Ta-da!
-Answer Time -Answer Time!
-It's StoryBots: Answer Time -Answer Time!
They live in your computer They got a job to do
They're all about learning They make it fun too
When you have a question They answer it for you
It's StoryBots: Answer Time
Answer Time!
-Hey there! How's it going? -Boop!
Answer Department. Bing here.
Hi, Bing. How many teeth do alligators have?
Ooh, let's find out.
One, two, three, four--
There's about 80 teeth in here.
Bo, why do people have eyebrows?
Eyebrows help prevent liquid and dirt from getting into your eyes.
They also help convey how you feel to others.
Like this?
I could tell you were making an angry face.
Yeah.
It was scary.
What is it, boy?
Hap is in trouble?
He's stuck in a well?
-Show me where! -No! I just wanted some burrito.
For crying out loud, what's a pooch got to do to get a treat?
Why does everyone think people get stuck in wells?
-Where are all these wells coming from? -Whoa. That was strange.
Boop. B-b-b-b-boop!
StoryBots, hi. I'm so glad I got through to you.
-Hello! Hi, Mrs Firefighter. -Hi there.
How's it going?
Not too good, StoryBots.
Oh no, what's wrong?
I don't see any fires.
Oh, it wasn't a fire.
I got called to get a cat out of a tree, so I brought my big net, and when--
Whoa! Was that a lion?
You got that right, Bing.
Turns out my big net is not gonna be big enough.
Why don't you just buy a bigger net?
Well, I tried to, Bo.
When I went to the net store to buy the jumbo big net,
the price tag said £43.
That seems reasonable enough for a great big net.
Oh, I agree.
But when I looked at the receipt, it said a total of £51.60.
Whoa, really?
Where did the extra £8.60 come from?
That's what I said. The cashier said it had something to do with "taxes"?
"Taxes"?
What are "taxes," man?
No idea, Bang. That's why I'm calling to ask you.
The kitty's getting restless.
I need that new net fast,
but I'm not gonna pay an extra £8.60 when I don't know what it's for.
So taxes…
Where can we find out about taxes?
Boop-boop, boop-boop-boop.
I think you're right.
Taxes have something to do with the government.
Boop-boop, boop-boop-boop-boop.
If you could find out what taxes are, that'd be really helpful.
If you could do it quickly, that would be great.
Boop-boop-boop-boop boop.
Answer Time!
Hi, StoryBots. What's in the news these days?
You're watching StoryBots News on channel 22 and 2/3, WBOT,
with your hosts Story Storyberg and Bot Botson.
Today's top story…
A grizzly bear's jaws are strong enough to crush a bowling ball.
Whoa, no. Uh-uh. I'm not testing out that crazy fact.
Forget it. You know how much a bear dentist costs?
You bite it if you wanna test it. I'm outta here. Gonna go eat berries.
Oh, hi, StoryBots. What is erosion?
Tired of rocks with sharp edges?
Are large, heavy boulders getting you down?
Wish there was a way you could shrink giant rocks and smooth their edges?
Yeah, that'd be great.
Well, now you can.
Introducing erosion!
Erosion, huh? What's that?
-Here. -What am I supposed to do with this?
Splash it on that rock.
Now do it again over a trillion more times!
It might not seem like anything, but as water flows over rocks,
it's using water flow to erode its surface,
dulling their sharp corners and slowly carving into their shape.
The only thing it needs is time, and lots of it.
Sometimes it can take years, decades, even millennia to see any changes.
Wow, that's amazing.
But wait, there's more.
Act now we'll throw in a second form of erosion free!
Introducing airflow!
It flows against rocks like water and, over time, wears them down.
Whoa, incredible!
It sure is. And it can be yours, but only if you order now.
I'll go get my wallet!
Erosion. Ask for it by name.
Nothing in this ad should be construed as endorsing Erosion.
-If you start to disappear… -Huh? What'd he say?
Hi, StoryBots. Can you tell me a fun fact?
Fun fact number 200,141,853.
Did you know that a female octopus lays about 56,000 eggs at one time?
Timmy, put that down! Susie, leave her alone!
Andrew, get that off your head! Amy, that's not food! Kids, please!
Can't you see I've only got eight arms?
Boop!
Next stop, the Department of Government and Stuff.
Story Storyberg here.
Welcome back to the debate that'll help StoryBots decide who'll be the next mayor.
My fellow StoryBots, if you elect me as your mayor,
I hereby promise to lower your taxes.
If you elect me as your mayor, I promise to lower your taxes too.
Even more than that guy.
Boop.
Candidate Boop, your stance on taxes?
No taxes at all?
Boop?
Would-be Mayor Boop is on the campaign trail.
No taxes? It's never been done before!
Boop's the most popular candidate this town's ever seen.
Boop-boop-boop.
Translation. "Read my lips."
Boop, boop-boop, boop-boop.
"No taxes at all!"
Bot Botson here with the results of tonight's historic election.
Cynthia Applebee with one vote.
Earl Perkins with zero votes.
Apparently, he didn't even vote for himself.
And Boop Bunklebee with…
Holy bananas!
Boop Bunklebee is our new mayor!
StoryBots everywhere are enjoying their lives with absolutely no taxes.
No taxes! Yeah!
I got so much money, I don't know what to do with it!
Boop!
We love you, Mayor Boop!
We strongly dislike you, Mayor Boop!
Mayor Boop!
Thank goodness you're here.
Boop-boop-boop?
Who am I? I'm the Secretary of the Treasury.
Boop-boop?
The treasury. The department of government that manages money,
and your no-tax policy has pushed us to the precipice of disaster.
Look!
The tube system is an absolute mess!
I'm okay.
Boop-boop-boop?
What happened is we had no money from taxes to pay for repairs.
