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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!
They're in this drawer here somewhere.
They're here already?
I'm coming.
Hey, Reggie.
Nice tuxedo.
Are you excited for your art exhibition opening?
Hey, Guy Raz.
And Mindy, what exactly are you wearing?
Oh, it's a glittery pajama set, Guy Raz.
It's got the glitz and glamour of a ball gown, with all the versatility and flexibility of pajamas, so it doesn't stop me from doing all my usual stunts.
Like this.
Wait.
My face.
Sorry.
Made a little spill.
It's fine.
I'll clean it up later.
Can you answer the door if anyone else comes?
I don't know.
I mean, that's a pretty big responsibility.
I'm pretty sure you can handle it.
I'll be back in a sec.
And don't be long, Guy Raz.
We don't want to be late for Reggie's art gallery exhibit opening.
What kind of art exhibition is it anyway, Reg?
Oh, sculpture.
Wow.
No, I think you told me about this before.
The sculptures are made out of DNA, right?
Oh, that's my job.
I'll get it.
Opening the door.
Hey, Mindy.
Ooh, nice sparkly pajamas.
Same.
So versatile.
I bet you could even roundhouse kick a... Wait a minute.
Reggie, what are you doing?
You stole my outfit.
No, we can't both wear tuxedos.
People are going to think we're twins.
Dennis, we're going to an art gallery party.
Everyone's going to be in tuxedos.
Well, not me.
I'm going to go home and change.
No, Dennis, you don't have to... And don't you dare leave without me.
Ugh!
Hello there, Cindy.
Thomas Fingerling, Grandma G-Force.
Hugs.
Card pass.
You're both looking interesting.
Well, you said it was a fancy doodad, right?
This here's my best shirt.
Hardly any stains on it or nothing.
And Grandma G-Force?
What?
You're wearing?
I'm wearing my wrestling unitard.
I just rolled around in glitter to make it fancy.
Oh.
Take it or leave it.
We'll take it.
I found them.
Found what?
My cuff links.
Oh, tough links, huh?
Well, what you want to do is add a bit of water to the pan when you fry them up.
That way you get a little more moisture into the meat.
No, no, no.
Not tough links, Thomas Fingerling.
Cuff links to link my shirt cuffs.
Oh, right.
Cuffs.
Cuffs.
No idea what that is.
It's just some fancy jewelry that Guy Raz likes to wear to these sorts of events.
That is true, but these ones are extra special.
Extra special?
What do you mean?
Well, see for yourself.
What are they?
Well, it looks like two tangled up pieces of spaghetti.
Or a spiral staircase.
Both good guesses, but...
No, it's actually a double helix.
Wow, a double Felix.
No, not Felix, helix.
It's the shape that DNA takes in our bodies.
Huh.
And DNA is the instruction manual inside each of our cells that tells them what to do, right?
Yeah, like you be a blood cell or you be a brain cell.
Ah.
Got it.
And this super small DNA is what those sculptures at the art gallery tonight will be made out of.
Right, Reggie?
And Reggie's sculpture is the centerpiece of the whole exhibition.
That's right.
So I thought this would be the perfect opportunity for me to wear my DNA helix cufflinks.
OK.
We get it, fella.
You like to wear strange jewelry on your shirt.
Big deal.
All right.
I got changed.
I found one of my old leotards from my aerobics days.
So now we can... Grandma G-Force!
What?
What are you wearing?
The same thing as you, boy.
Only I wear it better.
Now I have to change again.
No time, Dennis.
This will have to do.
We're going to be late.
But Guy Raz!
No time for bots, Dennis.
Okay, everyone, to the ice cream truck.
Well, if you say so.
I'm coming, I'm coming.
All right, let me just unlock the ice cream truck here.
I call front seat.
I don't think so, Fingerling.
I called it, G-Force.
I want front seat.
No, I'm eldest.
Well, I'm the loudest.
Well, I'm tallest.
Oh, shucks.
That seat is strictly reserved for our artist in residence.
Huh?
I don't know what that is.
What are you talking about?
Reggie, the one showing off his artwork tonight.
Oh, right, yeah.
The pigeon is an artist.
All right, everyone strapped in?
Yeah.
OK, let's get going.
Huh, now where are we supposed to be going again, Guy Raz?
You don't know where you're going?
She never knows where she's going or coming.
No, that's why I asked.
Okay, hold on, Mindy.
I think I still have the invitation in my pocket here.
Here we go.
The grand opening for the DNA Sculptures exhibition is taking place at the super fancy Modern Art Gallery at 6 pm.
Oh, wow, wow.
What?
Super fancy?
I thought this was regular fancy.
I ain't prepared for super fancy.
I need to go back home and get my coattails.
The gallery actually gets its name from its two founders, Simon Fancy and Theodora Super, so I think you're okay, Fingerling.
