Grownups, Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to Wow in the World early and ad-free right now.
Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or Wondery Kids Plus on Apple Podcasts.
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!
Wow is an awesome place.
Physics, biology, and outer space.
Science explorers with our headquarters.
No, Dennis.
Here at Camp WeWow.
OK, that's enough.
And welcome to Camp WeWOW, the invisible summer camp for science explorers everywhere.
I'm your camp counselor, Mindy.
And I'm camp counselor, Guy Raz.
And all summer long here at Camp WeWOW we're thinking tinkering, experimenting and exploring the great outdoors.
And you came at just the right time, because this week... is Bug Week.
Our camp is just crawling with bugs.
They're on the ground, in the trees, under our beds, on Guy Raz's head.
Wait, where?
Right there.
Ow!
Mindy!
Got him!
So, uh, get ready for a full week of games, experiments, snacks, and more.
And at the end of the week you will have earned your best bug Buggies badge to celebrate your camaraderie and friendships with bugs of all shapes and sizes.
But first let's go ahead and get ourselves in the mood for bug week by listening to one of our favorite bug episodes of Wow in the World.
Bumblebees barfing it up for science.
Bumblebees.
It's time to tuck you in for the night.
Are you sure you don't want an actual bed, Reggie?
I mean, this window ledge of Mindy's gingerbread house seems a little precarious.
Oh, no, it's fine, Guy Raz.
Reggie always sleeps out here on the ledge.
Yeah, all the pigeons are doing it these days.
Plus, I reinforced it with honey to make it extra sticky so he won't fall off.
Uh, okay.
Then I licked up all the honey because it looked so good.
Oh.
And then I had to barf it all back up on the ledge or it wouldn't be sticky enough to hold him on.
What?
So now the whole thing is reinforced with sticky honey barf patent pending, and there's no way that Reggie is going to fall off this ledge in the night.
What?
That is disgusting, Mindy.
Which brings us to the bedtime portion of this nightly tuck-in.
Hey, Guy Razzi, you want to listen to the story?
I can get you a little blanket to snuggle in next to Reggie.
On this honey and vomit-covered ledge?
Reggie says he'll happily take you under his wing so you don't get sticky.
Oh, okay.
Thanks, Reg.
Now just climb out through the window here and then hold on to Reggie's feathers, okay?
Are you sure this is a good idea, Mindy?
Yes, of course I'm not sure this is a good idea, Guy Raz.
Now jump out the window.
What?
On to Reggie.
Just nuzzle in under his wing over there.
Oh, okay.
Aww.
Now, is everyone cozy?
Yes.
Like a baby bird.
Okay, now that we're all settled in, I'll begin the bedtime story.
It's called The Three Bees, by Jonathan Patrick, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oxford's Department of Zoology, and Hamish Symington, a graduate student of the University of Cambridge.
Wait a minute.
The University of Oxford's Department of Zoology is now doing beekeeping? bedtime stories?
Well, in a way.
Let's begin the study.
I mean, the story.
Once upon a time, in a magical garden greenhouse in the forest, there lived a little family of bees.
There was a mama bee.
Oh, that's my role.
I mean, that's me.
Wait, I'm a bee?
Uh-huh.
And there was a papa bee.
Whoa.
I'm the fairest one of all.
Wrong story.
Oh, how about I'm a big bad dad and I'll blow your house down.
No, you're just the dad.
You're the Papa Bee.
Oh, is the Papa Bee a handsome prince maybe?
No, Papa Bee is just a bee.
Fine.
And finally, there was a baby bee.
That's me.
I'm the baby.
Someone change my diaper.
Hang on, hang on, hang on, Mindy.
I'm a little concerned that your bedtime story isn't even going to put us to sleep.
Shh, just close your eyes and let me continue with the story.
Okay.
One sunny spring morning, Mama Bee, Papa Bee and Baby Bee set off into the forest to find some fresh nectar to eat.
Well, come on, let's go.
And also they needed to run to the bank to cash some checks, get a quick oil change, return something at the mall and register to vote.
Huh?
Mindy, do you even know where you're going with this story?
