Hi and welcome to our fantastic new series, Geo Junior.
We're going to take you to every corner of the globe to explore, discover,
and just be wowed by people, animals, and events that shape our
world. So sit back and hang on. Here we go. To
the USA to meet a man who is keeping people in the know about the sun. He
is the sun cop. Join in on this hot new style of
exercise. It's sure to get your blood pumping and your vocal cords in
tune.
And visit the UK to watch the Grand Prix. The
lawnmower Grand Prix that is.
We're going to begin today in Germany. A country
that sits in Europe, surrounded by France, Austria, and Poland.
It's also the home of the Little Pore Hotel, a vacation home for
pets used to the royal treatment.
Dogs are put in double or single rooms depending on how well they get along with the
other residents, and depending on the size of their owners' wallets.
Prices range from 44 German marks, or about $19 US
dollars per day for a short-haired small dog staying in a double room
to $99 German marks or $44 US dollars for a large dog
with long hair, staying in a single room. I wonder if that includes
an en suite and breakfast.
The little poor hotel owners stress the rooms are similar to hotel rooms
for humans and no dog is kept in a cage or behind
bars. There sure are some strange looking dogs in this establishment
though. The aim is to create an atmosphere as close to home
as possible. Dogs get slippers to chew on, cats can put their claws
in the favorite piece of furniture, and they're welcome to scratch at the door at any time
of the night to go outside. Only joking.
Thanks to the internet, the guest owners can check up on their loved ones even
from the other side of the world. Web cameras installed in the pet's
rooms and playgrounds switch continuously. The
little poor hotel owner and founder, Wolfgang Gore
agreed that you have to love animals in order to do something like this, and they
have a variety of clients. Our clients are people from
all social levels. It's not just VIPs who bring their pets
here. Those who love their animals are not afraid of the cost,
he said.
And taking your dog for his daily exercise has taken on a whole new
meaning. The hotel has an animation program that includes swimming and
a diving lesson. They help to make sure guests never get bored.
This program is only possible with trainers who play with the animals and take
them outside. There's a sports ground, and they can jump over
obstacles or swim in the pool, said Wolfgang. You may have
visited a kids club when you're on holiday with your parents. Well, this is just
like that only for your pet.
The animals seem to love it and come home refreshed and less stressed
than being left at home alone.
They even make some great new friends.
And before it's time for the owners to pick up their loved ones, it's off to the beauty
parlor for a trim and brush. Who could ask for
a better holiday than that?
While the dogs were taking it easy, almost 100 pilots were getting
ready for the German gliding championships. They gathered to test
their planes, their skills, and their competitors.
Gliding has around 40,000 followers in Germany, not to
mention the rest of the world. It may have been perfect weather for
swimming, but for the pilots, it's the sort of weather that makes gliding hard
work. They would rather a few clouds in the sky.
Last minute preparations helped to calm the nerves of this pilot and make sure
her glider was ready to take on other competitors.
Everyone gathered for the briefing. That's where the rules of the competition are
made clear and the course the pilots had to fly was double checked.
Germany is the original home of the glider. A German
aeronautical engineer named Otto Lilienthal was the first
to develop the aircraft after watching birds and studying how
they could glide through the air. He built a craft that was easy
to operate with a pedal to control the rudders. They make it turn
and a control stick to make the plane go up or down.
A glider cannot fly up into the sky by itself. It needs
a powered aircraft to tow it via cable or an elastic
shot cord. Once it's up in the air,
the cable is dropped and off it goes, totally solo.
A glider uses the Earth's gravity and updrafts of air
or thermals to keep it flying the same way a hang glider can
fly. And like a hang glider, gliders used to be
launched off the side of a mountain or even by running off a sand dune.
A thermal is a rising current of heated air. You've probably
heard that hot air rises, well, a glider will circle a thermal in order to
get lift. These days, the gliders are towed
behind a plane to 600 m and are currently
covering distances of around 250 kilometers each day.
A sailplane, a glider that is specially built for soaring and
long flights, can travel up to 800 kilometers a day.
In Germany, traveling 800 kilometers in a glider would get
you across some of the most magnificent countryside in the world.
The rolling hills of the Alps that border Austria, or the rivers that run through
Germany, the Danube, the Elbe, or the Rhine. Here is a
bird's eye view, or should I say a glider pilot's eye view of the
countryside.
The glider was the first aircraft with wings. It's invention
made way for the development of the planes we see today.
You may have heard of the Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur. Well, they thought the
glider that Otto invented was so great, they went on to build the first
powered airplane. Both of the brothers were really good at
mechanics. They used their knowledge of machinery to build an engine that was
originally attached to the glider. And in December
1907, made the first power-driven flight
lasting 12 seconds. While these gliders
have come a long way since then, they are the most basic of
aircraft. Relying on only natural forces, they're able to
soar across the sky and take in the magnificent views without the
interruption of a motor. There are gliding
clubs all around the world, and it's a very popular sport and a
great way to learn about flying. If you're interested, why don't you
check it out on the internet? There's sure to be a club in your area.
