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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!
Strawberry Shark Week Jell-O coming along.
Does that look like blood and guts yet?
Well, why don't you just give it a little jiggle?
See if it's ready to wobble.
Oh, yeah, that's a good wobble.
I'm just going to add a little bit of ketchup here.
Excuse me.
Oh, Kyraza's here.
Coming!
Here, Reg, you take over.
Happy Shark Week!
Happy Shark Week, Mindy.
Wow, you look killer, Guy Raz.
Yeah, it's my shark skin suit, Mindy.
I thought I'd dress up for the occasion.
Yeah, well, you look fin-tastic.
How do you like my costume?
Uh, you're wearing a costume?
Uh-huh.
Look closer.
Huh, are those shark tooth earrings, Mindy?
Yeah, Grandma G-Force extracted them from a shark's mouth with her bare hands.
Oh, okay.
Did you remember that bag of smashed up goldfish crackers I asked you to bring?
Oh, yeah.
I've got them right here.
Here you go.
Thank you.
What did you need them for anyway?
Oh, I'm making some homemade chum.
Chum?
Yeah, you know, that bait made out of fish guts and blood and bones.
Ugh.
Researchers use it all the time to attract sharks in the ocean.
You know, chum.
Uh-huh.
So I'm making my own.
For a little snack for us to eat while we watch all of the Shark Week shows on TV.
Oh.
Only instead of blood, I'm using ketchup.
And instead of guts, I'm using strawberry jello mixed with scrambled eggs.
Oh.
And for fish bones, I'm using fish bones because it was the only thing I had lying around.
You want to taste it?
Uh, no thanks, Mindy.
Oh, OK.
Well, I guess more for me and Reg.
Hey, Reg, come on.
Shark Week's starting.
All right, let's clap down on my new couch.
I made it entirely out of giant marshmallows.
You ready to go to the shark side, Guy Raz?
I've been ready all morning, Mindy.
Let's do this.
All right, TV on.
TV on.
Here in the cool coastal waters of South Australia, a monster lies beneath the surface.
Oh, yes, it's just beginning.
Is the chum ready, Reg?
Oh, thanks.
Mm, that's good.
I think I got some bones.
Growing to 20 feet long and weighing over two and a half tons, these behemoths are the largest Predator fish on the planet.
Wow, a full bonker ball.
You don't want any chum duck today, Rose?
Uh, no thanks, Mindy.
All right.
Of course, we are talking about the great white shark.
Whoa!
Their streamlined torpedo-shaped bodies and powerful tails propel them through the water at an astonishing 15 miles per hour.
Whoa, 15 miles an hour?
That's almost three times faster than that Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps.
Yeah, and Phelps isn't even lugging around five sets of teeth like these guys.
These predators prowl the ocean waters with their weapon of choice 300 razor-sharp teeth arranged in five rows.
Told ya.
There are few creatures in all the seven seas that can match the great white for speed, size and ferocity.
Don't go anywhere.
More great bite shark after these messages.
Got a hunger the size of a whale shark?
But a budget the size of a dwarf lantern shark?
Then check out these jaws-dropping details.
Hey, Reg, you okay?
Aw, I think Reggie's a little scared of sharks.
Well, I can see why.
300 teeth, 15 miles per hour, 20 feet long.
That would scare anyone.
Yeah, well, they used to be a lot scarier.
Huh?
What do you mean?
Okay.
So the great white shark might seem like a scary sea creature today, but compared to prehistoric sharks, it's basically just a little fish puppy.
You mean there's a type of shark that's even more scary than a great white?
Oh yeah, way more.
I read all about it in this big book of sharks that I gave Grandma G-Force to give me for my birthday last year.
Where did I put that book?
Um, hang on a second.
Let's see, I know it's around here somewhere.
Nope.
Nope.
There it is.
Okay, let's see what it says here.
Okay.
23 million years ago, beneath the waves of the Pacific Ocean, a monster lurks.
A monster lurks. measuring over 60 feet long and weighing as much as 10 African elephants.
Whoa.
A monster named the Megalodon.
The Megalodon?
Yeah, the Megalodon.
And the Megalodon is like the great whites.
Great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great.
Yeah, sort of.
Only it's not a direct descendant, more like a close relative.
And it's only recently that we've come to learn just how big these ancient sharks really were.
Really?
Really.
And it's all thanks to a group of paleontologists from the University of Bristol and Swansea University in England.
And when you say paleontologist, you mean scientists that study the history of life on Earth using fossils.