Do you know where I'm going with this story?
No.
Well, then you better keep listening.
Ah!
And while the bee family was out running errands, a little golden bumblebee who had been lost in the forest came upon the bee family's garden greenhouse.
Hey, I ain't lost.
I'm looking for trouble.
Her name was Grandma Bee Force.
May the force be with you, Mandy.
No, no, no.
You're not supposed to know I'm here.
Just the narrator.
Sorry, Mandy.
My bad.
When she got to the greenhouse, she gently knocked three times.
Hey!
Open up!
It's the FBI!
But there was no answer.
Well, huh.
So she threw rocks at the double-paned glass windows.
Pow!
Pow!
Anybody home?
But there was still no answer.
Huh.
So...
Being the resourceful little bee she was, Grandma Bee Force backed up her little bee booty and, with all her might, came crashing through the roof.
Shattering the entire glass ceiling of the greenhouse into a million tiny pieces.
Now who's gonna clean this mess?
Not me.
Now as every lady who has ever broken a glass ceiling knows, It can be pretty exhausting.
I need to find me a chair to take a load off.
These dogs are tired.
Hey, hang on, hang on.
Sorry to interrupt here, Mindy, but I'm having a little trouble with the ethics of this story.
I'm not sure I understand.
So you're saying that Grandma B-Force illegally entered a house that didn't even belong to her?
Well, would it have made any difference if she had entered through...
I don't know, the chimney?
Anywho, it was basically just an accident-ish.
I think we might disagree on the definition of accident.
Uh, can we just get back to the story now?
Yeah, yeah, of course, of course.
Grandma B-Force buzzed her way through the house in search of chairs to sit on.
Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz.
And lo and behold, she found three of them.
One large-sized chair, one medium-sized chair, and one tiny-sized chair.
Well, what do we have here?
Three-hole chair?
Looks like someone's been living in the lap of luxury.
So she got to sitting.
Don't mind if I do.
The big chair had cup holders in the armrest, but that was too unnecessary.
Cup holders?
What is this, a movie theater? the tiny chair collapsed beneath the weight of her B-butt.
All right, let's see here.
Oh, heaven!
And that was just too dangerous.
That chair tried to kill me!
But the medium chair came with its own remote control.
Oh!
Reclined to 180 degrees.
Oh, nice!
And had a Swedish massage feature, which made it just right.
Oh!
After a long and thorough massage, it was time for a nap.
Now, where can a bee catch a few Z's around here?
Grandma Bee Force buzzed around the greenhouse looking for a place to sleep.
Aha!
She found three beds.
A big bed, a medium-sized bed, and a toddler bed with rails on the side.
Booyah!
Okay, hang on again.
I'm starting to question whether this story is even true or not.
Okay, well, I never said it was... First of all, bees don't sleep in beds.
And honestly, they don't sit in chairs either.
Bees sleep in or around a hive with the rest of their colony.
Mind if I continue?
The big bed was too hard.
What is this?
A pile of...
The tiny bed was too wet.
Oh, what happened here?
Sounds like somebody sprung a light.
But the medium-sized bed was made out of a hypoallergenic, temperature-controlled memory foam that precisely adapted to her weight and shape to relieve pressure points and alleviate discomfort.
Oh, yeah.
In other words, it was just right.
Oh, yeah.
Three hours later, Grandma Bee Forest awoke from her nap and she was hungry for a little bite to eat.
What's a bee gonna do to get some grub around this joint?
Grandma Bee Forest buzzed all around the house looking for even the smallest morsel of nectar when she came upon three wild beautiful, vibrant flowers.
Ooh!
A big red flower, a medium-sized yellow flower and a teeny tiny orange flower that had just bloomed.
Well, it looks to me like dinner is served.
She sucked all of the nectar out of the big red flower.
The nectar in this flower was 65% sugar and as thick as maple syrup.
Oh, that's the heavy stuff.
And, with her belly full, Grandma Bee Force flew out of the house back to her hive and you'll never believe what happened next.
What happened next, Mindy?
To be continued.
What?
No, you can't leave us with a cliffhanger like that.
