Hey there, Who and Wowsers, and welcome to another episode of the podcast.
This week... Hey, Carly, what are you doing in the janitor's closet?
We're about to start the movie.
I'm just recording my podcast, Lewis.
I'll be out in a couple minutes.
Uh-huh.
Guys, she said to start without her.
Uh, that's not what I said.
Yeah, okay.
I gotta make this quick, Wowzers.
It's office movie night, and tonight we're watching Piranlians 2, Return of the Space Snibblers.
It's about alien piranhas.
Okay, you know what?
This will have to wait.
Sorry.
Here, look.
I'll write you a note.
I owe you one intro.
This is ridiculous.
I'll just do it.
I'm Carly Q, and this is Who, When, Wow Mystery Edition.
What I meant!
Our past is vast and wild.
Many things have brought us to this day.
As history has been compiled, Some important details have slipped away In our spectacular shared existence.
We consider it our business to recognize a few folks you may not know be the same.
It was the day after the Office movie night.
How'd you like that movie last night, Carly Q?
And as always, Lewis was stapling documents and being his usual annoying self.
Yeah, I loved it.
I didn't.
Yeah.
It seemed a little unrealistic to me.
It was a little too realistic to me.
Look, I love aliens and I actually like piranhas, but I don't think that they should ever be confined.
I mean, I've seen piranhas in action before.
Not Hollywood.
Devour the sheep.
And every time Lewis punched that stapler, it reminded me of those creepy alien fish.
And I know what you're going to say, Carly Q. They're not really piranhas.
They're alien piranhas.
And trust me.
And it was starting to get to me.
I get that.
You okay, Karlie Q?
Yeah.
Is my stapling bothering you?
No, I'm fine.
I'm fine.
I am fine.
I just need to go back down to my desk and work in the basement.
Well, I guess I'll see you around, Karlie Q. Bye.
Don't let the Peralians get ya!
You see, listeners of the universe, I have a very active imagination.
Usually this is a good thing.
Like the time I decided to put hot sauce on my PB&J.
It was so delicious, I made a dozen of them, and I left them in the break room to share.
But other times, my imagination can get a little carried away.
Hello?
Who's there?
If you're an intergalactic space fish, you have to tell me.
Oh, it's just you, Nibbles.
What do you mean, why am I so jumpy?
I am not jumpy.
I could tell Nibbles was on to me, so I decided to get to work.
I do not have time for this, Nibbles.
I have work to do.
What work?
Uh, this.
Another time-sealed event to investigate.
See?
Very important.
Event.
Puerto Rico.
1995.
El Chupacabra.
My Spanish was un poco rusty, so I booted up H-Dad to help me translate.
H-Dad, translate El Chupacabra from Spanish.
El chupacabra translates to the goat sucker.
Goat emoji.
Juice box with straw emoji.
The Goat Sucker?
What is that?
The Goat Sucker, or El Chupacabra, is a legendary creature found in Latin American folklore.
The first sighting of this creature was in Puerto Rico in 1995.
I was hoping this legendary creature didn't give me the heebie-jeebies.
Sounds like something from Piranlians 2.
But when lunch came around, it was still on my mind.
Hey, Nibbles, you ever seen a piranha in the wild?
Guess you wouldn't be here if you did.
I was heading toward the time travel elevator, thinking about aliens and piranhas, when I bumped right into Odie.
Whoa, easy there, basement companion.
Sorry, Odie.
I was not watching where I was going.
Obviously.
Just thinking about this movie I saw and just imagining it was real.
And You know what they say.
Carly Q Everything you can imagine is real.
The artist Pablo Picasso said that.
Oof.
Wise words, huh?
Indeed.
So, where are you off to this time?
Puerto Rico, 1995.
I got a time-steal event that mentions El Chupacabra.
El Chupacabra?
Yeah, it's this wild creature that started showing up across Latin America in the late 90s.
Hmm.
Sounds like that time I was a backup dancer for the Ricky Martin tour.
What?
So, you remember all the rules?
Uh, yes, of course.
Don't change the past.
Be back by the end of lunch.
And be sure to try the alcapurrias while you're there.
That's not a rule.
They're just super tasty.
Now hold on tight.
Patrick, let's go!
The clue is floating away in a hot air balloon!
I just need my detective's notebook!
Hey, sorry, this is kind of a bad time.
Claire and I just found a major clue and now it's airborne.
Long story.
Anyway, I wanted to let you know that the parents behind Law & Order have something brand new for families.
Our podcast.
Patrick Picklebottom Everyday Mysteries.
