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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!
Sardines on there.
Hmm, what else do I need?
Ooh, maybe a little jelly to keep it all together.
It's open!
Now, where did I put the sprinkles?
Oh!
Oh, hey, Guy Raz!
Hey, you!
What?
Mindy, what is going on here?
Um... It smells like a fish market in here.
Oh, I'm just about to go feed my Rex.
Your Rex?
Yeah, my T-Rex.
T-Rex?
Mindy, what are you talking about?
My T-Rex, Guy Raz.
As in Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Looks like somebody needs to brush up on their dinosaurs.
I know what a T-Rex is, Mindy.
Then why are you pretending like you don't?
What?
Anywho, what's going on?
Oh, nothing much, really.
I just wanted to see what you were up to.
What I'm up to is wondering what you're doing scratching your nog so much.
Cut it out before you've got nothing left.
Oh, sorry about that, Mindy.
I don't know what's gotten into me.
Ever since I started using this new hair wax last week, my head has been itching nonstop.
Well, your hair does look a little more slick than usual.
Even if you do mess it up every five seconds with your... Scratching.
Guy Raz, you gotta stop.
I can't.
Can't help it.
Okay, I got an idea.
Um, here, why don't you just put on this awesome hat.
It says cheeseburgers in paradise.
Forget all about that itchy little nog of yours and come out and help me feed the big guy.
Feed who?
Rex.
My T-Rex, Skyron.
T-Rexes have very serious appetites.
Uh, sure.
Let me just put this hat on.
Ah, it's a little small for me.
Mindy, is this hat made for one of those stuff-a-bears?
Uh-huh.
Okay, I need you to hold this bag of food.
Okay.
I'll follow behind you with...
Wait a minute, what's in this bag, Mindy?
Organic corn seed mix?
Yep, a T-Rex's favorite meal.
Wait, so if this is for your pet T-Rex, Mindy, then what's with this big old bucket of fish?
Oh yeah, that?
I just got a little hungry.
Come on, Guy Raz, this way!
Coming!
Look, look, look, look!
Whoa.
Mindy, these walls must be like 20 feet tall.
Well, yeah, they're supposed to hold in T-Rexes.
Huh.
Now I need you to stand back while I open the coop, okay?
Um, are you sure this is a good idea?
How else are we supposed to feed them?
Well... Vocal identification required.
Ahem.
It's raining tacos from out of the sky.
Tacos, don't even know why.
Just open your mouth and close your... Oh, hey, look, it worked.
Mindy, I'm not sure about this.
Oh, come on, Guy Raz.
It's just a T-Rex.
Here, Rexy, Rexy, Rexy, Rexy, Rexy.
Here, Rexy, Rexy.
I got some food for you.
Nom, nom, nom.
Don't call for it, Mindy.
Rexy is not an it, it's a he, and second of all... Who's that?
Oh, that's probably him.
Rexy, who wants some corn kernels?
Come on out, I know you're hungry.
Here it comes, Sky Ross.
Good little dinosaur.
You are.
Yes, you are.
You want some food?
You've got that angry little... Wait, wait.
This is Rexy.
Where's your pet T-Rex you were talking about?
Oh, well, this is him.
Aren't you, buddy?
Aren't you just a little teeny tiny T-Rex?
Aren't you a little baby T-Rex?
Mindy, I hate to burst your bubble here, but that is...
Clearly a chicken.
Okay, well maybe technically speaking he's a chicken.
But he comes from a proud dinosaur dynasty, Guy Raz.
Dinosaur dynasty?
What do you mean?
What I mean is that even though Rexy here might not technically be a Tyrannosaurus Rex...
Rexy's great great great great great great great great great great great great great great, great great grandparents.
Very well could have been.
Ah, of course.
So what you're saying is that chickens like Rexy here evolved from dinosaurs like the Tyrannosaurus Rex?
Exact Doritos, Skyroz.
And in the same way that we humans began to evolve from other primates millions and millions of years ago.
Well, I can understand how humans are related to other primates.
I mean, we kind of look similar.
We have similar facial structures, similar hands, and a pretty similar sense of humor.
Hey, hey, it's so great to be here tonight.
Flew in this morning, and boy, are my arms tired.
So, why do monkeys like bananas?
Because they're so appealing.
But a chicken and a T-Rex, Mindy, I can't think of two animals more different.
So, what makes you think these two animals are actually related?
I feel it in my bones.
Huh?
Or maybe I should say that Rexy here feels it in his bones.
What do you mean?
His great-great-great-great-great-great-grandpappy was a T-Rex.
It's all in his bones.
In Rexy's bones?
Yeah, so a group of paleontologists, Which are the people who do study dinosaurs and other prehistoric life.
That's right.
