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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!
Okay, Reg, I'll dictate the email invitation and you type it up, okay?
Dear friends and neighbors, you are cordially invited to an experimental nose picking party to test our friendship.
Bring your own nose.
And that's pretty much it.
Oh, and leave all your stinky stuff at home.
That goes for you, Dennis.
Love, Mindy.
Great, now hit send.
Oh, I wish I could be there when everyone opens up their emails.
You've got mail.
Who said that?
You've got mail.
Oh, it's you.
You've got mail.
Yeah, I heard you the first time, computer.
Now give me my mail.
Oh, there it is.
Thank you, computer.
On the Deception Zone, dragon fruit.
Why are we growing fruit for dragons?
Last time I checked, dragons went extinct at least 15 years ago.
Ooh, an email.
I wonder if it's from that Nigerian prince who promised me a large sum of money if I just sent him my bank account information.
Let's see.
Clickety-clack.
Oh, it's just an email from Mindy.
Dear Dennis, blah, blah, blah.
Wait, party?
Friendship?
Oh, boy!
Would you dogs keep it down?
I'm trying to start the internet.
You've got mail.
What?
An email?
Is this 2005 or something?
I only communicate through flat All right, let me see if I can even remember my password.
You've got mail.
Oh, better check that.
Let's see here.
Looks like my subscription to the London Review of Books is up for renewal.
I need to confirm my dentist appointment for Tuesday.
Oh, and an invite from Mindy.
Let's see here.
Dear friends and neighbors, nose-picking party, test our friendship.
Attention, friends and neighbors.
What in the... By now, you should have received an email invitation to my nose-picking party.
Mindy, you just sent it.
I barely had time to finish reading it before you started shouting into a megaphone.
Yeah, Mandy.
You don't have to scream and wake up the whole neighborhood.
Well, I was worried that an email wouldn't be loud enough.
Well, that makes sense.
I don't read email.
You want to get me, you're going to have to PM my DMs and Flapchat or FaceSpace or Twitter.
Well, you know Mindy, I do have a few questions and definitely concerns about a party where the theme is testing our friendship.
Oh, of course, Guy Raz.
And the answer to all of your questions and concerns is...
What?
I mean sure we'll be doing some nose picking and friendship testing, but it's all in the name of science.
Well, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm intrigued.
Great.
Well then, everyone, please follow me to the olfactory in my backyard.
Come along.
Mindy, an olfactory isn't a place.
Olfactory is the term we use to describe the parts of our body that are responsible for smell.
Like your nose.
Exactly.
And that's why I built my olfactory as a giant replica of your nose, Guy Raz.
What?
Ta-da!
Wow.
That's not my nose.
I think it's got some serious potential to become a roadside attraction.
This monstrosity will never compete with the knuckle hut.
Yes, it will.
Stay off my turf, lady.
Well, how do we get inside this thing, Mindy?
Well, the same way you get inside anyone's nose.
You climb in through the nostrils.
Well, don't mind if I do.
Oh, that's nasty.
Look out for Dennis.
After you, Guy Raz.
Okay.
There you go.
You got it, buddy.
I'm right behind you.
Anything for science.
Anything for science.
Wow.
It's surprisingly spacious in here.
I'll say.
Welcome.
The Oil Factory.
Gasp!
Oh, snap.
And high-tech, too.
But, Mindy, where's the party?
Where are the decorations?
Oh, yeah.
And what kind of snacks are we having?
And I want a pint of tail on a donkey.
Actually, it's not that kind of party, Grandma G-Force.
Well, huh.
Well, then, what kind of party is this, Mindy?
Oh, I'm so glad you asked, Guy Raz.
First, I'd like for everyone to take a deep breath through your noses.
Ah, smell all of the science in this space.
No, no, no, no, no, no.
Hold your breath still.
Oh, sorry.
Now, while you're holding these smells in your olfactory systems, I'm going to tell you why we're here.
You see, I recently read a new study in the journal Science Advances, and it was led by a graduate student named Imbal Ravrabi, a graduate student at the Wiseman Institute of Science in Israel.
Mindy, can we exhale now?
Oh, sure.
Reverse smell.
Anywho, Miss Ravrabi had a big wonder.
What was it, Mindy?
What was her big wonder?
Her big wonder was this.
Do people who form fast friendships do so in part because of the way they smell?
Mindy, are you saying that friendships can be based on smell?
So you can't pick your friend's nose, but your nose can pick your friends?
Is that why I picked G-Force for a friend?
On account of she smells like hard-boiled eggs?
Yeah, and I'm as hard as one, too.
Oh, and I picked Mindy and Guy as my best friends because they smell like oil and vinegar.
What?
We do not.
Wait, do we?
Kind of.
Huh.
Well, let's find out.
So if you will look to the left nostril over there, you will see a large sniffing scanner.
Ah!
I invented it as a way of scanning people for odors.
You mean that scanner can tell us what we smell like?
Well, try it for yourself and see.
Okay, here goes.
Stepping onto the scanner platform.
Okay, hold still, Guy Raz.
Okay.
Press this button.
All right.
And scan.