It's full of wild mysteries, surprising clues, quirky characters and big adventures hiding in small places.
Claire and I are solving a new mystery every episode, and we'd love your help.
Seriously, we can't crack these cases without you.
Patrick, it's headed towards the water tower.
Gotta go.
Listen on Apple or wherever you get your podcasts.
And bring snacks.
Okay, I'm coming.
San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1994.
Boy, it is warm out today.
You think you got it tough?
Try being covered in fur.
It's like a winter coat you can never take off.
Ooh, sounds awful.
What's awful is this hunger I got going on.
You in the mood for some Caribbean food?
Maybe get out of this heat for a second?
Huh?
Maybe for a second.
How about over there?
There's a really enthusiastic guy waving a menu at me.
Hi.
Hola.
If he has food, I'm all for it.
I'll be in the backpack if you need me.
Hola, amiga.
Welcome to San Juan.
My name is Pedro.
You looking for some food today?
Uh, yeah.
Bueno.
Follow me.
I've got a table for you inside out of the heat.
Oh, great.
It is hot out here.
So tell me, what brings you to my beautiful city today?
Well, I'm actually here on an investigation.
An investigation?
What are you investigating?
It's a creature that goes by the name El Chupacabra.
El Chupacabra?
Uh, yeah.
What is your name, señorita?
Oh, I got this one.
Mi nombre es Carly Q. Well, Carly Q, I believe I can help you with your investigation.
Really?
Can you help us get some food?
What?
I said, that's really good.
Uh-huh.
So how can you help?
I've seen it.
El Chupacabra.
You've seen it?
Just a few nights ago.
In my backyard.
It attacked one of my goats.
Really?
See?
I was just coming home from seeing a movie with my brother.
As we got out of the truck, I... Which movie?
Uh... Species, I think it was.
Have you seen it?
I have seen it.
It's a classic.
How could it be a classic already?
It just came out.
Uh, I mean an instant classic.
So good.
You know what I mean.
Anyway, I was walking up to my house when I heard a strange noise from my backyard.
¿Qué fue eso?
I decided to investigate.
I grabbed my flashlight and headed out into the backyard.
¡Oye!
¡Hay alguien ahí!
That's when I saw it.
Four feet tall, leathery, scaly and green with a sharp row of spikes coming out of its back.
It was on top of my goat, sucking the life out of it.
And when I approached it, it hissed at me and scurried off into the night.
So what do you think it was?
I have no idea.
I've never seen anything like it before.
Huh.
Maybe some food would Pedro!
Isabel.
What are you doing here?
It's your brother.
He caught it.
Caught what?
El chupacabra.
Are you sure?
I saw it myself.
It's in a pit trap just down the street.
Señorita Carly, we must see.
Vamos.
Come on, Nimbus.
We can't miss this.
I'm so starving.
I'll lose any more weight.
I'm just going to be feet.
Are we ever going to get any food?
No.
We got something even better.
I doubt it.
One of the locals up the road tracked El Chupacabra.
Uh-huh.
No food?
No.
Senorita Carly, over here.
Pedro?
Where is it?
Right there, in the bottom of the pit.
Look.
Whoa.
What is that thing?
I thought you could tell me.
Right.
Let me just get out my handy-dandy HDAT here.
Hey, watch it!
Here it is.
That is one fancy-looking Walkman.
It's not a Walkman.
It's a... Never mind.
H-Dad, take a photo of the creature that's in this pit and tell me what we're looking at.
Affirmative.
Camera mode activated.
Say queso.
That means cheese.
Analyzing.
Analizando.
That is one weird looking creature.
Si.
But it doesn't really look like the creature you described.
Si.
No scales.
No spikes.
Analysis complete.
Hey, H-Dad's done analyzing.
He usually takes way longer than this.
Okay, H-Dad, what have you got for us?
The creature photographed is a canine.
A canine?
Like a dog?
Un perro?
Sad face emoji.
That doesn't look like any dog I've ever seen.
That is no dog, señorita.
That is a monster.
H-Dad, explain yourself.
Based on its appearance, it's possible this canine may be suffering from a disease known as mange.
Mange?
Affirmative.
Mange is caused by a parasitic infection of the skin and causes severe hair loss in some animals.
Well, I guess that would explain the leathery skin.
Mange also depletes energy levels, resulting in afflicted animals attacking livestock rather than hunting.
And that would explain why it's been attacking your goats.
Are you sure that this isn't the animal that attacked your goat the other night, Pedro?
I don't know.
It was so dark.
I suppose it could be.
But where's the scaly green skin?
