From the brains behind Brains On, it's Smash Boom Best. The show for people with big opinions.
Hi, I'm Molly Bloom, and this is Smash Boom Best, the show where we take two things, smash them together, and ask you to decide which one is best. Today, two iconic ecosystems show off their stuff.
It's coral reefs versus rain forests.
Will coral reefs swim to victory?
Or will rain forests rain supreme?
Both are known for their beauty and bounty of plants and animals, but only one can win.
Lucky for us, we have Lalitja here from Mason, Ohio to help us decide which is the most awe -inspiring of them all.
Hi Lalitja. Hi. So, Lalitja, I hear you're a 2021 Regeneron Science Talent Search finalist. That is a big deal.
So, can you tell us a little bit about the research you did for your project?
Yeah. So I've developed a method that is able to detect water contamination through the analyzation of microscopic images of water.
So it's basically this device that takes images, runs it through AI, and then it can tell you whether or not there's any contamination present in the system.
That's incredible. So what inspired that research?
Yeah, so on a family trip to India, I saw the glaring water gap.
There was a lack of access to clean water, and despite the precautions my family and took, I still fell ill from drinking contaminated water.
And when I returned home, I found out about how global of an issue this is and that the current detection systems just aren't up to par.
So I set off to invent my own.
Wow, that is amazing.
Your interest in clean water and the environment makes you the perfect host for today's episode.
I am so excited to learn more about these two very excellent and very important ecosystems. As you're about to hear, they do so much for us and our planet, and we humans have to do everything we can to keep them healthy and protect them.
And here to sing the praises of captivating coral reefs is Joy Dolo.
Hi, Joy. Hi. So Joy, in a single sentence, why are coral reefs the Smash Boom best?
Aruba, Jamaica. Ooh, I wanna take you to the coral reef.
It's a living structure and there are no bees.
Um, it's pretty landscape fun for the family.
I love a musical start.
And now for team Rainforest, it's Kasia Patel.
Hi, Kasia! Woo hoo!
Rainforest! Kasia, in one sentence or, you know, melody, why should Rainforest be crowned number one?
Okay, I think it's pretty obvious.
Rainforests are beautiful, exciting and fun and you're way less likely to drown in a rainforest than visiting a coral reef.
Ok, let's review the rules of the game!
Round 1 is the Declaration of Greatness.
Using facts, logic and top notch story telling, our debaters will present the most persuasive arguments in defence of their side.
After each declaration the opposing team will have 30 seconds to rebut their opponent's statement.
Then we've got the Micro Round, a creative challenge each side has prepared for in advance.
Round 3 is the Sneak Attack, a surprise challenge debaters will respond to on the spot.
And, to top it all off, we've got the final six.
In this round, each team will have six words to make a closing case for their side.
Our Judge Lalitia will award two points in the first round and one point in each round after that, but she won't tell us who she's voting for – you'll have to stick around to the end of the debate to find out who the winner is.
Listeners, we also want you to judge the debate, so grab a pencil and paper and keep track of your points.
At the end of the show, head to our website, SmashBoom .org, and vote for whichever team you think won.
Okay, everybody, are you ready?
Yeah, better how leave it.
I think we should leave that pun alone.
Shall we? Excellent.
Well, then it's time for the Declaration of greatness.
Our debaters will present the most fascinating facts and awesome arguments in favor of their We flipped a coin and Joi will go first. Joi, let's hear your defense of coral reefs.
I don't want to be the great barrier of bad news, great barrier, but comparing coral reefs to rainforests is below sea level.
Coral reefs are way better than rainforests.
Just ask my friend Isaiah.
He's an oceanographer and he studies coral reefs so he should know, coral reefs offers everything rainforests do and more.
So so that's my take on that.
I couldn't agree more, Isaiah.
Coral reefs are magical underwater kingdoms. Picture a vast collection of rainbow colored rock -like things, all kinds of spiky, wavy, bubbly shapes, and they come in all sorts of colors.
Blue, yellow, red, green, brown, some are even fluorescent...
