Tuesday, June 13, 2023
Amazing Amazon survival story; double-decker plane seats; King’s birthday honours; and the fish that walks on its hands.
LINKS
Amazon survival story: https://www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-65864784
Weird airline seat arrangement: https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/chaise-longue-double-level-airplane-seat-returns/index.html
Fish that walks on its hands: https://edition.cnn.com/2023/02/20/world/australian-handfish-photograph-c2e-spc-intl-scn/index.html
Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of The Year: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-11/australian-geographic-nature-photographer-of-the-year-sa-museum/102460898
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THE LOWDOWN
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Imagine being lost in a jungle for 40 days. Imagine having nothing but a bag of flour and your own survival skills to rely on. And imagine how relieved you would be when rescuers finally found you and returned you to your family.
Because that’s been the experience of four kids in the South American country of Colombia whom rescuers found deep in the Amazon jungle on the weekend after being lost for over a month.
In a remarkable tale of survival and resilience, the four brothers and sisters, aged 13, nine, four and one – had only a small bag of flour to eat between them for over a month and used skills they had learned from their grandmother to find fresh water in the jungle, to make a shelter and scare off the wild animals that took an interest in them.
And all this after they had survived a plane crash.
So just stop and think about that for a moment. A thirteen year old girl managed to keep her younger brothers and sisters alive – including a one year-old – for over 40 days in the harshest conditions imaginable.
The kids were yesterday recovering in hospital, surrounded by family members who never gave up hope of being reunited.
According to rescuers, the kids stayed alive by eating native fruits, avoiding poisonous plants, creating a makeshift shelter from branches and gathering rain water to drink.
I’ve stuck links in today’s episode notes to photos of the dramatic search and rescue effort. It truly is like a script from a Hollywood movie …
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 Hamburg, Germany, where some bigwigs from the world’s airlines have gathered to take a look at new designs for the inside of aircraft – including double-decker airline seating.
Being a podcast and all, it’s a little hard to describe, but I’ll give it a go. You know how in a sports stadium or theatre, the row of seats behind you is often a little higher than you? Well, it’s like that except that the third row will be back on ground level again, so that the bottoms of the people in front of you will be right at the height of your head. Yep!
The passengers on the bottom row would have their feet stretched out straight under the chair in front of them. I’ve stuck a link in your episode notes so you can take a look.
While there’s no guarantee that airlines will decide to use Alejandro’s concept, he is enjoying the travel and new experiences that come with promoting his design. Hmmm with your face so close to someone else’s bum, let’s just hope the airlines take beans off the menu!
SQUIZ KIDS SALUTES
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And today it’s a big Squiz Kids Salute to the many Australians named in yesterday’s King’s Birthday Honours list.
Doctors, entertainers, artists, sports people, business people, engineers, community workers – so many people from so many walks of life were yesterday awarded something called an Order of Australia – recognising the excellent work they have done in their respective fields.
It’s something that happens every year at this time, on the June public holiday set aside in the Aussie calendar for the King’s Birthday – or, up until recently, the Queen’s Birthday.
And this year, for the first time, there were more women than men among the almost 1200 recipients. Go girls!
ANIMAL KINGDOM
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I’ve heard of some crazy stuff in the animal world, but until yesterday, i’d never heard of a fish that walks on its hands.
But that’s what a French wildlife photographer has stumbled upon at the bottom of the Derwent River in Tasmania.
The spotted handfish – as its called – is extremely rare. There are believed to only be about 3000 in the world. And get this: it scurries along the river bed using its pectoral fins as hands. Incredible.
I’ve stuck a link to photos of the spotted handfish in today’s episode notes.
And while you’re there – check out the link to the Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of The Year Contest .. where some of the best entries have been highlighted.
There’s a seal doing a bend-back, sharks swimming under a rainbow and kangaroos having a fight – but my favourites are the crab having an argument with a fish, and a couple of clown coral blennies. Check it out and you’ll see what I mean.
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 …
- In which country have four kids just been rescued after 40 days lost in the Amazon?
- What’s the name of the fish that walks on its hands?
- What’s the name of the river in Tasmania where the hand-walking fish was spotted?
SHOUT OUTS
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It’s June 13 – On this day in 1978, a movie called ‘Grease’ came out in the cinema – and to this day, you can’t have a party or a karaoke night without someone cracking out Summer Nights … or is that just the parties I go to? Probs.
It’s also a special day for these Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday today …
Lucy from Christies Beach, Sam from Shoreham, Tanner from Cannon Hill, Annabel from Herberton, Daniel from Balwyn North, Chloe from Cairns, Luke from Cheltenham, Erik from Ferguson Valley, Charles from Carlingford, Steven from Ivanhoe, Hopey from Gubbi Gubbi Country, Izabella from Forest Lake and Ayrton listening in Dubai.
And belated shout outs to all of those Squiz Kids who celebrated a birthday yesterday on the public holiday… Shahin from Adelaide, Denzell from Andrews Farm, Alessia from Altona Meadows, Emma from Forest Lake, Oliver from Wantirna, Inara from Oakleigh, Monique from Jerilderie, Chloe from Currumbin, Ruby from Barossa Valley, Koby from Penrith, Ally from Sydney, Georgina from Gladstone, Emily from Cannon Hill and Samantha, Marco and Lucy all from NSW.
Classroom shout outs go to … Mrs Bland’s class at Newmarket State School, class 4/5G and Mr Caddy at Morisset Public School, the year 5 students at The Lady of the Nativity Primary School in Lawson and lastly to classes 4T and 4C with Miss T and Mrs Thomas at Henschke Primary School in Wagga Wagga.
The S’Quiz Answers:
- Colombia
- Spotted handfish
- Derwent River