Where's the spikes?
Well... OMG!
I just had a brainwave!
What is it, señorita?
Pedro, that movie you were watching just before you saw the chupacabra?
Species, sí.
What did the monster in that movie look like?
Oh, it was terrifying.
It was about four feet tall with reptilian-like scales with a row of bony spikes along its spine.
Just like the chupacabra you saw moments later.
Well, I suppose.
Oh.
I knew that description sounded familiar.
You're saying what I actually saw was this dog?
This is the thing that attacked my livestock?
That's what I'm saying.
Ay, Dios mío.
I feel like a fool.
I have, uh, imaginación activa, ¿no?
Believe me, I understand, Pedro.
But an active imagination isn't always a bad thing.
I bet it helps with recipes, right?
Sí.
I came up with the idea for our signature alcapurrias when I was in the shower.
Cool.
You know, I make these PB&J sandwiches with hot sauce and it's actually... I'm sorry, Carly.
We have to go.
The lunch rush is about to start.
And I think my lunch break is about to be over.
Adios, Carly.
Muchas gracias.
Adios.
What's the situation on those Alcapurias?
Huh?
Sorry, Nibs.
I hear they're great, but we don't have time.
We gotta get back to the elevator.
Well, at least we got to the bottom of that El Chupacabra mystery.
Yeah, turns out it was a dog with mange.
Mange is a nasty business.
I got a cousin back home who had it.
No bueno, comprende?
Well, this is our ride, Nibbles.
Yes, I'll be scrounging for pizza in the cafeteria again.
Welcome back, basement companion.
How is El Chupacabra?
So it turns out the whole legend of El Chupacabra was basically just a case of mistaken identity.
The guy who saw it had a very active imagination.
Reminds me of someone I know.
Oh, you're talking about me.
But honestly though, a world with a chupacabra and aliens and ghosts and mystery well, it's a lot more interesting than a world without it.
I suppose that's why our friend Mr. Picasso said...
Everything you can imagine is real.
Ooh, like you imagined those peanut butter jelly and hot sauce sandwiches you left in the break room.
Mmm, PBJ and H. Good, right?
Ooh, salty, sweet, and spicy.
I never would have thought of that.
I'm adding it to my lunchtime rotation.
Try one.
Aw, thanks, Odie.
So it turns out a little imagination isn't such a bad thing after all.
I saved one of those sandwiches, too.
Here, here, here.
Oh, sweet.
A little spicy.
Ooh, spicy.
That's it for this episode of my super secret podcast.
And remember, you never heard this.
And let me know if you run into any Peronlians.
Don't approach them.
And don't tell them about this podcast.
They are one mystery I do not wish to solve.
H-Dev, initiating end credits mode.
Who Went Wow Mystery Edition is an original Tinkercast production with help from Gen Z Media.
Handshake emoji, high five emoji.
For Tinkercast, the executive producers are Guy Raz, Mindy Thomas, and Meredith Halpern-Ranzer.
The shows are written by Aaron Weissman, Danielle Nicky, Tom Van Kalken, Kenny Curtis and Mindy Thomas.
Carly Shiraki is a producing consultant.
Big shout-outs to Jed Anderson, Steph Sosa, Henry Moskal, Jessica Bode, Natasha Crandall, Rebecca Caban, Sona Ali-Mohamed, Anna Daniker, Anna Zagorski and the rest of the team at Tinkercast.
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Who Went Well's theme song was composed and performed by The Pop-Ups.
For more information on their three-time Grammy-nominated all-ages music, find them at thepopupscom.
Producers for Gen Z Media are David Kreisman, Ben Strauss...
Chris Terry, Claire McClanahan, and Amy Cervini at gzmshows.com.
Sound design and editing is by Chris Terry and Oded Lev Ari.
Voice editing by Yoni Reckham.
Headphones emoji.
Microphone emoji.
Thumbs up emoji.
Original music was created by Jennifer Rokamp.
And voice direction is handled by David Kreisman.
Our main cast features Carly Shiraki as Carly Q. Brandon Salerno as Lewis.
Melissa Vanderschiff as Nibbles the Rat, Kenny Curtis as H-Dad, and Angela Desai as Odie.
Want to explore Who Went Wow's mysteries even further?
You can find free activities and resources to extend the wow at whowentwow.com.
And if you have a time-sealed mystery you want Carly Q to explore, email us at hello at tinkercastcom.
H-Day, powering up.
History will never be the same Who, When, Where was made by Tinkercast and sent to you by Wondery?
Shh, it's starting.
GCN shows Imagination Amplified.