Super Bowl LX, Frozen Iguanas, and Lunar New Year 2026

Episode
Written By Tracy Kaplan

10 Things You Need to Know: Episode 626

10 Things You Need to Know

1. Super Bowl LX Recap 🏈

2. Going for Gold 🎿

3. Penny the Doberman Pinscher 🏆

4. Florida's Frozen Iguanas 🥶

5. Ice, Ice, Species 🙉

6. Swimming to Save the Day 🛟

7. Tiny Robots 🤖

8. Digging for Diamonds 🕹️

9. 2026 Lunar New Year 🧧

10. It's the Year of the...? 📆

RESOURCES

STAY CONNECTED

🫶 Support news for kids by donating today!

✔️ Subscribe to our newsletter!

📱 Follow us on Instagram @thetennews

📧 Email us at hello@thetennews.com if you have any questions or want to submit audio!

TRANSCRIPT

INT. TEN NEWS STUDIO

<SFX Superbowl + Westminster Dog Show sounds>

RYAN: YES! Let’s go! Pacific North West for the win!

PAM: Hey Ry–oh wow. That is a lot of screens you have going. 

RYAN: I’m just catching up on the Superbowl, Westminster Dog Show and obviously the winter Olympics— WHOA! DID YOU SEE THAT?! 

PAM: ALRIGHT BREEZY, MAKING IT LOOK EASY! That was awesome. Yeah we’ve got a lot of wins to cover this week. 

RYAN: Well I’m ready to rock, cause I’m Ryan Willard.

PAM: And I’m Pamela Kirkland, it’s Thursday, February 12th.

RYAN: This is Ten Things You Need to Know. 

RYAN: Alright we’re starting off with a bunch of wins in the Wild World of Sports <SFX Wide World of Sports> Super Bowl LX out of Santa Clara, California, is officially in the books. The Seattle Seahawks came out on top, earning just their second Super Bowl win in franchise history. They defeated the New England Patriots 29 to 13, denying New England their seventh Super Bowl title, which would have been the most wins in NFL history. The game also saw a new Super Bowl record, as Seahawks kicker Jason Myers made a total of five field goals! The game’s MVP honors went to Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III. He became the first running back to win Super Bowl MVP since the Denver Broncos’ Terrell Davis in Super Bowl XXXII. Walker rushed down the field for 135 yards on 27 carries and had 26 receiving yards on two catches. His 135 rushing yards are also the most by any player in a Super Bowl since Terrell Davis. 

PAM: And as you must know, the 2026 Winter Olympics are underway. Over the weekend, Team USA won its first gold medal of the games! In the Alpine Skiing Women’s Downhill event, Breezy Johnson was the sixth rider to speed down the mountain and blew through the course in 1:36.10. This was Johnson’s first-ever medal at any Games, and she’s just the second American woman to win gold in the event behind the iconic Lindsey Vonn. While Vonn competed this year, she unfortunately entered the event with a ruptured ACL from a crash before the Olympics began. She was hopeful to make a good run during the Games, but had a gnarly crash just seconds into her run. Vonn was treated by medical professionals before she was airlifted off the mountain by a helicopter to a local hospital. She ended up with a broken left leg, but is on the road to recovery, and we wish her a smooth and speedy comeback!

RYAN: 2026 marked the 150th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, famously known as America’s Dog Show, and now the second-longest continuous sporting event in the United States. So, who took home Best in Show? No it was not Midnight or Rigby, they are CATS. <SFX meow> It was Penny! The 4-year-old Doberman Pinscher, rose above nearly 3,000 dogs representing more than 200 breeds from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and 17 other countries. Alongside her handler, Andy Linton, Penny claimed the trophy and the prestigious Best in Show purple ribbon. Remarkably, the last Doberman to win at Westminster was in 1989… and fun fact! Andy Linton was also the handler for that champion, Indy. 

PAM: Up next, iguanas falling from the sky! 

RYAN: WAIT WHAT! Iguanas are falling from the sky?!? 

PAM: Not really, but kind of. Freezing temperatures across Florida sent the invasive species into a coma-like state called torpor, in which their bodies shut down to conserve energy. This leaves iguanas immobile and unresponsive, and often causes them to fall from trees. And since they’re an invasive species, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission announced an executive order allowing people to remove the animals from the wild without a permit and take them to five drop-off sites across South and Southwest Florida. Because of this effort, wildlife officials say that 5,195 invasive green iguanas were removed from Florida's ecosystem. While progress was made, fun was also had as a viral video showed people making a “blanket” for themselves from the frozen iguanas!  

RYAN: Alright we’ve got more animal news: scientists at Colossal Biosciences are back to work. That is the company that made news after recently reviving the dire wolf, an animal that was previously extinct. While they’re currently trying to bring back the woolly mammoth, they’ve also got a new project underway: the Colossal BioVault. The BioVault will store frozen genetic material, including samples from multiple species, and will be monitored by advanced robotics and artificial intelligence. Colossal hopes that the vault will eventually hold more than 1 million samples across more than 10,000 species. These samples could help de-extinct lost species and produce offspring for threatened species, which is needed because, according to projections from Colossal and the United Arab Emirates, nearly half of the world’s species could face extinction by 2050. The Colossal Biovault will be located in a new World Preservation Lab at the Museum of the Future in Dubai. I wonder if they’re gonna need my genetic material, so they can make other Ryans…

PAM: Nope, I think the world can only handle one Ryan Willard. 