They are utopias under the sea, where sea fans wave, seahorses party, and scuba divers say hello to their marvelous marine friends.
They are also thought to have more bio -dive -ersity than rainforests, which means they're home to more crazy creatures and plants.
Plus, they protect and help us humans.
So come on, let's dive in and explore why coral reefs are the chicken of the sea.
Oh wow, gorgeous. Yes, it's turtle -ly awesome down here.
Coral reefs are ecosystems aka community living spaces for plants and animals.
And even though they occupy just 0 .1 % of the area of the ocean, they are home to 25 % of marine life on earth.
Coral reefs ecosystems are kind of these really big, uh, think high density urban housing, right?
But for animals and lots of marine life.
It's true, everybody and their grandma lives in and around coral reefs.
There are sharks, lobsters, clams, sponges, sea turtles, a ton of fish and so much more.
Why the pygmy seahorse, The smallest seahorse in the world lives here and so does the Hawaiian squirrelfish, the potato cod, the spaghetti worm, even SpongeBob SquarePants.
Hello. But before we get distracted by all of our reef -dwelling friends, let's talk a little bit more about corals themselves.
Corals are actually like this weird mix of part animal, part plant, and part rock.
So the animal part of corals are these tiny squishy creatures called coral polyps, which kind of look like upside -down jellyfish.
These polyps build hard outer shells or exoskeletons, which become the rock part of the reef.
Then, tucked inside the coral polyps is the plant part, the algae that gives coral its vibrant color.
All three parts work together like a three -part harmony to make corals The amazing creatures that they are.
So, coral reefs are living breathing apartment complexes under the waves, and they help humans in countless ways.
One in every 10 fish consumed around the world, believe it or not, comes from a coral reef.
So even if you don't live near one you probably depend on one more than you think.
Or maybe you've taken a coral reef made medicine.
A ton of different anti -viral, anti -bacterial, and anti -inflammatory medications are made out of organisms that live in and around reefs.
And it's 300 to 400 times more likely to find new life -saving medicines in the ocean near a reef than it is to find them on land.
Boom, take that rainforest. reefs are like an underwater pharmacy.
I live in a pharmacy under the sea.
Coral reefs. Coral reefs also protect our coastlines.
When strong waves from tropical storms and hurricanes approach land, reefs can absorb a lot of their energy before they make landfall, saving lives, homes, and livelihoods from destruction.
Man, those coral reefs are selfless.
Selfless. Finally, coral reef magic ptic makes money, honey.
Beaches with clear water and lots of sunlight have been a popular destination for tourists since forever.
And beaches near coral reefs are the most desired destinations.
You'll find these spots all over the world, in Indonesia, Australia, Belize, Papua New Guinea and even Florida.
These reefs create jobs, raise environmental awareness and help support local communities because people can't stay away!
So, LaLitia, the choice is yours.
Sweat it out in a murky rainforest and risk getting attacked by bugs the size of your face.
Or, take a cool, relaxing dive in the sapphire seas, surrounded by the magical, underwater kingdoms we call coral reefs.
A melodious and marvelous argument in support of coral reefs.
Lalithia what stood out to you about Joy's declaration of greatness?
Well, of course the amazing songs that she put out throughout the entire thing.
Oh, thank you so much Lalithia.
Well, Kasia, it's time for a rain forest rebuttal.
Time to stand tall.
You've got 30 seconds to topple Joy's testimony.
And your time starts now.
I do not even know where to begin with that terrible points that you pointed out.
Let just plant a couple of ideas in your head.
First off, you talked about how they're an underwater pharmacy.
Well, rainforests actually provide about 25 % of all Western medicines.
So yeah, you guys have medicine, but we have more.
On that same line, you talked about 25 % of all marine animals are near the coral reefs.
Well, rainforests have more animals and plant species.
We're home to about 50 % time flies when you have a lot of points.
to make. Now Kasia, it's your turn to wow us with your declaration for rainforests.
Take it away. All right!
Are you ready to learn why Team Rainforest is the best?
Yeah! And why, if we didn't have rainforests, we would be in deep doo -doo!