Oh, real.
And what kind of art will there be?
Sculptures?
Oh, I hope there's sculptures.
I love sculptures.
Quit saying sculptures.
That's right, Dennis.
It's a sculpture exhibition, but...
With a twist.
A twist?
I'm listening.
The twist is that these sculptures are made out of DNA.
Right, Reg?
What?
But Mindy, isn't DNA like really, really, really, really small?
Yes, it is, Dennis.
In fact, you could fit about 40000 strands of DNA in the same width as a single strand of human hair.
Wow.
You know, I've always wondered how exactly DNA
Do you make sculptures out of DNA?
Oh, good question, Guy Raz.
So it takes a little bit of clever science and a lot of computing power.
Right, Reg?
Computing power?
Yeah, it's all based on this research from Duke University and Arizona State University.
They've been able to use this new technique to make all sorts of really really small sculptures, known as nanoscale structures.
And they've been using DNA as their sculpting material?
You know it.
Wow, that's pretty cool.
Oh, yeah, and again, Reggie's DNA sculpture is the centerpiece for this whole event.
Whoa, Reg, what's your sculpture of?
Oh, he says it's surprise.
I love surprises.
Hmm.
What are all those cameras for?
Oh, look, everyone.
Looks like we're here.
Ooh, this does look super fancy.
Get out of the truck, fingerling.
Oh, right.
Oh, red carpet.
Me first, me first.
Hi, yes, it's me.
Dennis, go ahead, type pictures, ask me questions.
There he is.
It's Reggie.
Mr. Patty.
Reggie, Reggie, what can you tell us about your mysterious sculpture?
And you look terrific.
Who are you wearing today?
Good idea, Reg.
I'll see you in there, okay?
Come on, Guy Raz.
Reggie's going to handle the press.
Everyone, let's head inside.
Right behind you, Mindy.
Okey-doke.
Bye.
Oh, that's it.
Fancy.
Hello and welcome to the super fancy art gallery.
Can I interest any of you in some hors d'oeuvres?
What?
I don't speak French.
Hors d'oeuvres, it just means finger food.
Oh, finger food.
What you got there?
Well, we've got four themed foods here.
One is called A, This one is called G, This is called C And this last one here is called T Uh A.
A, G, C, and T?
Oh, I get it.
What?
What is it?
Alphabet soup.
Those are the names of the four molecules that make up DNA.
Oh.
Huh.
And the order that those four letters A G, C and T appear in a DNA strand determines what sort of information that strand carries.
Oh, bonker balls.
Yeah, each strand is about three billion letters long, each with a different combination of letters.
Would any of you like to try?
Yes, please.
I'll take the big one.
Free food, my favorite.
Wonderful.
Enjoy the exhibit.
So, where are all these scopes and the bobs everyone's talking about?
Well, I see all these big microscopes someone's left lying around.
Actually, those microscopes Are the art, or more specifically, therefore viewing the art?
Um... I don't get it.
Well, the DNA is so small that it can only be viewed under a microscope.
Yeah, and not just any microscope.
Look at the size of these things.
They're huge.
That's right Mindy, and these are special kinds of microscopes called electron microscopes.
Oh right, I remember electron microscopes.
They're so powerful that they can actually view these tiny DNA structures, right.
Yeah, and some of them can magnify the DNA structures up to 50 million times bigger than they are in real life.
Yeah, take a look.
You can actually see what these microscopes are looking at on the TVs that are next to them.
Oh, I get it.
Look at that one.
It looks like a soccer ball.
Oh, and this one looks like a pyramid.
This is so cool.
Oh, and look at this one.
Well, there goes Dennis.
And I'm going to go find some more of them delicious food fingers.
And there goes Thomas Fingerling.
Where's Grandma G-Force?
I don't know.
No, she was just here.
Oh, there she is.
Looks like she's talking to that fashion reporter.
Well, the way I got this unitard here to look so lumpy is I filled it with pennies that I fished out of the fountain at the mall.
But don't go telling everybody that.
What in the... Come on, Guy Raz.
Want to go check out some of these DNA sculptures?
We still have a few minutes left before Reggie reveals his masterpiece.
Sure thing, Mindy.
Lead the way.
Follow me.
Walk, walk, walk, walk, walk, walk, walk.
Admire.
This one looks pretty interesting, Mindy.
It looks like some sort of...
Yeah, I guess that is pretty interesting, Guy Raz.
But these are all the old sculptures.
Old sculptures?
Yeah.
Scientists have been able to make these simple sorts of shapes, like cubes and pyramids and spheres, since the 1980s.
Huh.
But it's only recently that these scientists have been able to make more complicated shapes.
Uh, like what?
Like... Oh, over here.
Look at this one.
This one sort of looks like a mushroom, Mindy.
