PAM: Last Sunday was the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500, also known as “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” It’s marked as the biggest single-day sporting event in the world. Kicking off the event was nine-time Grammy nominee Natalie Grant, who sang the national anthem, and seven-time Super Bowl champ Tom Brady, who rode alongside seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champ Jimmie Johnson during some pre-race laps. This year’s field consisted of 33 starters who raced around the 2.5-mile long circuit for 200 laps, equivalent to 500 miles, and in a nail-biting finish, Alex Palou won the race! Palou is a first-time Indy 500 champion, but has been dominating the current IndyCar season so far. He’s also the first Spaniard to win the Indy 500!

RYAN: Indy cars are pretty cool, but do you know what’s even cooler? HOT DOG CARS. Did you catch the first-ever Wienie 500!? On the Friday before the Indy 500, also known as Carb Day, Oscar Mayer’s six Wienermobiles took to the track, making it the first time in a decade that all six vehicles in the company's fleet have been at the exact same location. AND, it was the first time they ever raced! Each Weinermobile represented a different region of the United States, including: the New York Dog for the East, Slaw Dog for the Southeast, Chili Dog for the South, Chi Dog for the Midwest, Seattle Dog for the Northwest, and Sonoran Dog for the Southwest. And, this year’s winner of the Wienie 500 was Slaw Dog of the Southeast, and its drivers (or Hotdoggers) Maddy Mustard and Grillmaster Matthew, received a Wiener’s Wreath, similar to the Bord-Warner Winner’s Wreath that was presented to in the iconic Victory Lane at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

PAM: Up next, yet another headline out of Indianapolis, except we’re switching sports! After the New York Knicks took the dub over the Boston Celtics in game six of the Eastern Conference semifinals, Knicks fans took to the streets outside Madison Square Garden for post-game celebrations. But, it wasn’t all fun and games for everyone. Pacers fan and firefighter, Hans Perez, was among the crowd of Knicks fans sporting a Tyrese Haliburton jersey — Haliburton is a standout point guard for the Indiana Pacers — who the Knicks are currently competing against in the conference finals. And, because Perez was sporting a Pacers jersey, Knicks fans began throwing bags of trash at the poor guy. It wasn’t long before Haliburton found out what happened to one of his fans, and to make up for it, he surprised Perez with a trip to game 4 of the Knicks-Pacers series in Indianapolis with complete VIP treatment!

RYAN: And now for our last story about the Hoosier state, but this time it’s about the robots I’m currently battling and…well, science! <SFX Science Cue> A student engineering team at Purdue University has built a robot that can solve a Rubik’s cube in one-tenth of a second, which is faster than the average time it takes to blink! The robot called ‘Purdubik’s Cube’ set a Guinness World Record last month, becoming the ‘fastest robot to solve a puzzle cube’ after solving a mixed-up cube in 0.103 seconds, beating the previous record of 0.305 seconds, which was set by Mitsubishi Electric engineers in 2024. Purdubick’s Cube was engineered by students Junpei Ota, Aden Hurd, Matthew Parohay, and Alex Berta, and it was originally built to compete in a design competition. But, after they won first place, the students set out to improve the robot with sponsorship support from Purdue’s Institute for Control, Optimization, and Networks. Using machine vision for color recognition, and custom solving algorithms optimized for execution time and industrial-grade motion control, the robot is a Rubik’s Cube king! A king that I will dethrone after this episode. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

PAM: A while back, we shared that Netflix was getting a fresh new homepage, but now there’s even more exciting news from the streaming giant: Sesame Street episodes will be available to stream later this year! You’ll be able to catch the next 3 seasons of Sesame Street, plus a library full of past episodes. The new deal gives Netflix exclusive global premiere streaming rights to new episodes in seasons 56 through 58, and if you don’t have Netflix, you can still catch new episodes for free on PBS TV stations in the U.S., PBS Kids’ digital platforms, and its YouTube channel. With rights to 90 hours of past episodes, Netflix will also have the rights to develop video games for ‘Sesame Street’ and its spinoff series, ‘Sesame Street: Mecha Builders.’ This new deal is really exciting for Sesame Street after it reportedly faced a financial crisis, plus the pressure from President Trump after he signed an executive order to end public funding of PBS and National Public Radio, also known as NPR.

RYAN: Hey Ten’ers! We are just a few episodes away from the end of Season 5 and we want to close it out with a little end of season surprise GIVEAWAY. If you’d like a chance at winning an awesome super secret prize, fill out our listener survey! The link is in the show notes and on our website: thetennews.com. Back to the show! Hey Ten’ers! We are just a few episodes away from the end of Season 5 and we want to close it out with a little end of season surprise GIVEAWAY. We’ve partnered with Hugimals and if you fill out a listener survey, you’ll be automatically entered to win a Hugimal or other pretty sweet prizes! For your chance to win, fill out our listener survey, the link is in our show notes and on our website: thetennews.com! Back to the show!

PAM: What started as a hike quickly became a treasure hunt when a group of hikers stumbled upon an aluminum box sticking out of a stony wall in the Krkonose Mountains, located in the Czech Republic. And, to their surprise, the box was filled with gold!

RYAN: WHUT. GOLD?!?

PAM: Yup. The hikers took the loot to the Museum of Eastern Bohemia. They first spoke with a coin expert before archaeologists began investigating the treasure and visiting the site where it was discovered, according to the head of the museum’s archaeological department, Miroslav Novak. Inside were 10 gold bracelets, 17 cigar cases, a powder compact, a comb, and 598 gold coins, and while the complete appraisal of these items is still underway, the metal value of the gold coins alone is 8 million Czech koruna, or roughly $360,000 U.S. dollars. Why and who buried the treasure is still unknown, but a coin dated 1921 suggests it's less than a century old.

