Wednesday, November 8, 2023
Your daily kids news podcast.
Winning the Cup Without a Fight; a festive forest for Christmas; the gooey green mystery; and chatting with cats.
LINKS
Green goop under New York City: https://nypost.com/2023/11/03/metro/nycs-green-slime-spotted-bubbling-up-from-underground/
Squiz Kids Book Club: https://www.squizkids.com.au/book_club/
Newshounds
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THE LOWDOWN
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And it’s a big welcome back to school to Victorian kids today after they took yesterday off for the Melbourne Cup public holiday.
How did you go? Did you pick the winner?
Jockey Mark Zahara sure did. After winning last year’s Melbourne Cup on a horse called Gold Trip, he switched horses this year to seven-year-old named Without A Fight who ran 13th in The Cup last year.
Without A Fight took out the prestigious Caufield Cup last month before winning at Flemigton yesterday. He’s the first horse to take out that double win since 2001.
Mark explained that Without A Fight has an “electric turn of foot” and he demonstrated that yesterday by charging home to cross the finish line two horse lengths in front of second place getter, Soulcombe while Sheraz ran third.
Thousands flocked to Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne for the big race – even as commentators wondered aloud if smaller crowd numbers and fewer telly viewers, amid concerns about animal welfare pointed to the Cup perhaps no longer being the race that stops the nation.
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As Bryce told you in Monday’s podcast, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is in China this week, meeting with the Chinese President Xi Jinping. As well as discussing important topics like trade and the relationship between the two countries, the leaders compared the cuteness of Tassie devils and giant pandas – , with President Xi commenting that reminding Albo that while he might look cute, Kung Fu Panda still packs a punch is not so cute. The comment has been seen as a good sign as it indicates a lighthearted and friendly tone when the relationship between the two countries has been a bit frosty, to say the least.
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 New York City, although you’d be excused for thinking we were in Batman’s Gotham. Even hardened New Yorkers were slightly bemused when they spotted a fluorescent green goo oozing up from beneath the city streets through grates and manhole covers.
Pictures and videos were quickly posted to social media (yes, we have links in the episode notes for you). Some folks are speculating that the slimy spectacle is the result of a superhero showdown gone wrong. Others wondered whether the Ghostbusters had had a little ectoplasm accident.
Realistically, it was probably just a coloured antifreeze liquid added to the city’s heating systems to stop pipes from freezing, or a dye commonly used by plumbers to detect leaky pipes.
We’re still keeping an eye out for reports of citizens developing superpowers, but at the time of podcasting, no reports have come to hand. We’ll be sure to keep you informed.
ANIMAL KINGDOM
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Hands up if you’ve ever dived down a rabbit hole of cat videos on YouTube? Yeah, me too! But we’re not the only ones. Some very clever scientists are using Artificial Intelligence and the overabundance of animal videos online to better understand our furry and feathered friends.
They’ve discovered that cats have a whopping 276 unique facial expressions when they interact with each other and even more when communicating with humans. So their “I’m judging you look” is totally different from their “you forgot to feed me look” ten minutes after you already fed them…yes, I have cats.
But it’s not just cats getting the AI treatment. Another group of researchers are investigating the whinnies, snorts and squawks of zebras, white rhinos and parakeets to check in on their health and happiness with the aim of improving the animals’ well-being and assisting in conservation efforts.
Who knows, one day we might have the ‘purr-fect’ pet translator. [Mum Joke Alarm] Yeah, fair call on the mum joke alarm.
POP CULTURE CORNER
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Guess what!? It’s only 47 days til Christmas? Santa and the Elves are hard at work. And at school this week, I discovered that loads of kids are already decking the halls and putting up their Christmas trees! I’m definitely not that organised. In many neighbourhoods it’s not just a standard tree that’s going up. Some people are going OTT with even more inflatable Santas and realistic reindeer on the roof than ever before.
One interior designer in the United States has pointed out a growing trend for multiple themed Christmas trees throughout the house, with kids getting involved by decorating their own Christmas movie, or superhero themed tree in their bedrooms! Because clearly, one tree can’t handle the festive overload, and who doesn’t dream of waking up to a bedroom filled with Elf decorations?
But don’t feel bad if you’re sticking with one traditional tree. She says that this year’s colour theme is gold, ivory white and glass. I’m personally sticking with my homemade decorations. Get cracking with the glitter kids, there’s not long to go.
NGS SUPER
Have you ever wondered what it takes to be a teacher – other than being very patient – Well before teachers can work in your classroom they go to university. And a shoutout to the teachers and parents listening – Our friends at the Squiz have released their latest episode of “How Far We’ve Come, made in partnership with NGS Super… This week, they dive into the world of university, from the days of limited access to the wonderful world of free education – doesn’t that sound lovely – to HECS and where we are today. Adults, you can hop on board and listen to it on the Squiz Today podcast feed
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 …
- What is the name of the horse that won yesterday’s Melbourne Cup?
- In which city is green goop oozing up from beneath the streets?
- How many unique facial expressions do cats have when they’re interacting with each other.
SHOUT OUTS
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It’s November 8 … birthday of Vlad The Impaler – the Transylvanian count who was the inspiration for Dracula … if he was alive today (and who’s to say he isn’t???) he’d be 532 years old … (EVIL LAUGH)
It’s also a special day for these Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday today… Heidi from Junee, Corey from Cannon Hill, Scarlett from Drysdale, Emily from PortArlington, Jake from Prospect, Matilda from Diamond Creek, Rhiannon from Sydney, Zellah from Camp Hill, Samuel from Palmerston, Penelope from Mount Cotton, Freddy from Waverton, Dominic from Adelaide, Molly from Bentleigh East, Olivia from Rosanna, Phoebe from Mount Annan, Ned from Coolamon, Hayley from Cronulla, Ajang from Raceview, Stella from Th e Ponds and Chloe listening over in from Muswell Hill – London and Aida in Singapore.
And belated shout outs go to… Jack and Mia – also listening in Singapore and Thomas from Riverwood.
Classroom shout outs go to … the students with Mrs D and Mrs Tindall at Coolongolook Public School, class 5B with Mrs Tanios and Mrs Deeks at St Luke’s Catholic Primary School in Revesby, class 3/4 Sapphire with Mrs Sinclair at Ashmont Public School, 6G and 6SC with Miss Goad at St John’s Primary School in Heidelberg, classes 3C and 6B with Mrs Philp and Miss Kelly at Mount Crosby State School, class 5D with Ms Van Aardt at Grand Avenue State School in Forest Lake and classes 3-6 with Mr McCartney at Tarago Public School.
The S’Quiz Answers:
- Without A Fight
- New York
- 276