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Hey, Wowzer fans, Mindy here.
And before we start the show, I gotta let you know that this November, with a special new episode featuring our friends at Circle Round and Terrestrials on Radiolab for Kids,
And don't miss when Elmo from Sesame Street stops by Wow in the World to make us all belly laugh on November 24th.
Oh, but that's not all, Reg.
On December 1st, we are sharing our 250th episode of Wow in the World with all of you.
We think this one is going to be music to your ears.
Literally.
Did I mention it's a musical?
And if you're a member of the World Organization of Wowzers...
Oh boy, do I have a surprise for you.
You can listen to our 250th episode early with me and other members from around the world on Saturday, November 22nd, at 7 pm.
Eastern.
That's right, we are throwing another listening party.
Join us as we dance along to our new songs.
React to the episode with other members in the chat and more.
Grownups.
If you want your wowzer to join this members-only listening party, you can sign up to become a member today at Tinkercastcom.
Slash wow.
Already a member?
Well, you can find the link and password to join the event when you sign in at Tinkercastcom.
Slash wow.
That's it.
It's going to be a November to remember.
But for now, let's get on with the show.
Woo!
It sounds like you're going... Anyway, do you need some help?
Yeah, can you sit on the suitcase so I can zip it shut?
Yeah, here we go.
One, two, three, and... Okay, so the bad news is I broke it.
The good news is there's no good news.
So what'd you pack a suitcase for anyway?
Nothing, nothing really.
Just a quick scientific trip, that's all.
Huh, yeah, just a quick little scientific trip, huh?
Yes, but... To where?
Oh, nowhere, really.
I'm not really sure you'd be interested in it.
It's kind of... Oh, no, Guy Raz.
The fact that you're not telling me suggests that it might actually be really interesting.
Only you don't want me to know.
Well, it's nothing.
Nothing, Mindy.
Okay, so let me see here.
You're packing a bag.
You say that you're leaving for a scientific trip.
You're wearing dark sunglasses, a white linen suit...
A brand new straw fedora, and you want me to believe it's not interesting?
Well, okay, if you must know, I'm going on a scientific trip to study the Theobroma cacao plant.
Oh, well, why didn't you just say so in the first place?
I told you it wasn't that interesting.
Okay, bye!
Bye!
Bring me back a souvenir!
Okay, let's see here.
Theobroma angustifolium...
Theobroma bicolor.
Oh, here it is.
Theobroma cacao.
Okay, got it.
Theobroma cacao.
The taxonomic classification for the plant, also called the cacao tree, which is a small evergreen tree native to the tropical regions of Central and South America, which produces a fruit whose seeds are used to make cocoa mass, cocoa powder.
Chocolate?
Wait a minute!
Guy Raz!
You're going to a chocolate forest?
Hold up!
I'm coming with you!
Slow down!
Slow down!
Oh, hey Mindy, why are you panting?
You didn't tell me that you were going to a chocolate...
Well, um... I'm coming with you.
Uh, but... No buts!
There is no way that you are going to the Candy Land without me.
But, um... I know, you're trying to pull a fast one on me, but it's not going to work this time.
Mindy, I'm not going to Candy Land.
I'm just going to investigate a scientific study.
Well, it sounds like you've got the golden ticket and me and Reggie here want a piece of the action.
Uh, well, um...
Mindy, I'm not so sure this is a good idea.
I mean, remember the last time you had access to unlimited chocolate?
Remember?
It felt like it was just yesterday.
Let's take one more.
Oh, there's more.
Okay, I got your point.
But that was the old me.
This is the new me.
The new me promises to limit my chocolate consumption to under 25 pounds in a sitting.
Okay, but just so you know, this is a scientific field investigation.
This is serious stuff.
Guy Raz, I understand.
I agree completely.
There is nothing more serious than the science.
Stuffing your face full of chocolate ice cream, topped with hot fudge sauce, topped with chocolate sprinkles, topped with cocoa puffs, topped with a hot choco taco.
Oh boy, this is not going to end well.
This is going to be an epic scientific expedition.
Well, uh... For us, saddle up.
Reggie, next stop, South America.
Wait a minute, where...
South America, are we going?
Well, most cacao in the world is grown in the Ivory Coast in West Africa.
I thought we'd head to the birthplace of the cocoa tree, to Columbia.
Yes, I've always wanted to visit Columbia.
Columbia, Guy Raz, is the country in South America that's right on the equator.
It's the halfway point on Earth.
Yes, exactly.
It's there we should find plenty of examples of the Theobrama cacao tree.
Oh man, I am so excited.
Reggie, fire it up!
Guy Raz, hold on for your life and get ready because here we go!
Mindy?
Mindy?
Over here, Guy Raz.
