Curious About Earth

PODCAST 165: CURIOUS ABOUT EARTH

RELEASE DATE: NOVEMBER 28TH, 2021

D:  HELLO, AND WELCOME BACK TO THE CURIOUS KID PODCAST.  WE ARE SO LUCKY TO HAVE LISTENERS IN MANY DIFFERENT COUNTRIES.  NO MATTER WHERE YOU LISTEN TO THIS PODCAST FROM, THERE IS ONE PLACE THAT ALL OF US CALL HOME, AND THAT PLACE IS EARTH.  THE PLANET WE INHABIT IS BEAUTIFUL AND WE HAVE A COUPLE OF LISTENERS THAT WANTED TO LEARN MORE ABOUT IT, SO LET’S GET TO IT.  

O:  TRIPLE MAILBAG!

D:  TRIPLE MAILBAG!

“DEAR JACOB AND OLIVIA, MY BROTHER AND I LOVE YOUR PODCAST.  WE ARE CURIOUS ABOUT HOW THE EARTH WAS MADE.  I AM ALSO CURIOUS ABOUT YOUTUBE.  MY BROTHER IS NAMED CALVIN AND I AM NAMED CAMERON.  I AM AGE 8 AND MY BROTHER IS AGE 6.  

BYE FOR NOW, LOVE YOUR PODCAST.  

FROM CAMERON AND CALVIN OF PORTLAND, OREGON.”

“HI OLIVIA AND JACOB!! WE LOVE YOUR PODCAST!!  ABBY WAS WONDERING IF YOU COULD GET CURIOUS ABOUT HAND SANITIZER PLEASE!  WE WERE ALSO WONDERING A LOT LATELY ABOUT THE EARTH AND THE SUN AND WOULD LOVE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THOSE TOO!  THANK YOU AND KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK ON YOUR PODCAST!!

FROM ABBY OF OTTOWA, ONTARIO, CANADA”

“Hi Jacob and Olivia,

Josie (aged 9) and Bowie (aged 7) here! We live in a small town named Callignee, which is in the state of Victoria, Australia. We found your show when we were driving to a theme park and Mum said we couldn't watch a movie. Instead, we found your podcast, and we love it! We've been telling all our friends about it. Josie's favourite episode was the unicorns one, and Bowie's favourite episode was the one about fire. Mum's favourite was about the heart, she said she learnt so much from it! The road signs episode was interesting too - we have a road sign near our home that has a kangaroo, wombat and koala all on the same sign (we're lucky to live somewhere where we see these animals a lot, especially kangaroos in our backyard). 

SIDE NOTE - THAT’S AWESOME.  KANGAROOS IN YOUR BACKYARD.  WE GET ANIMALS IN OUR BACKYARD TOO, LIKE SQUIRRELS, RABBITS, GROUNDHOGS, AND THE OCCASIONAL SNAKE, BUT NOTHING AS FUN AS A KANGAROO.  

NOW BACK TO THE E-MAIL:  We have some ideas of other topics we would love you guys to explore! 

Bowie's ideas are:

• the world
• horses

Josie's ideas are:

• the solar system
• Movies - how do they make them

Thanks so much and please keep on doing great episodes.

From Josie and Bowie (and their Mum, Renee).”

O:  THANKS FOR REACHING OUT TO US, CAMERON, CALVIN, ABBY, JOSIE, AND BOWIE.  WE ARE GETTING CURIOUS ABOUT THE EARTH THIS WEEK FOR YOU.

D:  AND WE HAVE MORE GREAT NEWS FOR ABBY.  WE SPOKE A BIT ABOUT HAND SANITIZER IN THE EPISODE CURIOUS ABOUT CLEANLINESS AND WE DID A FULL EPISODE ON THE SUN, SO CHECK THOSE EPISODE OUT IF YOU HAVEN’T HEARD THEM ALREADY.

LEARNING ABOUT THE EARTH IS GOING TO BE SO MUCH FUN.  I BET THERE IS A LOT TO KNOW, SO LET’S GET RIGHT TO THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK.

O:  THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK IS, HOW OLD IS THE PLANET EARTH?

