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February 7, 2024 ā€¢ 20 mins

In this episode, we're diving into the fascinating world of penguins! Imagine journeying from the icy South Pole to exotic islands near the equator, discovering where these fantastic birds call home. We'll uncover the secrets of their black and white feathers, learn about the different penguin species from the tiny to the towering, and find out how they keep cozy in the chilliest places. Plus, we'll solve mysteries like why we have spooky dreams, the magic of hearing the ocean in a seashell, and why everyone's voice is as unique as a fingerprint. We hope you enjoy this exciting journey through the world of penguins!

Sleep Tight!,Ā 
Sheryl & Clark
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About Sleep Tight Science

Sleep Tight Science is an engaging (but not too engaging) bedtime show for the whole family that answers the questions kids have about science.Ā Each episode explores a fascinating topic in science and technology, from the mysteries of outer space to the wonders of the human body. Sleep Tight Science is the perfect bedtime companion for curious minds of all ages. Have an interesting science topic you would like featured? Send us an email atĀ hello@sleeptightscience.com, and we may feature it in an upcoming show.

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Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to sleep Tight Science. Did you know that
penguins can shoot their poop over long distances up to

(00:21):
several feet away. What Scientists actually study penguin poop from
space because it stains the ice and can be seen
from satellites. This helps researchers track penguin colonies. Hello, friends,

(00:52):
and welcome back to sleep Tight Science, a bedtime show
that answers your questions about science. In this episode, we
will waddle into the world of one of the most
tuxedoed creatures on the planet and an often requested topic, penguins.

(01:15):
Penguins are special birds that look like they're always ready
for a fancy party. Instead of flying in the sky,
they flap their wings to swim super fast in the ocean.
Penguins are amazing swimmers, and they can dive deep into
the water to catch their food. Penguins love to eat fish,

(01:40):
squishy squids, and even tiny shrimp like animals called krill yum.
These birds live in some of the coldest places on Earth,
most called the icy land of Antarctica home. Not all

(02:00):
penguins love the extreme cold. Some like to hang out
on warmer beaches in places like South Africa, Australia and
even some islands close to the equator. But whether they
live in the cold or a bit warmer places, they
all need the ocean to find food. Penguins come in

(02:24):
all sizes, from the little blue penguin, which is not
much bigger than a ruler, to the emperor penguin, even
though they all look a bit different. Most penguins have
a white belly and a black back, which helps them
hide from predators in the water. When predators look up,

(02:46):
the penguin's white belly blends in with the bright sunshine,
and when predators look down, the penguin's dark back blends
in with the deep dark ocean. It's like their very
owns super secret camouflage. Penguins are also super social and

(03:07):
love hanging out with family and friends. They live in
large groups called colonies, where they keep each other warm,
look for food, and care for their babies. And guess what.
Penguins are fantastic parents. They take turns keeping their eggs
warm and then feed their chicks by bringing back food

(03:30):
in their bellies. These dedicated parents make sure their little
ones are safe and sound. Did you know that there

(03:54):
are seventeen different penguin species in the world today. They
are the following one A Deli, two African, three chin
Strap four Emperor, five erect crested six Fjordland seven, Galopogos,

(04:15):
eight gent two nine Humboldt, ten King eleven little Blue, twelve, Macaroni,
thirteen Magellanic fourteen rock Hoper, fifteen Royal, sixteen snares and

(04:36):
seventeen yellow eyed. That's a lot of penguins. Emily from Hampshire,
United Kingdom asks us how do penguins survive on the coldest,

(05:01):
windiest continent on Earth, Antarctica. The penguin's ability to survive
in Antarctica is amazing. Here's a list of how they
manage to thrive in such a harsh environment. Warm and
cozy feathers. Penguins boast a dense feather layer that provides

(05:23):
insulation against the cold. These feathers overlap tightly, trapping warmth,
and are coated with a waterproof oil, keeping penguins dry
and snug during icy swims. A layer of blubber. Penguins
have a thick layer of blubber beneath their skin. This

(05:44):
acts like a natural warm blanket, trapping body heat and
ensuring they stay warm even when temperatures plummet. The power
of huddling. They share body heat by gathering in large groups,
ensuring everyone stays warm. The penguins rotate positions so that

