#70: Horse Rescue, Whale Talk, HBD Mickey Mouse

On this episode of the Kids Morning News Network:
-Happy International Day of Families!
-How many people does it take to rescue a 1,000-pound animal? Twice?
-Figuring out what whales are talking about
-Mickey Mouse's very first movie... which nobody liked!
-Daily riddle
-Weather

Transcript

00;00;07;21 - 00;00;17;17
Speaker 1
From the cam and then studios. This is the kid's morning news network.

00;00;17;19 - 00;00;46;09
Speaker 1
Good morning, everybody, and welcome to the Kids Morning News Network. It's May 15th, 2024. 230 days left to go this year. I'm Alex in the Camden studio in New York. It is the International Day of Families. This holiday was founded by the United Nations, the UN, to remind us all how important families are. And that means every family.

00;00;46;11 - 00;01;13;01
Speaker 1
No two families are exactly alike, which is great. Families come in all different forms. And today is the day to appreciate what your family does for you. There's a rescue in the news this morning. Two wanderers in Connecticut this past weekend. Just out for a nice walk. Got stuck in deep mud. Unfortunately, they happened to be walking in a swamp.

00;01;13;04 - 00;01;45;04
Speaker 1
They sank until their legs were totally trapped. The police were called, but they quickly realized they needed more help. So they called the fire department. Eventually, a team of about 40 rescuers was at work trying to free the two victims. They used ropes, chainsaws, sleds, veterinary supplies. Yes. Veterinary supplies. The two victims in this case were horses and horses stuck up to their bellies in mud.

00;01;45;06 - 00;02;07;16
Speaker 1
Have you ever gotten your feet stuck in mud? It's so strong. You can pull your boots right off. Now imagine 1,000 pound horse stuck in the mud. No wonder it took 40 people to pull them out. They did though. They pulled the horses sideways on to big sleds, which they then slid over the mud to get them out to dry land.

00;02;07;18 - 00;02;17;12
Speaker 1
Both the horses were rescued safely and none of the rescuers were injured. Everyone did get pretty muddy, though.

00;02;17;14 - 00;02;40;27
Speaker 1
A quick SpaceX update. The Starliner spacecraft carrying a human crew for the first time there was supposed to launch last week, may blast off this Friday and we'll of course keep you updated. Have you heard the song from Doctor Doolittle? If I could talk with the animals? Well, researchers say they're getting a little closer to that with one of the biggest animals on Earth.

00;02;40;29 - 00;03;05;19
Speaker 1
Sperm whales. Sperm whales can grow longer than a school bus, and they have the biggest brains of any animal on Earth. A sperm whale brain is about six times the size of a human's sperm. Whales are mammals, like other whales and dolphins and humans, and like many other whales and dolphins, sperm whales are very social. They like to be with each other.

00;03;05;22 - 00;03;30;11
Speaker 1
Come to think of it, some humans are like that too. Sperm whales live in small groups, but sometimes they all get together in big gatherings of hundreds or even thousands of whales. It's like a sperm whale concert. The whales communicate with each other by making clicking noises. For many years, scientists have suspected that the clicks may be more than just random noises.

00;03;30;14 - 00;04;05;19
Speaker 1
That there may be patterns to them that mean different things. Language in other words. Well, for a new study, researchers put microphones in the ocean in an area that sperm whales live in year round. They also put tags on the whales themselves, so the researchers could see what the whales were doing when they made their clicks. The team got more than 8000 recordings of sperm whales clicks, and in those 8000 recordings, they have figured out four basic patterns that could be the beginnings of a kind of sperm whale alphabet.

00;04;05;21 - 00;04;31;17
Speaker 1
The researchers also say that sperm whales seem to have a really advanced society for whales, and that these clicks seem kind of basic for them. So the whales may be communicating at a whole other level that we don't even know about yet. Well, if you guys known as sperm whales who want to come on this podcast and click about it, please let me know.

00;04;31;20 - 00;04;57;15
Speaker 1
it's riddle time. Monday's riddle was I am a word with letters three, ad two and fewer. There will be. What am I? The word few. Yeah. Two letters, too few. You get fewer. Today's riddle is I'm a coach that's always wet when you put me on. What kind of code am I? A coat that's always wet when you put it on.

00;04;57;17 - 00;05;08;01
Speaker 1
What kind of code is it? Find out on Friday.

00;05;08;03 - 00;05;43;08
Speaker 1
Happy birthday, Mickey Mouse. Mickey made his first appearance on this day in 1928. 96 years ago. That was before videos. Even before TV. So Mickey first showed up in a short movie. It was called Plain Crazy. And yes, it was about a plane. 1928 was the year after a guy named Charles Lindbergh became the very first person to fly by himself across the Atlantic Ocean without stopping.

00;05;43;11 - 00;06;12;16
Speaker 1
And that flight made Charles Lindbergh one of the most famous people in the whole world. So Mickey's movie showed Mickey trying to be like Charles Lindbergh. Built his own plane. He destroys it. Then he builds another. Then he and Minnie have a whole series of adventures. Mickey was created by an animator named Walt Disney. And there are different stories about why he created a mouse character, but he originally wanted to name it Mortimer Mouse.

00;06;12;18 - 00;06;38;12
Speaker 1
Walt's wife suggested the name Mickey. Mickey showed up and playing crazy. His first movie on this day in 1928, when it was shown to a test audience to see if people would like this new mouse. And they didn't. They didn't like his next movie either. It wasn't until the third short movie with Mickey called Steamboat Willie that Mickey actually caught on.

00;06;38;14 - 00;07;02;18
Speaker 1
In fact, Steamboat Willie was a huge hit. It made a star. Not Adam, just Mickey Mouse, but also Walt Disney. Just in time, too, he had to sell his car to pay for finishing that film. But now we've got Disneyland in Disney World. So Walt and Mickey made up pretty well. Time for the weather. Do you like rain?

00;07;02;20 - 00;07;22;17
Speaker 1
If you live in the northeast, the southeast, or the Great Plains, I have some really good news for you. Oh, yes. Plenty of rain for everyone west of the Rockies, though you should be dry. Even the Pacific Northwest. And it should be a warm day all around. Wherever you are, even in the rain. All right. None of our friends.

00;07;22;17 - 00;07;45;14
Speaker 1
The whales. Let's end with a poem today. This one's called Sea Fever by John Masefield. I must go down to the seas again. To the lonely sea and the sky. And all I ask is a tall ship and a star. To steer her by. And the wheels kick and the wind song. And the white sails shaking. And a gray mist on the sea's face.

00;07;45;14 - 00;08;09;21
Speaker 1
And the gray dawn breaking. I must go down to the seas again. For the call of the running tide. Is a wild call. And a clear call that may not be denied. And all I ask is a windy day. With the white clouds flying. And the flung spray and the blown spume. And the seagulls crying. I must go down to the seas again.

00;08;09;21 - 00;08;29;11
Speaker 1
To the vagrant gypsy life. To the gulls away. And the whales wave. Or the wind's like a weathered knife. And all I ask is a merry yarn. From a laughing fellow rover. And a quiet sleep and a sweet dream. When the long trick's over.

00;08;29;13 - 00;08;47;19
Speaker 1
Well, hopefully when we do talk to the whales, they'll be able to share some poems with us. In the meantime, that's the show. Thank you very much for listening. If you liked this episode, please give it a like on your podcast app and subscribe. And spread the word about the Kids Morning News Network grown ups. If you'd like to become a supporter.

00;08;47;26 - 00;08;56;28
Speaker 1
You should find a link in the episode description. I'll be back Friday and I hope you are too. From the cam in the newsroom. This is Alex signing off.