Good morning and welcome to KidNuz. I’m Tori. Today is Monday, December 16, 2019 and we begin with…

The most lopsided win in Heisman History. Over the weekend, Louisiana State quarterback Joe Burrow ran away with the most coveted honor in college football by getting more than 93-percent of possible votes. Even more remarkable, is that Burrow is a transfer. He rode the bench at Ohio State for three years before picking up and starting over at LSU last year… only to shatter both school and SEC single-season passing records. The Bleacher Report calls his journey a tale of “patience, persistence and perseverance.” The votes for the Heisman are cast by sports journalists, past winners, and one fan selected by long time sponsor Nissan.

Partisan politics will be on full display midweek, as the House of Representatives votes on two impeachment articles against President Trump. One of the charges accuses him of abusing his power and the other of obstructing Congress when it tried to investigate. Democrats have the majority in the House so the Articles are expected to pass— even though as many as six Democratic members have said they may ‘defect’ from the party line, and vote no. A trial in the Senate would begin as early as next year. There, Republicans are in control and are unlikely to find the President guilty of any crime.

It’s a sight to behold on a California beach. And that sight is not a pretty one. Millions of rarely seen worms – all the size of bananas – have bubbled up and completely covered the sands of Drakes Beach in Northern California. Typically, these 10-inch sausage-like ’innkeeper worms’ spend their entire lives underground. But a recent storm chased them up and out of their burrows for all to see.. and for birds and otters to eat. Will their time in the sun doom them? Naturalists say not likely. There are too many still alive to count and they’ve managed to survive storms for 300 million years, always just a few inches below the surface of the sand.

The next big eco-friendly craze might find its way to your feet. Reebok has unveiled designs for a plant based running shoe called the Floatright GROW. The upper part of the shoe is made from eucalyptus, its soles are made from castor beans and natural rubber. It could be good news for landfills. Americans reportedly throw away 300 million pairs of shoes each year, most of them made from non-biodegradable plastic, leather and petroleum-based rubber, materials that can take anywhere from 25 to 80 years to decompose on their own.

Fruit cake is the butt of many jokes around this time of year, but one in particular is nothing to laugh at. Fiona Ford whipped it up for the holidays way back in 1878 and, per tradition, was going to let it age for a year. She passed away before the year was up and instead of eating it, her Michigan family decided to preserve it as a tribute. 141 years later, that hunk of flour, corn syrup and mysterious candied fruit is in the possession of her great great granddaughter, under glass and protected from the elements. But is it the oldest confection of all time? Not even close. That honor reportedly goes to a 4,176-year-old cake found in an Egyptian tomb. It is currently on display in a food museum in Switzerland.

That’s it for KidNuz. Now our KidNuz quiz.

1. Which college football player won this year’s Heisman? LSU quarterback Joe Burrow, by a landslide.


2. What big event will take place in Washington DC this week? The full house will vote on two articles of impeachment.


3. What are new eco-friendly sneakers made of? Eucalyptus, castor beans, and natural rubber.


4. How many years has a single fruitcake been preserved by a Michigan family? 141.. and counting.

In one for the r oad: New York City’s Downtown Athletic Club came up with the idea of recognizing the year’s best college football player in 1935, and named the award after the club’s first athletic director, John Heisman. The trophy itself is made out of cast bronze and is 13 inches tall and weighs 25 pounds. The model for it was Ed Smith, a player for the NYU football team and, at the time, a friend of the sculptor. Ed struck a pose — and then forgot about it. It took another 48 years for him to find out he was the inspiration for the now-famous statue.

Our birthday shout-outs today go to Avery in Chicago, Serenity and Sincerity in Palm Bay, FL, and Hana and Bobae both in Oakland, CA. And a big hello to Mrs. Kalberer’s 5th Grade class at Westside Elementary School in Powell, Wyoming. Thanks for listening everyone and we’ll see you back here for more KidNuz tomorrow morning.

Lopsided Win, House Vote, Sandy Surprise, Earth-Friendly Feet and 141-year-old Fruitcake!

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