Teddy Bears to Baseball Secrets -10 Things You Need to Know
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10 Things You Need to Know with The Ten News!
1. ๐งธ National Teddy Bear Day
2. ๐ Pickleball Championships
3. ๐คฟ Underwater Yellow Brick Road
4.๐ Ruby Slippers for Sale
5.๐ Monkies on the Loose!
6.๐ Cambodian Water Festival
7.๐๏ธ A Real Pokemon Town!?
8. ๐ฎ Nintendo News!
9. ๐ฆ New Pygmy Hippo
10.๐๏ธ Baseball Secret
Resources
https://www.nps.gov/thrb/learn/historyculture/storyofteddybear.htm
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/06/style/pickleball-world-championship.html
https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-found-a-yellow-brick-road-at-the-bottom-of-the-pacific-ocean
https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/07/us/south-carolina-monkeys-escape/index.html
https://www.odynovotours.com/cambodia/cambodian-water-festival.html
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/65684074
https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2024/241106e.pdf
https://www.npr.org/2024/11/05/nx-s1-5179701/moo-deng-haggis-pygmy-hippo-scotland
https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/why-baseball-mud-rubbed-on-balls-works-study-rcna178321
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Transcript:
INT. TEN NEWS STUDIO
<SFX Door opens, Ryan is snoring loudly>
PAM: Ryan, wake up!
<More snoring>
PAM: RYAN!!!!
<SFX airhorn>
RYAN (startled): Wha?! PAM! Did I fall asleep again?!
PAM: Either that or you snore while youโre awake.
RYAN: Well, I do talk in my sleep. But, Iโm not feeling well today. I have a sinus infectionโbut Iโm on antibiotics and my doctor said Iโm not contagious!
PAM: Oooof, sorry to hear that, Ry. Iโm back from vacation but not quite ready to jump into any hard news. How about we pull some wacky and wild stories for this week?
RYAN: PAM, I love that. I think we all deserve a giggle!
PAM: Iโm Pamela Kirkland. Today is Thursday, November 14th.
RYAN: And Iโm Ryan Willard. And this is Ten Things You Need to Know.
PAM: Ryan, I noticed you were snoozing without your trusty teddy bear.
RYAN: Psshhh, Iโm a grown-up. I donโt have a teddy bear. I have 5 of them, and theyโre home, all cozy, watching a movie.
PAM: Well, did you know today is the anniversary of an important day in Teddy Bear history?! On November 14th, more than 100 years ago in 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt was in office, and he went on a hunting trip where he failed to find any bears! His assistants eventually found and cornered a bear for him, but Roosevelt refused to shoot it, claiming that it was unsportsmanlike. Since he was such a big hunter, a cartoonist decided to have a little fun with the incident and drew an illustration of President Roosevelt and the bear. A Brooklyn candy shop owner, Morris Michtom, saw the cartoon and thought โwhy not make a bear and dedicate it to the president who spared the bear?โ He called it โTeddyโs bear,โ Teddy was also a nickname for the president.After getting permission to use the name, mass produced the dolls. They became so popular, he founded the Ideal Toy Company.
RYAN: WOAH. Wait this man was a candy maker AND founded a toy company?! Whereโs this guyโs Nobel Prize?!
PAM: Speaking of prizes, youโve heard about the huge pickleball championship right?
RYAN: Obviously. Though Iโm still recovering from learning that pickleball is a game where you donโt use a pickle as the ball or the bat. Terribly misleading!
PAM: Um, the championship?
RYAN: Right! Last week, Dallas, Texas was crawling with pickleball players and fans galore for the Lapiplasty Pickleball World Championships. The tournament ran from November 4th to 10th. Although itโs been around since the 1960s, pickleball exploded in popularity over the past few years. The cross between table tennis, badminton, and tennis is now the fastest-growing sport in America for the third year running. In 2023, there were an estimated 48.3 million pickleball players in the United States, and pickleball participation has grown an average of 223.5% over the last 3 years! The competition was aiming to be โthe super bowl of pickleball,โ and pulled out all the stops with nightly concerts, tons of food, and the best players, all celebrating the game. Congratulations to the menโs singles gold medalist Federico Staksrud, and the Womenโs singles Gold medalist Anna Leigh Waters.