(06:06):
each one spends time in the warmer center of the huddle.
Innovative blood circulation Penguins have unique proteins in their blood
that prevent it from freezing, alongside a specialized circulation system.
This system keeps their extremities at the right temperature, minimizing

(06:27):
heat loss without freezing. Energy saving movements on land, penguins
can serve energy by moving efficiently waddling or sliding on
their bellies across the ice. This not only saves energy,
but also keeps them warm. In the water, their streamlined

(06:49):
shape allows them to swim with minimal effort, making hunting
for food more energy efficient. Smart nesting choicesins are strategic
about where they nest to protect their eggs from the
cold and wind. For example, emperor penguins don't build nests. Instead,

(07:11):
they keep their eggs warm by balancing them on their
feet and covering them with a special feathered skin flap.
Through these remarkable adaptations from their insulating feathers and blubber
to their social warmth sharing and ingenious blood circulation. Penguins
don't just survive in Antarctica, they flourish. Thank you for

(07:35):
the question, Emily, did you know that not all penguins
live in cold places? African penguins have to cope with

(07:56):
high temperatures on the coasts of Nambia and South Africa.
Where do penguins live? Penguins make their homes in oceans
and along coastlines. They love living on islands and far

(08:19):
off places with few land predators, so being unable to
fly isn't a problem for them. They're really good at
life in the ocean, and some penguins can even spend
months swimming and catching fish without ever coming to land.

(08:40):
Different species thrive in varying climates. Some, like the Galapagos
penguins live on sunny tropical islands on the equator. But
then you have the Emperor penguins who love the super
cold ice and waters of Antarctica. Most penguins live in

(09:01):
the southern Hemisphere. You can find penguins in Antarctica. It's
really cold, so penguins like the Emperor penguin have thick
feathers and cuddle together to stay warm. Near South America,
penguins like the Magellanic penguin dig burrows to hide their
babies from predators and keep them safe. In Australia and

(09:26):
New Zealand, tiny little blue penguins have shiny coats to
zip through the water and cozy homes in the ground
to snuggle in. In South Africa, African penguins have special
pink spots above their eyes to help them stay cool
in the sun. On the Galapagos Islands near the equator,

(09:51):
Galapago's penguins stay cool by swimming in chilly water and
stretching out to let the breeze cool them down. Did
you know that the biggest penguin is the emperor penguin,
which can be one hundred and thirty centimeters or fifty
one inches tall and weigh forty five kilograms or about

(10:15):
one hundred pounds. At the other end of the scale,
four little blue penguins would have to stand on one
another's shoulders to be as tall as an emperor penguin. Now,

(10:39):
let's answer some listener questions. Our first question comes from Cali,
who just turned seven on January twenty fifth. Happy belated birthday.
Cali Calli asks why do we have bad dreams? When
we have bad dreams, your brain is actually very busy.

(11:03):
Think of your brain like a supercomputer that's always on.
Even when you're sleeping during the night, especially in the
part of sleep called REM sleep, which stands for rapid
eye movement, our brain starts to sort through and process
all the things we learned, saw and felt during the day. Sometimes,

(11:29):
if we feel scared, worried, or have a lot on
our minds, our brain tries to make sense of those
feelings by creating a story or a dream. Even though
it's just trying to help. Sometimes the stories it makes
can be a bit scary or strange, and that's when

(11:49):
we might have bad dreams. Our brain doesn't mean to
make us feel scared on purpose. It's like it's practicing
how to solve problems or deal with feelings. But since
we're asleep, it does it by making up a dream.
And because our brain is so creative, those dreams can

(12:10):
be vivid and feel real. There are a few other
reasons why bad dreams might pop up during sleep. Watching
a scary movie or hearing a spooky story before bed
can make our dreams a bit frightening because our imagination
keeps thinking about them. Eating right before bed can make

(12:33):
your tummy work hard at night, and sometimes that leads
to not so nice dreams. When you are sick or
have a fever, it can make your dreams weird or scary.
It's okay to have bad dreams. Everyone does. They're just
our brain's way of sorting through our feelings. If a

(12:55):
bad dream makes you scared, talking about it with someone
like a parent can help make it less scary. Doing
calm things before bed, like listening to one of our stories,
can help make good dreams more likely. Thank you for
the question, CALLI. Our next question comes from Max, who

