RYAN: It’s time to shamrock and roll into today’s episode of 10 Things You Need to Know! And what better way to kick it off than with a better-late-than-never St. Patrick’s Day celebration! Monday, March 17th was St. Patrick’s, or St. Paddy’s Day, a day to honor the patron saint of Ireland that has evolved into a fun and festive celebration of Irish culture. And, while it’s not an official holiday in the United States, St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated in more countries around the world than any other single-day national festival, mainly because of America’s excitement for what many of us consider a holiday. While sporting the color green is a popular way to observe St. Paddy’s Day, parades are the most popular way to celebrate. It’s believed that the first parade held in St. Patrick’s honor took place in St. Augustine, Florida, not Ireland, in 1601. Today, the world's largest celebration takes place in New York City, where over 2 million people gather for its annual St. Patrick's Day parade.

PAM: Up next, a look at what we’re celebrating today… The Spring Equinox! The equinox, which means equal night, is when the sun sits vertically above the quarter, making the day and night the same across the planet. It also marks the official start of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, while in the Southern Hemisphere, it’s the start of Autumn. There are even some cultures where this day marks the beginning of a new year, like the Iranian New Year, Nowruz. You may have even noticed a slight increase in daylight each day following the winter solstice that occurred on December 21st. After the Spring Equinox, you’ll notice even more sunshine as many places begin to experience more daylight than darkness each 24-hour day. Each day will continue increasing up until the summer solstice on June 20th, when the longest period of daylight takes place.

RYAN: I love longer days because it means it’s time for…MLB Opening Day. <SFX Soccer Ball Kick, then Baseball Bat Crack, then Basketball Net Swish and a Stadium Crowd Roar> This year, the regular season kicked off just two days ago…IN JAPAN. Tuesday, March 18th, marked the sixth time in MLB history that the season opener was hosted in Japan. The match-up presented by Guggenheim took place at the Tokyo Dome and was between the defending World Series champs, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Chicago Cubs, where the Dodgers defeated the Cubs in the 2-game series. Among both teams were 4 Japanese players: Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Dodgers, and Seiya Suzuki and Shota Imanaga of the Cubs. Now we wait to celebrate Opening Day in the United States, which is coming up on Thursday, March 27th, with 26 teams officially back in action!

PAM: And, in college sports, a female basketball player who made more than just a basket. Baileigh Sinaman-Daniel, a 22-year-old at Lesley University, became the first NCAA Division III women’s basketball player with just ONE arm to score in a game. When she made the basket, she was excited, of course, but more focused on getting back on defense, all while her teammates were busy celebrating alongside their coach, who called a timeout to recognize what she had just accomplished. Baleigh was born with a small right arm that she can’t use, and basketball has been a sport and space where she is treated no differently from anyone else. Her history-making basket comes after being cut from her high school team to being recruited to play for Warren Wilson College in North Carolina and making the transfer to Lesley, where she and her team won 11 games this season.

RYAN: Okay she is really cool but now we gotta get… <SFX Out. Of. This. WORLD!> Tuesday marked a very exciting moment for the two NASA astronauts who have been stuck in space for nine months following what was supposed to be just an eight-day mission. Starliner astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita Williams undocked from the International Space Station and made their way back to Earth that same day, safely splash-landing off the west coast of Florida. Crew 10, including commander Anne McClain, pilot Nichole Ayers, Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Russian cosmonaut Kirill Peskov, launched from Kennedy Space Center last Friday and caught up with the space station early Sunday. They were welcomed by Crew 9 members, commander Nick Hague, cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov, Wilmore, and Williams, along with cosmonauts Alexsey Ovchinin, Ivan Vagner, and NASA astronaut Don Pettit. The Starliner astronauts logged 286 days in space, and Hague and Gorbunov’s time in space reached 171 days.

PAM: Now that we’re back to earth, let’s take a quick break!

RYAN: Alright Ten’ers, I’ve got good news. Kap has officially given me permission to announce the name of my new baby kitten, next week, DURING TRIVIA. It’s not too late to throw your last minute ideas in, for my male, 14 week old orange kitten who loves to jump on me and sleep on my shoulder. We just got a couple more ideas: Doggies furever said I should name him Pumpkin and Chichi kid 1923 said I should name him Cati Parry. Those are great suggestions! But the winning idea will be revealed one week from today, DURING TRIVIA. Back to the show!

PAM: We are back with some science news… <SFX Beaker bubbling, Static Electricity, Zaps> It's been reported that an Australian man lived 100 days with an artificial titanium heart while waiting for a donor transplant. The 40-year-old patient received the implant during surgery at St. Vincent’s Hospital Syndey last November after he suffered severe heart failure. And, in February, he became the first person in the world to leave a hospital with the device! While the device is still being trialed and not approved for general use, this success story is a sign that the artificial heart could potentially offer a long-term option for people who suffer from heart failure. BiVACOR is the name of the company behind the device, and its founder, who is also the inventor, is bioengineer Daniel Timms, who created the artificial heart after his own father passed away from heart disease.

