Curious About Ninjas

PODCAST 167: CURIOUS ABOUT NINJAS

RELEASE DATE: DECEMBER 12TH, 2021

D:  HELLO, AND WELCOME BACK TO THE CURIOUS KID PODCAST.  EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, WE GET SUGGESTIONS TO GET CURIOUS ABOUT SOMETHING THAT WE KNOW VERY LITTLE ABOUT.  EVERYTHING OLIVIA AND I KNOW ABOUT THIS WEEK’S TOPIC, WE LEARNED FROM TV AND FROM THE MOVIES, SO I CAN’T WAIT TO LEARN MORE.

O:  DOUBLE-MAILBAG!

D:  DOUBLE-MAILBAG!

“HELLO JACOB AND OLIVIA!  WE HAVE RECENTLY DISCOVERED YOUR PODCAST AND WE LOVE IT!  WE HAVE HAD SO MUCH FUN LEARNING ABOUT SO MANY THINGS!  ASHER, WHO IS SIX, IS CURIOUS ABOUT NINJAS.  HE HAS A NINJA ALARM CLOCK AND IT HAS MADE HIM CURIOUS!  WE WOULD LOVE IT IF YOU COULD HELP US LEARN MORE ABOUT THEM IN ONE OF YOUR PODCASTS.  THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HELPING US LEARN!

SINCERELY,

ASHER AND JENNIFER (ASHER’S MOM) FROM PROVO, UTAH.”

“HI OLIVIA AND OLIVIA’S DAD, MY NAME IS JACK AND I AM SIX YEARS OLD FROM SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA.  I AM ENJOYING LISTENING TO YOUR PODCAST WHEN I DRIVE TO SCHOOL.  I AM VERY CURIOUS ABOUT TANKS AND NINJAS.  CAN YOU DO A PODCAST SOON ABOUT EITHER OF THOSE TOPICS?

THANKS! 

JACK OF SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA.”   

O:  THOSE ARE A COUPLE OF AWESOME E-MAILS.  THANK YOU FOR REACHING OUT AND TELLING US WHAT YOU’RE CUROUS ABOUT.  THIS WEEK, WE ARE GETTING CURIOUS ABOUT NINJAS FOR ASHER AND JACK.  

D:  IF THERE IS SOMETHING YOU’RE CURIOUS ABOUT, PLEASE TAKE A MINUTE TO SEND AN E-MAIL TO CURIOUSKIDPODCAST@GMAIL.COM SO WE CAN GET CURIOUS FOR YOU.  WE REPLY TO EVERY E-MAIL WE RECEIVE, SO DON’T BE SHY… SAY HI.

O:  LEARNING ABOUT NINJAS IS GOING TO BE A BLAST.  NINJAS ARE SO COOL.  I DON’T KNOW MUCH ABOUT THEM.  

D:  SAME HERE.  JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING I KNOW ABOUT NINJAS, I LEARNED FROM TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES.  I FEEL LIKE THERE MUST BE MORE TO NINJAS THAN A BUNCH OF FIGHTING TURTLES.

O:  THE ONLY THINGS I KNOW ABOUT NINJAS, I LEARNED FROM AN ANIMATED SUPERHERO SHOW CALLED PJ MASKS.  THESE SUPERHEROES WERE NOT TURTLES.  THERE’S A CAT, AN OWL, AND A GECKO.

D:  I REMEMBER THE THEME SONG TO THAT SHOW.  IT GOES “WHO GOES INTO THE NIGHT SO THEY CAN SAVE THE DAY?  WHO ARE THESE HEROES TO SHOW YOU THE WAY?”

O:  CUZ BEDTIME IS THE RIGHT TIME TO FIGHT CRIME.

D:  THAT’S THE SONG.  SO, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, AND IT’S NOT HARD TO BELIEVE, REAL NINJAS WERE NOT FIGHTING TURTLES, OR CATS, OWLS, OR GECKOS EITHER.  IT’S TIME TO LEARN MORE ABOUT REAL NINJAS.  WHAT’S THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK?

O:  THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK IS WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN NINJAS AND SAMURAIS?

D:  HMMM… THAT’S AN INTERESTING ONE.  WHEN I STARTED RESEARCHING NINJAS, I LEARNED SOMETHING REALLY QUICK.  THE PLURAL FOR NINJA CAN BE NINJAS, BUT IT CAN ALSO BE NINJA.  FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS EPISODE, WE ARE GOING TO CONTINUE CALLING THEM NINJAS.  DID YOU KNOW THAT THE WORD NINJAS HAS ONLY BEEN USED REGULARLY SINCE THE MID 1900’S?  BEFORE THAT, THEY WERE OFTEN CALLED SHINOBI-NO-MONO, OR SHINOBI FOR SHORT.  THAT MEANS “PEOPLE WHO SURVIVE”.

