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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! making popcorn.
And I'm gonna find it.
This is the great Detective Toucan Sam always says, follow your nose, it always knows.
Hey, hey, I'm in the kitchen, I'm just doing some science experiments.
Wait, you're popping up Well, uh Well, in that case, Guy Raz, I'll take a bag of red vines and a large soda, because it smells like this science is about to take us to the movies.
First of all, Mindy soda and red licorice are both full of sugar and artificial taste and our link to all kinds of long-term Satisfaction.
Because they are so delicious.
Oh well, I realize.
The last time we went to the movies, all you brought was dried seaweed and sprouted wheat berries.
This time, I'm packing the snacks.
Who said anything about the movies?
I'm doing science here.
Well, all I see is a bag of hot butter, jiffy pop on the counter, just waiting to release that delicious smell of movie theater all through the house.
Precisely, Mindy.
That's the experiment.
Here, can you hold this bag while I cut it open?
Yeah, sure.
By the way, Guy Raz, love the fact that you're wearing a white lab coat to make popcorn.
It really classes up the experiment.
Fair enough.
The smell of two acetyl one pyrroline.
Wait, what did you just say?
Oh, I'm taking in the smell of two acetyl one pyrroline.
Uh, the...
Mindy, you and I have just experienced the Maillard reaction right here in this bag of hot buttered popcorn.
Right, the Maillard reaction.
Uh, yeah, so what is that?
Well, it's what happens when you heat up kernels of uncooked popcorn, or when you toast bread, or when you cook some rice.
It's named after a famous French scientist named Louis Maillard, who first discovered it back in 1912.
Whoa, whoa. time out.
I need to imagine this discovery.
Ooh la la.
I take the amino acid in the swim reducing sugars, crank up the heat, and voila!
The Maillard reaction.
Whoa.
So according to my imagination, Louis Maillard basically invented hot buttered popcorn.
Well, not the popcorn, but he did discover what makes things like popcorn or rice or toasted bread smell so delicious.
And it happens when the acids and the natural sugars in these foods get heated up.
They form a chemical compound called 2-acetyl-1-pyrolyne or, for short, 2-AP.
Okay, and just to be clear, Guy Raz, when you say chemical compounds, you're talking about the tiny microscopic molecules inside the popcorn.
Exactly, Mindy.
Molecules are invisible and they happen when two or more atoms form a bond or like a friendship.
Oh, so kind of like you and me, Guy Raz.
Best friends forever, right?
Yeah, and atoms are these teeny tiny, invisible little balls that are in almost everything in the universe, even in the air we breathe.
I'm breathing in all the atoms!
There are invisible atoms in the oxygen that fills our lungs, and almost everything in our universe includes invisible atoms from hydrogen, which is the most abundant chemical in our universe.
Yeah, and when an oxygen atom becomes friends with a couple of hydrogen atoms, you get a molecule better known as hydrogen.
That's my favorite molecule, Mindy.
H2O, better known as water.
Ah, just love the taste of fresh molecules in the morning.
Okay, so now that we've got that down, back to the hot buttered popcorn.
I'm firing up Netflix.
Time to make my own molecular compound using hot buttered popcorn combined with the Minion movie.
Well, that's not exactly... Well, that doesn't matter.
Anyway, Mindy, we don't have time for movies.
We don't have time?
What are you talking about, Guy Raz?
Last week I broke all of your clocks when you were running late, so that you wouldn't have to worry about time.
The time is now 3.30 p.m.
I'll tell you what time it is, clock time!
No, I mean now that we've experienced the Maillard reaction and now that we know the chemical compound 2-AP smells so delicious It really does.
We've got to get to the bottom of a mystery.
A mystery?
Guy Raz.
The only mystery I smell is why we're standing here staring at a fresh bag of hot buttered popcorn and not eating it.
Well, to get to the bottom of this mystery, we're going to have to take a trip to the rainforests of Indonesia.
Whoa, that is... really far away.
But you know what?