What did she do when she buzzed back to her hive?
Well, she...
Just say it.
She barfed into a honeypot.
What?
Uh, she barfed all of the nectar that she just ate into a honeypot.
Ugh, that is disgusting.
Why?
Why would she do that?
There are other bees who live in that hive.
They eat out of those honeypots.
Oh, yeah, I know.
That's exactly why she did it, Guy Raz.
Huh?
Well, I should mention that the nectar she sucked up, It all went into a separate stomach called her crop, or her honey stomach or, as I like to call it, her honey tummy.
Patent pending.
And she only barfed out of that one.
That doesn't make it any less gross.
The other bees still have to eat out of that honey pot.
Can we get back to the story, please?
It took her a whopping 30 seconds to burp. barf up all of that thick, sugary, syrupy nectar.
The nectar from that big red flower was just too sweet and took too long to barf up.
Well, ain't nobody got time for that.
In fact, that nectar took so much energy to barf up that Grandma Bee Force needed to find more nectar right away, just to regain the energy that she wasted.
Guess it's back to work.
So she slowly and lethargically buzzed back to the greenhouse.
Oh, I feel so slow and lethargic.
She then entered through the broken glass ceiling and found the teeny tiny orange flower.
Come to and quickly sucked all of the nectar out of it.
This flower was far less sugary than the first, with only 35% sugar.
Well, that was easy.
She then buzzed back to the hive and barfed it all up into a honeypot in five seconds flat.
And as soon as she finished, she exclaimed, Well, that nectar was too...
So she buzzed back to the greenhouse to suck the nectar out of one last flower.
The medium-sized yellow flowers nectar clocked in at 50% sugar.
Not as thick and sugary as the first nectar.
And not as watered down as the second nectar.
When she finished, she buzzed back to the hive.
And can you guess what happened next?
I know, I know what happened next.
She vomited into a honeypot and then invited her sister bees to eat it.
I'm sensing a pattern here.
Well, first she stopped in to say hello to the queen bee.
Your Majesty.
And then she had to high-five all her sister bees.
What's up, ladies?
And then she barfed up all the nectar into a honeypot for them to eat.
And it took her a perfectly reasonable amount of time to do so.
Oh!
Because this nectar was not too thick and sugary, and it was not too thin and sugarless.
It was... I know, I know, it was...
Just right.
Exactoritos, Guy Raz.
That medium-sized flower was just right.
And that's exactly what the authors of this study I mean story found as they were studying the barfing habits of bumblebees.
Wait, so this is a true story?
Well, let's just say that the barfing parts are based on a true scientific study.
See, these two authors are also researchers.
I see.
Dr Jonathan Patrick from the University of Oxford's Department of Zoology And Hamish Symington from the University of Cambridge and their team wanted to learn more about how bees picked which flowers they wanted to get their nectar from.
And from what I understand, Mindy bees choose their flowers based on their color, the shape of their petals and, most importantly, which flowers have the most sugar.
After all, the most sugar would give them the most energy.
Right.
And on that last note, these researchers had a hunch turned into a hypothesis which, by the way, is an educated guess that maybe there was more to the story of this flower selection.
That maybe there was another factor at play here.
And that answer could only be found in... The bee's vomit.
Exactoritos, Guy Raz.
You're licking up what I'm barfing out.
What?
I'm talking about bee barf and specifically how fast a bee can barf up the nectar it eats.
I'm not sure I understand.
Okay, so the nectar from different flowers contain different amounts of sugar.
And the sweeter the nectar, the more energy for the bee.
But, and this is a big but, the sweeter the nectar, the thicker the nectar.
And the thicker the nectar, the more energy it requires to suck up and regurgitate.
That's just a classy word for barf.
So you're saying that bees may not necessarily go for the sweetest flowers?
Nope. after inviting a bunch of bees to swarm their lab?
Why would they do that?
For science.
Anything for science.
They fed the bees three types of sugary liquid.
The one with the most sugar, at 65%, was as thick as molasses.
And the one with the least amount of sugar, at 35%, was just super thin and weak in its sweetness.