D:  INTERESTING QUESTION.  IS EARTH ONE, IS EARTH TWO, IS EARTH THREE, IS EARTH FOUR?…

O:  I HAVE A FEELING YOU’RE GOING TO BE COUNTING FOR QUITE A WHILE BEFORE YOU GET TO THE CORRECT NUMBER.  YOU SHOULD PROBABLY STOP NOW.

D:  YOU’RE PROBABLY RIGHT.  I’LL STOP COUNTING AND GET RIGHT INTO SOME AMAZING FACTS ABOUT THE EARTH.  EARTH IS THE THIRD PLANET FROM THE SUN.

O:  THE TWO PLANETS THAT ARE CLOSER TO THE SUN ARE MERCURY AND VENUS, AND THOSE PLANETS ARE WAY TOO HOT FOR US TO LIVE ON.  

D:  EVEN THOUGH THERE ARE ONLY 2 PLANETS CLOSER TO THE SUN THAN EARTH, THAT DOESN’T MEAN THAT WE’RE THAT CLOSE TO THE SUN.

O:  THE SUN IS A WHOPPING 93 MILLION MILES AWAY FROM EARTH, AND YET IT GIVES US LOTS OF LIGHT AND WARMTH FROM FAR, FAR AWAY.  THAT’S BECAUSE THE SUN IS GIGANTIC.  YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO SQUEEZE ABOUT 1.3 MILLION PLANET EARTHS INSIDE THE SUN.  

D:  THE EARTH REVOLVES, OR CIRCLES AROUND, THE SUN ONCE EVERY 365.25 DAYS.  THAT’S A YEAR.

O:  BECAUSE THERE ARE REALLY 365.25 DAYS EVERY YEAR, WE ADD A LEAP DAY EVERY 4TH YEAR TO GET US BACK ON TRACK.

D:  IN ADDITION TO REVOLVING AROUND THE SUN, THE EARTH ALSO SPINS, OR ROTATES.  IT TAKES ONE DAY FOR THE EARTH TO COMPLETE A SINGLE ROTATION AND SPIN ALL THE WAY AROUND.  YOU MAY THINK THAT A DAY IS EXACTLY 24 HOURS, AND THAT’S PRECISELY HOW WE MEASURE A DAY, BUT IT TURNS OUT THAT IT’S A TEENY BIT SHORTER THAN THAT.  IT TAKES 23 HOURS AND 56 MINUTES FOR EARTH TO COMPLETE A FULL ROTATION, JUST 4 MINUTES SHY OF 24 HOURS.    

O:  THE EARTH IS COVERED BY 71% WATER AND ONLY 29% LAND.

D:  I ALWAYS FOUND THAT TO BE AMAZING.  THERE IS WAY MORE WATER ON EARTH THAN LAND.  

O:  WE ARE ABLE TO LIVE ON EARTH BECAUSE OF A COMBINATION OF GASSES THAT COME TOGETHER TO FORM THE AIR WE BREATHE.

D:  AND THOSE GASSES INCLUDE MOSTLY OXYGEN AND NITROGEN.  THEY ARE THE REASON WHY LIFE CAN EXIST HERE ON EARTH.  RIGHT NOW, EARTH IS THE ONLY KNOWN PLANET WHERE LIFE EXISTS.

O:  EARTH HAS ONE MOON, AND IS ACTUALLY THE ONLY PLANET TO HAVE JUST ONE MOON.  FUN FACT:  THE MOON IS GETTING FURTHER AWAY FROM EARTH BY ABOUT 1 INCH PER YEAR.  THAT’S GOING TO BE HARD TO NOTICE.         

D:  EARTH IS THE 5TH LARGEST PLANET, BUT IS THE LARGEST OF ALL OF THE TERRESTRIAL PLANETS.

O:  TERRESTRIAL JUST MEANS THAT IT HAS A HARD ROCKY SURFACE.  THE OTHER TERRESTRIAL PLANETS ARE MARS, MERCURY, AND VENUS, AND THE EARTH IS LARGER THAN THOSE 3 PLANETS.  

D:  EARTH HAS A BUNCH OF LAYERS.  THE OUTSIDE ROCKY LAYER IS CALLED THE EARTH’S CRUST.  BELOW THE CRUST IS A LAYER CALLED THE MANTLE.  DIG A BIT DEEPER AND YOU WILL FIND THE OUTER CORE.  DO YOU HAVE ANY GUESSES WHAT THE LAYER AFTER THE OUTER CORE MIGHT BE CALLED?

