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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!
Hello.
Oh, sorry.
That's better.
Good morning, everyone, and welcome to our Animal Architecture Neighborhood Tour.
Today, I shall lead you through a curated, diverse animal neighborhood.
This tour will focus on the animal art of home building.
Animal homes take many forms, nests, burrows, dens, webs, hives, holes, caves, and hollows.
Come on, Mindy.
Where are you?
Five, five, five.
Five, five, five.
Five, five, five.
One.
Come on.
Come on.
Pick up.
Pick up.
Oh, hi.
Mindy, where are you?
The tour is about to start.
Gotcha.
Can't reach my voicemail.
Oh.
Sorry I can't get to the phone right now.
If you leave me a message, I'll be sure to get back to you in two to three months.
What?
Beep!
Mindy, where are you?
The neighborhood tour is about to start and I don't see you anywhere.
Weren't you supposed to be coming here with me?
What?
What in the... Mindy, take your hands off my eyes.
I can't see anything.
Oh, sorry.
Dennis?
Ah!
Don't worry, Mindy.
That small group of amateur architecture enthusiasts will stop us.
Oh, yeah, good idea.
Uh-oh.
Oh, look, it's Guy Raz.
Hi, Guy.
With the tour concluding at the residence hall.
Oh, did it work?
Are we stopped?
Did we miss it?
Mindy, what in the wow was that?
What do you mean?
What do I mean?
Dennis just came barreling down that hill on a pair of rollerblades with you on his back.
Oh, right.
Yeah, about that.
So I was running late for our tour, and I asked Dennis for his rollerblades, and he said, hop on.
No.
What I said was I'd rather skate 20 miles with a dolphin on my back than give you my blades.
And you said, I've always wanted to be a dolphin, and jumped on my back.
Eh, tomato, tomato.
Okay, is that everyone?
No more last-minute arrivals?
We're all here now.
Sorry!
Excellent.
Let's begin the tour.
Whether it's a nest, a burrow, or a den, there's no place like home.
Our first stop is a beautiful structure built by the Australian bowerbird.
Now...
Well, I sure am glad you made it, Mindy.
I've been looking forward to this tour for weeks.
Me too.
I'm hoping I can get a couple of ideas for my newest expansion of my gingerbread mansion.
Expansion?
Yeah, I'm building an Olympic-sized ball pit in the bathroom arcade.
Uh-huh.
And I'm here against my will.
Of course.
Oh, I think we're at our first stop.
There are many reasons for an animal to roll up their sleeves and build their own domicile warmth, shelter and boosting the local economy by hiring neighborhood contractors.
Huh?
But perhaps one of the strongest reasons of all is love.
Love?
That's right, love.
It happens all over the animal kingdom.
But nobody builds a home to impress quite like our feathered friend, the bowerbird.
This nest, Mindy, it looks like a modern art sculpture.
Yeah, what's it made of?
Well, it looks like it's made out of twigs.
Yeah, but they're all twisted together in this fancy-looking shape.
Like many birds in the animal kingdom, the bowerbird builds these extravagant nests to attract a mate.
Oh, I get it, Guy Raz.
These bowerbirds build these structures to show off to their potential mates, to prove that they're ready to settle down, make a home and raise all of their future bowerbird babies.
Exactly.
Look at this one.
Wow, this guy really went all out.
As you can see, the architect of this nest has decided to adorn it in the traditional bowerbird fashion by placing objects of great color around the house.
Look at all of these things the bowerbird has collected, Mindy.
It's so colorful.
The bowerbird collects colorful objects from its surroundings in hope those bright colors will attract the mate.
That's right, Guy Raz.
Look at all of these colorful objects.
Here's a lemon and a colorful ribbon.
And hey, Guy Raz, aren't those your highlighter markers?
My limited edition 2012 signature highlighters.
I've been looking for those for weeks.
Well, looks like this little birdie thought that they would make a great addition to his front yard.
Yeah, looks like it.
I think I'm just going to... Okay.
Okay, fine.
You keep them.
Excuse me, Mr. Tour Guide, sir.
Yes?
When will these bowler birds begin bowling?
No, they're not bowler birds.
They're bower birds.
They build bowers like a room or a cottage or a boudoir.
Oh.
Now we'll be leaving the avian world behind and looking at an abode that is causing quite a buzz.
Huh.
I wonder what he means by that.
I think it might have something to do with bees, Mindy.
Bees?
Shh.
No spoilers.
Sorry.
OK.
So some animals build a home to attract a mate.
But what about after that?
I mean, surely the main reason to build a home is so that these animals can have somewhere nice and cozy for them and their family to live, right?
Well, yeah.
In fact, one of the main reasons animals build nests or burrows or hives is to raise their young somewhere that's warm and cozy and protected from predators and easy to store food.
Right.
And nothing is a better example of that than... The beehive.
One of nature's architectural marvels.
Although many commercial hives are built by humans, the homes you see in front of you were constructed entirely by bees.