But for the 97 pilots competing in this event, it's back to Earth to get
ready for the next 2 weeks, hoping to snatch one of the 20 available
places in next year's competitions.
Off to the United States of America now, situated
almost dead in the middle of North America. It's here we meet the
skin cancer cop. Doctor Ted Day makes a bizarre habit
of patrolling New York's beaches in his white coat, handing out free
sunscreen and giving people a skin checkup. He patrols
up and down New York's sandy shores, making the beach his beat.
Wearing a doctor's traditional white coat along with dark shades and a
baseball cap, Doctor Daly transforms himself from a
dermatologist to the skin cancer cop.
A dermatologist is a skin specialist. Anything from acne
to tinia are right up a dermatologist's alley. So it's no surprise
to learn of Doctor Daly's concern about skin cancers.
Armed with dozens of free samples of sunscreen, fact sheets, and a
smile, Doctor Daly talks sun lovers into the idea of slip,
slap, slop. Slip on a t-shirt, slap on a hat, and slop on some
sunscreen.
Doctor Dady says he really enjoys his job and particularly focuses on the
kids. He wants to make sure that parents are aware that kids get
80% of their son before they're 18. He means
that 80% of people with skin cancer suffer the damage as a
child, even if the cancer doesn't appear until decades later.
In the United States, skin cancer levels have rocketed in recent
years. The American Cancer Society reports
that more than half a million new cases of melanoma, the most serious form
of skin cancer, are reported each year, and they believe
many more cases occur, but are not reported.
Generally, the beachgoers are intrigued by the sight of Doctor Daly and
are happy to get the free sunscreen and advice. Some even ask
for a checkup on suspect moles.
The sun never sets on Doctor Daly's task of getting Americans to
stay out of the sun, but he says if he can get just one person to
put on some extra cream, his beach patrol is worth the effort.
Feel it now as you're just trying to pedal. Adults do the
weirdest things sometimes, and in America, people are always
finding new and different ways to exercise inside and
outside of health clubs. Health clubs are
putting in a huge effort to create exercises that fit in with different
kinds of people, from the oldies with bad knees to the young
ones with short attention spans. That includes you.
Some of the new styles of exercise offered include cardio,
striptease, cycle karaoke, circus sports,
and gospel moves. Because
exercising in a club is so popular in the USA, club owners
need to think up new ideas to get people to come to their club rather than
someone else's. There are
16,983 health clubs in America.
That's a big choice and a lot of competition. The types of things
you will see at these clubs are individual television screens, monitors
in front of each piece of equipment so that the person training can put on their own
CDs or videos. They can even check their email and surf
the web. I hope they don't sweat on the keyboard.
Imagine doing push-ups and typing an email address with your nose.
It was in Los Angeles, the most populated city of America, that the
aerobics craze of the early 1980s started. Since
then, there has been a huge growth in dance style
exercises. These guys have just finished a cycle
karaoke class. They use the hype of the music and the distraction of the
singing to keep their bodies moving. They don't care too much if it looks
really silly. And speaking of really silly, this
is stroller size. Not that silly
really, they're classes for mums with a short amount of time and a
handy pram. Racing around New
York in gear like that is a sure way to turn heads.
The kids think it's great. Mum does all the hard work while they sit
back and take in the scenery. The things
people will do to stay fit.
Let's go to Japan. It's in the Pacific Ocean looking out
over China and Russia. It has a population of around
125 million people. These people had
the opportunity recently to put their faces on a stamp.
Vanity postage stamps that featured personal photographs went on sale in
Japan as part of an international postage stamp exhibition.
The customer's photos were taken with a digital camera and then printed on
stamp sheets, the whole process taking about 30 minutes.
They were sold in a sheet of 10 stamps for 1100 yen
or $9 US dollars. Cheap really for a chance to get your face
plastered all around the world. Each stamp featured a different
scene from a traditional Japanese print along with the photo.
As you can see from the queue, it was a very popular idea with people
arriving at 6 a.m. just to make sure they got the opportunity.
The stamps can be used to mail a letter. Imagine receiving mail with
your best friend's face on the stamp or even their dog.
The postal officers hope the stamps will encourage people to write more
letters instead of using the internet all the time.
While the idea was first seen in Australia in 1999,
they are now sold in almost 12 nations and territories.
Even though officials have prepared 1000 sheets, they were sold out in less than
30 minutes. Most parents wanted to have photos of their
children to put on letters to relatives around the world.
Although the stamps are only available as a special service during the postage
stamp exhibition, postal officers say they may be starting to
sell them on a regular basis sometime in the future. So
get that cheesy grin ready, you might get the opportunity to star on your own
stamp very soon and make your own piece of stamp history.