RYAN: I am definitely going hiking AND treasure hunting this Summer. Now from ancient treasure to ancient animals, after studying more than five dozen fossils, paleontologists have discovered a tiny, three-eyed predator that once swam in Earth’s oceans 506 million years ago. Nicknamed the ‘sea moth’, the species is known as Mosure fentoni and belongs to a group of radiodonts, early relatives of arthropods. According to the lead study author and curator of paleontology and geology at the Manitoba Museum, Dr. Joe Moysiuk, studying the now-extinct radiodonts can help explain the evolution of modern arthropods like insects, spiders, and crabs. While the creatures had jointed claws similar to modern-day insects and crustaceans, they had one very unique feature – a larger, third eye in the middle of their head. And even though it’s referred to as a predator, this tiny “sea moth” was only about the size of an adult human’s index finger. And somehow that ancient creature sounds less scary than butterflies.

PAM: For 10 points, can you name this animal? <SFX Bunny sounds> <SFX Tick Tick Tick DING!> In more animal news, we’ve got a story from Kap’s neck of the woods, San Francisco, about a giant BUNNY RABBIT named “Alex the Great.” Rescued from a meat farm in Modesto, California, in December 2020 by mechanical engineer Josh Row and his partner Kathreen Kei Koc, Alex now leads a life filled with public appearances and therapy work. Alex the Great has built his success on brand partnerships, celebrity meetings, and appearances at San Francisco Giants games, as well as his iconic ride. You can catch him motoring around in his custom-made, toy Mercedes-Benz that was specially adapted by one of his rescuers, Josh Row so that a rabbit can drive it. Aside from therapy work and delighting his fans, Alex loves to spend his spare time cuddling with his owners and snacking on his favorite foods like mixed greens, spinach, and endive.

RYAN: Up next, a 29-year-old called it quits on his corporate job to sail the world with his beloved furry friend. Oliver Widger of Oregon left his job at a tire shop and cashed out his 401K, a retirement savings plan, after feeling frustrated with the pressures and disappointment of corporate life, and working just to make ends meet. He also had a health scare a while back involving a syndrome that could lead to paralysis, so he decided to pursue his own kind of freedom and purpose. With the money from his 401K, he bought a boat and is currently setting sail to Hawaii with his one paw-ssenger, Phoenix, a cat he rescued from a dumpster 7 years ago. He’s also got friends planning a welcome party for his arrival in Hawaii, and once he arrives, Oliver says that he’s worked so hard for so long that he’s just going to snorkel for 30 days and enjoy looking at fish, fully embracing his new life.

RYAN: And for our final thing you need to know, here’s our Trivia Master, Owen.

OWEN: Today’s trivia is about two of our favorite things – Selena Gomez and Oreos! But first, let’s focus on one. Oreos are the world's best selling cookie, and are sold in over 100 countries…but do you know what year the Oreo cookie was created? Was it:

1850
1901
1973
Or 1912

The answer is… D! Oreo’s were first made at the Nabisco Factory in New York City on March 6, 1912. In that same year, the original and lemon meringue were the first flavors ever created. Since then, there have been over 85 different flavors, including Selena Gomez’s new Oreo flavor that will be available in June! This limited-edition Oreo is inspired by Gomez’s love of horchata, a popular Mexican drink that combines sweet and spiced flavors. The cookie will feature a layer of chocolate and cinnamon-flavored creme on top of a layer of sweetened condensed milk-flavored creme with cinnamon sugar, between two chocolate-cinnamon wafers!

RYAN: Owen, say less. You had me at Oreo. I love my snacky mcyumyums!

PAM: And that was Ten Things You Need to Know. Are you giving up on the blindfolded Rubik’s cube, Ry?

RYAN: I’m taking a pause, actually. I was thinking of challenging the robots to a cookie eating contest– <SFX crunch and chew>

PAM: Oh, robots don’t eat cookies. So…you won that one.

RYAN: I won!? I beat the robots?! I should still probably practice the cookie eating, in case they want a rematch. <SFX crunch and chew>

PAM: Maybe we should give Ten News Snaps out before your mouth is completely full.

RYAN: Bet. And before that, here’s a quick note for the grownups.

RYAN: It’s Time for Ten News Snaps!

RYAN: A Ten’er named Marc said, “ I am sick please put on Ten News Snaps.” I hope you’re feeling better, Marc! Sending you all the best!

PAM: Over on Spotify a Ten’er named Michelle said, “Great job! I love your podcast so much, and your next episode is coming out on my birthday, so kinda like an extra present! To be honest, Ryan, I am not a fan of most butterflies and can relate. I would love to see an episode all about what is going on politically lately.” Thank you for that wonderful comment, Michelle! You are in luck, we are in fact doing an upcoming episode on what’s going on politically lately! If you have a question you’d like to ask a member of congress, send it to hello@thetennews.com!

RYAN: And two extra notes for the grown-ups, you can now get ad-free versions of our episodes when you join the Ten’ers Club on our website.

PAM: And 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!

RYAN: “The Ten News” is a co-production of Small But Mighty Media and Next Chapter Podcasts and part of the Airwave Podcast Network.

PAM: The Ten News creative team is going hiking and treasure hunting and includes Tracey Not a Crooks, Adam the Great Bambino Bernard, Brian Not Ryan Douglas and Carson Not So Harry Potter. Big thanks to Owen, Not Slowin Down for Anybody.

RYAN: Our Production Director is Jeremiah “On Fyaah” Tittle, and our Executive Producers are Donald “Albright Albright Albright” and show creator Tracy “Takes the” Leeds Kaplan. I’m Ryan Willard.

PAM: And I’m Pamela Kirkland, thanks for listening to the Ten News.

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