Hey there! Welcome to today's News Bites.

I'm Nancy Sun…

And I'm Brody Halverson.

In today's news:

Seaweed and wind power, and giant pumpkin boats.

And knock knock, today's Tasty Tidbit is all about doors.

Stay tuned to find out more!

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離岸風場成功養殖大型海藻

Farms for Wind Power and Seaweed

Offshore wind farms are an important part of green energy in Taiwan.

Have you visited places near Taiwan's west coast (西岸)?

If you do, you may see huge wind turbines (風力發電機) in the ocean.

These turbines generate electricity.

And these wind farms are also growing something else green.

But you have to look closer, in the water to see it.

Government scientists have been using places around wind turbines to grow seaweed!

政府的研究團隊在離岸風場海域成功的養殖大型海藻。

They tried out many different types of large seaweed species, or "macroalgae".

They collected 48 types of macroalgae from the ocean off southern Taiwan.

And they found two that grew very well…

The Caulerpa lentillifera, which many people call "sea grapes", and the Gracilaria firma.

These two types of seaweed are quite strong.

They lived through high water temperatures, and big changes in the salt levels of the water.

And the scientists tried out different things to help the seaweed grow.

They changed the levels of light, and used flowing water with no fertilizer (沒有添加肥料的流動水).

All this helped the macroalgae grow much faster.

And the scientists found easier ways to harvest (採收) the seaweed, to cut the cost of labor.

This means the seaweed can be grown for food at a low cost, without hurting the environment.

There are other benefits too.

All that seaweed growing in the water will attract fish.

And this may become a good place for fishermen to catch fish.

Some scientists also believe seaweed could help fight global warming.

Just like all plants, seaweed uses carbon dioxide to help it grow.

And the scientists think if we grow a lot of seaweed…

That seaweed may suck up a lot of carbon dioxide!

No one knows for sure if this idea will work.

But government scientists think the macroalgae could also be used in many other ways.

They hope the idea can help the government reach its goal of net zero emissions by 2050.

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比利時划南瓜賽

Race in Giant Pumpkin Boats

Most of the time, a race is all about speed.

The fastest wins.

But for some races, it's not all about the finish line…

It's how you get there.

A town in Belgium called Kasterlee holds a special race on a river every year.

Instead of riding in boats…

Racers ride in giant pumpkins instead!

They call the race the "pumpkin regatta".

People in the race get giant pumpkins.

They cut off the top, and dig out the insides.

They put the big, hollowed-out pumpkins into the water, climb in, and start paddling!

How did this strange tradition start?

People in Kasterlee grew big pumpkins that weighed more than 400 kilograms.

And these pumpkins would be used to make soup.

But the growers wanted to try something else.

So they started making the giant pumpkins into "boats", and racing in them.

The race happens every year in October.

And since it's close to Halloween, people in the race would dress in all kinds of crazy costumes.

This year, many of the pumpkins in the race weighed more than 1,000 kilograms!

Racing in a hollowed-out pumpkin is not easy.

Many racers say it is hard to move forward.

When they paddle, the pumpkin spins.

參賽者想讓挖空的南瓜向前移動並不容易，常常有參賽者原地打轉。

And the pumpkin is also very sticky inside.

Racing in pumpkins takes a lot of skill.

And Belgium isn't the only place that holds pumpkin boat races.

Pumpkin regattas are also held in Canada, and also in the US.

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So, in today's News Bites:

Government scientists have been using places around wind turbines to grow seaweed!

They can be grown for food at a low cost, and attract fish.

And some scientists also believe seaweed could help fight global warming.

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And,

A town in Belgium called Kasterlee holds a special race on a river every year, for giant pumpkins!

Racing in a hollowed-out pumpkin takes a lot of skill.

And Belgium isn't the only place that holds pumpkin boat races.

Pumpkin regattas are also held in Canada, and also in the US.

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趣味小點

Tasty Tidbit

In today's Tasty Tidbit,

A great sense of humor opens all kinds of doors.

So get ready for a good laugh…

How does a horse open a door? With a donKEY!

And remember when we talked about door gods last month? 12-year-old Ben noticed something interesting!

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[CLIP]

Slug:

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That's really neat, Ben!

If you have a fun fact or a joke you'd like to share with us, record your message and send us your Tasty Tidbit to [email protected], and you might hear it at the end of an episode!

Tune in again next time for an all new episode of News Bites!