PAM: Now moving from land to sea. Scientists have found some surprising things in the ocean, but did you know that list of things includes a yellow brick road? Researchers on a 2022 expedition were exploring a deep sea ridge just north of the Hawaiian islands, when they stumbled upon an ancient dried-out lake bed paved with yellow brick. Well, at least it looks like that. Itโs made up of volcanic rock that has been broken up in a way that happens to look like bricks, probably because of heating and cooling from different eruptions. It was discovered by accident as researchers surveyed a ridge in Papahฤnaumokuฤkea Marine National Monument, one of the largest marine conservation areas in the world. Itโs actually larger than all of the national parks in the US combined! Itโs so big that weโve only explored about 3% of its seafloor. Thank goodness THIS wasnโt the one Dorothy had to find, she would have had to look for forever!
RYAN: Thereโs probably no traffic on that road, but she would have had to trade for swim fins instead of wearing those iconic red slippers. Those shoes are set to enter a new chapter in their lives. A pair of ruby slippers worn by Dorothy actress Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz are up for auction. Garland actually wore a few different pairs during the filming, but there are only 4 left. Bidding is open now until December 7th, and the current bid is already over $800,000! The shoes have not only been down the yellow brick road, but theyโve been around the block. Theyโve been in the Judy Garland Museum in Minnesota, they were stolen by a thief who thought they were covered in real jewels, and we actually donโt know where they were between the theft in 2005 and their recovery in 2018! They could have run a marathon! They could have been to a Taylor Swift concert! They could have walked all around the world's largest chocolate factory! Hold onโฆam I jealous of a pair of shoes?!
PAM: The Wizard of Oz may have had flying monkeys, but how about a little real life monkey business? A small town in South Carolina recently found themselves with a few extra furry friends around after 43 monkeys escaped from a research facility. Over the weekend, 25 of them were recovered. Itโs believed that they flocked to the wooded region surrounding the Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center in Yemassee after a caretaker didnโt secure the doors properly. Residents were advised to keep doors and windows closed so that monkeys didnโt invade their homes, and not to interact with them if they do come face to face with the monkeys. It might sound like fun to run around with monkeys, maybe challenge them to a monkey bar competition, but they are wild animals and the residents should keep their distance.
RYAN: PAM, I would never challenge a monkey to a monkey bar competition. I wouldnโt want to embarrass them. Wanna see my skills?
PAM: Probably not, but mmmmmmmaybe after the break!
Hey Tenโers! Just a reminder, Iโm working on a video game deep dive and I need to know: What are your favorite games on the Nintendo Switch, PS5, XBOX or PC and WHY? Email us at hello@thetennews.com or leave us a comment on Apple Podcasts or Spotify! Working on this deep dive is my excuse to play a LOT of video games between now and the holidays. So help me out and send us a message!
PAM: And weโre back! I love water. I drink it. I swim in it. I throw balloons filled with water at Ryan, when heโs not paying attentionโ
<SFX water balloon throw and splash>
RYAN: HEY!
PAM: But if youโre as excited about water as I am, you might be interested to hear about the Cambodian water festival. The festival falls around November every year, and this year it actually starts today! The annual three day celebration is also known as Bon Om Touk, and traces back to the 12th century! It commemorates the end of the rainy season, and the change in flow of the Tonle Sap River. It attracts millions of people every year, who come to enjoy colorful boat races, fireworks, unique traditional foods, and evening concerts. On the last day, hand-made boats with floating candles decorated with flowers and lotus leaves light up the river in a blessing ritual to ward off bad luck.
RYAN: Iโd like to order more blessings and less bad luck so I have moreโฆ GGs. <SFX GGs Intro> BIG news from NintendoโฆNO. They did not announce the follow up to the Switch, as Iโve said before, I wouldnโt expect that announcement until January or February of 2025, and definitely before the end of March, as theyโve saidโฆBUT they did announce that the next Nintendo system will be backwards compatible with Switch games, and the Nintendo Online Service. So youโll be able to play all the games you have on Switch, on the next Nintendo system!
RYAN: And are you a Pokรฉmon fan that wants to catch โem all? Or maybe you want to live on a street named after Pokรฉmon? If you move to Las Vegas, Nevada you can! A property company called Harmony Homes has named an entire neighborhood after some of our favorite pocket monsters. To name a few, thereโs Snorlax lane, Squirtle Lane and my personal favorite, Jigglypuff Place. This isnโt the first time Harmony Homes has done something like this, in North Las Vegas thereโs a neighborhood made up of Paw Patrol inspired streets!
