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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 7pm 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!
Okay, now let me just tighten the hi-hat here.
And...
Just there.
Move the casserole dish over just a little bit.
Okay.
Now, where did I put my musical ladles?
Oh, here they are.
Okay.
You ready to record in there, Reg?
All right, buddy.
Let's get ready to crock out.
Crock out.
Like rock out, but we're using a crock pot.
All right.
Here we go.
A one.
A two.
A one.
It's raining fish tacos.
Out of the sky fish tacos.
Don't even know why, just... Guy Raz!
Mindy.
You finally decided to show up to band practice.
Mindy, what in the wow are you doing in my kitchen?
Your kitchen?
I think you mean, what in the wow am I doing in your brand new recording studio?
Uh...
Mindy, did you turn my kitchen into a recording studio?
Surprise!
How's it sounding in there, Reg?
Can I get a little playback?
It's raining fish tacos.
Come out of the sky, fish tacos.
Do you know why?
Turn it off!
I was just getting to the best part.
Mindy, are those my pots and my pans, too?
I think so.
I mean, they were in your pantry.
Anywho, the base is over there in the corner, so if you wanted to slap it on and take it for a walk, I'm ready to go when you are.
And a one, and a two, and a three.
Fish talk!
No, no, no.
No, I am not here to play music, Mindy.
Well, then why did you come into your recording studio?
Mindy, I came to my kitchen to get an afternoon snack.
What are you guys doing in here anyway?
Okay, so there's actually a scientific explanation for this, Skyroz.
Uh... No, really.
See, it all started when Grandma G-Force got back from her two-month intensive cooking class in Italy last week, and she brought me this as a souvenir from her trip.
Whoa, Mindy, that is one big wheel of cheese.
You can say that again.
That is one big wheel of cheese.
Yep, 100% pure Emmental cheese.
I can smell that cheese from here, Mindy.
Well, actually, that might have been me.
Whoops, sorry.
Emmental cheese.
Emmental cheese.
Mindy, isn't Emmental cheese from Switzerland?
Yeah, Grandma G-Force went on this whole European trip after she finished her Italian cooking course.
And oh man, you gotta check out these pictures she sent me.
Okay, here she is wrestling a goat in Greece.
And here she is wrestling a reindeer in Lapland.
Oh, and look, here she is wrestling a mime in France.
Mindy, you still haven't answered my question.
Oh, yeah, of course.
What was your question?
Why are you recording an album in my country?
Okay, well, first of all, we're recording albums, plural, more than one.
And second of all, the answer is right there in front of you.
Mindy, when I look at you, all I see is more questions.
I'm not making albums for me, Guy Raz.
I'm making them for the cheese.
For the cheese?
Mm-hmm.
Specifically, albums.
Emmental cheese.
We're calling our band the Grateful Ched.
You get it?
Mindy, what possible reason could you have for making a musical homage to fromage?
Well, to make it taste better, of course.
Huh?
Yep.
Scientifically tested and everything.
According to a recent study by the Bern University of the Arts in Switzerland...
Playing certain types of music to cheese can help to improve the taste.
Wait a minute.
You're telling me that there is a scientific explanation for why you're... why you're playing music to cheese to make it taste better?
Sound that bonker balls to you, Guy Raz.
I've seen you do the exact same thing.
Mindy, I'm pretty certain I've never sang a love ballad to a ball of cheese before.
Okay, maybe not a ball of cheese, but do you remember when you had that greenhouse full of tomato plants?
Ah, nothing like a juicy red tomato right off the vine.
Coming!
Time machine?
I am the... Oh, no!
See?
You were doing the exact same thing.
Oh, yeah.
Well, I guess you're right, Mindy.
It's something different.
Called sonochemistry.
And it's the science of how sound waves... That's the sono part.
Right.
How sound waves can affect chemical reactions.
That's the chemistry part.
Exactoritos.
I think I get it, Mindy.
So what you're saying is that by playing music to this wheel of cheese here, you're able to change the chemical reactions that go on inside the cheese and then change how it tastes.
You know it.
It's called ripening.
Ripening, yes.
And from what I remember, some people also call it maturing, right?
Yeah, so basically, once a wheel of cheese has been made, it needs to sit around for a while to, you know, develop its flavor.
Because when the cheese sits around, all sorts of things can change its flavor, like how hot or cold the room is, or even how humid or moist the air around it is.
Bingo, Guy Raz.
The temperature and humidity of the room can actually change the chemical reactions that are going on inside of the cheese.
And those chemical reactions are what makes the cheese taste the way it tastes.