O:  IT MUST BE THE INNER CORE.  TEMPERATURES AT THE CORE ARE ESTIMATED TO BE CLOSE TO 10,000 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT.  THAT IS HOTTER THAN THE SURFACE OF THE SUN.

D:  CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?  THERE ARE PARTS OF EARTH, DEEP DOWN INSIDE, THAT ARE HOTTER THAN THE SUN?   

O:  SPEAKING OF THE SUN, THE EARTH TRAVELS VERY FAST TO MAKE SURE IT CAN REVOLVE AROUND THE SUN EVERY YEAR.  

D:  YOU’RE NOT KIDDING.  THE EARTH TRAVELS AT A SPEED OF AROUND 67,000 MILES PER HOUR.  

O:  IF THAT’S THE CASE, WHY DON’T I FEEL ANYTHING?

D:  YOU DON’T FEEL ANYTHING BECAUSE WE ARE TRAVELING AT A CONSTANT SPEED.  IF THE EARTH WERE TO SUDDENLY STOP MOVING, YOU WOULD FEEL IT AND IT WOULDN’T FEEL GOOD.  THINK OF IT THIS WAY.  IF YOU’VE EVER TRAVELLED ON AN AIRPLANE BEFORE, YOU KNOW THAT AIRPLANES FLY AT VERY FAST SPEEDS.  THAT’S WHY WE USE THEM TO GET PLACES FAR AWAY.  BUT EVEN AS AN AIRPLANE IS FLYING AT SPEEDS OF HUNDREDS OF MILES PER HOUR, AIRPLANE RIDES CAN BE VERY SMOOTH, AND YOU MAY NOT FEEL LIKE YOU’RE MOVING AT ALL.  THAT’S BECAUSE YOU’RE TRAVELING AT A CONSTANT SPEED.  IF YOU’VE BEEN IN A CAR THAT NEEDED TO STOP SUDDENLY FOR A RED LIGHT, OR A CAR THAT STOPPED AHEAD, OR AN ANIMAL IN THE ROAD, OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, YOU KNOW THAT YOU CAN TOTALLY FEEL IT.  YOU MAY NOT HAVE EVEN BEEN TRAVELING THAT QUICKLY, BUT YOU HAD TO SUDDENLY STOP.  THIS ALL EXPLAINS WHY WE CAN’T FEEL THE EARTH MOVING, EVEN THOUGH IT’S ALWAYS MOVING VERY QUICKLY.  IT’S BECAUSE THE MOVEMENT IS CONSTANT.       

O:  EVERY PLANET REVOLVES AROUND THE SUN, NOT JUST EARTH.  THE CLOSER A PLANET LIVES TO THE SUN, THE LESS TIME IT TAKES TO COMPLETE A REVOLUTION.  THE FURTHER AWAY A PLANET IS FROM THE SUN, THE LONGER IT TAKES.  

D:  CHECK THIS OUT.  IT TAKES MERCURY, THE CLOSEST PLANET TO THE SUN, ONLY 88 DAYS TO MAKE IT’S WAY AROUND THE SUN.  THAT MEANS THAT A YEAR ON MERCURY ONLY LASTS 88 DAYS.  

O:  THAT MEANS THAT I WOULD BE 34 YEARS OLD ON MERCURY.  

D:  SLOW DOWN OLIVIA.  BEING 8 YEARS OLD IS SO MUCH FUN.  NO NEED TO RUSH.  NEPTUNE, THE FURTHEST PLANET FROM THE SUN, TAKES A WHOPPING 165 YEARS TO REVOLVE AROUND THE SUN.

O:  THAT MEANS THAT A YEAR ON NEPTUNE IS EQUIVALENT TO 165 YEARS HERE ON EARTH.

D:  SO, YOU WOULDN’T EVEN BE 5% OF THE WAY TO A FULL YEAR OLD ON NEPTUNE.  

O:  WHAT MAKES A PLANET A PLANET IN THE FIRST PLACE?

D:  WE DISCUSSED THIS IN THE EPISODE CURIOUS ABOUT THE PLANETS, WHICH YOU SHOULD TOTALLY CHECK OUT IF YOU LOVE THIS EPISODE.  IN ORDER TO BE A PLANET, YOU NEED TO HAVE 3 QUALITIES.