PAM: Moooooo-ve over moo deng, thereโs a new hippo on the block!
RYAN: Whereโs that block and how can I live there?!
PAM: Scotland just got a whole lot cuter, after The Royal Zoological Society of Scotlandโs Edinburgh Zoo announced the birth of their own baby pygmy hippo at the end of October. The adorable addition is named Haggis, and has already won the hearts of visitors even though they havenโt seen her in person yet. The zoo is keeping her in extra safe-keeping for her first 30 days so they can keep an eye on her and her mom. Haggis and Moo Deng are not only little bundles of joy, but theyโre also helping pygmy hippos in general! These animals are really rare, and the viral videos are spreading smiles and awareness of the challenges that the species face. But before we get too distracted thinking of videos of pygmy hippos, we have toโฆ Ryan?
RYAN: I love my pygmy hippo friendsโ-theyโre so cuuuuuuute!
<SFX snaps fingers>
PAM: Ryan! Itโs trivia time! Take it away, Owen!
<SFX Trivia Theme song>
OWEN: Guys, thank you so much for those wacky stories. Some of those were real home runs. Speaking of home runs, which of the following is a dirty secret of major league baseball?
Players rub the balls with a magic mud
The sand at the pitcherโs mound is shipped in from beaches, OR
The outfield grass tastes like mint
<SFX 5 second clock tick>
OWEN: Alright Tenโers, did you guess it? The answer is A! For over 80 years, baseball has rubbed a special mud on baseballs before every major league game to give fielders a better grip on the ball.
RYAN: Itโs called Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud, and it comes from one secret spot near the Delaware River. Even though this special mud was used all the time, weโre only just now able to explain why it makes the balls easier to grip! Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania studied the mud and proved with science that the benefit of the mud is more than just myth or superstition!
OWEN: Scientists found that the mud has perfect proportions of sticky clay and sand particles that increase friction. Together, they combine to form an almost magical mud thatโs an essential part of the game, keeping players safe from wild pitches and throws. There have been attempts to recreate the mud or make a synthetic replacement, but theyโve all fallen short, so it looks like this mud is here to stay!
RYAN: So cool! Owen, do you have any mouthwash or anything? I, um, went to test your mint flavored grass idea. Youโre right, it does NOT taste like mint. It was disgusting.
PAM: And thatโs Ten Things You Need to Know!
RYAN: I gotta say, I feel way better.
PAM: Me too! Wanna go play some pickleball?
RYAN: YES! Iโll go get the pickles!
PAM: Ryanโฆ
RYAN: Oh rightโฆcan we still have them as a snack?
PAM: Of course. But first, Ten News Snaps!
RYAN: Yes, please! Right after this note for the grownups.
[Ad Break]
RYAN: Time for Ten News Snaps! <Grand fanfare SFX>
PAM: A Tenโer named Ooooooooooiio left us a special review on Apple podcasts. It starts off with 16 butterfly emojis
RYAN: BUTTERFLIES?! How is this a special review?!
PAM: And then she said solve the puzzle and had different emojis equal different lettersโฆ
RYAN: Okay now THAT is special, lemme tryโฆ. Oooooooooooiio I got it! โYou. Are. Greatโ Thanks so much Ooooooooooiio, your puzzle was great too! FYI, Ten Things You Need to Know drops on Thursdays, and our deep dive episodes drop once a month.
If you want some bonus content, you could join the Tenโers Club on our website. And to our grownups, if you want to help support the Ten News, you can make a tax-deductible donation at the link in our show notes. The whole team thanks you for your support!
PAM: โThe Ten Newsโ is a co-production of Small But Mighty Media and Next Chapter Podcasts, and part of the Airwave Podcast Network.
RYAN: The Ten News creative team is snuggling with teddy bears and includes Tracey Not A Crooks, Adam the Great Bambino Bernard, Captain Kyle Murdock, Hebba the Big Cheese Gouda and Carson Pitter Patter Potter. Big thanks to Owen for contributing to this episode.
PAM: Our Production Director is Jeremiah Tittle, and our Executive Producers are Donald Albright and show creator Tracy Leeds Kaplan.
RYAN: And Iโm Ryan Willard, thanks for listening to the Ten News.
