Tuesday, 25 May, 2021
Blood moon in the night’s sky; the Titanic sails again; the mummy gymnast defying the odds; and The Weeknd’s big win.
LINKS
Titanic replica takes shape in China: https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/titanic-replica-china/index.html
Pink! At the Billboard Music Awards: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNO6cYxqMZk
Squiz Kids Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/squizkids/?hl=en
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Squiz Kids is proudly supported by the Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas.
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
THE LOWDOWN
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Are you one of those kids who’s always staring up at the sky, being told to come down out of the clouds? Then this is your week – as the world gets ready for a rare astronomical event – namely, a blood moon that coincides with a lunar eclipse.
And there’s no better place than Australia to witness this awesome spectacular in the night’s sky.
So what’s a blood moon? It’s when the moon is the closest to Earth that it ever gets. It’s still 45,000 kilometres away – so you know – it’s not what you or I might consider close – but in space terms, that’s nothing. And what’s a lunar eclipse? It’s when a full moon is covered completely by the Earth’s shadow. Which is to say: when the Earth momentarily blocks out any light from the Sun reaching the Moon. And because of the way the sun’s light refracts, the moon in eclipse will look a little bit red – which is why it’s sometimes also called a blood moon.
It’s all set to take place on Wednesday night … so if it’s a clear sky above your house, maybe ask permission to stay up late.
If you live along the east coast – Queensland, NSW, ACT, Victoria or Tassie – you’ll want to be in position and looking up from 9pm until about 9.30pm.
If you’re in the NT or South Australia, make that 8.30pm-9pm and if you’re over in WA, it’s earlier for you, from between 7pm to 7.30pm.
Happy stargazing!
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 China – in the province of Sichuan to be exact – where a life-size replica of the Titanic is being built even as we speak.
Called ‘The Unsinkable Titanic’ – because it will sit in a section of river rather than run into icebergs in the open sea, which is what happened to the original Titanic – the ship is being built to the same specifications as the original – meaning it’s almost 270m in length – which is almost three rugby fields long. Inside it will have the same cabins and ballrooms and dining rooms as the first Titanic – which is still sitting on the floor of the North Atlantic Ocean where it famously sank over 100 years ago.
It will open as a hotel for guests to stay at – to relive what it would have been like for the passengers of the most famous ship in the world. Except for the crashing into an iceberg and sinking and evacuating onto lifeboats bit. Suspect no-one wants to pay to experience that …
POP CULTURE CORNER
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It was a big weekend just gone for The Weeknd – see what I did there? – the all-conquering US pop star who cleaned up on Sunday in America at Billboard Music Awards.
Billboard Awards recognise artists who have dominated the pop charts for the year just gone – and The Weeknd most certainly did that.
He came away from the ceremony with trophies for Top Artist, Top Male Artist and Top Hot 100 Artist. Whatever that is.
Other big winners on night were Taylor Swift – who won Top Female Artist, BTS, who picked up the award for Top Group and Drake, who took home the trophy for the Top Streaming Song.
But it was crowd favourite, Pink! who stole the show with an aerial performance with her daughter, Willow, of their new song, Cover Me In Sunshine.
And yes: because you’ve been behaving there’s a link in today’s episode notes to a video of the performance.
SQUIZ KIDS SALUTES
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Now .. on the subject of cool mums, check this out. A 32-year-old mum took part in the US gymnastics championships at the weekend, despite having retired from competition nine years ago. And she smashed it.
Ok – she didn’t break any records or take home any trophies – but what she achieved was arguably greater than both of those things: proving to herself that she was still strong and capable enough to compete against girls up to 15 years younger than her.
Chellsie Memmel was an Olympic silver medallist at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 – when she was only 19. Thirteen years and two kids later, she was back competing on the vault and the beam – and doing really well.
Afterwards, Chellsie said she hoped by returning to a sport she loved she encouraged others to chase their passions.
“I just wanted to put that message out to anybody who thought they missed their chance at something or didn’t get a chance to try it,” she said. “No one should be stopping you. Just don’t hold yourself back.”
Chellsie Memmel – Squiz Kids – and I suspect a whole lot of their mums – salute you.
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 …
- Which constant companion in our night’s sky will be in lunar eclipse on Wednesday night?
- What’s the name of the famous ship that is being rebuilt in replica in China?
- What’s the name of the singer who took to the stage with her daughter Willow at this year’s Billboard Awards
SHOUT OUTS
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It’s May 25 … today is Geek Pride Day … where we celebrate all those clever clogs who are really good at IT – algorithm jockeys, computer programmers – call them what you like. Our world would not be the same without you. If you know a geek – show them some love today.
It’s also a special day for these Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday today … Sullivan of Glen Alpine, Alexandra from Churchill, Harmony from Woodhill, Aleeza from Pendle Hill, Proton from Melbourne, Ligma from Port Hedland, Michael from Brisbane, Eden from Spreyton, Ezekiel from Broome, Sibella from Geelong, Craig from Campbelltown, and Jett, Cruz, Lilijana, Kaelan and Travaris, all from Kalgoorlie, who tell us they all have their birthdays today. Hmm 0- must have been a busy day at Kalgoorlie hospital that day …
And a belated birthday shoutout to Chloe from Abbotsford, who turned 9 yesterday.
The S’Quiz Answers:
1 . The Moon
2. Titanic
3. Pink!