O:  FIRST, YOU NEED TO ORBIT THE SUN, OR ANOTHER STAR.

D:  SECOND, YOU NEED TO BE ABLE TO CLEAR YOUR ORBIT, OR PATH AROUND THE SUN, OF SMALL OBJECTS.

O:  AND LAST, YOU NEED TO BE HUGE ENOUGH TO BE ROUNDED BY YOUR OWN GRAVITY.  CHECK, CHECK, AND CHECK… EARTH IS DEFINITELY A PLANET.  

D:  DID YOU KNOW THAT THE EARTH IS NOT A PERFECT SPHERE?  THANKS TO GRAVITY, IT’S ACTUALLY CHUBBY AT THE EQUATOR AND FLATTER AT THE NORTH AND SOUTH POLES.  THAT MEANS THAT THE EARTH ACTUALLY LOOKS A BIT MORE LIKE A PUMPKIN SHAPE THAN A PERFECT SPHERE.  

OKAY OLIVIA, LET’S GET TO THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK.  HOW OLD IS EARTH?

O:  EARTH IS ABOUT FOUR AND A HALF BILLION YEARS OLD.  THAT’S CRAZY OLD.  

D:  THAT’S BAD NEWS, BECAUSE I ONLY HAVE 20 CANDLES FOR THE BIRTHDAY CAKE.  THAT’S TOTALLY NOT GOING TO BE ENOUGH CANDLES.    

BEFORE WE SAY GOODBYE, WE HAVE A COUPLE OF PEOPLE TO THANK.

O:  THANK YOU TO OUR NEWEST SUPPORTER, JOSHUA A.

D:  A BIG THANKS TO JOSHUA FOR SUPPORTING US ON PATREON.  FOR HIS SUPPORT, JOSHUA GETS A LOT OF FUN THINGS.

O:  WE EVEN SENT JOSHUA A PACKAGE IN THE MAIL WITH A PENCIL HOLDER THAT HAS THE CURIOUS KID PODCAST LOGO ON IT.  INSIDE THE PENCIL HOLDER WAS A NOTE FROM ME AND A SPECIAL BRACELET I MADE FOR HIM.

D:  THAT’S REALLY SPECIAL.  WE ARE SO THANKFUL FOR ALL OUR PATREON SUPPORTERS.  WE REALLY CAN’T SAY THANK YOU ENOUGH TO ALL OUR AMAZING SUPPORTERS.  

O:  AND, THANKS TO USERNAME MOM FOR LEAVING US A 5 STAR REVIEW.

D:  THE REVIEW SAYS “HI, MY NAME IS ANNA AND I LISTEN WITH MY SON ANDREW, WHO IS 7 YEARS OLD.  WE LOOK FORWARD TO NEW EPISODES BEING RELEASED EVERY SUNDAY.  WE HAVE LEARNED SO MUCH FROM JACOB AND OLIVIA.  OUR FAVORITE EPISODES ARE ABOUT SPACE, INCLUDING THE EPISODES ABOUT PLANETS AND THE EPISODE ABOUT STARS.  WE WOULD LOVE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT BLACKHOLES, PIZZA, AND ALIENS.  WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS PODCAST TO ALL FAMILIES WHO ARE CURIOUS!  FROM ANNA AND ANDREW OF TORONTO, CANADA”.

O:  THAT WAS AMAZING, AND GET READY, BECAUSE WE ARE GETTING CUROUS ABOUT PIZZA FOR YOU NEXT WEEK.

D:  WELL, THAT’S A WRAP FOR THIS WEEK’S EPISODE.

O:  165 - EARTH.

D:  GREAT JOB OLIVIA, AND GREAT JOB CAMERON, CALVIN, ABBY, JOSIE, AND BOWIE FOR THE ALMOST PERFECTLY WELL ROUNDED EPISODE ON OUR ALMOST PERFECTLY WELL ROUNDED PLANET.  AS OLIVIA ALREADY MENTIONED, WE ARE GOING TO GET CURIOUS ABOUT YUMMY, YUMMY PIZZA NEXT WEEK FOR LISTENERS IN TORONTO.  AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LISTENING AND GETTING CURIOUS WITH US.

O:  IS EARTH 1, IS EARTH 2, IS EARTH 3, IS EARTH 4… FADE.