Broken tubes mean StoryBots can't get to work, which puts their jobs at risk,
which is why they are outside this door with pitchforks.
We still strongly dislike you!
With all due respect,
your tax policy is destroying vital services.
If we don't collect some taxes soon, there's no telling how this ends.
Boop-boop, boop-boop?
"What are taxes?"
You stopped all taxes in the world without knowing what taxes are?
Boop.
Oh, good grief.
Come with me. I think we need a civics lesson.
Boop-boop?
Hi, StoryBots. My name is Marley.
Why do we get sunburned?
The adventures of Blimblam the Barbarian!
Blimblam almost find giant scorpion monster.
Blimblam can smell it.
Step…
Blimblam bash giant scorpion monster!
Why bashing hurt?
How long have you been in the sun?
One, nine, seven, two?
You've obviously been out a long time. You're severely sunburned.
"Sunburned"?
Sunburn happens when your skin gets exposed to too much ultraviolet light.
Then Blimblam bash ultraviolet light!
Blimblam! You can't bash ultraviolet light.
It's a wavelength of light that your eyes can't even see.
Blimblam confused.
Let me show you.
Our light is made up of invisible waves.
Some light waves are long and some are short.
The shorter the wave, the more energy it contains.
The sun has waves that are really short called ultraviolet waves.
They contain so much energy they can kill the cells that make up your skin.
That's why it hurts.
How Blimblam fix sunburn?
You can't fix it. Your body just needs time to heal.
You can protect yourself by wearing sun cream when outside.
In the meantime, rub the insides of this cactus on your skin.
This'll help you feel better.
Blimblam?
Blimblam feel better. Blimblam like cactus.
Now sun will pay for what it do to Blimblam!
Blimblam bash sun!
Well, that's Blimblam, folks.
-Everybody loves the sunshine -They love it!
And they always have a fun time
But there's something important to learn
If you stay out too long in the sun You might get burned
We all know the sun's super bright, right?
And it's out all day Giving lots of light, right?
All light is made up Of these things called waves
Some are short, some are long They're coming your way
When waves are shorter They're filled with more energy
The sun's are super short And some rays are UV
That's ultraviolet That's high-energy waves
That destroy your body's cells And put a burn on your face
-Everybody loves the sunshine -They love it!
And they always have a fun time
But there's something important to learn
Without shade or some sunscreen on You might get burned
Next stop, StoryBot City Hall.
Right this way, Mayor Boop.
Here it is, the origins of taxes.
Since the dawn of time, StoryBots have traded goods and services with each other.
This became the foundation of StoryBot society.
With time, StoryBots wanted to trade more things
from locations further and further away.
They needed a tube system to connect them,
but building it was going to be very expensive.
To pay for it, every StoryBot would need to chip in by paying three kinds of taxes.
The first tax was a sales tax.
Every time a StoryBot purchased something,
a little extra was added to the price and sent to the government.
The second was a property tax.
StoryBots paid money based on things they owned, like cars, boats, and houses.
Sorry about that.
And third was an income tax.
The government takes a little money out of every StoryBot's pay packet.
Hey! What the…
With sales tax, property tax, and income tax,
the government got the money it needed to build the tube system.
Taxes also help pay for other important things,
like schools, parks, roads, and firefighters.
Boop.
Boop-boop, boop-boop-boop!
You want me to call a press conference? But why?
Boop-boop-boop, boop-boop.
Boop, boop, boop-boop.
Boop-boop-boop, boop, boop, boop-boop.
Boop, boop, boop-boop, boop.
Boop-boop-boop, boop-boop.
Boop, boop-boop, boop!
Such a way with words.
Boop, boop, boop, boop.
"Read my lips."
Boop-boop, boop, boop-boop-boop.
"A reasonable amount of taxes."
Newsflash, Mayor Boop has reinstated taxes.
That tax money has been used to repair the tube system.
All trade has resumed.
A coalition commission is formed to decide on future taxes.
Some StoryBots think it's too much taxes,
some think it's too little, and some think it's just right.
StoryBot society is back to normal at last.
Boop-boop, boop, boop-boop-boop.
-Well, do you go to a state school? -Yeah!
-Is your library super cool? -It is!
Have a favourite park Where you can play and relax?
Ah, yes!
-The government has to pay -They gotta pay
-For a lot of things we use -Every day
So it collects the money it needs With something known as a tax
Oh, you gotta pay a little value added tax When you buy stuff at the shop
If you live in a house, a car, or boat That's what council tax is for
Whether you make money by raising bunnies Or just playing the sax
The government gets a cut It's called income tax
Some say we pay too much in tax While others disagree
What we get is nice, but there's a price None of this is free
Oh, from NHS to education To repairs in the pavement cracks
Well, the government has expenses So we pay our tax
Yeah, that's why we grin and bear it And pay our tax
Boop-boop, boop-boop-boop-boop.
Boop, is that you? Can you see me?
Boop-boop.
Did you find out what taxes are for?
This kitty situation isn't going to take care of itself.
Boop-boop, boop, boop-boop-boop.
Wait. The government collects taxes to pay for stuff like schools and roads?
Boop, boop-boop, boop.
And firefighters?
Boop-boop, boop-boop-boop, boop.
Wait, so the extra £8.60 for the super, giant, jumbo, big net is that?
Boop-boop, boop-boop-boop.
And then there's property tax and income tax too?
Boop.
I don't know, Boop. Sounds like a lot of taxes if you ask me.
Boop.
Well, I mean, I do appreciate roads and schools,
and I love being a firefighter.
I'll head back to that shop and pay the extra £8.60 and get that new net.
Boop, boop-boop-boop, boop.
Thank you so much.
I appreciate your help in teaching me about taxes.
All right, kitty, I'll be right there. Thanks, Boop. Bye!