My carrier pigeon Reggie can totally take us.
Hang on a second.
Hey, Reggie!
I need you to fly us to Southeast Asia.
Stat!
Whoa, watch out, Kyron.
Ooh, Reggie, you really stick that landing.
All right, Guy Raz, come on, hop aboard.
We've got no time to waste.
Okay, I'm ready, Mindy.
But by the way, thanks so much for letting us fly on Reggie.
It's so much easier than going commercial.
And no lines to get through security.
I know.
He doesn't even care if he brings snakes on board.
Reggie, get ready to step on the gas.
Guy Raz?
Here we go! feeding delivery.
I must have been feeding Reggie some high-powered bird seed lately.
Mindy, Mindy.
Keep quiet.
Do you smell that?
Yeah, it smells like hot butter popcorn.
But why are we whispering?
Mindy.
What?
Keep it down.
We just found an important clue.
Okay, but all I smell is hot.
Any clues?
That's the clue, Mindy.
The hot buttered popcorn is exactly why we're here.
Wait a minute.
We came all the way to the rainforests of Indonesia to eat hot buttered popcorn.
We could have just done that in kitchen back home.
No, but we did come here to find the source of that hot buttered popcorn smell.
Well, wouldn't the source just be the hot buttered popcorn?
Well, actually the source of that hot buttered popcorn smell is an animal that lives in this forest.
Animals are making that popcorn smell?
That's right, and specifically an animal known as the Asian Binturong.
It's also called the bear cat because it It kind of looks like a cross between a baby bear and a cat.
A cross between a baby bear and a cat?
Yes.
Oh, that's so cute.
I can't stand it.
Oh, well.
Wow.
Well, if those bear cats are making popcorn, they better not be charging as much as they do at the movie theater.
Can you even believe it?
They're not actually making popcorn, nor are they selling it.
Okay, so then who's making the popcorn?
Well, no one.
In fact Mindy, the smell you're smelling, the delicious smell of fresh, hot buttered popcorn.
It's actually uh Yeah.
It's from, uh... From?
What?
Just say it, Guy Raz.
Urine.
Urine what?
Urine.
From their urine.
Uh, yeah.
Um, I think there might be something wrong with my ears, Guy Raz, because for a second there I thought you said that the smell of hot buttered popcorn that we're sniffing in this Indonesian rainforest is actually bearcat pee.
I thought that's what you said.
Yeah, that's exactly what I said.
Wow.
Okay, so you're telling me that when bear cats pee, their urine smells like hot buttered popcorn.
That's what I'm saying, Mindy.
And right now, by my sense of smell, there may be some bear cats lurking nearby in this forest.
Oh, in fact, Mindy, I think I see one right now.
I see it too.
And I think it's going to pee.
Amazing.
I think it's peeing on its own tail and feet.
Hey, Bearcat, you're peeing all over yourself.
Mindy, you stared it away.
Well, somebody needed to warn it.
It's disgusting.
Mindy, the Bearcat pees on its own tail and feet on purpose, deliberately.
What?
Ugh, you're going to have to explain this one to me.
Well, the bear cat pees on its tail, so as it walks away, it drags its tail on the ground and leaves a trail of pee that smells like Hot buttered popcorn.
Yes, and guess why it wants to leave that scent.
Well, if my scientific reasoning is still sharp, I guess it's because it was trying to signal something to the other bear cats.
Yes, exactly.
It's a way for this bearcat to send a message to another bearcat.
And that message is, keep out, stay away, this is my turf.
Okay, but I still don't get why their pee smells like hot buttered popcorn.
Well Mindy, a team of scientists led by Lydia Green of Duke University in North Carolina, were wondering the same exact thing.
Why does bearcat pee smell like hot buttered popcorn?
Man, I love science.
So what did they find out?
Well, the scientists were able to take samples of the bear cat's pee and then examine it very closely.
And they ran a bunch of experiments, and lo and behold, Mindy, they found their answer.
So what was it?
