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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! just allow myself in.
Hey!
Guy Raz!
Guy Raz!
Energy equals mass times the speed of light.
Guy Raz, are you sleep talking?
Yes, Professor.
If we subtract the square root of 92.155 and then... Oh, boy.
Well, it doesn't seem like he's gonna wake up anytime soon.
I guess I'll just help myself to a snack from the old refrigerator.
I know he's into some weird foods, but why is this refrigerator full of stinky fish?
Maybe I don't need a snack after all.
Coming, coming, coming for alarm fire.
Get to the trucks.
Get to the trucks.
I'm coming.
Oh, butter my biscuits.
Guy Fawkes, it's just your alarm.
Hey, Chief, I'll be in the fire truck ASAP.
What in the sky, Roz?
Whoa, whoa, wait.
Come on, it's me, your best friend, Mindy.
Wait, Mindy?
What's happening?
Man, you were out.
Must have been some crazy deep sleep.
Asleep?
Yeah, I just came over here to have breakfast like we planned, and I found you talking in your sleep but out like a light.
Oh, man, Mindy.
The last thing I remember from last night was eating a big pizza plate of fish, then brushing my teeth, then flossing, then rinsing with mouthwash, then doing some breathing exercises, then practicing gratitude, then pulling down the blackout shade, then climbing into my soft, warm bed.
Then Okay, I get it.
You take bedtime really seriously.
Well, last night, once my head hit the pillow, I was out, and boy, did I sleep well, Mindy.
Which reminds me, it's breakfast time.
Oh!
Did you say breakfast?
You better believe it.
And check out my new gadget, Mindy.
Wow, that's a cool cylinder, Guy Raz.
Okay, watch this.
Okay, Zoodle, say breakfast in German.
Breakfast in German.
Hang on, Mindy, my Zoodle home is acting up.
Okay, Zoodle, tell me how to say breakfast in German.
Hmm.
Frouche-tuc, huh?
Okay, Zoodle.
How about in French?
How about in Spanish?
How about in Arabic?
Okay, Guy Raz.
My grumbling belly could really go for some wash about iftar right now.
So, um, if you could just faquisa already.
Faquisa?
Oh, yeah.
Faquisa.
It means, um...
Scoot your tush in Southern Sotho.
Southern Sotho?
Yeah, Southern Sotho.
It's a Southern Bantu language spoken mostly in South Africa and Lesotho.
Wow, you speak Southern Sotho?
Not really, but Reggie and I have been taking some classes online.
Wow.
Yeah, our challenge is to work through all 11 of South Africa's official languages.
Anywho, how's about that?
Fresh duck, you promised.
Oh, yeah.
Actually, Mindy, do I have a treat for you.
Banana chocolate chip pancakes topped with nitrous oxide-propelled sweetened whipped cream?
Uh, no.
Okay well, are you at least making those cinnamon buns that burst out of the can that comes with that delicious white frosting that just melts?
Melts off the top?
Uh, have you forgotten who you're talking to?
Oh, yeah.
Well, I guess we're just having the usual.
You mean tall glasses of room temperature water, hard-boiled eggs, cashew cheese, and some raw kale?
Well, not today, Mindy.
Does this mean we're having something new?
Yeah, today, Mindy, I'm making my new favorite breakfast specialty.
What?
What is it?
Here, let me show you in the fridge.
Oh, no.
Don't do it, don't do it, don't do it, don't do it, don't do it, don't do it.
We're going to have a fish fiesta.
Fish for breakfast?
Hey, Roz, who eats fish for breakfast?
Well, actually, lots of people do.
In Guyana, people eat white fish at breakfast.
Traditional Japanese breakfast includes fish.
Same in Indonesia.
And in countries like Denmark Norway, Russia and Germany, you can have a delicious plate of pickled herring with your eggs.
I'll believe it when I see it.
But even in America, Mindy, lots of people eat smoked salmon at breakfast.
And in Alaska people eat a lot of fresh salmon because they have some of the most delicious wild salmon in the whole wide world.
Yeah.
So that's why you have a fridge full of salmon?
Yep.
I order it directly from a fisherman in Seward, Alaska.
And, Mindy, it is delicious and nutritious and braintastically soporific.
Uh, braintastic?
Soporific?
What?
Well, technically, braintastic is a made-up word combining brain and fantastic.
But soporific is a real word.
Oh.
I think I got this figured out.
Soporific.
It's from the Latin root sopper, which means deep sleep.
And things that are soporific help us sleep.
Yep.
So fish is both brain-tastic, as it can make you smarter, and it can also help you sleep better.
Uh, hold the banana pepper phone, Guy Raz.
Mindia.
Smarter and sleepier?
Well, yeah.
Here, here, let me explain.
Guy Raz, you are needed on set.
Guy Raz, please report to set.
Oh, man, Mindy, I almost forgot.
I've got to get to the studio.
What?
The studio?
Guy Raz, what is going on?
Oh, I didn't tell you, Mindy.
Tell me what?
Oh, I just signed a five-episode deal with the Neanderthal Network to do a food show.