It's like when you dump a bunch of water into my morning glass of maple syrup and take away all its power.
Anything for health and safety.
Anyhoo, the sugary liquid with just a medium amount of sugar turned out to be just right.
These researchers discovered that it was super appealing to the bees because they could drink it quickly, barf it up quickly, and it still gave them all the sweet energy they were looking for.
So from what you're telling me Mindy, it sounds like bees are willing to give up a little sugary sweetness if it means keeping their eating and barfing plans on track.
You know it, Guy Raz.
Nobody wants their day to be held up because it's taking them too long to regurgitate their nectar.
I know I don't.
And about that barfing?
Oh, yeah.
Well, as I mentioned in the story, Grandma Bee Force was using her honey tummy to transport nectar back to the hive so that she could barf it into these little wax honey pots for her sisters to eat.
Yeah, it's still a little disgusting the second time around.
Hear me out, Guy Raz.
This is actually a very important part about living in a beehive.
See, Grandma Bee Force is a forager bee, which means that it's her job to collect all of the nectar for the queen bee and the male drone bees and help her make the babies and the female worker bees who maintain and protect the hive.
Ah, and when she brings the nectar to the hive, she barfs it into a honey pot or the honeycomb.
Yep, and then a processor bee works like a chef to turn that nectar into honey.
OK, it turns out it's less disgusting the third time around.
I knew you'd come around, Guy Razzi.
So, now that we know that these bumblebees prefer flowers with medium amounts of sugar in their nectar, how can we use this discovery to help the bees and the planet, and ourselves?
Well, as it turns out, we're all connected, so this research is pretty important.
In fact, Dr Patrick and Mr Symington are hoping that, by learning which plants produce the best nectar for these bees, people like you and me can be sure to plant those types of plants in our gardens.
Wow, what's with Reggie?
Oh, he wants me to get on with the story already.
Now, where did we leave off?
I believe it was right after Grandma Bee Force.
Oh, right.
Okay, back to the story.
While Grandma Bee Force was out barfing it up in her hive, the three little bees came home to their greenhouse to discover that someone had broken in by busting through the roof.
Papa Bee said, If I had a stinger, I would.
And Mama Bee said, And Mama Bee said, That's you, Guy Raz.
Oh, yeah.
Who's going to clean up all of this glass?
What's our homeowner's insurance deductible?
And Baby Bee said, Someone changed my diaper.
Then the three little bees buzzed into their greenhouse.
Hey, someone's been buzzing in my easy chair.
Someone's been getting a Swedish massage in my chair.
And someone's been crushing my chair into a million pieces.
Somebody change my diaper.
Wah!
Then the three bees went into the bedroom that they all shared, despite the fact that it was a large greenhouse with plenty of room for more walls.
Bah!
Someone's been sleeping in my bed of bricks!
Someone's been changing the digital sleep settings on my $3,000 temperatronic mattress!
No one's been in my bed, because I peed in it this morning.
What?
It's a defense mechanism! so I'm a baby.
Wah.
Finally, the three bees made their way out to the flower patch to find that someone had been drinking out of their flowers.
Oh, that is going too fast.
That is such a violation.
What are we going to do?
Just then, Grandma Bee Force buzzed back to the greenhouse to find that she had some visitors.
Wait, wait, wait.
Hold on, Mindy.
Visitors?
She broke into their house, remember?
I mean, if anyone's a visitor, it's Grandma B-Force, and by visitor, I mean intruder.
Ah-ha!
It was her!
She was the one what sat in my easy chair.
She was the one who programmed my temperatronic bed to think I was a side-sleeping mouth breather.
She was the one who smashed my chair into a million pieces with her bumblebutt.
Wah!
You bet your sweet little behinds I did.
I also ate all your nectar, and then I barfed it all up.
Wow!
Now my sisters have been working it into a fine honey all afternoon.
So why don't y'all come over to my hive and enjoy some of that sweet barbecue?
I'm a honeypot.
Oh, why, we'd love to.
What can we bring?
Diapers.
You don't bring diapers to a potluck.
Actually, maybe we should bring diapers.
And they all lived happily ever after.