RYAN: That’s incredible. I’m not gonna lie, that story sounds like the plot for a Tony Stark/Iron Heart comic book.

PAM: Ry, you still haven’t explained why you’re digging a hole in your office.

RYAN: It’s because, over in Australia, a high school had no idea a dinosaur fossil was sitting in its foyer for 20 years. Following media coverage of dinosaur remains in the area, someone thought to have an expert look at the rock located at Biloela State High School in Queensland. The boulder was examined by paleontologist Anthony Romilio, who discovered 66 fossilized footprints from 47 individual dinosaurs from the early Jurassic period, almost 200 million years ago. The school's deputy principal said they received the boulder 20 years ago from a geologist who was married to one of their teachers after he came across it at a nearby mine that was going to be disturbed by mining activities. With that knowledge, Romilio drove to the nearby coal mine, where he spotted yet another massive boulder with two footprints. For now, the fossil discovered at the high school remains where it is but may be relocated to a more public area.

PAM: Back here in the States, it turns out that a tasty treat is the cause of a massive brush fire in Long Island. The accidental blazes link to a backyard in Manorville, New York, where people were using cardboard to start a fire and enjoy some s’mores. Strong winds up to 35 miles per hour, downed trees, and airborne embers fueled the fast-growing fires. The Westhampton Pines Fire burned an estimated 600 acres before fire personnel were able to stop it, and within 24 hours, firefighters across Suffolk County had managed to contain a majority of the brush fire. Following this incident, New York Governor Kathy Hochul issued a burn ban for the area, restricting outside camping, and cooking and warming fires in Long Island and along the Hudson Valley due to the dry conditions.

RYAN: Speaking of s’mores, we have SAMOA news about Girl Scout Cookies, but it isn’t good. A lawsuit has been filed against some of America’s most beloved cookies for allegedly (sidenote: allegedly is something that’s said to be true but not proven) containing ‘dangerous’ heavy metals and pesticides. The lawsuit comes from a New York woman and other consumers against Girl Scouts of America and their cookie manufacturers, Ferrero and ABC Bakers, for 5 million dollars in damages. Based on a study by GMO Science and Moms Across America that tested samples of 25 cookies, each contained the pesticide glyphosate, while others contained at least four heavy metals, including aluminum, arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury. The Girl Scouts recently denied these claims and added that ‘its bakers had confirmed that levels reported in the study ‘do not pose a food safety concern to our customers.’ And since this is not yet proven, I will be eating ALL of the Girl Scout cookies I encounter. Thank you very much!

PAM: And for the 10th thing you need to know, let’s go to our Trivia Master, Owen.

OWEN: Thanks Pam. We’ve had a lot of talk about snacks–

RYAN: Did someone say the snack word…?

OWEN: Settle down, Ry… This trivia is Snack AND Pokemon related…

RYAN: EVERYTHING I LOVE!

OWEN: Which Pokemon has a blue flame that burns at the tip of its tale if they become angry? Is it:

Charmander
Charizard
Blastoise
Or, Charmeleon?

The answer is… <SFX drumroll>

RYAN: B! Charizard! If the Pokemon becomes truly mad, then the flame at the tip of its tale burns in a light blue shade.

OWEN: That is absolutely correct, nice job Ry. Speaking of flames and Charizard, a Flamin’ Hot Cheeto, shaped just like the beloved Pokemon discovered and preserved between 2018 and 2022, recently sold at an auction for $87,840. The 3-inch long Flamin’ Hot Cheeto was attached to a customized Pokemon card and enclosed in a clear card storage box and gained popularity on social media, leading up to the big sale for this unique snack.

RYAN: Okay, you’ve convinced me, Owen. I will go eat some cheetos.

PAM: And that was Ten Things You Need to Know. <SFX Ryan still digging> Did you find any fossils in your office, Ry?

RYAN: No but I think I’ve managed to dig a tunnel that leads to— <SFX last dig>

KAP: RYAN! What did you do?

RYAN: —Kap’s office. Maybe we should do Ten News Snaps?

PAM: Great idea. But before that, here’s a quick note for the grownups.

RYAN: Time for Ten News Snaps!

PAM: A Ten’er named Richard & Grant said, “I love the podcast, I listen to it every day it’s my favorite podcast ever. Please add this to Ten News Snaps.” Thanks so much for listening, and for the lovely comment Richard and Grant! (add anything else you want to say!)

RYAN: Thank you Richard and Grant and also thank you for that name suggestion you gave last week! I hope you keep listening and keep leaving us butterfly free comments.

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 digging through their bags of chips, searching for the next $87K cheeto 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.

PAM: 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 Pamela Kirkland.

RYAN: And I’m Ryan Willard, thanks for listening to the Ten News.

Bethany Van Delftpodcastkidskids newsnewslistentriviaInternational Space Stationspaceouter space

Tracy Kaplan

St. Patrick's Day to a Cheeto Charizard - 10 Things You Need to Know

LISTEN HERE

10 Things You Need to Know: Episode 536

Do Our Brains Need a Break? - Ten News Deep Dive 🧠