The Neanderthal Network?
Yep.
Only paleo, keto, Whole30, and SCD diets allowed.
But, you know, hey, it's a gig, right?
Wait, you're doing a cooking show on TV?
Well, technically, it's just a five-show deal, so we'll see how it goes.
Come on, I'm late.
Okay, I'm coming, but I'm still starving.
Wait up!
Just made it.
What is that?
Okay, everyone, quiet on set.
And in three, two, and one.
Welcome to Caveman Cooking.
Here's your host, your bro, my bro, Garage.
Hey, cave people, what is up?
You ready for some caveman nutrition?
I'm on a mission for nutrition.
All right, friends, today I'm making some food that our hominin ancestors ate back in the caves.
Man caves.
Or her caves.
That's true.
Let's start with the pan of our ancestors, cast iron.
I'm going to throw this piece of salmon skin side down in this hot pan and let her cook for three minutes until that skin is crispy.
Then I'll flip it over and throw some coconut aminos, a little fish sauce, a drop of red chili paste and voila.
The menu of the ancient man and woman.
Um, excuse me, pardon me.
Nice forehead.
I just need to get through here.
Sorry, that's my friend up there.
Excuse me, pardon me, coming through.
Um, there was a word.
Um, Mindy, I'm on live television.
TV, what's going on?
Well, cavemen didn't cook on cast iron pans and shake coconut aminos and tide chili paste on their fish.
Well, technically that is true, but if they could have had those things, they would.
Anyway, it's...
Paleo cooking, just go with it.
I don't know about this, Guy Raz.
Are all you cave people ready for some fresh wild salmon?
Fishing for nutrition.
Good for your brain and good for your sleep.
Sleep to the max.
Oh, yeah.
Well, friends, thanks for joining us this week and see you next time.
Caveman Cooking is a Neanderthal Network production.
When we return, Guy Raz jacks your macros with his caveman brownies and his coconut chia probiotic pudding.
Don't miss it, you jabroni.
And we're clear.
That's a wrap.
Wow.
Skyraz, I barely even recognized you up there.
What got into you?
Oh, me?
What do you mean?
Well, uh, you were acting like a caveman, for one.
Oh, well, it might be the new diet.
Well, I gotta say I didn't think I was a big fan of the fishy stuff, but um, I was able to swipe some of that salmon off the stage and Boy howdy.
Stuff is delicious.
Oh, thanks.
Well, I'm happy to share the recipe.
Yeah, I think I'm going to have to give this fish for breakfast thing a second chance.
Well, as I said, it is nutritious, delicious, and brain-tastically soporific.
Yeah, speaking of which, what exactly do you mean when you say that fish makes a smarter and better sleepers?
Well, that's what a growing body of scientific research suggests.
You're saying that scientists have researched this and concluded that fish makes us smarter and sleep better.
I know, right?
I mean it sounds like a big wet fish kiss to the fish industry, but it's a real conclusion recently published in the journal Scientific Reports.
So what did the study find?
Well Mindy, a team of researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, including Jiang Honglu, Jennifer Pinto-Martin, Alexandra Hanlon and Adrian Rain, decided to put a long-known theory about omega-3s to the test.
Omega-3s.
Hang on a second, Guy Raz.
Zoodle, if you're out there, what exactly are omega-3s?
Zoodle?
Zoodle?
Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid that is found in foods like chia seeds, grass-fed beef, shrimp and fish.
Thanks, Oodle.
You're the best.
Sakai Raz, omega-3s, am I right?
Yes, that's right.
Omega-3s, which are, of course, invisible and generally tasteless to us humans, are special acids found in the oils of these foods.
And it's believed that omega-3s are good for human health.
And that's the theory that these researchers from the University of Pennsylvania were trying to prove right.
Right.
And for a long time, scientists have found links between omega-3s and human intelligence.
And that maybe omega-3s can help our brains grow. grow and develop, especially when we're young.
And so what did these researchers find?
Well, this team from the University of Pennsylvania was interested in learning more because a lot of the earlier studies done by other scientists and researchers focused on people who take supplements.
You mean like fish oil?
Like fish oil capsules?
Yup.
In fact, I take two every day.
So how did this team from Pennsylvania do their study?
Well, they decided to find out if Eating fish, not just taking fish oil pills, might also make a difference in brain health.
So they had people go hog wild on an all-you-can-eat fish buffet?
Well, sort of, yeah.
What these researchers did was to study kids.
As in goats?
Uh, nope.
Kids as in young humans below the legal age of majority.
Yeah, they studied a group of kids in China.
A bunch of kids in China.
And to be precise, 541 kids in China aged 9 to 11 years old.
And these researchers studied how much fish each of these kids ate every month.
And I'm guessing why not talking about two-for-one fish fillet sandwiches from mcdoodads, right?
Yeah, that's probably a safe assumption.
And i don't think fried fish and chips counted either.
So probably like steamed fish or roasted fish or pan seared, kind of like how you cook that salmon on your cooking show.
Yeah, exactly.
And then the researchers asked each of the 541 kids to take a test.