Oh no! That's right!
Rainforests are a key source of food and medicine, a climate change superhero battling global warming and they keep our weather in check.
Whoa! But first, what exactly is a rainforest?
Well instead of me telling you this, why don't we ask one of its most obvious inhabitants, a tree?
It's a tree -t to meet you.
So tree, tell us about the rainforest. And we got time, bust a rhyme.
All right here comes.
Here's some info for your human brain, we're a tall, dense dongle with a lot of rain, we live on every continent except Antarctica, and it breaks those penguin's little hearticles.
Rain forests only cover 2 % of Earth, but animals and plants, there is no dirt!
Jaguars, koolnuts, gorillas, and sloths!
Ferrets, koo -kins, butterflies, and moths!
Dolphins, manatees, and cute little otters, eels, and naketas, and piranhas in the water!
Um, sorry to cut you off, Tree, but we can't go through all 3 million species.
That's gonna take a long time.
Fine. You can listen to the entire song on my album, Throwing Shade on coral reefs.
Thanks, Tree. Rainforests only cover 2 % of Earth, but they're home to more than half of all plant and animal species on the planet.
How can so many different animals and plants live there?
Well, because they got food.
Tropical plants thrive in rain forest's hot, humid weather and bright sunlight.
Animals come to eat the plants, and other animals come to eat those animals.
It's like a Costco grocery store with unlimited free samples.
Clean up on aisle four next to the monkeys…again.
And they're like a grocery store for us humans too...
because a lot of our food comes from the rain forest. Let's take a shopping trip!
Welcome to the Rainforest Grocery Store.
Near the entrance you will find one of our most popular items. Chocolate!
In aisle one is our Rainforest Fruits section.
The freshest pineapple, bananas, mangoes, and the ever popular avocado.
I love me some avocado toast. At the back of the store is the Rainforest Pharmacy.
Our pharmacy features quinine, which is extracted from the bark of the tree in the amazon and is used to help treat malaria.
Pink periwinkle flowers, found in the rainforests of Madagascar, help treat certain types of cancers.
Take that cancer. And don't forget about tires for your car, waterproof clothing and balloons, all of which are made from the sap of a rainforest's rubber trees.
I'll take a balloon with a side of chocolate.
We know all about these rainforest treasures thanks to the native people who lived there for thousands of years.
They lived off the land by hunting, farming, fishing, gathering fruits and nuts, and even finding medical uses for the plants.
The quinine medicine mentioned earlier was actually discovered by the Quechua, an indigenous tribe that still lives in Peru and Bolivia.
The pink periwinkle was used for centuries by Indigenous tribes before pharmaceutical companies started selling it.
The rainforests also help our climate by absorbing carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas, and spitting out oxygen.
In one year, rainforests absorb the equivalent carbon dioxide emissions of 2 million cars.
Oceans also absorb carbon dioxide, but this extra carbon dioxide leads to killing the corals.
But for trees, the carbon dioxide is food.
Do not fear. I can be a climate change hero.
Let me eat it! Unlike coral reefs, rainforests also affect the weather.
Plants and trees release water into the atmosphere via a process called transpiration.
Because there are so many plants in a rainforest, All that released water can form rain clouds.
In the Amazon rain forest, these clouds can bring rain to areas locally in Brazil, but also pretty far away, like Mexico, Texas, and the U .S. Midwest. And this rain, near or far, is important for farming.
So if we suddenly had less trees in the Amazon rain forest, that could mean less rain, water, and crop production.
And we might even see more frequent drought.
So, to sum it up, we really need those plants in the rainforest. I make it rain!
We can see why rainforests are so important to life on Earth.
They provide food, medicine, and regulate our climate and weather.
And they combine all of that with beautiful landscapes and amazing animals.
I don't want to get all sappy, but this declaration made me really happy.
A tree -mendous declaration from Kasia there.
Lalitia, what stood out to you in Kasia's argument for rainforests?
Uh, I really liked how she definitely hit a lot of the points that Joy also mentioned, but in her own way as to why rainforests were better.