And so these researchers that you're describing wanted to see if sound waves could also have an effect on how the cheese tasted.
Yep.
Pretty bonker balls, right?
Yeah.
But Guy Raz... Yeah?
This isn't the only cheese I'm making music for.
It's not?
Nope.
Guy Raz, follow me to the new mini laboratory of bad ideas.
New laboratory of bad ideas?
Oh, hey, Mindy, maybe we should move your recording studio in there.
I mean, building it in my kitchen was a terrible idea.
And opening the door.
Mindy, this is my bathroom.
Correction, this was your bathroom.
Mindy!
Guy Razzie!
Welcome to your new ear-curdling cheese listening lab.
My bathroom!
Now, as you can see, we have 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8, 9 different crates, each one of them containing a 22 pound or 10 kilogram wheel of Emmental cheese.
Okay.
Now, in every single one of these crates, each wheel of cheese, is listening to a different type of music, just like in the original experiment.
The one from the Bern University of Arts?
Yep, the very same one.
So did you make some tiny little earbuds to put in the cheese holes and blast music in that way?
Yes, of course I did not put earbuds on cheese, Guy Raz.
What?
Phew, glad to hear that.
I did the same thing the researchers did in their experiment.
Which was?
I set up each block of cheese with little teeny tiny speakers.
I just put the speakers next to and on top of the cheese.
Okay.
And then I hit this button to crank up the volume in order to blast the sound waves directly into the cheese here.
Check it out.
Hmm.
Hey, Roz, you want to give me a hand with this cratelet over here?
Oh, sure thing, Mindy.
Ooh, I think I hear it, Mindy.
OK, so this one is playing R&B music, or as I like to call it, R&Bree music.
Get it?
Bree?
Like the cheese?
Aren't we?
This music actually sounds pretty great, Mindy.
And each one of these crates is playing a different kind of music to a different wheel of cheese, on a 24-hour loop.
So same song over and over and over again.
Just like in the experiment?
Yep, just like in the experiment.
See, I've got a rock over there.
This one's listening to classical.
This baby's got some techno in there.
Plus, we've got meditation music.
Rap.
And then down at the end there, we've got three tones playing high, medium, and low frequencies.
So those cheeses down there are just listening to one note continuously?
One's listening to a high note, one's listening to a medium note and the other is listening to a low note.
And then right down there at the end, next to the toilet paper roll, that one is not listening to anything.
Just complete silence.
Ah, so that would be your control cheese.
Yep, so that's the wheel of cheese that I use to control. with all the rest.
So how long have these cheeses actually been soaking in these beet barrels?
I'd say just under six months.
Six months?
Yep.
Mindy, you've had a cheese lab set up in my bathroom for six months?
Well, technically five months, 30 days, 23 hours and about 55 minutes, but I wasn't really counting.
But Mindy, I've used my bathroom in the last six months and I don't remember seeing any of this cheesy chemistry you've got going on here.
Are you sure you've used this bathroom?
Man, I really shouldn't have drank all that pomegranate juice.
Well, I guess it's time to use the bathroom.
Run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run.
Mindy?
Kairos, big news.
We've been asked to host the Nom Nom Food Awards.
The Nom Nom Food Awards?
Mindy, that's great!
Yes!
We have to go now.
Now?
But Mindy, I was just about to use the... Yuletime!
Come on!
I knew all that water before bed was a bad idea.
Guy Raz!
Guy Raz!
Mindy, it's 4 o'clock in the morning.
Guy Raz, it's time for a 4 o'clock neighborhood walk.
Okay, everything packed and ready to go.
Now just one last spot to check and a bathroom stop and I'll be... Hey, Guy Raz.
Mindy, how did you get into my house? window.
Nah.
You ready to go visit Reggie's parents in Florida?
Sure am, Mindy.
I just need to go to the Great because Motor Pickle is idling outside and it only has enough mustard to get us to the airport.
But we gotta go now.
Let's go.
Now?
Well, hold on.
I just have to use the bathroom.
We gotta go now!
You know Mindy, now that I think about it, maybe I haven't used this bathroom in the last six months.
Lucky for me, can you even imagine, Guy Raz?
It would have ruined my entire experiment.
Speaking of which, i'm about to move all of these wheels of cheese into the final stage of the experiment.
Well, what's the final stage?
The taste test?
Oh, a taste test?
Yeah, so i'm gonna need your help.
Uh, you want to go ahead and grab those wheels of hip-hop, rock and roll and techno cheese and then bring them up to your bedroom?
Huh, the guests are gonna be here any second.
Now Bedroom.