You okay?
Yeah, I just got a teacher.
Reggie had a land.
Well, at least he still allows free baggage.
I mean, all the other birds are even charging for carry-on now.
Yeah, I heard that one bird even charges money just to let you sit next to your family.
Yeah, well, at least we've landed safely, more or less.
Hey, Mindy, look, look over there.
Over where?
What?
The Chocolate Forest.
We're surrounded by cacao trees.
This is the Chocolate Forest, Guy Raz?
Well, uh... Well, where's Count Chocula?
Where are the M&M guys?
Where's Willy Wonka?
Where's the Nesquik bunny?
Yoo-hoo!
I don't even see Kathy, and I know she loves chocolate.
I think Kathy was retired in 2010.
Well, my point is that I'm not seeing any chocolate.
I see trees with little orange footballs growing out of them.
These are them, Mindy!
The what?
The cacao fruits!
Fruits?
Man, I'm going home.
Reggie!
But...
These are the chocolate trees.
Those cocoa fruits are where chocolate comes from.
Wait a minute.
The chocolate is hidden inside these fruits?
Well... It's like the best Easter egg hunt of all time!
Uh... Hold on to your Swiss chard, Guy Raz.
I'm going in.
No, no, no.
Wait, wait, Mindy.
Got it!
Okay, here goes nothing.
Mmm! a sweet lime.
Kairos, I thought you said this was chocolate.
Mindy, I tried to tell you, this is definitely not what you were expecting.
Say that again.
This is not what you were expecting.
Hold on, let me just spit out these giant seeds.
Mindy, Mindy, that's what we're here for.
You said we were coming here for chocolate, and all I'm tasting is a slightly sweet and sour lime thing with a bunch of annoying seeds seeds inside of it.
Well, that's just it, Mindy.
Those seeds you're spitting out, that's where the chocolate comes from.
Wait, these things?
Hang on a second.
Disgusting!
A little bitter, right?
A little?
Well, these seeds are better known as cocoa beans.
I'm not tasting any cocoa.
All I taste is gross.
I know, weird, right?
You can say that again.
I know, weird.
Nope, you don't really need to say it again.
Oh, sorry.
Well, as I was about to say, you have to dry these seeds and then roast them and then grind them up into a paste.
And that's what produces cocoa.
Oh, so that's how it works.
Okay, so then what happens?
Well, what you get is a paste that still needs other ingredients to make it taste like the chocolate you and I love to eat.
So ingredients like sugar and milk and cocoa butter, which is a type of fat that you get from roasting and grinding down the cocoa beans.
Well, now that we have the recipe, let's make ourselves some chocolate.
Well... was for a scientific investigation.
Oh, it is, Mindy, and it has to do with memory.
Wait, I forgot what you just said.
It has to do with memory.
Wait, I just forgot again.
Uh... You were saying?
Mindy, as we humans grow older, our memories become less reliable.
We tend to forget things like...
Where we left our keys or the names of the people we meet.
Or that time I forgot to tell you that Mehmet, our neighborhood skunk, was using your toilet and you walked in and freaked out.
Yeah, so you get the picture here, right?
Yeah, we humans, especially as we get older, have a harder time remembering all of the little details in our lives.
But what I want to know is what any of this has to do with chocolate.
Why did we have to come all the way to Columbia to investigate memory?
Well Mindy, what if I told you that a naturally occurring chemical in chocolate can actually help improve your memory?
What?
I knew it.
I knew it all along.
Boys, bring in the Butterfingers.
Uh, Mindy?
All right, move forward a little.
All right, now back it up.
Back it up.
A little further.
Yep, right there.
Right there.
Stop.
Mindy, where did this chocolate delivery truck come from?
And who are these guys?
Oh, this is my chocolate posse.
I like to keep them close by, especially for occasions like this.
Well, that type of chocolate won't actually do much good.
And besides all that sugar, you know yeah yeah, not good for you, i know, guy ross, but you said chocolate could actually improve my memory, and i just remembered that i traveled with a truckload of chocolate bars.
Well, it is true that some types of chocolate will help with memory, but it has to have high levels of that natural chemical i mentioned.
Well, i'm pretty sure these chocolate bars are chock full.
Well, You get it.
Chock full of chemicals?
Well, but not the right chemicals.
The ones I'm talking about are called flavonoids.
And it's a chemical that is found naturally in the cocoa beans.
So generally in things like cocoa nibs, which are crushed and roasted pieces of cocoa beans.
And...
Also in things like dark chocolate.
Okay, so how does it help your memory?
Well, a team of scientists from the University of L'Aquila in Italy studied the effects of flavonoids on memory.
And they found that if you regularly eat or drink dark chocolate drinks, they can actually help older people, especially grandparents, remember with their memories.