A group of paleontologists from North Carolina State University were studying a 68 million year old leg bone of a T-Rex when they found something very special.
What?
Wait for it.
Collagen.
Collagen?
You mean the stuff that's in our bones?
The stuff that makes our bones slightly flexible?
The very thing. same stuff.
Okay, so what's so special about collagen?
Well, they were able to take this little bit of dino collagen that they found and then run it through a database where they could compare it to a whole bunch of other living animals.
And?
And they found a match.
The modern-day chicken!
Winner, winner, chicken dinner!
They discovered that the collagen found in this prehistoric dinosaur was almost exactly like the collagen found in modern-day chickens like Rexy here.
Wow.
But it's not just chickens and T-Rexes that share something in common.
It isn't?
Nope.
Scientists now think that all modern-day birds are in some way related to prehistoric dinosaurs.
Huh.
You know now that I think about it Mindy, There are a lot more similarities between birds and dinosaurs than I thought.
Yeah?
So what do you think?
Well, for one, they both have a ferocious appetite.
And for two, they're both covered in feathers.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Hold the phone, Guy Raz.
Dinosaurs with feathers?
That's right, Mindy.
I thought the dinosaurs were all scaly and thick-skinned, like Grandma G-Force's pet alligator Ripples.
Well, there definitely were dinosaurs that were scaly, Mindy.
But more and more feather dinosaurs are being discovered every day.
Really?
Yeah.
Over the past 20 years or so, 30 species of non-avian or non-flying dinosaurs have been found with feathers.
Just like birds?
Some of them, yes.
But there are other dinosaurs who have very fine, very small feathers called protofeathers.
Loco-sweaters?
Protofeathers.
Scientists believe that these sorts of feathers would have looked like brightly colored fuzz that would have covered the dinosaur's entire body.
Dino fuzz!
Hey, why don't you have any dino fuzz, Rexy?
Yeah, that's a good point.
My itchy head, it's driving me nuts.
You know what, Guy Raz?
That just reminded me of something.
What?
I think I know what's got your noggin in need of a scratchin'.
Come here, let me see that little coconut cabeza of yours.
Okay, Mindy, fine.
Let me just take my glasses off here.
There you go.
Whoa, you only have two eyes?
Huh?
Hmm, okay, let me just inspect here.
Uh... Hmm, yes.
Hmm.
Yep, just as I suspected.
What is it, Mindy?
Well, it's this.
Mindy, what are you doing?
Mindy, why were you shaking my head like that?
I'm not a... Whoa, what is that?
It looks like a small pile of snow.
Uh, that's not snow, my friend.
It's dandruff.
Dandruff?
Ugh, gross.
Shh, the dandruff can hear you, Guy Raz.
It's not gross.
It's just little pieces of dead snow.
What was all that dandruff doing in my hair, Mindy?
Well, it's probably got something to do with that new hair wax you've been putting through those luscious locks of yours.
My hair wax?
Well, it just keeps my hair neat and tidy.
Yeah, but have you checked the label?
It says right here, may cause radical mohawks and wicked dandruff.
Mindy, where did you get a canister of my hair wax from?
Oh, no, this isn't yours.
This is Rexy's.
You guys just use the same kind.
You put hair wax on your chicken?
Of course I put hair wax on my chicken, Guy Raz.
How else do you think he'd be able to maintain that slick and dapper look of his?
Wait a minute.
Do chickens get dandruff, too?
Not only do chickens get dandruff, Guy Raz... but so did their ancestors.
You mean... Yep, I'm talking about Dino Dandruff.
Okay, so I can guess how you found out that Rexy had dandruff.
I'm guessing you just... Picked him up and gently shook him out, yeah.
But how do you know that his ancestors had dandruff?
Oh, well... Wait a minute.
Did you use the time machine to go back in time and ruffle up some dinosaurs?
Hey, Roz, do I look like the type of person who would go back in time and ruffle up dinosaurs?
Uh... Don't answer that.
Then how'd you find out?
Well, my friend, the answer lies in this.
A half-chewed piece of gum, a gumdrop button, and three AAA batteries?
Oh, sorry, wrong pocket.
Uh, take two.
This.
Whoa.
What is that?
This, Skyroz, is a fossilized dinosaur feather.
Oh, cool.
And just so we're clear.
Fossilization is what happens when a living organism, like a plant or an animal, gets frozen or encased in something like tar or quicksand when it dies.
Yeah, and that process protects it from the elements and stops the body from decaying or rotting.
Right, so where did you get a fossilized dino feather from, Mindy?
Oh, it came free in my box of dandruff flakes.
Huh?
Cereal.
Really?
No, not really.
My friend Maria McNamara from the University of College Cork loaned it to me.
Oh, huh.
And where did she get it from?
She got it from China.
