Hello and welcome to Squiz Kids Today, your fresh take on what's happening in the world around you.
I'm Bryce Corbett.
It's Thursday, February 5.
In Squiz Kids Today...
Winter Olympics kick off in Italy.
The groundhog sees his shadow.
Super Bowl for blind people and helping your parents fight fake news.
That's what's making news, kids style.
The Lowdown.
Time to strap on your skates people and wrap yourselves in your finest winter woolies as the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games kick off in Italy.
Over the next two weeks, some 3000 athletes from an incredible 90 different countries will compete in sports as varied as ice hockey curling, snowboarding and skeleton, battling it out for the 116 gold medals on offer.
And while only 116 of those 3000 athletes will win a gold medal, Every single one of them will have the privilege of being able to say that they were good enough at their chosen sport to take part in an Olympic or a Paralympic competition which, my friends, is an achievement in and of itself.
The opening ceremony takes place on Friday night in Italy, in the city of Milan.
So for any listeners in Australia, that means an early wake-up Saturday morning if you want to see all the athletes marching under their flags, as well as catch pop star Mariah Carey performing.
Events will take place in both the city of Milan and also up in the Dolomite Mountains, at a place called Cortina.
And who are the all-important mascots of these Winter Olympics?
Well, that would be Tina and Milo, a pair of bouncy teenage brother and sister stoats, which is a kind of weasel native to Italy.
Tina is the Olympics mascot and Milo is the Paralympics mascot, with part of his backstory being that he was born without a paw but learned to walk with the help of his tail.
And because we'd like to make sure you're across everything big that's happening in the world, we've created a Squiz Kids shortcut to the Winter Olympics, which we published earlier this week.
Go back in this podcast feed or dive onto our website if you missed it and are keen to wrap your ears around it.
Each day we give the world globe a spin and find a new story from wherever it stops.
And today we've landed in Pennsylvania in the United States, where a furry creature of another kind has predicted that winter there will last six more weeks than after he emerged from his burrow and saw his own shadow.
Now, you might remember, we talked on Monday about a little fellow called Punxsutawney Phil the groundhog, who each year makes a prediction on whether spring will come early in that part of the world or whether the cold will persist.
And it was disappointment for many.
When Phil decreed, the already freezing temperatures in Pennsylvania were set to continue for a little while yet.
Decreed is a fancy word for making an announcement about something.
Now, of course, I've watched the video of the whole thing and, to be perfectly honest, it just looks like Phil the Groundhog would rather be anywhere else than in front of a huge crowd and TV cameras.
So, you know, take Phil's prediction with a grain of salt, I'd say.
If you're an NFL fan, you'll already know that the Super Bowl, the grand finale of the NFL competition in the United States, happens this coming weekend.
This year, the Seattle Seahawks will battle it out against the New England Patriots.
And thanks to some clever science, for the first time in Super Bowl history, NFL fans who are blind will be able to closely follow all the action on the field.
A brand new device will be tested, allowing blind people to feel the action on the football field via a device like a laptop, which looks a little bit like a miniature version of the field and it vibrates to indicate where on the field the ball is at any given moment and what plays the teams are using.
Right now, for blind people to enjoy their favourite sport, they rely on their ears.
And that means relying on commentators to talk them through the action.
Now, though, they'll be able to feel the action as well as hear it.
How clever.
News Hounds.
Every Thursday, Squizzy the Newshound pops his head into Squiz Kids HQ to report back on fishy things he's sniffed out on the internet.
And today he's stumbled upon a couple of Facebook posts which should remind all good newshounds how important it is to help your parents and your grandparents to stop falling victim to fake news stories.
Now hands up.
How many of you out there often hear the adults in your life talking about something they've read on Facebook and then they just believe it without checking the facts?
Yep, me too.
My parents do it all the time.
In the past week alone, there have been AI generated images of a landslide in New Zealand and fake stories about dingoes on Fraser Island, all appearing in Facebook feeds across the world.
And in both instances, the photos are either completely fake or the information in the posts or the headlines is what's known as engagement bait, which is a kind of click bait that gets the user to click on a link that takes them to a website from which the scammers make money.
It's not real news, you see, people.
The information is completely made up, and just because it appears on Facebook doesn't make it real.
Now luckily, if you're a newshound, you know how important it is for us to all stop, think and check before believing everything we see online.
That's the main lesson we learn in the newshounds program.
And because our grandparents and parents haven't learned those skills yet.
There's a really important role that you kids can play to stop your parents and grandparents from falling victim to this fake news.
So consider yourselves on a mission.
Next time you hear Nan or Pop or Mum or Dad start a sentence with oh I saw her on my Facebook feed today tell them that Squizzy always tells us to check if a story is real before believing it.
And teachers.
Parents, if your kids have not yet been exposed to Squizz Kids' very own totally free digital literacy classroom program newshounds, then hop to it.
You can easily sign up for a free account via our website, squizzkids.com.au.
Yes, yes, I know.
The generosity is just too much.
Woo-hoo!
Time for the quiz.
This is the part of the podcast where you get to test how well you've been listening.
Question number one.
Name one of the two teams competing in this year's Super Bowl.
MUSIC
Did you say the Seattle Seahawks or the New England Patriots?
Well done to you.
Question number two.
Name one of the two Italian cities that will host this year's Winter Olympics.
Yep, really making your work for it today, aren't I?
Well done if you said Milan or Cortina.
Question number three, what sort of animal are this year's 2026 Winter and Paralympic mascots?
They are stoats, S-T-O-A-T, which is a kind of a weasel.
Well done if you got that too.
Shout outs.
It's Thursday, February 5.
Today is the birthday of soccer legend Cristiano Ronaldo and also of Queen Mary of Denmark.
Happy birthday to you both.
Plus, drumroll please, today is World Nutella Day.
I mean, honestly, this could possibly be my favourite day of the year.
Just excuse me now while I go and eat a jar and disappear into a Nutella coma.
It's also a special day for these Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday today.
Charlie from Rhodes, Kian from Brisbane, Ishan from Sydney and Millie from Heidelberg West.
And the belated birthday shout-out goes to Felix from Ringwood North.
And classroom shout-outs today go to Stage 2 Wonkers with Miss Woods and Mrs Wallace at Dubbo North Public School and to Class 6 CR with Mrs Crooks at Yarrabilba State School.
Now don't forget.
If you've got a birthday coming up and you want a shout-out, or if you're after a classroom shout-out, drop us a line at squizkids at thesquizcomau, or fill out the form on our website.
Well, that's all we have time for.
Thanks for listening to Squiz Kids today.
We'll be back again tomorrow with the Kids vs Adults weekly news quiz.
Your chance to prove who's smarter, kids or adults.
In the meantime...
Get out there and have a most excellent day.
Over and out.