Oh, wow.
Scanning initiated.
Scanning.
Cacao beans.
Eucalyptus.
Bleach.
Wow, I would say that's pretty accurate.
Okay, Thomas Fingerling, you're up next.
Okay, here goes nothing.
And scan.
Scanning initiated.
Scanning.
Scanning.
Scanning.
Odors detected.
Used car. soup.
Pennies.
Huh?
That sounds about right to me.
Smells like old Thomas.
Oh, do me next!
Do me!
Okay, Dennis, just step right up to the scanning platform.
Okay, here we go.
And... scan!
Scanning initiated.
Oh boy, I bet I smell amazing!
Like... single-origin coffee, or prize-winning azaleas, or Guy Raz's leather-bound journal.
Dennis, why would you smell like my journal?
Odors detected.
Hairless cat.
Damp basement.
Hypocrite.
What?
I do not smell like a damp, hairless hypocrite.
Mindy, this machine is broken.
Oh, whatever.
Okay, so Mindy, back to this researcher's big wonder.
And the question was do people who form fast friendships do so in part because of the way they smell?
Oh, yeah.
So the hypothesis, or educated guess was that, without even realizing it, people who form fast friendships kind of smell the same.
But the way a person smells is based on so many different things.
Yeah, like how I smell like chicken noodle soup on account that I got some here in my pocket.
Anyone want some?
Blow me up, boy.
And Dennis here smells like damp basement because... Wait, why do you smell like damp basement?
Because my basement's damp.
Oh, uh, right.
And I smell like eggs, because one time, after I ate a whole jar of pickled eggs, I started to.
You know what?
We really don't need to know why you smell like eggs, Grandma G-Force, but thanks.
Well, it ain't a mystery.
Grandma G-Force?
Okay, I see you're point, Guy Raz.
There are a lot of reasons that a person might smell the way they smell.
Yeah, and people could smell the same because they might wear the same perfume or enjoy the same kinds of foods or visit the same kinds of places.
Yes, that's true.
But underneath all of those smells from the outside, there is a buffet of natural body odors.
More than 6,000
A thousand known odor molecules that make up our own signature stink.
Wow, and that's what these researchers wanted to study?
You know it, Guy Raz.
So Ms.
Ravrabee and her team designed an experiment.
Ooh, an experiment.
What was the experiment, Mindy?
Well, I could tell you.
Yeah.
So the first thing that Ms.
Ravrabee and her team did was gather 20 pairs of click friends.
Click friends?
Oh, yeah.
Click friends is a term used to describe people who become friends almost instantly.
Ah, got it.
So for our purposes here, we're going to break up into three pairs.
So Thomas Fingerling and Grandma G-Force, you'll be in group number one.
Okay.
Dennis and Reggie, you'll be in group number two.
Okay.
And Guy Raz, you and me will be in group number three.
All right.
Next, the researchers told everyone to stop eating stinky or pungent foods, like garlic and onions, because they can affect a person's body odor.
And they keep away the vampires.
Good point.
No, not... Okay, can anyone guess what the researchers had everyone do next?
No.
I'm guessing that...
They had everyone take a shower with some unscented soap, you know, to get the smell off?
Actually, that's right, Guy Raz.
Teacher's pet.
And not just any unscented soap.
It was a special unscented soap from the lab.
So go ahead and pass around these unscented soaps I have for you here.
One per person, please.
Oh, this soap smells like science.
Fingerling science don't smell like nothing.
Oh.
And after their unscented science baths and showers, they were not allowed to use any body lotions on their skin or deodorant on their armpits.
Question.
Yes, Dennis?
Could they use deodorant on their faces?
No, Dennis, they could not use deodorant on their faces, and neither can you. you, your honor.
So, uh, what about their clothing after the showers, Mindy?
I mean, people tend to smell like the kind of laundry detergents they use to wash their clothes.
Oh, great point, Guy Raz.
So each person was then given a clean, odorless t-shirt from the lab to put on.
Free shirts?
Lucky ducks.
And it just so happens I have a free shirt for each one of you.
I like free stuff.
One for you.
Ooh.
One for you.
Thanks.
And one for you.
Thank you.
Ooh, mine says lab rat.
Well, so does mine.
How can we both be named lab rat?
And that brings us to the final step in part one of this experiment.
What's the final step, Mindy?
The final step is to sleep.
OK.
No, not yet, Grandma G-Force.
Oh, why not?
I haven't finished giving out the instructions yet.
Well, okay.
The final step for part one of this experimental party is that we're all going to go home, shower up with our unscented soaps and go to sleep in our fresh and clean t-shirts.
Huh.
You want me to sleep in this shirt And get it all gross and sweaty and sleeped in?
That's right, Dennis.
In fact, in the real experiment, the researchers had the participants in the study sleep in their t-shirts so that they could better capture everyone's natural body odor.
And then what should we do with our shirts after we sleep in them?
Oh, you'll bring them back here in the morning and then we'll run them through our sniffing scanners.
Well, when are we gonna play pin the tail on the donkey?
G-Force, we already told you.
This ain't the fun type of party.
It's one of them weird science parties.