Wow, so how does that work?
Well, flavonoids that are concentrated in some types of dark chocolate.
So chocolate that isn't mixed with too much stuff like sugar and milk can actually cause more blood in your body to go to your brain.
And more blood to your brain means more oxygen to your brain too.
Exactly, and flavonoids are found in several other foods, like blueberries and parsley and black tea and, of course, Chocolate.
And so the scientists in Italy found that eating lots of flavonoids can boost the blood to a part of the brain called the dentate gyrus.
It's in the hippocampus, which is hidden deep inside our brains.
And what's so important about the dentate gyrus?
Well, it's thought to be the part of the brain...
That creates memories.
Okay, got it.
But you'd need a lot of flavonoids to get it all to work, right?
Yes, precisely.
That's what I thought you said.
Time for some chocolate indulgence.
Yeah, but the average chocolate bar won't do the trick.
Here, here, try this.
Huh?
Try some of these cacao nibs.
They're pretty crunchy and good for you, too.
Hand them over here.
Oh!
Ugh!
Well, I didn't say they taste like chocolate.
Enough of these nibs.
Hey, Reggie, strap your goggles on.
Next stop, Hershey, Pennsylvania.
I'm going to get me some flavonoids.
Oh, boy.
Here we go again.
Wow in the World will be right back.
Grunups.
This message is for you grown-ups.
It's mindy and guy ross here from wow in the world.
Mindy and i have some brand new wow in the world toys out in the world just in time for the holidays, made for the kids who love science and for the ones who don't.
Yet, from our 100 experiments, that wow kit to the telescope and astronomy kit, Our Wow in the World toys help your wowzer learn about their world through play.
Plus, you can hear exclusive audio content from me and Guy Raz to help your wowzer discover even more wows.
Grownups.
Give the gift of wow and wonder this holiday season with our latest Wow in the World toys designed with your curious wowzer in mind.
You can shop our Wow in the World toys at Tinkercast.com slash toys.
That's Tinkercast.com slash toys.
Wow in the World.
Hi, thanks for calling Wow in the World.
After the beep, get ready to record.
Hi, my name is Theo.
I'm from Austin, Texas.
I'm eight years old.
My Wow in the World is that I saw a raccoon living in the ease of my neighbor's roof in the daytime, which is not like them, since they're nocturnal.
Hi, my name's Nina from Ellensburg, Washington.
I'm nine years old and my big wow in the world was that just today I saw a baby snake hatch from an egg over in the hill by our house.
Yeah, it really excited me.
Thanks.
Bye.
Hi, my name is Sophia and I'm from Mexico.
I'm eight years old and my wow in the world is that I a Mexican salamander that can only be found here in Mexico and its name is ajolote.
Thank you.
I love your show.
Hi, my name is Aurora, and I'm 10, and I'm from San Diego.
My wow in the world is me and my sister went to the Black Chasm Cave and we saw halictite crystals and they have the most there and they grow straight out of the wall.
Bye!
Hi, my name is Kieran, and I'm seven years old, and I am from Florida.
And my wow in the world is that my dog Snickers rode on a motorcycle with my dad.
I really love this show.
I love listening to it.
Bye.
Hi, my name is Noah.
I am six years old.
I live in Austin, Texas.
My wow in the world is that I saw 1.5 million eyes. flying out from under a bridge in Austin.
Hello, my name is Wyatt.
I'm from Los Angeles.
In my world, the desert used to be ocean, but then it dried up and then it turned into a desert.
Hi, guys.
I'm Kaylee.
I'm nine years old and live in West Orange, New Jersey.
My big wow was when I went to the zoo and saw real-life aye-ayes, okapis and orangutans interacting just like humans.
My name is Esther.
I'm six years old.
I live in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania.
My wow in the world is that when I was in California, I saw the space shuttle Endeavor.
It was humongous.
I love space and science.
Bye, Mindy.
Bye, Guy Raz.
End of messages.
Guys, thank you so much for checking out this Thursday edition of Wow in the World.
Grownups.
To keep the conversation going, we've posted some fun questions on our website, wowintheworldcom.
And we love hearing from you.
Grownups, you can find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at wowintheworld.
And our email address is hello at wowintheworld.com.
Today's show was written by me and Guy Raz and produced by Jed Anderson.
Say hello, Jed.
Our theme song is written and performed by The Pop-Ups.
You can find more of their awesome music at thepopups.com.
Finally, we've loved hearing what's been wowing you.
Thanks so much for sending in your voicemails.
We listen to each and every one of them.
For a chance to be featured on an upcoming episode.
Have your grown-ups help you share something that's recently wowed you by dialing 1-888-WOW.
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