Also the tree was a nice touch. I didn't know trees could wrap so well.
Okay, Joy, it's time for your rebuttal.
All right. Can you outshine an outsmart Kasia's argument?
You're going to have 30 seconds, and your time starts now.
Okay, first of all, there were children cheering in the beginning.
Where did those children come from, Kasia?
Where did you get those children?
Also, like you said, Mollie trees can't talk, let alone rap, Antarctica does not rhyme with Hartica.
Hot humid weather is right.
Who wants to vacation with hot, humid weather?
The rainforest has all kinds of mango and chocolate and pineapple.
That sounds like diabetes.
Animals eating other animals.
That's a massacre that's happening in the forest that you're okay with.
Balloons from rubber trees.
What kind of balloons?
Balloons come with clowns and clowns are terrifying.
Hence the rain forest is a terrifying place.
This is a heated debate.
Both sides singing, rapping, we're loving it.
Lolitia, it's time to award your first two points.
Remember, you get to decide what makes an argument awesome.
Did one side impress you with cool facts?
Did one side make you laugh?
Did you like their rhymes, their melodies?
It's up to you. So you're going to give one point for whoever had the best declaration of greatness and one point for whoever had the best rebuttal.
Have you made your decision?
I have. All right. It's time for a quick break.
We're gonna take a dip near a reef or stroll amongst the trees...
Or just keep doing whatever you're doing.
Either way, we'll be right back with more Smash Boom Best!
You're watching State of Debate, home to rage in rhetoric and awe -inspiring argumentation!
Hello, Debate Friends.
Taylor Lincoln here.
And it's a bird! No. It's a plane!
No. It's... a dapper debater with a tweed suit and a winning smile!
Todd… Douglas! Guilty on all counts!
And speaking of guilty, we caught someone guilty of doing a debate crime, making a logical fallacy.
These are arguments with criminally bad logic that weaken the point you're trying to make.
In this case, it's the strawman fallacy.
That's when you create a weak or distorted version of your opponent's point, and then attack that instead.
Oof. It should be illegal.
Just listen. And if I'm elected mayor, I'll spend even more money on schools.
Instead of spending half the city's budget on my own birthday party like our current mayor does.
Whoa! You're against birthday parties?
How can you be against birthday parties?
That's not what I said...
What's next, outlying cake?
or clowns, or fun? No!
I just think the budget should be used for schools, not parties.
Re -elect me, and I'll never ban parties.
In fact, I'll use the budget to throw myself an even bigger party next year.
Wow, what a whopper of a strawman right there.
Yeah, her point was about how the city spends its money not about banning birthday parties.
You know it's always a party.
Talking smack about logical fallacies with your bestie?
You know it. Let's do it again soon on State of Debate!
You're listening to Smash Boom Best, I'm your host Molly Bloom.
And I'm your Judge, Lelitzia.
One of my favorite things about this show is all the amazing debate ideas we get from listeners like you.
Check out this awesome debate suggestion from Naissa in Brookline, Massachusetts.
My debate idea is apples versus bananas!
What an appealing idea.
I apple -solutely can't wait to hear who she thinks will win.
We'll check back with Naissa at the end of this episode to find out.
And now it's back to today's debate coral reefs versus rainforests.
It's time for round two the Micro round today's micro round challenge is spa day We're tired out and ready to relax Joy and Kasha walk us through a spa Inspired by your side and tell us why your spot is the best place to get some TLC Joy went first last time so Kasha you're up Looking for the perfect spa day?
Come and enjoy the soothing sounds of the rainforest. Ah, no, sorry the other soothing sounds?
Yes, those soothing sounds.
Here in the Amazon rainforest we have at least four different spa experiences for you to enjoy.
For the most sunlight, rain and strong breezes visit the Emergent layer in our tree tops.
Emergent layer. Hang your hammock in the canopies and relax 200 feet above ground.
For lunch, hop 30 feet below to the Canopy layer and grab some fruit or 70 % of rainforest fruits grow.