For bees.
Whoa, look at the size of this thing, Guy Raz.
It must be more than 40 inches tall.
Yeah, that's like a meter over three feet.
Yeah, but I think this beehive might be on the bigger side of things.
Beehives in the wild usually grow to about 20 inches or half a meter tall.
Wow, must be a pretty big family to feed and keep warm in there.
You can say that again.
With a hive this size, Mindy, there could be up to 60,000 bees living in here.
60,000?
Thousand bees?
That's like a sold-out Dodgers stadium all crammed into one house.
And that's not even the craziest part, Mindy.
Imagine that all of those people crammed into that stadium were all related.
What?
Well, that's how hives work.
It's a family business.
Uh, hold the phone, Guy Raz.
You're telling me that all the bees in this hive have the same mom?
Yeah, and not only that, but all of the bees that live in this hive are females, which means they are all sisters because they share the same mom, who's known as the queen bee.
Oh, I love her.
Dennis, we're not talking about Beyonce.
We're talking about actual honey bees.
You know, like the ones we're looking at right now.
Sorry, Mindy.
I can't hear you from all the way over here in 2008.
Anyway, Mindy, as I was saying, these queen bees can lay up to 1,500 eggs each. every single day.
And those little worker bees will go on to make that honey that will feed the colony for the rest of the winter.
Ah, so this hive provides a safe place for all the bees who live in it.
It's also a place to store food, and it's somewhere isolated from the outside world?
Yeah, isn't that amazing?
Everything you could possibly want in a dream home, minus the ball pit.
Better bee-lieve it.
It looks as though these bees are getting a little agitated by our presence.
Let's move from their territory and toward the final home of the tour.
Oh, Guy Raz, this last stop on the tour is the one I've been waiting all week to see.
It's the whole reason I came along in the first place.
What do you mean? as I was flipping through the latest issue of Good Habitat Keeping.
Good Habitat Keeping?
Yeah, it's like that Good Housekeeping magazine, but for animals.
Reggie got a subscription after they did this special on Nests of the North.
Anywho, I flip through it sometimes when I'm waiting in the dentist office.
Right.
And last month's issue featured this place, and all I can say is it's pretty special.
Whoa, what do you mean?
Here we are, the final stop of our tour.
But rest assured, We've saved the best until last.
Say hello to the home of the spittlebug.
What?
What are we looking at?
That foamy white stuff?
It just looks like soap or... Oh, gross, there's a bug in it.
Although it may look like someone's saliva is plastered all over this plant, what you're looking at is, in fact, a home.
The spittlebug?
I don't...
I think I've heard of that insect before, Mindy.
Well, you might know it better by its adult name, the frog hopper.
Isn't that the name of that turbocharged pogo stick you designed last year?
You strapped in?
Uh-huh.
OK. was actually inspired by this very insect.
That insect inside that pile of spit right now?
Well, not exactly.
It hasn't become a frog hopper yet.
Huh?
What do you mean?
Well, in the same way that a caterpillar turns into a butterfly, the spittlebug Turns into a frog hopper.
You got it.
And I'm guessing it's called a spittlebug because its home kind of looks like A giant pile of spit.
Yes.
Uh-huh.
But if you ask me, a better name for it would have been the Piddlebug.
The Piddlebug?
Uh-huh.
Uh, what do you mean, Mindy?
Well, do you want to know how this insect makes its protective little bubble house?
Yes.
It pees it out.
What?
It pees it out.
It pees it out?
Is there an echo in here?
Maybe he's hard of hearing.
She said the little bug's house is made of pee-pee, Guy Raz.
And Guy Raz, what's really bonker balls is that it's all because of the spittle bug's favorite food.
Which is?
Plant sap.
Plant sap?
You mean the watery stuff that runs through the plant's stem?
You know it.
The spittle bug attaches itself to the plant, sticks its little beak into the stem and all the sap.
Huh, kind of like a juice box.
Yeah, only the problem is this plant sap is not very nutritious.
Meaning it's not very filling.
Mm-hmm, which means that the spittlebug has to drink a lot of this plant sap, and a lot of plant sap means A lot of Exact Doritos.
And when I say a lot, I mean a lot.
On an average day, the spittlebug can pee up to 280 times its own body weight in urine.
What?
I told you it was a lot of pee.
Mindy, there's a lot.
And then there's 280 times your own body weight.
That would be like you or me peeing out 2,700 gallons or...
10,000 liters of urine every single day.
Yep, like 14 hot tubs full of pee.
Ugh.
And when the spittlebug pees, it doesn't pee out a nice, steady stream.
It pees out bubbles.
You mean... Yep.
Ugh, gross.
You mean this spittlebug's home is made out of bubbles that it peed out?
Yeah, pretty cool, huh?
Mindy, it's really gross.
I mean, what reason could you possibly have for wrapping yourself up in thousands of tiny pee bubbles?
Well, before we get to that, I should mention that it doesn't taste very nice.