Yeah, and look at all these other shapes.
A cone, a clover leaf.
These are super tricky shapes to make with DNA.
So how did they do it, Mindy?
Well, it's a little like putting together a Lego set.
A Lego set?
Yeah.
You remember how?
Before we were talking about how DNA is made up of like three billion letters all in a row?
Yeah, the four different molecules, G, C, A, and T. Right.
And the order in which those four letters appear in the DNA strand determines what information it holds.
Right.
So those scientists from Duke and Arizona State Universities developed this computer program that would tell them the exact order of letters to make whatever shape they wanted.
How?
Well, we know that some of these molecules like to stick to other molecules.
So, like...
A always goes with T, and G always goes with C. OK.
So, knowing this, the computer was able to tell the scientists which combination of letters would make which shape.
And then they just put it all together?
Exactly.
The computer then told the scientists which letters could be used to make smaller blocks that they would then use to stick the bigger building blocks together.
Sort of like stapling them together.
Exactly. into the exact shape that they wanted.
All they had to do was raise or lower the temperature slightly, and the DNA structures would take shape.
Wow.
Is this thing on?
Oh, looks like it's time to reveal Reggie's DNA sculpture.
Great, let's find a good spot so we can see.
And this one looks like a...
Hello, everyone.
My name is Simon Fancy and it is my pleasure to welcome you all here today for an extraordinary and extraordinarily small exhibition.
Thank you, yes.
Now, the nanosculptures on display here today are impressive.
But there is one artist that has taken this extraordinary new technology and really ran with it.
Or should I say, flew with it.
Reggie, would you please join me up here on the stage?
Hey, I know that bird!
Go, Reggie!
Okay, now as we all know...
These sculptures aren't just here for our aesthetic appreciation.
They will also be used in the real world to deliver very, very tiny bits of medicine to very, very specific parts of the body.
However, this centerpiece DNA sculpture by Mr. Reginald here is purely for your viewing pleasure.
Reggie, Is there anything else you'd like to add before the grand reveal?
Oh, Reginald, the piece is dedicated to your friends?
Hey, that's us!
Okay, well, Reginald, let's reveal the sculpture.
Wow!
Look at that.
Mindy, does that say what I think it says?
Yep.
Looks like our pal Reggie here has used DNA to spell out the letters W-O-W.
Reggie, that's so sweet.
You spelled mom.
What?
Reggie, what are you talking about?
It says right there, M-O-M.
That's so cute, Reggie.
Mother's going to love it.
Dennis, you're reading it upside down.
I am?
Ah, wow.
I liked it better as mom.
Dennis!
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? 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.
That's it.
Back to the show.
Hi, thanks for calling Wow in the World.
After the beep, get ready to record.
And I live in Jimford, Pennsylvania.
I'm five and my wow in the world is that turtle tub shells keep them safe from predators who want to eat them.
Bye.
Say hi for me to Dennis.
Hi there.
Grandma G-Force.
Say what?
And Thomas Fingerling Reggie.
Mindy and Guy Raz.
Bye.
Hi, Guy Raz and Mindy.
My name is Hunter and Guy.
And my wow in the world is that Venus fly traps have special hairs that cause them to snap and get bugs.
Hi, I'm Indian Guy Ross.
My name is River and I'm from Nova Scotia, Canada.
And my wow is that octopuses can change color as their blood is blue.
Bye.
Hi, I'm Indian Guy Ross and my name is Otis and I am from Canada.
North Carolina, and my vow is to avoid hunters.
Hermit crabs hide away in empty shells.
They also use their pincers to give any attackers a nasty nip.
Bye.
Hi, Mindy.
Hi, Guy Ross.
My name is Nicholas.
I'm calling from Melrose, Massachusetts, and my vow is...
Perseverance the rover made oxygen on Mars.
Say hi to Reggie, Dennis, and Thomas Fingerling, Grandma Geforce, and Reggie and Static Man.
Say hello to Grandma G-Force.
Oh, snap.
Dennis.
Howdy.
And Thomas Fingerling.
What in the world, Wide Web?
And Dennis.
Yes?
I know you're a static man.
Bye.
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 Tyler Thole with help from our supervising producer, Jed Anderson.
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-Ups.
Find them at thepopups.com.
Special thanks to Steph Sosa, Henry Moskal, Ruth Morrison, Rebecca Caban, Kit Ballinger, Sana Ali-Mohamed, Anna Zagorski and all of the other tinkerers at Tinkercast HQ.
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 about upcoming events, shop our wow shop, find our best-selling books and learn about all of our other amazing podcasts from Tinkercast.
Grown-ups.
You can follow Wow in the World on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at at wowintheworld, and our email address is hello at tinkercastcom.
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!
The world was made by Tinkercast and sent to you by Wondery.