Canopy layer. After finishing your fruity feast, swing down another 40 feet to the understory, where you'll find a beautiful botanical garden.
Understory lair. These plants use their fragrant smells and good looks to attract animals and insects for pollination.
Look carefully and you'll also find animals and camouflage like jaguars, frogs, lizards and snakes.
Don't worry though, these animals won't attack unless provoked.
That anaconda don't want none.
Make your final stop the rain forest floor.
Rain forest floor. This layer receives the least amount of sunlight, so you may not see many plants, but you will see some biiig animals!
Say hello to a gorilla or take a ride on an elephant on your way out of the rain forest. Please do not do either of those things.
We hope you enjoyed your soothing spa day at the Amazon rainforest. I said soothing.
How many times do I have to remind you?
Better. A mostly relaxing visit to the Rainforest Spa.
Joy, let's hear what you have in store for us.
Sup? Have you spent the entire day in a rainforest?
Like do you feel like warm and sweaty and like unfulfilled?
Well set sail for Coral Dreams brightness for the rest of your day's spa.
Feel drenched from all the days of rain?
We shall help you. with a reef that provides protection against anything, even foul weather.
Hey, are you feeling discombobulated in your job, your marriage, your life choices?
Coral Reefs are here to build you up.
Snorkel with sea turtles and rediscover fun, joy, and love.
Just ask these people, man.
Coral Reefs have me sing all the colors of my future.
My kids were so excited by all the exotic sea life.
They included me in their tick tock with a baby shark...
Nah, nah, nah, nah.
Love that song. Thanks, Coral Dreams, brighten us with the rest of your days, spa.
And it never hurts to talk to a resident.
Just ask the sea cow about spa life.
Yeah, I live here. Whoa!
Gnarly wave, man. Watch out for that wave. So many waves here.
Warning, if you experience hives, sadness, oversaturation, or longing for something more in your life, you may be experiencing signs of over -rainforestation.
Please contact your local rainforest of the sea, aka coral reef specialist, immediately.
You know, after that, I kind of question my acting skills.
I was going to say, is your spa at like a rave or something?
That was like some pumpkin music.
Lilitia, what stood out to you about our debater's micro rounds?
Anything in particular from either spa?
I think both of them made some really good points.
on both sides. I don't want to reveal exactly who I gave my point to, but yeah.
Excellent, Waleetja, have you awarded your point?
I have. Awesome, then it's time for our third round, the super stealthy sneak attack.
Our sneak attack today is, by any other name.
Kasha and Joy, we want you to imagine a world where the words rainforest and coral reef don't exist. And it's your job to come up with three alternative names for your side.
For example, if I were defending maple trees, I might come up with the names sugar sauce supplier, a pancakes best friend and sweet forest mama.
Make sense? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Okay, we're going to give you a few minutes to brainstorm.
So while you work, let's listen to some soothing hold music.
Let's listen to some soothing hold music.
Rainforest, lush and green, slots and moss, a steamy dream.
So many trees to keep our air clean.
Coral reefs, they're alive, hide shells with polyps inside, Let's dive in and swim through paradise.
All right, we're going to go back and forth, taking turns, hearing your three alternate names.
Joy, let's hear your first alternate name for coral reefs.
Photosynthesis. Pretty glowy, flowy rockfish house.
I can see it. Kasha, let's hear your first alternative name for rain forest. Alright.
Colorful Canopies. Lovely.
Alright, Joy. Let's hear your second alternative name for coral reefs.
exoskeleton schmexoskeleton community of living fish party central kasha let's hear your second alternative name for rainforests alright well you all know that i'm a world famous critically acclaimed rapper so mine is called adventure quencher that is a good rhyme adventure quencher Joy.
Let's hear your final alternative name for coral reefs.
All right, final alternative name is Lelitia's favorite place as a kid.
That's a good one. I think everybody would be like, Oh yeah, again, I'm gonna get on a plane and go to Lelitia's favorite place as a kid.
And though everybody will know exactly what you're talking about.
100 % Let's hear your third answer.
This one's more serious.