You can shop for the latest designer fashions, eat Vietnamese spring
rolls, and play the latest video games in this mall in Tokyo.
And for those who still feel bored, it's possible for you to try your hand at
bungee jumping and see what it feels like to fall from a height of 30
m, swoop over escalators and dangle over people eating in the
restaurants.
Meij Mall in Tokyo offered this unique experience to shoppers
recently. On weekdays, the 1st 30,
and on weekends, the 1st 40 people to sign up can plunge
for free from a catwalk high above the mall atrium.
And it doesn't matter how old you are, but jumpers must weigh between
45 and 85 kg. Organizers
say indoor bungee jumping is rare, and there are only two facilities
in the world that can do it, one in Canada and the other one in
Tokyo. And compared to bungee jumping off a bridge out in the
open, experts say the mall experience is much more
frightening. Those who attempt the jump must take off their
shoes so that their footwear doesn't accidentally fall off and hit customers
on the ground. Some of the barefoot jumpers get cold
feet, especially when they walk towards the edge of the platform and look
down.
People who go through with the jump receive a complimentary photograph
and a certificate saying they've completed their bungee experience.
It sure wants something after a stunt like this one.
And with the crowd watching, there is no chance of hiding those feelings of
terror, and you can't turn back, especially if your friends are watching.
But when it's all over, you get to go and check out those shops that you just flew
past. You never know, you might just grab a
bargain. It certainly gives a whole new meaning to hanging around them all.
The humble lawnmower, Dad's pride and joy, and to most
kids a real drag, especially if you're the one sent out to do the
mowing. Well, we're about to shed a whole new light on this
mechanical monster. You've probably heard
of Le Monde, the Monaco Formula One Grand Prix, even
the Bathurst 1000, well, this isn't any of those.
It started with a simple conversation in a pub in 1973
about how expensive motorsport was. Of all
the countries in the world, there are more gardens in the UK than anywhere
else, and every single garden has a lawnmower. So
the idea for the British Grand Prix for lawnmowers was born. The
first race was held at Murphy's Field at Cold Harbor. About
40 or 50 lawnmowers turned up. The public
became really interested when in 1975 British Formula One
champion Sterling Moss was attracted to the sport by the club's
atmosphere and fun of racing. The 1st 12
hour lawn mower race started in 1978 and with the Le
Modesty start, it attracted 47 entries the first year.
A Le Monde start has the drivers waiting on foot behind a line.
When the siren goes, they have to run for their vehicle and take off as fast
as possible. After the all night action, the
winners turned out to be Sterling Moss himself and his partner Derek
Bell. People's enthusiasm for the sport has grown since then.
47 machines were lined up for this start on the stubley field
at Brinsbury College in Billinghurst, West Sussex.
As they screamed off along the 1 kilometer track, bucking and almost out of
control, they were aiming to reach speeds of up to 51
kilometers an hour, and they were in for a long night ahead.
But the true grit and determination of teams taking part in the 22nd
12 hour lawnmower race comes close as drivers cut up their
competition through the night. The humble lawnmower
can never be the same again after experiencing Britain's 12 hour
lawnmower race. Many months of preparation have been put
in to make sure the machines and the drivers are at their optimum
performance.
The very sideways racing team is no stranger to the mower
track, and team captain Andy Stem had a strategy to win.
He said you need a good handling machine and plenty of spares.
A quick mower to keep up with the die-hard competitors also helps.
In for a pit stop and what can you do? Wipe down the mud, grab a
drink, and away you go.
Steve Richardson, a driver with the Northerners kick grass team, is
also a seasoned campaigner in preparing the mower and the crew.
He made changes to his mower to make it last longer on the tough track
like this one. The event starts on a Saturday
evening and finishes early Sunday morning. There are
3 classes of lawnmowers, the 8 in group 2
look like a traditional mower with a seat attached. There were
25 in Group 3, which looked like a buggy. Among them
were the very sideways racing and Northerners kick
grass. 14 teams took up the lawn
tractor class, which are larger than the buggies and look like mini
tractors. The heavens opened up for
the 1st 4 hours of the race, making racing conditions
extremely tough and very muddy. Drivers struggle to
maintain control of their mowers around the bends. Eventually the
rain subsided, but the track remained slippery throughout the night.
I think we could go faster if we picked it up and ran around with it under our arms,
to tell you the truth, but we've had a lot of fun, said Steve Richardson
as he handed over the final leg of the race to the team's captain.
As dawn broke, so did the weather, and it was a stunning morning for the
last 3 hours. One more pit
stop and he was on to homeward straight.
Experience paid off as Andy Ste in very sideways
Racing, #14 took the checkered flag, followed by
Northerners kick Grass. He did the final winner's lap with
the crowd cheering him on.
And guess what, there's no prize money at the winner's podium, they do it