Mindy, what in the world are you talking about?
The taste test, Guy Raz.
I sent you an e-invite.
An e-invite?
Yeah.
Check your spam folder.
I use a lot of exclamation points in my emails.
Okay.
Oh, yeah.
Here it is.
Cheese and grape juice party.
To better understand the effects of acoustic sound waves on the cheese ripening process...
Where?
Guy Raz's bedroom?
Yep, that's the one.
Mindy, my bedroom?
Is there any room of my house you haven't taken over yet?
Well, I'm still working on the water park in your garage.
The what?
Nothing.
It's a surprise for your birthday.
So can you give me a hand with these cheeses or yes?
People are going to be ringing the doorbell any second.
What?
Mindy, I'm not prepared for a party.
My formal bow tie is still at the dry cleaners.
Don't stress, Guy Raz.
This is just a casual get-together with friends to do a little sono chemistry.
Okay.
Your semi-formal bow tie will do just fine.
Okay, Mindy.
If you insist, but you get the door.
I'll do my best to plate up these musical cheeses.
Divide and conquer.
I like the way you think, Guy Raz.
Okay.
Coming!
Walk, walk, walk, walk, walk.
Nobody better double park my Zamboni.
I just washed it.
Wait, did you write a... Buongiorno, Mandy.
That's how you say how you doing in Italian.
I tell you what.
Grandma G for his hugs.
You ready to try some of that Emmental cheese you brought back from Switzerland?
I think you broke my back.
You bet your sweet patoot I'm ready to cut that cheese.
I had to wrestle a cow for it.
Of course you did.
Come on in and head right upstairs and to the right.
Well, the invitation didn't say nothing about stairs.
Don't worry, G-Force.
No one will stare at you.
Thomas Fingerling!
G-Force don't like it when you make eye contact with her.
She sees it as a threat, like the majestic baboon.
Hey, do you want to come in and try some cheese?
Cheese?
Who the lolly?
You guys making fondue?
Up the stairs and to the right.
Reggie, you made it!
Wait, weren't you here the whole time?
Sorry, there's no bird seed, just cheese.
Come on, Red.
You got to expand your culinary horizons.
That's the spirit.
Come on in.
Upstairs and to the right.
All right, that should be everyone.
Bendy!
I can't come to the cheese party.
My nose is stuffed up.
Without my sense of smell, I'll never be able to properly taste the spicy black pepper notes, the fresh cream of the lactics, the fruity notes of apricots lemons, honey.
Where are you going?
Sounds like my stomach's grumbling.
Hey, Guy Raz, how are those cheese platters coming along?
Almost there, Mindy.
I just need to put on music.
And we're good to go.
Great.
I'll be right up.
Step, step, step, step, step, step, step.
Oh, nice work, Guy Raz.
They should call you Guy Razzle Dazzle.
This place looks amazing.
Thanks, Mindy.
I do my best.
So, you ready to try some of these cheeses?
Phew. bet, Mindy.
Where should we start first?
Well, if the experiment from the Bern University of the Arts is anything to go by, I think we should start with this one.
Hip-hop?
Yep.
The study found that hip-hop was tip-top when it came to taste and flavor.
Well, I think I'll be the judge of that.
Let me just cut off a slice here.
Great cheese, Mindy.
What does it taste like?
A little fruity and it has a very strong smell and taste.
Yes, that means my experiment worked.
It worked?
Yes, that's exactly what those researchers found in their study.
After they marinated their cheeses in a bunch of different types of music for six months...
They sent the cheeses off to food scientists for what they call a sensory consensus analysis.
And a sensory consensus analysis is basically a fancy way of saying a scientific taste test where they precisely measure the smell and taste of different foods.
Exact Doritos.
And so what did they find?
Well, the experts concluded that most of the cheese that had been exposed to music had a milder flavor compared to the controlled cheese.
And the controlled cheese being the one that had just been sitting there in silence.
Exactly.
But on top of this, they found that the hip hop cheese was the fruitiest of all the cheeses and the one that had the strongest smell and taste.
Wow.
Oh, that's not all.
It's not?
Nope.
On top of all this testing, the researchers also conducted a blind taste test with some expert cheese tasters.
So blindfolded people who were paid to eat cheese?
I know.
Best job ever, right?
Anywho, these cheese tasting experts confirmed what the researchers had found when they concluded that the hip hop cheese was, in fact, the fruitiest and the tastiest cheese of the bunch.
That's incredible, Mindy.
So does that mean that the sound waves from the music actually affected the chemical reactions and then the taste of the cheese?