This one also has, I guess you could say a slant rhyme, Earth's nurse because we get a lot of our medicine from there, it helps us combat climate change, and one really important thing as Lolita was talking about water access, it helps regulate the water cycle by controlling weather.
So if we actually don't have a rainforest then we do have less water for agricultural needs, which is a problem because that creates less water that we can have and ingest in our bodies.
Very nice. Alright.
Lalitja, it is time to award a point for the sneak attack round.
Think about what names stood out to you.
Which ones do you want to add to the dictionary?
The criteria for judging this round is completely up to you.
Once you've decided who has won this round, please give that team a point but don't tell us who is getting it.
Have you chosen a winner for this round?
Yes I have. Excellent then it's time for our very last round.
The final six. Kasia you're up you've got just six words to make a final impression on Lalitja.
Let's hear them. Source for food, medicine and weather.
Very nice. Joy Europe, give us your last six words for coral reefs.
Coral reefs, rainforest of the sea.
So you admit that rainforests are of the sea, of the sea.
Oh gosh this is a tough debate.
It has been heated, it has been passionate, but it makes sense because these two ecosystems are so important to our planet.
It's time to award that final point, Lalitia, and crown one of these excellent environments the Smash Boom Best. So Lalitia, have you awarded your final point?
I have. All right, so now it's time to tally up those points.
Drum roll, please. Today's winner is the rainforest. Wow!
I was so nervous! Oh my gosh!
Oh, Lalicha, was there a deciding moment in this debate, like one moment where you're like, oh, rainforest. How can we beat that?
I think it was the six words because Joy basically implied that coral reefs are the rainforests of the sea.
And I think that was that turning moment.
Was it close? It was close.
It was two to three for points.
So, okay. So is that final round?
Put it over the edge?
Yeah. Joy, I really appreciated your debate.
I learned so much about coral reefs.
And I will say that our arguments were pretty well matched in terms of points and presentation.
So you are a joy to debate against. I like that.
I like that. I especially love learning about of all the different kinds of foods that you get from the coral or from the rainforest because I love fruit and chocolate and all of that.
And so I'll cash you on the flip side.
And there were a lot of good puns today so we're all happy.
So many puns. Well that's it for today's debate battle.
L likes you crowned rainforest the Smash Boom best but what about you, head to smash boom dot org and vote to tell us who you think won.
Smash Boom Best is brought to you by Brains On and APM Studios.
It's produced by Rosie Dupont, stand and Totten, Ruby Guthrie and Molly Bloom.
We had engineering help from Veronica Rodriguez and we have production help from Christina Lopez, Mark Sanchez and Monica will help Rosie Dupont is the voice of our whole music and our announcer is Marley for your worker auto.
We want to give a special thanks to Austin cross Taylor Kaufman Lindsay DuPont Frank DuPont qR Macmillan and the Regeneron Science Talent Search. Kasha, is there anyone you want to thank today?
Oh my, so many people.
You know, I actually knew quite a bit about rainforest and coral reefs before this debate, and I'm just so impressed with all the scientists who do all the work there.
And then also, Lalitya, you are going to do great things.
I'm so excited to hear about your research, I'm so excited to hear about all the amazing things that you're going to do.
So good luck and kick butt.
Thank you so much. And how about you, Joy?
Any special shout outs today?
I want to thank postdoctoral scholar and oceanographer Isaiah Bolden at Vanderbilt University for taking the time to talk with us about coral reefs.
And Alicia, do you want to give any special thanks today?
Huge thank you to the Regeneron Science Talent Search, which is how I actually got this opportunity, of course, and all the amazing scientists who continue to do their work to help our environments and everything else about our world.
Very wonderful. And, before we go, let's hear who Nysa thinks should win in apples vs bananas debate.
I think apples will win because 1.
They are red. 2. They last longer.
3. You can go apple pigging with your family, but you can't go banana picking with your family.
Bye -Bye! Do you have an idea for a knockdown, drag out debate?
Head to SmashBOOM .org and tell us about it.
We'll be back with a new debate battle next week.
It's Smash Bros.