O:  THEY STARTED APPEARING ABOUT 700 YEARS AGO, AND WHEN THEY FIRST SHOWED UP IN JAPAN, THEY WERE USED FOR SPYING.

D:  NINJAS WERE HIRED, AND PAID, TO GO TO ENEMY TERRITORY AND SPY ON THE ENEMY WITHOUT BEING NOTICED.  THEY GATHERED INFORMATION AND THEN WENT BACK TO SAFETY TO REPORT WHAT THEY LEARNED TO THE PERSON THAT HIRED THEM.  

O:  OVER THE YEARS, THEY DEVELOPED AN ART OF FIGHTING CALLED NINJITSU TO PROTECT THEMSELVES IF THEY GOT CAUGHT.

D:  THEY DIDN’T GET CAUGHT VERY OFTEN, BECAUSE THEY WERE VERY GOOD AT WHAT THEY DID.  THEY WERE SO GOOD THAT PEOPLE THOUGHT THEY HAD SUPERNATURAL SKILLS, MEANING THAT THEY HAD ABILITIES THAT HUMANS SIMPLY DIDN’T HAVE AND THAT CAN’T BE EXPLAINED BY THE LAWS OF SCIENCE AND NATURE.  

O:  THERE ARE STORIES THAT NINJAS COULD FLY, THAT THEY ARE ABLE TO BECOME INVISIBLE, AND THAT THEY CAN WALK THROUGH WALLS.  THOSE ARE SOME PRETTY COOL SKILLS TO HAVE.  

D:  I AGREE, BUT THE TRUTH IS THAT NINJAS PROBABLY DON’T POSSESS ANY OF THOSE AWESOME SKILLS.  THEY WERE JUST VERY CLEVER, SO THEY WERE ABLE TO MAKE IT SEEM LIKE THEY HAD SOME SUPER SPECIAL ABILITIES THAT NOBODY ELSE HAD.  

O:  THEY DID MOST OF THEIR WORK AT NIGHT SO THEIR ENEMIES WOULD NOT BE PREPARED.

D:  THEY ALSO STUDIED THEIR ENEMIES BEFORE STRIKING, SO THEY KNEW THEIR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES AND CAN BE PREPARED FOR ANYTHING.  

O:  NINJAS OFTEN WORE BLACK, WHICH MADE THEM HARD TO SEE AT NIGHT.  

D:  THEIR UNIFORM IS CALLED A NINJA-YOROI.  IT CONSISTS OF A BLACK JACKET, BLACK PANTS, AND A HOOD.  

O:  THEY ALSO WEAR SOFT SHOES CALLED TABI, WHICH RESEMBLE SOCKS, EXCEPT THE BIG TOE IS DIVIDED FROM THE REST OF THE TOES.

D:  THEIR WEAPONS INCLUDE A SWORD, AND THROWING WEAPONS, LIKE THROWING KNIVES OR THROWING STARS WITH SHARP BLADES, ALSO KNOWN AS SHURIKEN.  

O:  THE NINJA UNIFORM HAS SEVERAL POCKETS, ALLOWING THEM TO STORE THEIR WEAPONS.    

D:  EVEN THOUGH NINJAS DO A LOT OF THEIR WORK IN THEIR NINJA-YOROI UNIFORM, THEY ARE ALSO VERY GOOD AT DISGUISING THEMSELVES TO AVOID DETECTION IN CROWDED PLACES.  THEY ARE KNOWN TO WEAR CLOTHES THAT ALLOW THEM TO FIT IN, OR EVEN SOMETIMES WEAR THE UNIFORMS OF THEIR ENEMIES TO TRICK THEM.

NINJAS WERE REALLY GOOD AT CONFUSING AND TRICKING THEIR ENEMIES.  DURING LOTS OF THEIR MISSIONS, THEY EVEN USED CRICKETS TO HELP THEM.

O:  WHAT IN THE WORLD DID CRICKETS DO TO HELP?

D:  THEY CHIRPED A LOT AND CONFUSED THE ENEMY.  WITH ALL OF THE CHIRPING GOING ON, IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO HEAR NINJAS COME AND GO.  

O:  NINJAS WERE ALSO VERY GOOD AT KEEPING SECRETS.