Well, Mindy.
Remarkably, after looking closely at the bear cat pee, these scientists found the very same chemical compound found in hot buttered popcorn.
The 2-A-P compound.
Yes, which explains why their pee smells that way.
Yeah, but it still doesn't explain the bigger why their pee smells that way.
Well, here's the beauty of science.
The researchers simply don't know why.
I mean, they think it may be because when the bear cat's pee comes into contact with its skin there's a chemical reaction that results in that hot buttered popcorn smell.
Yeah, but if they could figure it out, it seems like that could be very valuable information.
It could.
We could help scientists figure out how certain smells are made and maybe even allow us to create certain smells in a laboratory.
Wow.
You know, I'm thinking that maybe this discovery could even help lead us to new ways of doing things like, I don't know, rescuing endangered animals, or something.
Mindy, in fact, the scientists are thinking the same thing.
I mean imagine a future where we could produce certain smells to attract endangered animals to a safer place.
Yes!
Or even attract an injured animal to a place where an animal doctor or veterinarian could treat.
It would be amazing.
You know what, Mindy?
What, Guy Raz?
I think our work is done here.
Yeah, all this hot buttered popcorn and pee business has really got me hungry.
I just want to fly back home, fire up the old Netflix and watch my favorite movie, Alvin and the Chipmunks Road Chip.
Again?
You know it.
Watch that movie like... 349 times.
Yeah, 349 times.
I mean...
Can we watch something else this time?
Nope.
Hey, Reggie, get back here, you crazy old bird.
We're ready to fly back home.
Now, hold on tight, Guy Raz, because Reggie's about to crank it up to supersonic speed.
No.
Okay, Reggie, we're ready to go in three, two, one.
This message is for you.
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, my name is Abraham, and I am from Kalamazoo, Michigan, and my wow is that I love reading books, and I do not know why.
Hello, I'm Liam.
I live in Ellicott City, and my wow in the world is my kazoo.
How it makes that amazing sound?
Oh, one, two, three, four.
Hi, wow in the world.
My name is Allie, and I'm from Massachusetts.
And the wow in my world is Rubik's Cubes.
They are so awesome, and there are even competitions for them.
That's it.
I'm Pia.
I'm eight years old.
I live in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
I like snakes, so my wow in the world is seeing a snake charmer at the zoo.
Hi, my name is Ellen from British Columbia, Canada.
And my wow in the world is trilobites, because their eyes and their bums and their stomach is in their head and they walk backwards.
Hi, my name is Evie.
I live in Tennessee and My vow is that I'm going to have a birthday party all about wow in the world.
And the people who pretend to be you can say, like, nobody visits.
And the people who pretend to be Guy Raz will say, uh.
And we're going to serve kale salad with frosted flakes on it.
And I'll bring a mirror for everybody.
And they'll look at their own reflection while eating the kale salad.
Bye.
My name is Charlotte, and I live in Larchmont, New York.
My wow in the world is my inch room inchie.
Every time I tap on the glass, he goes crazy.
But I let him go.
Bye!
End of messages.
Hey guys, thank you so much for checking out this Thursday edition of Wow in the World.
Grownups.
To keep the conversation going, we've posted some fun questions on our website, wowintheworldcom.
And we love hearing from you.
Grownups, you can find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at wowintheworld.
And our email address is hello at wowintheworld.com.
Today's show was written by me and Guy Raz and produced by Jed Anderson.
Say hello, Jed.
Our theme song is written and performed by The Pop-Ups.
You can find more of their awesome music at thepopups.com.
Finally, we've loved hearing what's been wowing you.
Thanks so much for sending in your voicemails.
We listen to each and every one of them.
For a chance to be featured on an upcoming episode.
Have your grown-ups help you share something that's recently wowed you by dialing 1-888-7-WOW-WOW.
Thanks again for subscribing and telling your friends about our show.
We will be back on Monday with a new full-length episode.
In the meantime, go forth and find your own wow in the world.
And before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey.