What Fish in a test?
What is this?
Well, not like a test that counts, but a test to find out how smart they were at that very moment.
A test that measures something called IQ.
Or intelligence quotient.
But I've always wondered, how can a test measure someone's intelligence?
Well, you know, intelligence tests are controversial, meaning some people think they're a real measure of how smart someone is and other people think they only measure how smart someone is.
Oh yeah,
So like if somebody was up the whole night before inventing cheese coffee, or if maybe they had jelly beans for breakfast, they might not do as well as if they hadn't done these things.
Exactly.
And intelligence, or how smart we are, isn't something that's necessarily fixed, because...
Our brains grow and build new connections over the course of our lives.
And we build new connections in our brains by being curious.
Whoa.
Yes.
Curiosity is what fuels our brains, Mindy, by asking questions, by reading, by exploring.
Those are the things that make us smarter.
Well, anywho, back to this fish test.
When those researchers asked the kids in China to take the intelligence test...
What did they find?
Well amazingly Mindy, they found that kids who ate fish at least once a week scored better on the test.
Actually, their IQ scores were almost five points higher than kids who never ate fish.
Whoa, so fish made them smarter?
Well, it's not entirely clear, but that seems to be the case.
In fact, kids who ate fish sometimes still had IQ scores that were three points higher than kids who never ate fish.
Yeah, but you said that before you went to bed last night, you ate a big plate of fish.
So did you do that to get smarter?
Well, I was experimenting for sure, because these researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, they also found that kids who ate fish at least once a week slept a lot better than kids who didn't eat fish.
Oh, so now I'm starting to connect the dots.
That's why you were in such a deep state of sleep when I came in earlier.
Well, I can't say it was just the fish, but it's possible there is a connection with eating fish and sleeping well too.
But how do fish make omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids anyway?
You know, I'm not entirely sure, but I bet we could find out.
Oh, boy.
I see that light bulb glowing on top of your head.
Wait, are you plugged into something?
Well, if we really want to investigate, Mindy, we'll have to go, you know.
Something smells fishy about this plan you're hatching, Guy Raz.
But it could help us understand the source of those omega-3s in fish.
And all we have to do is shrink you down with your shrink wand and send you inside the belly of a fish.
Inside the belly of a fish?!
!
No way.
Guy Raz, the last time you shrunk me down, I found myself in the middle of an onion crying my eyeballs out.
Well, this time we'll make sure you're wearing your astronaut gear.
You know, just in case.
This better be worth it, Guy Raz.
Nothing to worry about, Mindy.
It'll be fine, just fine.
We'll see about that.
This time, Guy Raz?
You're coming with me.
Okay, well, I guess the first stop is your garage.
Should we find Reggie?
Reggie!
Hey, Reg, we're going to need you to take us on our strangest adventure yet.
Adventure inside the belly of a nutritious, delicious and brain-tastic fish.
Next time on Caveman Co-.
Wow in the World.
Wow in the World will be right back.
Grownups, this message is for you.
Hey, grownups.
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 Tinkercastcom slash toys show.
Hi, thanks for calling wow in the world after the beep get ready to record.
Hi, my name is emily, i'm from alexandria virginia, and i'm seven years old.
My wow in the world is that trees take carbon dioxide and make it into food and actually breathe out oxygen.
Bye, i love your show.
Hi, Mindy and Guy Raz.
It's Rowan from beautiful California.
I am 11 years old and my wow is this amazing fact that in China more people speak English than in the United States.
Wow.
I love your show.
Please keep up the good work.
Thank you.
Bye.
Hi, Mindy and Guy Raz.
I'm Charlotte, and I'm from Lamexa, Kansas.
I'm 11 years old, and my wow in the world is that rainbows are an optical illusion.
Bye, Mindy and Guy Raz.
I love your show.
Hi, Mindy and Guy Raz.
I'm Levi, and I'm from Parker, Colorado.
I'm 11 years old and my wow in the world is that the air around a lightning strike is five times hotter than the sun.
Isn't that incredible?
I love your show, guys.
Keep up the good work.
Hi, my name is Evie, and I'm seven years old.
I'm from San Clemente California, and my wow in the world is that every time that flies land, They puke wherever they've landed.
Hi, this is Chloe from Orleans, Massachusetts.
My wow is that bananas are a berry.
Bye, I love your show.
Hi, I'm Claire, and I'm from Albany, New York.
And my wow in the world is that if a starfish loses its arm, it can regrow a new one.
Bye.
Hi, Mindy and Dairaz.
My name is Sebastian from Washington, D.C., and I'm 8 years old.
My wow is that falcons are the fastest flying birds.
They can fly up to 242 miles per hour.
Isn't that cool?
Bye, guys.
Love your show.
Hi, Mindy and Guy Ross.
I'm Lola Reach from Indio, California, and my wow in the world is the bunnies in our neighborhood.
They just keep coming.
Bye.
End of messages.
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.
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And if you want to be featured at the end of the show, call us up and tell us your wow in the world.
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That's 1-888-7WOWWOW.
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Until next time, keep on wowing.
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