D:  SO MUCH SO THAT THEY OFTEN DIDN’T SHARE THEIR SECRETS WITH OTHER NINJAS.  NINJAS OFTEN RAISED THEIR CHILDREN TO BE NINJAS AND ONLY SHARED THEIR SECRETS WITHIN THEIR OWN FAMILIES.  

O:  NINJAS WERE TRAINED FROM A VERY YOUNG AGE SO THEY CAN LEARN TO HAVE THE AMAZING SUPERNATURAL ABILITIES NINJAS ARE KNOWN FOR.  

D:  TO LEARN HOW TO RUN FAST, NINJAS USED THE KASA, WHICH WERE THE HATS COMMONLY WORN IN THAT PERIOD.  THEY CHALLENGED THEMSELVES BY HOLDING THE HAT TO THEIR CHEST AND RUNNING FAST ENOUGH TO NOT ALLOW THE HAT TO FALL TO THE GROUND. 

O:  IN ORDER TO LEARN HOW TO JUMP HIGH, NINJAS JUMPED OVER HEMP PLANTS.  

D:  THIS IS HOW IT WORKED.  HEMP SEEDS WERE PLANTED.  THESE PLANTS GROW SUPER FAST, ABOUT 2 CENTIMETERS EVERY SINGLE DAY.  EVERY DAY, NINJAS WORKED AT JUMPING OVER THE HEMP PLANTS.  AT FIRST, IT WAS EASY, BUT EVERY DAY THE PLANTS BECAME TALLER AND TALLER.  BEFORE THEY KNEW IT, THEY HAD TRAINED THEMSELVES TO JUMP VERY HIGH.        

O:  THEY ALSO TRAINED THEIR HEARING BY DROPPING NEEDLES ON A STONE AND GUESSING HOW MANY NEEDLES WERE DROPPED.  WITH LOTS AND LOTS OF PRACTICE, THEIR HEARING BECAME SUPER SENSITIVE.  THIS MADE IT EASIER FOR THEM TO SPY ON THEIR ENEMIES.  

D:  THOSE ARE JUST A FEW EXAMPLES OF THE REALLY NEAT THINGS THAT NINJAS DID TO BECOME THE SUPER-SECRETIVE, SUPER-HUMAN, SUPER-NATURAL FIGHTERS THAT THEIR ENEMIES HAVE TO  FEAR AND RESPECT.    

LET’S ANSWER THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK.  WHAT ARE SOME OF THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN NINJAS AND SAMURAIS?

O:  NINJAS WERE OFTEN SOME OF THE POOREST MEMBERS OF SOCIETY.  BECAUSE OF THAT, THEY WORKED FOR WHOEVER WOULD PAY THEM THE MOST.  THEY ALSO PREFERRED TO WORK IN SECRET USING SNEAK ATTACKS.  THEY OFTEN WORE BLACK OUTFITS THAT COVERED JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING EXCEPT THEIR EYES.

SAMURAIS WERE WEALTHY PEOPLE THAT SERVED THEIR EMPEROR WITHOUT GETTING PAID FOR IT.  THEY PREFERRED TO FIGHT THE ENEMY FACE TO FACE.  THEY WORE METAL SUITS OF ARMOR.

D:  AND DESPITE WHAT MANY THINK, NINJAS AND SAMURAIS DID NOT OFTEN FIGHT WITH EACH OTHER.  THEY RESPECTED EACH OTHER, AND OCCASIONALLY, SAMURAIS WOULD EVEN HIRE NINJAS TO DO WORK THAT THEY THOUGHT WAS BENEATH THEM.

DESPITE THE MANY DIFFERENCES NINJAS AND SAMURAIS HAD, THEY WERE BOTH FEARED BY THEIR ENEMIES AND WERE SUPERIOR FIGHTERS.  

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

O:  167- NINJAS.

D:  GREAT JOB OLIVIA, AND GREAT JOB ASHER AND JACK FOR THE MYSTERIOUS AND DANGEROUS EPISODE TOPIC SUGGESTION.  JUST 2 MORE EPISODES LEFT BEFORE WE SAY GOODBYE TO THE YEAR 2021.  IF YOU WANT TO CATCH UP ON ANY EPISODES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED IN THE MORE THAN 3 YEARS OF CURIOUS KID PODCAST, HEAD ON OVER TO WWW.CURIOUSKIDPODCAST.COM.  YOU CAN FIND ALL OF OUR EPISODES AND LOTS OF OTHER COOL STUFF THERE.  NEXT WEEK, WE WILL GET CURIOUS ABOUT JELLYFISH FOR A LISTENER IN PLYMOUTH, MASSACHUSETTS.  AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LISTENING AND GETTING CURIOUS WITH US.