RYAN: That’s so nice of you to say, Pam. Let’s take a quick break while I digest that compliment. Hey Ten’ers - The winter Olympics are under way and I’m curious… What’s your favorite winter Olympic sport. Or…if you could add any winter sport what would it be? I personally would add snowball dodgeball, which I just made up but actually sounds pretty awesome. Leave us an Apple review or a comment on Spotify and let us know, and we might shout you out on the show! Speaking of, back to it!

PAM: We’re back with an incredible story out of Australia. Austin Applebee, a 13-year-old boy, is being hailed a hero after saving his mom and two younger siblings who were swept out to sea. The family was out paddleboarding and kayaking when the weather took a turn, and that’s when Applebee’s mom made the tough decision to send her oldest child for help because she couldn’t leave all three children. Austin set off in an inflatable kayak, but he quickly left it behind when it began to take on water. He then ditched his life vest to improve his swimming, and after 2.5 long miles and 4 hours, he made it ashore. He was able to get help, and a search helicopter found his mom and two siblings after they had drifted 9 miles and spent nearly 10 hours in the water. 

RYAN: From a life‑saving swim to swimming robots. Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania, with help from researchers at the University of Michigan, have developed tiny swimming robots that are smaller than a grain of salt. Despite their size, each robot has a built-in computer that lets it control its own movements as it swims through water. Powered by a solar panel, it can run for months on light alone. The miniature computer can be programmed using flashes of light and even store memory. Despite the challenges of building such small machines, each robot costs 0only about one US cent to make. The researchers hope these robots could one day help with tasks such as monitoring the health of cells in the human body. Though I personally hope they can help me form a nano tech Iron Man suit. 

PAM: Again, I don’t know if the world can handle that, Ry… Have you ever been to a carnival or an arcade and won a prize? 

RYAN: Yes of course, they’re honestly not that great, most of the time.

PAM: Well, Dave & Buster’s, a restaurant chain where you can enjoy yummy food AND play arcade game–

RYAN: –I don’t know where this is going but I LIKE IT!

PAM:  –has announced that they are putting five 15,000-dollar, 3-carat diamond rings into their Human Crane game to celebrate Valentine’s Day. The chain crane game isn’t your typical one; instead of a claw, players are actually lowered into a pit of giant prizes where they try to grab as much as they can. The rings will be available as prizes at select stores, and couples can secure their ride on the human crane for 20 bucks starting on February 14th! 

RYAN: While February may be the month of love, 2026 is the year of the Horse. Coming up on February 17th is the Lunar New Year, a 15-day celebration filled with traditions like decorating, shopping, feasting, and the famous Lantern Festival, where kids carry lanterns around their neighborhoods at night, marking the end of the celebration. This year’s zodiac animal, the Horse, is the 7th animal in the 12-year cycle of the Chinese Zodiac signs and follows behind the Snake. The Horse is thought to bring confidence, energy, and love, making 2026 a year full of spirited fun and new adventures! Enjoy it while it lasts because the next Year of the Horse won’t be back until 2038!

PAM: And for the last thing you need to know, let’s go to our Trivia Master, Owen. 

OWEN: Thanks Pam! Now the Lunar New Year is a cool holiday, but it isn’t just called the Lunar New Year… Do you know its other name? Is it:

  1. Harvest Festival

  2. Spring Festival

  3. Lantern Festival, or

  4. Moon Festival?

The answer is… Spring Festival! And speaking of horses, China is kicking off the Year of the Horse with a surprising twist: a viral plush toy nicknamed the “cry cry horse.” What was meant to be a cheerful red stuffed animal with a big smile ended up with its mouth stitched upside‑down by accident. It came out with a frown that people are saying matches the mood of the current economy. While it may seem like a sad way to start the celebration, people can’t get enough of the unhappy horse and the company has had to increase production to keep up with demand! 

PAM: And that was Ten Things You Need to know. 

RYAN: Wait. “Cry cry horse” is what my sister used to call me when she’d beat me at Skeeball. 

PAM: Well if you can beat me at Skeeball, I’ll get you a “Cry Cry Horse plushy.”

RYAN: CHALLENGE ACCEPTED PAMELA. After, we give Ten News Snaps to some of our listeners, obviously.

PAM: But first, here’s a quick note for the grownups. 

<AD BREAK>

RYAN: It’s time for Ten News Snaps!

PAM: A Ten’er named Pookiedookie_dancerface left us a five star Apple review and said, “I love ur podcast I use it to sleep, also it informs me about the world.” I’m glad we can keep you informed, and honored to help you get your Z’s!

RYAN: A Ten’er named Fan of Manga left us a comment on Spotify that said, “HI! Where are you in Legends ZA? I’m rank C and my main goal is to get a full mega evolving dragon team. What’s your rank and party(referring to the six Pokemon that you carry around)?” Thank you for asking Fan of Manga, and thank you for sharing your goals. I’m currently rocking __________ and hope to run into you in Lumiose City!

PAM: 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. 

RYAN: 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! 

PAM: “The Ten News” 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 sending their love to all the Ten’ers and includes Tracey Not a Crooks, Adam the Great Bambino Bernard, Brian Not Ryan Douglas, the Duke of Earl Davis, and Carson Not So Harry Potter. Big thanks to Owen, Not Slowin Down for Anybody. 

PAM: Our Production Director is Jeremiah “On Fyaaah” Tittle, and our Executive Producers are Donald “Albright, Albright, Albright!” and show creator Tracy Takes the Leeds Kaplan. 

RYAN: I’m Ryan Willard.

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

Tracy Kaplan
Next

Celebrate Black History Month, 2026 Winter Olympics, and Flying Cars