Ah.
And you'll never guess what she found on this fossilized dino feather.
Dandruff.
Yeah.
How did you know?
Well, it just kind of seemed like where the story was heading.
Well, look at you with your deductive reasoning skills.
Well, you're right.
This fossilized feather belonged to a teeny dino, tiny little crow-sized raptor that lived in prehistoric China 125 million years ago.
Whoa.
125 million years?
That's like, well, that's a really long time ago.
It sure is.
And you know what that means?
What?
That this dandruff on this fossil is, as far as we know, the oldest case of Itchy head in existence.
Whoa.
But this little fleck of dino dandruff is way more than just another case of forgetting to use your shampoo.
What do you mean?
Well, dandruff is made up of dried up, dead skin cells on your scalp.
Oh, right.
Of course.
It's how our body sheds our skin.
Yeah.
And so scientists thought for the longest time that dinosaurs shed all of their skin at once.
Huh.
Like a snake or a lizard.
Right.
But what this little piece of dandruff proves is that at least some dinosaurs, particularly the ones with feathers, shed their skin in teeny, tiny little bits.
In the form of dandruff.
Exactoritos.
And ever since my friend Dr. McNamara found this fossilized follicle...
Other researchers have found two more cases of dino dandruff.
Which means it wasn't a one-off fluke.
Nope.
And when they compared this ancient dandruff to modern-day bird dandruff, they found that they were almost identical.
Wow.
Except for one thing.
What was it, Mindy?
Corneocyte.
Corneocyte?
Yep.
Let me see here in my handy-dandy reference guide...
Corneocyte corneocyte.
Corneocytes are a type of fat that birds sweat out to try and cool down after flying.
Yeah, and when a bird sweats that stuff out, it usually gets collected in the dandruff.
But no corneocytes were found in the dino dandruff.
Which means that although these dinosaurs had feathers, they probably didn't fly.
Again with the deductive reasoning.
That's exactly right, Guy Raz.
Well, I'm glad to know I'm not alone when it comes to my itchy head.
And you say that if I stop using that hair wax, then the itching should stop?
Well, it did work for Rexy, didn't it, buddy?
Rexy?
Rexy?
Uh-oh.
Uh-oh?
What's going on, Mindy?
Tiny Mindy!
Someone should save that chicken.
Wow in the World will be right back.
Grown-ups, this message is for you.
Hey, grown-ups.
It's Mindy and Guy Raz 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.
Hi Guy Raz, my name is Lydia and I'm 10 years old.
Hi, my name is Gracia and I'm 7 years old.
And we're from Edina, Minnesota.
Our wow in the world is that Lake Superior in Duluth, Minnesota is 1,333 feet deep.
And it's the coldest lake in the world.
Bye, we love your show.
Say hi to Reggie.
Hi, my name is Chelsea from Suwannee, Georgia.
And my wow in the world is albatross birds.
You can fly in the air for four months without touching the ground.
Isn't that wow?
Thanks.
I love your show.
Hello, Mindy and Guy Raz and Reggie.
My name is Ren, and I'm eight years old, and I'm from Austin, Texas.
And my one in the world is if you put acetone on styrofoam, the styrofoam will literally disintegrate.
I really, really, really, really love your podcast.
My name is August, and I'm nine years old, and I live in Douglas, Michigan.
My wow in the world is woodpeckers' tongues wrap around their brains to act as a cushion.
We love your show.
Hi, my name is Chelsea from New Zealand and my wow in the world is that in 1963, a cat named Felicity was the first sea lion in space.
Hi, I'm Chloe from...
Arlington, Virginia, and my wow in the world is artificial intelligence.
Isn't it cool that we can invent robots that can teach us stuff?
Bye.
Hi, Mindy and Guy Raz.
My name is Maren, and I am 10 years old and live in Columbia, Maryland.
And my wow in the world is that there can be two outcomes of a supernova a black hole or a neutron star.
Bye.
I love your show.
Hi.
My name is Brandy.
Bye.
I love you so.
Hey, everyone.
And if you want to keep the conversation going, check out some of the questions we posted on this episode at our website, wowintheworldcom.
And grownups.
There you can find more details on how your kids can become part of the World Organization of Wowzers.
Lots of cool perks, exclusive t-shirts, autographed pictures of us and a bunch of other cool stuff wowintheworldcom.
Our show is produced by Jed Anderson.
Say hello, Jed.
Hello.
With help from Thomas Van Kalken, Chelsea Erson, and Jessica Bode.
Meredith Halpern-Ranzer is the big boss.
Our theme song was composed and performed by The Pop-Ups.
You can find more of their awesome all-ages music at thepopups.com.
And parents and teachers.
If you want to send us an email, our address is hello at wowintheworldcom grown-ups.
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