Romy News - 08 April 2024

Hello and welcome to a new episode of “Romy News”! It’s Monday, the start of a new week full of discoveries. Today, we will talk about the Olympics and the Seine, we will wonder why some people use their left hand more than their right hand, and we will dive into the fascinating world of sea turtles. Are you ready to learn lots of interesting things? Let’s go!

During the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris this summer, some events like triathlon, open water swimming, artistic swimming, and diving will take place in the Seine, the big river that crosses the city.

However, there’s a little issue with the water in the Seine. Recent analyses have shown that there are lots of dirt and germs in the water, which isn’t very clean for swimming in. This dirt comes from sewage and rain that sometimes flow into the river.

Swimming in such dirty water can make you sick and give you stomach aches or other infections, especially for vulnerable people or if you stay in the water for too long.

The city of Paris officials have been trying to clean the Seine water for a long time, but there is still work to be done. They are building new systems to better treat sewage and prevent it from flowing into the river, especially when it rains a lot.

Unfortunately, all this work won’t be completely finished before the 2024 Olympic Games. But they hope that the water will be clean enough for athletes to swim safely in the Seine that summer.

In the meantime, we can still dream that the fish in the Seine start blowing soap bubbles to help clean the water!

After exploring the waters of the Seine and the preparations for the Olympics, we now dive into a whole other fascinating topic, thanks to a question from Caroline from Brest. Have you ever wondered why some people use their left hand more and others their right hand for writing, eating, or playing? Today, we will discover why we are left-handed or right-handed. It’s a phenomenon called handedness, and it means that we have a hand we prefer to use for most things.

Handedness is this tendency to use one hand more than the other for almost all our activities. Did you know that around 90% of people in the world are right-handed and only 10% are left-handed?

But where does this preference for the right hand or the left hand come from?

When you are a baby, your brain isn’t very developed yet. It needs to learn to coordinate your movements, gestures, and thoughts. As you grow, your brain develops and establishes specific connections.

In your brain, there are two parts called “hemispheres”: the right and the left. These two parts communicate with each other through a bundle of fibers called the corpus callosum. Generally, one of the hemispheres becomes a bit “stronger” than the other to control certain tasks.

For most people, it’s the left hemisphere that becomes dominant for activities like speaking, writing, counting. So, this left hemisphere can more easily control the right side of your body. That’s why you are right-handed and prefer to use your right hand.

But for other people, the right hemisphere of the brain takes a bit of control. This one will then better control the left side of the body. These people become left-handed and feel more comfortable writing, eating, or making other gestures with their left hand.

Being left-handed can have advantages, like maybe being more creative or better at adapting to changes. But it can also be a bit tricky sometimes, as many tools and objects are made for right-handers. Famous people like Leonardo da Vinci or Napoleon were left-handed and showed that, even if it’s sometimes a bit more challenging, you can do amazing things.

To finish, here’s a little challenge for you: ask your parents to give you a piece of paper and two crayons of different colors (one in each hand). Try to write or draw at the same time with both hands! It’s not easy because your two brain hemispheres need to coordinate. But it’s a good exercise to develop the connections between the left and right sides of your brain. Who will make the best drawing?

Let’s now dive into the depths of the oceans to discover sea turtles, our reptile friends who have been roaming the seas for millions of years. Today, in our ‘Animal Discovery’ theme, we will explore the incredible world of these fascinating creatures, their different species, the characteristics that make them unique, where they live, and the dangers they face.

There are several species of sea turtles, each with its own characteristics. The green turtle, for example, is the largest and can measure up to 1.5 meters long, feeding on algae and sea grass. The loggerhead turtle, smaller, has a heart-shaped shell and likes to eat sponges and corals. The Kemp’s ridley turtle is known for its large head and its shell also in the shape of a heart, with a diet based on jellyfish. And then there’s the leatherback turtle, the giant of sea turtles, which can reach 2 meters and feasts on jellyfish and fish. Did you know that some sea turtles can live more than 80 years?

These turtles have truly unique features. Their shell, made of bony plates covered with scales, protects them from predators. Their legs have transformed into powerful flippers, allowing the turtle to glide through the ocean. They can hold their breath for hours, thanks to a slowed metabolism. And when it’s time to reproduce, the females return to the beach where they were born to lay their eggs, leaving the hatchlings to fend for themselves to reach the ocean.

Unfortunately, sea turtles face many threats: pollution, accidental fishing, poaching, habitat destruction, and climate change. Efforts are being made to protect them, such as implementing nest protection programs and rehabilitating injured turtles. Isn’t it incredible that some sea turtles travel over 10,000 kilometers between their feeding and nesting areas?

We can all help protect sea turtles. Whether by picking up trash on beaches or talking about their importance to our friends and family, every action counts. These magnificent creatures play a crucial role in marine ecosystem balance, and it is our duty to ensure their survival for future generations.

And there you have it, our episode for today is coming to an end. We have delved into the waters of the Seine in preparation for the Olympics, discovered why some people are left-handed or right-handed, and swam alongside sea turtles in the world’s oceans. I hope you have learned lots of interesting things!

If you have any questions or want to share what you’ve learned, feel free to contact me on Instagram. I would be thrilled to read your messages and answer your questions. So, see you tomorrow for new discoveries together!