(13:19):
is nine years old and from Cochrane, Alberta. Max wonders
how you can hear the ocean through seashells. Is it magic?
Hearing the ocean in seashells might seem like magic, but
it's a cool science trick. You're not actually hearing the

(13:40):
ocean when you hold a seashell up to your ear.
What's happening is the shell is great at picking up
all kinds of sounds around you, from the buzz of
a bee to the whisper of the wind inside the shell.
These sounds bounce around and echo because of its hard

(14:00):
curved walls, mixing together into a constant wooshing noise. But
that's not all. The shell can also catch the sound
of your body, like the blood flowing in your ears,
adding to the wosh. This washing sound reminds us of
the ocean waves crashing on the shore, so our brain

(14:25):
makes us think we're hearing the ocean. It's a neat
example of how our senses and the world around us
can create a special experience, even if it's not exactly
what it seems. Thank you for the question, Max. Our

(14:46):
last question comes from Amelia, who is six and from Nottingham, UK.
Amelia asks how do our voices work and why are
they all different? Imagine your voice is like a musical
instrument you always carry. This special instrument is made up

(15:08):
of parts called vocal chords, which are like two tiny
strings in your throat. When you talk, laugh, or sing,
air from your lungs blows past these strings, making them
vibrate or wiggle super fast. This vibration makes a sound

(15:29):
just like when you strum a guitar. Now, why do
we all sound different? It's because everyone's vocal chords are
a bit different. Some are longer, some are shorter, and
our throats and mouths are shaped differently too. It's a
bit like how a big guitar makes a deeper sound

(15:52):
and a small guitar makes a higher sound. Plus how
we move our mouth and tongue chain is the sound
making your voice unique to you. That's why everyone's voice
is different and special in their own way. Thank you

(16:12):
for your question, Amelia. Now for some fun facts. Did
you know that in twenty twenty, scientists discovered that the

(16:32):
poop of king penguins releases nitrous oxide, also known as
laughing gas, So technically, hanging around penguin colonies might make
you giggle. Did you know that penguins have more feathers
than any other bird, around one hundred feathers per square inch.

(16:56):
This dense feather coat keeps them warm in ice waters,
making them the Kings and Queens of Cozy. When penguins
need to move quickly on ice or snow, they flop
onto their bellies and slide, using their flippers to propel themselves.

(17:17):
It's not only an efficient way to travel, but it
also looks really fun. Ever, wonder why penguins wattle. It's
because their legs are set far back on their bodies,
making them excellent swimmers but a bit clumsy on land.

(17:38):
Watching them wattle can be pretty funny, but it's a
clever way to save energy as they move. Did you
know that the fastest penguin swimmer is the Gentoo penguin.
It can zoom through the water at up to thirty
six kilometers an hour or twenty two miles per hour,

(18:01):
making it the Michael Phelps of the penguin world. This
episode was made with questions from Emily from Hampshire, UK,
Calli Max from Cochrane, Alberta, and Amelia from Nottingham UK.

(18:24):
In this episode, we learned a little about penguins. We
looked at all the various places where you can find penguins,
from the South Pole to some islands closer to the equator.
We talked about the coloring of penguins that all penguins share,
regardless of their size, and how that helps them stay safe.

(18:46):
We listed the different species of penguins that can be
found all over the world and compared the smallest and
the largest. We looked at how penguins can stay warm
in some of the coldest places on Earth and how
they are able to conserve so much energy. We answered

(19:06):
some questions about why we have bad dreams, how we
can hear the ocean through a seashell, and how our
voices work and why they sound different. Thank you to Jace,
aged six, from Southington, Connecticut, USA, Daniel L from Northern
Virginia who is six, Laurie who is eight, Sabina from Bozeman, Montana,

(19:32):
who is six, Aaron from London who is six, Odin
who is five, Alara benneker Hoskin who is five years old,
and Luke who is five years old. We love getting
your feedback on our show. If you have any feedback,

(19:52):
please send it our way, and if you want to
make sure to get all the episodes, please ask your
parents to subscribe. You can find us on Apple Podcasts
or wherever your parents listen to podcasts, and please, if
you love learning about science with us, leave us a review.
It may help others to find our show. If you'd

(20:16):
like to send us your questions, please send them to
Hello at sleep tightscience dot com. Sleep Tight
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