Until a family of three bears found the hive.
Uh-oh.
The end.
Um, Guy-Guy Rossi?
Guy Razzi, are you asleep?
Looks like you're going to have a sleepover tonight, Reg.
Just make sure he doesn't fall off the ledge.
Sir Isaac Newton's first law of motion.
Wow in the World will be right back.
Grown-ups, this message is for you.
Hey, grown-ups.
It's Mindy and Guy Razzi here from Wow in the World.
Mindy and I have some 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, thanks for calling Wow in the World.
After the beep, get ready to record.
Hi, Mindy and Guy Ross.
My name is Beckett, and I live in Hartsville, South Carolina.
My Wow in the World is about the goblin shark.
The goblin shark can shoot out its jaw all the way to the end of the snout.
Say hi to Reggie and Dennis for me.
Ahoy there.
Hi, Mindy and Guy Ross.
My name is Ryan.
And my name is Jacob, and we live in Whedon, Illinois.
And our bond in the world is that a permanent magnet gets stronger as it gets colder.
Say hi to Reggie, Grandma G-Force, and Static Man for us.
Bye.
Hi, Mindy and Guy Ross.
My name is Miranda. and I live in New York City.
And my wow in the world is that cheetahs can run almost 50 miles an hour.
That is because their claws stick out, so they're almost like soccer cleats, which causes them to run that fast.
Bye.
Love your show.
Hi, guys.
I'm Mindy.
I'm Naomi.
And I'm Jesse.
And I'm Russell.
We're from Silver Spring, Maryland.
No teeth.
My wow is that albatrosses can glide for several hours without flapping their wings once.
Love your show.
Say hi to Reggie for us.
Hi, Mindy and Guy Raz.
My name is Stella.
I live in Virginia.
And my wow in the world is that when a dolphin sleeps, half of its brain stays awake.
Bye.
Love your show.
Hello, my name is Luca.
I'm from Brooklyn.
My wow in the world is that the unicorn is the national animal of Scotland.
Bye.
Hi, Mindy and Guy Raz.
My name is Natalie.
I live in Columbus, Ohio.
And my wow in the world is that cotton candy was invented by a dentist in 1897.
Bye.
Hi, my name is Jadis.
And my name is Edison.
My name is Trajan, and we're from Springfield, Missouri.
And our wow in the world is that a cockroach can hold its breath for 40 minutes.
Isn't that crazy?
Grandma J-Force, Dennis, Thomas Van Gerling, do you think you could hold your breath that long?
40 minutes?
No way.
Oh, I definitely can.
Let's have a competition.
Well, I guess.
That's a great idea.
All right.
On your mark, get set, go!
Hold on, hold on.
I choked on my spit.
Start over, start over.
No way, dude.
Ain't nobody got time for that.
End of messages.
Wow in the World is written by Mindy Thomas and Tom Van Kalken with help from me, Guy Raz.
Original sound design and music editing is done by our senior producer, Jed Anderson and Tyler Tholtz.
You can also hear Jed Anderson in the voices of Dennis Thomas Fingerling, Reggie and many of the other silly characters you hear on our show.
Jessica Bode keeps our facts straight as our fact checker and Meredith Halpern-Ranzer powers the wow at Tinkercast.
Our theme song was composed and performed by three-time Grammy nominees, The Pop-Up.
Find them at thepopups.com.
Special thanks to the rest of our team of tinkerers, including Anna Zagorski, Rebecca Caban, Kit Ballinger and Henry Moskal.
To keep the wows rolling, visit us at tinkercast.com.
There you can learn more about becoming an official member of the World Organization of Wowsers.
Learn more about upcoming events.
Shop our shop and pick up a copy of our new number one New York Times bestselling book, The How and Wow of the Human Body.
Grownups, you can follow Wow in the World on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at wowintheworld.
And our email address is hello at tinkercast.com.
And if you're a kid with a big wow to share with us, call us at 1-888-7-WOW-WOW for a chance to be featured at the end of our show or an upcoming episode of Two What's and a Wow.
Thanks again for listening, and until next time... Be fun wowing!
Wow!
And before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com.
