Quick Dip of world news and Dorktales Storytime Podcast Hidden Histories episode swap
Quick Dip of world news - from NASA investigating aliens and Google dismissing sentient AI and a sweet rescue at a chocolate factory - along with Dorktales Storytime Podcast Hidden Histories episode swap!
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LEELA: We’re taking you to the stars this week with space news, questions about Google’s artificial intelligence, Australia’s creepy crawly solution to plastic, Ireland’s “flying” boat and a sweet rescue from a chocolate factory.
OPENING STING – LEELA: “Hey, hey, hey. Listen up. New, new, newsy – Newsy Pooloozi!”
LEELA: Hello – I’m Leela.
MAMA: And I’m Lyndee.
LEELA: And we’re Newsy Pooloozi – the coolest news pool for curious kids and adults.
MAMA: Welcome to our summer special Quick Dips into the Newsy Pooloozi – followed by a fabulous episode swap with some of our dorkiest podcasting friends this week.
LEELA: That would be the fabulous Dorktales Storytime Podcast and Hidden Histories. But first, let’s dive into this week’s news with the…
BIG NEWS STORY STING – VARIOUS VOICES: “The big news story of the week!”
MAMA: The head of NASA has confirmed the space agency will be officially investigating if aliens have already visited earth.
LEELA: And when Bill Nelson says aliens, he means organic or… ROBOTIC!
MAMA: Yes, they’re going to try and figure out what that tic-tac looking Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon were that Navy pilots saw on their radar back in 2004.
LEELA: Speaking of robots… A new type of artificial skin – developed at the University of Glasgow – could give robots “near-human levels” of sensitivity to touch. Creepy!
MAMA: Speaking of creepy… Did you hear that Google has sent home an employee for saying that the company’s artificial intelligence chatbot – you know, the computer program designed to simulate conversation with humans, like at a bank or airline online – was actually “sentient?”
LEELA: Sentient is a fancy way of saying the AI is able to perceive or understand things. Like a HUMAN! OMG!
MAMA: OMG! I’m trying to be robot... Moving on to our second story…
NATURE STING – VARIOUS VOICES: “The call of nature. Get on your safari suit. Or squeeze into your scuba gear. And get ready to hop into a jeep. Or submarines. Submarine. Because Mother Nature is calling! Nature.”
LEELA: We all know plastic pollution is a BIG problem. And we’ve discussed many solutions on Newsy Pooloozi before. But never one as creepy-crawly as this…
MAMA: We’re talking about plastic-eating super worms!
LEELA: Yuck!!
MAMA: Researchers in Australia have discovered a beetle that can eat a type of plastic called polystyrene!
LEELA: That’s one of the most common forms of plastic – like for making Styrofoam.
MAMA: And it’s not easy to recycle. Getting into our water streams and possibly even into our body.
LEELA: Enter the larvae of a certain species of beetle – usually called a super worm.
MAMA: Which can eat through polystyrene thanks to some special stuff in their gut called enzymes.
LEELA: We’re happy to say that the researchers are trying to replicate, or copy, this enzyme in a lab
MAMA: And then use THAT to gobble up the world’s excess plastic and NOT an army of super worms.
LEELA: Thank goodness for that!
MAMA: Next!
TECH STING – LEELA/MAMA: “It’s time for.... Technology News, technology news, tech news!”
LEELA: Have you seen the flying boat launched in Northern Ireland? Epic!
MAMA: But when Leela says flying she means it looks like it’s flying.
LEELA: But the reality is just as cool, trust me. Because this vessel has special HYDRO-FOIL wings - which are wing-like blades! - attached to the bottom of the boat.
MAMA: They rev up, push the boat up and out of the water, picking up speed, and pretty much looking like it’s flying.
LEELA: And did we mention this 10-tonne vessel that can carry 12 people is also eco-friendly electric powered.
MAMA: No nasty diesel in the water with this boat.
LEELA: Impressive!
MAMA: And finally…
ODDBALL STING – VARIOUS VOICES: “Step right up, step right up… Have a go at the lucky dip machine… What’s it gonna be today, eh? An oddball, no doubt!”
LEELA: Now getting trapped somewhere is no fun at the best of times. But imagine if you were trapped in a vat of chocolate? Deelish – or what?
MAMA: Unless you don’t like chocolate.
LEELA: Yes, if you don’t like chocolate this would be your worst nightmare. But who doesn’t like chocolate?
MAMA: Firefighters had a strange call from the Mars M&M candy factory in the US state of Pennsylvania a few days ago.
LEELA: Two people doing maintenance on a tank partially filled with chocolate – well, they fell in! Yummm!
MAMA: I’m not sure how yumm it was, the rescuers had to cut a whole out of the bottom to release them from the sugary sludge.
LEELA: Still, it’s yummmm!
MAMA: It’s unclear how they fell in or if they were injured, though they were taken to hospital for evaluation.
LEELA: Talk about a sticky situation...!
MAMA: Ha ha – nice one.
MUSIC
LEELA: Alrighty then we’ll be back next week with more wacky world news. But now…
MAMA: It’s time for a hidden history from the Dorktales Storytime Podcast. You might want to get your swimsuit on for this one.
LEELA: Or stay out of the water entirely,
MAMA: Yeah, come to think about it…
Dorktales storytime episode podcast (Not transcribed)
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