Doesn't taste very nice?
Yeah, apparently it's pretty bitter tasting.
Hey, maybe they could serve it at the spit-take restaurant.
And what is pee bubbles being bitter?
Bitter have to do with anything.
Well, as it turns out, the spittlebug is a favorite food for a lot of different animals like wasps and spiders and small birds.
I think I'm starting to understand.
If it's surrounded by these bitter pee bubbles, then predators are less likely to chow down on the spittlebug.
Exactoritos.
And by protecting it from predators.
Those bitter pee bubbles give the spittlebug time to go through its transformation into a frog hopper.
Huh.
So the spittlebug uses this bubble house as a sort of...
Cocoon, I guess.
Sort of like in the way that a caterpillar wraps itself up to transform into a butterfly.
Yes, but unlike a caterpillar's cocoon, the spittlebug's housing is airtight, meaning that it's had to find a pretty ingenious way to breathe.
And what's that, Mindy?
Oh, through its butt.
Its butt?
Mindy, are you making this up?
Not this time, Guy Raz.
The spittlebug uses its butt as a snorkel.
As a snorkel?
Mindy, what are you talking about?
Well, the spittlebug, like many insects in the animal kingdom, breathes out of its butt.
So when it's in its bubble home, it simply sticks its butt outside and takes a deep breath.
And then when it gets threatened, say by a natural predator, it simply brings its butt inside, waits for the threat to pass and then sticks its butt back outside and keeps breathing.
That's incredible, Mindy.
Even if it's a little gross.
I wish I could breathe out of my butt.
What?
Ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude our tour of the Animal Architecture Neighborhood.
If you're interested in more of our neighborhood tours, next week we'll be making mountains out of mole hills with our burrow and Bunk's tour.
Thanks, fake David Attenborough.
Indeed.
Wow, what a tour, Mindy.
Who knew we had all of these incredible animal neighbors just down the street from us?
I know.
What an eclectic group of animals.
Guy Raz!
What?
These little spittle bugs just gave me a new idea for my bathroom ball pit arcade.
Uh, what's that, Mindy?
Pea bubble wrapped walls.
Huh?
Yeah, just think about it.
It's.
It'll keep us protected if we fall down the stairs and it'll help keep Dennis from eating the walls off my gingerbread mansion.
Sure.
Speaking of which, where is Dennis?
It looks like the tour guide is narrating his behavior over there.
Here we have a common North American busybody.
Sir, sir, your shoe is untied.
The busybody, also known as a nosy parker, derives pleasure in knowing everybody's business.
Also, your socks don't match.
Are you meaning to do laundry?
Watch now as this specimen transforms from meddler to killjoy.
I was only trying to help.
It's not my fault you don't have basic organization skills.
Dennis!
What?
Wow in the World will be right back.
Grunups, this message is for you. 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 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.
Grown-ups.
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.
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Back to the show.
Wow in the World.
Hi.
Thanks for calling Wow in the World.
After the beep, get ready to record.
Hi, Mindy and Guy Raz.
My name is Lila, and I live in Beverly, Massachusetts.
And my way in the world is that, of the body's 650 muscles, the gluteus maximus, or the butt muscle, is the largest.
Thanks, and Reggie for me.
Bye.
Hi, Mindy and Guy Ross.
My name is Caleb, and I'm from Tom's River, New Jersey.
My way in the world is that tomatoes are a fruit, but people call them vegetables.
Hi, Mindy and Guy Raz.
I love your show.
Plus, I love you, Reddy.
Hi, my name is Kai, and I live in Rockledge, Florida.
And my law of the world is that baby sea turtles can change their gender depending on how hot and cold it is.
And say hi to Thomas Fingerling and Dennis and Glamour Geesports for me.
Well, bonjourno.
What's up?
Bye.
Bye.
My name is Will.
I live in Richmond, Virginia.
My wow in the world is the prehistoric show called Nexodon has a tooth bigger than your hand.
Thanks, Mindy and Guy Raz.
Love your show.
Stay out of the way before me.
Hi, Mindy and Guy Raz.
My name is Henry, and I'm from Oakland, California.
My wow in the world is that when orcas poke their heads out of the water, Bye, hopping.
Bye.
Hi, my name is Claire.
I'm four years old, and I live in Richmond, Virginia.
And my wow in the world is that bears hibernate for the whole winter without going to the bathroom.
Hi, Mindy and Guyra.
My name is Seven, and I live in Juneau, Alaska.
My wow in the world is that the average person falls asleep in seven minutes.
Hi, my name's Micah, and I'm from Maui.
My wow in the world is that honeybees have two stomachs.
And Dennis, do you take any vacations?
Just wondering.
No, no vacations, but I do take lots of staycations.
And once...
Guy took Bucky on a naycation, but I missed that one because I was lost on a straycation.
I need a vacation.
Hey, everyone.
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, Anna Zagorski, 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 on their three-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.
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Thanks again for listening.
And until next time, keep on wowing.
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