Exactoritos.
And not just dinosaur fossils.
Paleontologists study the fossils of all kinds of life that came before us.
And what did they find?
Well, I could tell you.
Yes?
But I'd rather show you.
But Mindy, what are we going to do about Great Bite Shark?
What?
You know, the show we were just watching.
The commercials are almost over.
Kairos, I have a mostly functional time-traveling wow machine just waiting for us outside.
If we hop in now, we can still be back before the commercials are over.
Okay, Mindy.
Let's go find some giant prehistoric sharks.
Yes!
Kairos, Reggie, to the wow machine!
Womp, womp, womp. for a time jump.
Hey, Mindy.
Hey, Guy.
Hey, Reggie.
Hi, Dennis.
Mindy, you really need to move that wow machine.
You parked it in a horrible spot and the neighbors have been complaining nonstop.
And by neighbors, I mean me.
Where did you leave the wow machine anyway, Mindy?
Where I always leave it. right there in the middle of the street.
Hey, lady, move that thing out of the road.
I got places to be.
OK, well, good morning to you too, Mr. Cranky Pants Man.
For your information, ma'am, I don't have cranky pants.
They're grumpy trousers.
All right, just open the hatch here.
OK, after you, Guy Raz.
Please don't mind the smell.
Smell?
What is that?
I think it's old shrimp, maybe?
Anywho, don't forget to take off your shoes.
Okay.
You too, Reg.
Thank you.
Closing the hatch.
Okay, Mindy, where are we off to?
Well, according to that book I had inside the Megalodon lived from about 23 million years ago all the way up to about 36 million years ago.
Okay.
Well then, why don't we hedge our bets and aim for the middle of that time period, say 15 million years ago?
Good thinking.
All right, let me just plug it in here.
And Mindy, what about a location?
Well, like most sharks, it probably preferred warm tropical waters.
And because of its size, we can also probably rule out any shallow waters.
So maybe somewhere like the South Pacific Ocean.
Yes, I think that is an excellent guess, Guy Raz.
Let's lock that in.
South Pacific, 15 million years ago.
And here we are.
You really know how to make a splash.
It's my signature style.
Okay, so what did those researchers from Bristol find out about this giant shark?
Well, up until now, scientists have really only been able to guess as to how big the Megalodon shark really was, based on things like fossils from leftover teeth.
But as it turns out, teeth are not a super accurate way of estimating size.
Uh-huh.
So this team of scientists from Bristol took four close relatives of the megalodon the mako shark, the salmon shark, the porbeagle shark and the great white shark.
And then they used a mathematical formula to average out the proportions of each shark.
You mean they got an average measurement of how long each shark's fin or the tail was compared to their body and then applied that equation to come up with a more accurate estimate as to how big the megalodon was?
Exactoritos.
Huh, and so how big do they think this megalodon was, Mindy?
Well, if their predictions are correct, a 52-foot or 16-meter-long megalodon's head would be about 15 feet or 46 meters tall.
Hmm.
Whoa, its head would be almost as tall as a giraffe.
And its dorsal fin?
Which is that big, scary fin on top that sticks out of the water.
Yeah, you know what I'm talking about.
That fin would be about 5.3 feet or 1.6 meters tall.
Whoa, that's almost as tall as you, Mindy.
I know, a fin as tall as me.
And its tail, Guy Raz, its tail would be a whopping 10. or 3.8 meters tall.
Whoa, that's like two of me end to end.
It's proper balls.
Wow.
So how accurate do you think these predictions are, Mindy?
Well, they're about as close of a guess as we can make without actually seeing one up close.
Speaking of which, you ready to go search for megalodons?
Do I have a choice?
Nope.
Saddle up, Guy Raz.
We're about to go deep.
And we are diving, diving, diving.
What's happening?
Oh, we're diving beneath the waves.
Oh, are you sure the wow machine will be able to take the pressure?
Yes, of course I'm not sure, Guy Raz.
I duct taped all the holes up last week.
Looks like I missed one.
Oh.
There we go.
Okay, almost all the holes.
Mindy.
Okay, everyone, hold on to your biscuits.
What?
Approaching optimal depth.
I see a thing.
It's too dark down here.
Ugh.
OK, hold tight.
I'll fire up the floodlights.
They're on the fifth floor, so just wait right here, and I'll be right back.
Run, run, run, run, run, run.
Don't be too long.
Did you hear that, Reggie?
Uh, uh, Mindy, is that you?
I didn't mean to scare you.
Did you hear that?