Yeah, well, there's still no way to know for sure.
But soon, the same researchers will be conducting a biomedical survey on the cheeses.
And by biomedical survey you mean that they'll be looking into the microscopic structure of the cheese to see if the music changed, how the cheese is shaped on a tiny molecular level.
You know it.
And if the cheese looks different on this really, really small level, then it would be a good sign that this music actually did have an effect on the chemical reactions going on inside the cheese.
Whoa, that's incredible.
You know what else is incredible?
What?
This.
Excuse me, everyone.
Excuse me.
Where did she get that microphone from?
I just want to thank all of my friends and family for coming out to our cheese cutting party.
Now, as I mentioned in the e-invite, all of the cheese that you see here today has been lovingly marinated in a variety of different types of music over the last six months.
And that music was written and performed by yours truly.
What?
Written by who?
I think she said they were written by George Trudy.
Ooh, George Trudy.
I haven't seen him in 30 years.
He still alive?
No, I said I wrote and performed the music.
Oh.
And now, if you'll indulge me, I'd like to perform one of my tastiest songs for you right now.
I call this one, Goudacris.
All right, Guy Raz, drop the beat.
Huh?
Just drop the beat, okay?
Mindy, I don't know how to... Drop the beat!
Uh... a little cheesy, but it's actually quite easy.
All you need is a little brief.
Now everybody, sing with me.
That's some pretty good hip-hopping there, George Trudy.
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 wowser learn about their world through play, plus your 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.
That's it.
Back to the show.
Mindy and Guy Raz.
My name is Mia.
And my name is Kai.
We live in California.
Our wow in the world is that there's a seed vault in Svalbard.
It's in between Norway and the North Pole that keep lots of seeds there in case a species of plants die off.
Bye!
We love Reggie and your show!
And Dennis!
I'm popular!
I'm Mindy and Guy Raz and Reggie.
My name is Nora.
My name is Tommy.
We live in Fairfax, Virginia.
Our wow is that horses inspired the invention of pants, because when people first started riding horses, they only had tunics and nothing under to wear, so it was uncomfortable to ride a horse.
So a person sewed two tubes of fabric together and made pants.
Did you hear that, Bucky?
Hi, I'm Indian Guy Raj.
My name is Zuri, and I'm from Calgary, Alberta.
My wow in the world is that you can buy jeans made from plastics found floating in the sea.
Bye, Mindy and Guy Ross, and say hi to Reggie, Grandma G-Force, and even Dennis for me.
Ahoy there!
Bye!
Hi, Mindy and Guy Ross.
My name is Lily, and I am from Allentown, Pennsylvania.
In my wow in the world, Gravity.
Did you know that gravity is why the planets are round?
Hi, my name is Ingrid and I live in Texas.
My wow in the world is that all of us are made out of stars.
Hey, Mindy and Guy Ross.
My name is Claire from Neenah, Wisconsin.
And my wow in the world is that babies are born with about 100 more bones than adults.
That's crazy.
Hello, Mindy and Guy Ross.
My name is Darius.
I live in Brooklyn, New York.
My wow in the world is that a species of starfish called the zombie starfish can sacrifice three quarters of their body and still survive.
Hi, Dennis and Reggie.
By the way, say hi to Mindy and Guy Ross also.
Bye.
Keep on the good work.
End of messages.
Thank you so much for hanging out with us this week on Wow in the World.
And to keep the wow rolling, check out this week's scientific conversation starters at our website wowintheworldcom.
And grownups.
There you can find more info on how your kids can become members of the World Organization of Wowzers shop, our wow shop.
Upload photos and videos to us and check dates for our upcoming live events.
That's wowintheworld.com.
Our show is produced by Jed Anderson.
Who provides the bells, whistles, and silly characters.
Say hello, Jed.
Hello.
Our show is written by me, Guy Raz, and Thomas Van Kalken, who also provides silly characters.
Tom?
Hello there.
Thanks also to Jessica Bode, Casey Koffer, Rebecca Caban, Kit Ballinger, and Alex Curley.
Meredith Halpern-Ranzer powers the wow at Tinkercast.
Our theme song was composed and performed by The Pop-Ups.
For more info on their two-time Grammy-nominated all-ages music, find them at thepopups.com.
And grown-ups, you can follow Wow in the World on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at wowintheworld.
And our email address is hello at wowintheworld.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 the show.
Also, if you haven't already done so, please subscribe to Wow in the World on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Yeah, leave us a few stars, a review, or just tell a friend about the show.
Thanks again for listening, and until next time, keep on wowing.
Jinx!
And before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey.
