sherlock Holmes, from the BBC production “Sherlock”.
It’s also a special day for these Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday today… . Sam from Kempsey, Aiden from Altona Meadows, Archer from Mt Eliza, Paloma from Exeter, Jai from Manly, Pippa from Clothiers Creek and Emily from Ballaiura.
And because a bunch of you celebrated your birthday over the school holidays … we are going to continue to work our way through these belated shoutouts all this week – including today… Kyla from St Peters, April and Mia from Bombala, Conner from Albert Park, Brooklyn from Tarago, Molly and Sammy from Walpole, Marie from Craigburn, Phoebe from Seaforth, Melody from Mooroolbark, Camille (pronounced Camee) from Varsity Lakes, Sterling D from Broken Hill, Zuki from Cannon Hill and Mitchell from Wamberal.
Classroom shout outs go to Year 4 and Mrs Pi at Carlingford Public School, Year 3 at St Joseph’s Catholic School in Chinchilla, class 4D and Miss Duck at Valentine Public School and Mrs Boundy’s class at St Thomas More Primary School in Mt Eliza.
The S’Quiz Answers:
- A birdie
- Pink and blue
- Poo