Uh, did I hear what?
There's something outside, Mindy.
Something big.
What?
Okay, let's take a look.
Uh, Guy Raz, I don't see anything.
It's not a megalodon, Mindy.
That's... A whale!
A baleen whale by the look of it.
What in the wow?
It must be more than 50 feet long.
Yeah, it's almost as big as two school buses back to back.
Uh, Mindy?
Yeah?
What's that?
What's what?
That ominous music coming out of the computer speaker?
Oh, that?
That's my shark detector.
It makes that noise whenever there's a shark nearby. was us that it was going after.
What do you mean?
Well, look out there.
Whoa.
It's heading straight for that whale.
Yikes.
I don't want to be that guy.
Is it really going to eat that whole thing?
I mean, that whale is huge.
Well, baleen whale was one of its favorite foods, according to all of the megalodon teeth that have been found embedded in their ancient whale bones.
Well, it's no surprise they left a few teeth behind.
I mean, look at how that shark is biting into that whale.
That's some powerful job.
You're not wrong.
According to paleontologists, the megalodon had a bite force of 180,000 newtons.
Which is a measurement of how hard an animal can bite down.
Yeah, and this is bonker balls.
180,000 newtons?
Humans only have a bite force of like 1,000.
Whoa.
Guy Raz, I don't know about you, but this is dolphinately the craziest shark week I have ever experienced.
You can say that again.
This is dolphinately the craziest shark week I have.
Sorry.
Well, looks like old Megalodon's going to be chewing down on that whale blubber for a while.
Probably let him eat in peace and get back to our time in the present.
Ready to kick it?
Uh, Mindy?
Let me just plug in the coordinates here.
Uh, Mindy?
North America, 21st century.
Mindy?
One second, Guy Raz.
Here we go!
Now what was it that you wanted to tell me?
Never mind.
Good to be back home.
Hi, Mindy.
Hi, Guy.
Hey, Dennis.
What you up to?
Oh, not much.
Just took the wow machine for a little megalodon spotting.
Ooh, exciting.
What's next on the old agenda?
We're just about to go back inside to finish our shark week program.
Shark Week?
I love Shark Week.
Can I come, please?
Uh, actually, yeah.
Actually, of course you can Dennis, but just know it's a bring-your-own-fish-guts situation, so you know.
I read you loud and clear, Mindy.
I just finished making some of my famous chum.
I start with a bucket of onions and sardines, then just a pinch of cumin, and for crunch I add four pounds of uncooked pasta.
Okay.
Oh, sounds nice.
I call it chum chum.
Get it?
Because it's chum you share with your chums.
Okay.
So, do you guys like big spoons or really big spoons?
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 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.
That's it.
Back to the show.
Wow in the world.
Hi, thanks for calling Wow in the World.
After the beep, get ready to record.
Hi, I'm from Kingston, Ontario.
And I'm... Hi, wow...
Did you know that whale's poop is pink?
Bye.
Hi, my name is Sylvie.
I live in Mahomet, Illinois.
My wow in the world is that hummingbirds can fly over 500 miles in one day.
Thanks, I love your show.
Hi, my name is Piper, and I'm from San Antonio, Texas.
And my wow in the world is that um is that sound understood can regrow or regenerate basically any part of their body, including parts of their brain.
Say hi to... Grandma G-Force.
Bonjourno!
Thomas Fingering.
What?
Reggie.
And that's it.
Oh, that's it?
Just kidding.
You too, Dennis.
Hooray!
Me!
Hi, Minigirons.
My name is Jessie and I live in Davis California, and my well that the smallest black hole is as small as an atom and weighs up to as much as a mountain.
Bye.
Hi, Mandy and Guy Ross.
I'm Rhett from Naperville, and my wow in the world is that the sun is a nuclear reactor.
Bye.
Hi, my name is Connor, and I live in Pasico, New York.
And my law in the world is that there is another planet just like Earth in a different galaxy.
Bye.
My name is Ezra.
I am from Racine, Wisconsin.
And my law in the world is that the fastest bat in the world is the Mexican flea-tailed bat.
It can fly as fast as a cheetah can run.
Isn't that bonker balls?
My name is Kai, and I live in Tokyo, Japan right now.
And my round the world is that.
Did you know that cockroaches can survive two weeks without their head?
Like cockroaches, can survive things like atomic bombs.
But getting their head chopped off for two weeks, surviving two more weeks like how can they do that?
Bye, Missy and Guy Raz.
I love your shows.
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.
Yo.
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.
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.