Well, I'm gonna pin a tail on something.
Ow, hey!
Grandma G-Force, don't pin that on me!
I win.
Okay, everyone, go home and get to bed.
I will see you back here first thing tomorrow morning, okay?
And don't forget to bring back your t-shirts.
Good morning, everyone.
Good morning.
Good morning, Mindy.
Good morning, Mandy.
And welcome back to part two of our nose-picking party to test our friendships.
Mindy, you're bad at parties.
What?
Actually, I think this is great, Mindy.
This is one of the best parties I've ever been to.
Thank you, Guy Raz.
Okay, Mindy.
I stank up my shirt just like you told me to.
Oh, that's great, Dennis.
Now, what do we do with them?
Well, now we are going to run these T-shirts through our sniffing scanner and see what, if any, smells are shared between partners.
Oh, yeah, the scanner.
Can Reggie and I go first?
Okay, Dennis, Reggie, please place your shirts on the scanner.
Fare thee well, stinky sleep shirt.
Reggie, take off your shirt and shove it in the scanner.
And scan.
Scanning.
You know, in the actual study, the researchers used a device called an electric nose.
And it worked a little differently, but this scanner I invented works just as well.
Odors detected.
Odor compatibility, 72%.
Well, there's no winning or losing Dennis, but I would say that you and Reggie have more odor molecules in common than odor molecules you don't.
Huh.
Is it normal for a human and a bird to smell that much alike?
Uh, probably not.
Yeah, but what about a human and a giant bird?
Uh... Come on, G-Force, let's shove our shirts in the sniffer.
Well, I'll shove you in the sniffer, fingerling.
What's that?
I said I'll shove you in the sniffer.
Oh, all right.
Oh, yeah, now this is a party.
One, two, three.
No, no, no, no.
No one is shoving anyone into the sniffing scanner, okay?
Ah, hush, puppies.
Just your shirts, please.
Okay, fine.
Thank you.
And?
Scanning initiated.
Scanning.
Scanning.
Scanning.
Odors detected.
Odor compatibility.
Three percent.
Huh.
Is that bad?
Well, according to this study, people may tend to choose friends who smell like themselves, so...
We never much liked each other much.
And also, I forgot to wear that shirt to bed because I didn't want to.
Wait, you didn't wear the shirt to bed?
Yeah, I guess.
Grandma G-Force, if you don't follow the guidelines of the experiment, your results have a 100 chance of being wrong.
My bad.
It's a mistrial.
Okay, Mindy, should we test our results?
I brought my t-shirt and I actually slept in it last night.
Oh, great.
Okay, Guy Raz, let's see if our friendship is supported through our bodily odors.
All right, here we go.
Into the scanner.
And scan.
Scanning initiated.
Scanning.
Scanning.
Scanning. detected odor compatibility 97% Whatever you two are the same species Yeah, Reggie.
We totally would have won if I was a bird.
This is great Mindy, And I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that we both love science and adventure and science.
Well, yeah.
I mean, it's based on all of the things that we have in common, but it's possible that when we first met, those similar smells we picked up on from each other are what took our friendship over the finish line without even.
Is that what these researchers found in the study?
Well, yeah, pretty much.
So they found that of the people who had similar body odors, 71 or almost three-fourths of them also generally liked each other.
Suggesting that smelling a person with body odors similar to our own might be part of what makes you feel good about that person.
That's what these researchers found.
And next they hope to experiment with people's body odors by making random strangers smell the same.
Ah, to see if similarly smelling people tend to team up.
You know it.
And if they do, how does that affect their behavior or the way they make decisions or the way they come up with ideas?
Oh, I've got an idea.
What if we all get in the sniffing scanner thinger and test the outer compatibility of the whole group?
Who the lolly?
Oh, yeah, boy.
I don't know.
I'm not sure I want the results of a test to affect our friendship, you know?
Oh, Guy Raz, that's so sweet.
Oh, isn't that nice?
Now get in the scanner.
Yeah!
Scanner!
Scanner!
Scanner!
Scanner!
Okay, okay.
Let's get in the scanner.
Yeah!
Let's get in the scanner.
Get in the scanner.
Okay, someone hit the button.
I'm going to try to reach it.
You know.
On second thought, I don't think we need technology to tell us whether or not our smells are compatible.
You don't?
Yeah, I mean, just take a deep breath.
Not too bad.
What is that?
That, my friends, is the smell of hot, buttered friendship the morning.
Uh-oh.
What?
Grandma G-Force!
Sorry, couldn't hold it.
Friendship over!
Friendship over!
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 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.
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.
My name is Claire and I live in Cape City Arkansas, and my wow in the world is that trees are the oldest living thing on Earth.
Isn't that balker balls?
And I'm her brother Jackson, and my wow in the world is that the first stars were made out of hydrogen.
Hi, my name is Colin, and I live in Oak Park.
My wow in the world is that And those two snowflakes are the same.
Love your show.
Hi, Mindy and Guyrod.
I'm Annie.
I'm Isabella.
And I'm Ginger.
And we're from Baltimore, Maryland.
And our wow in the world is that a type of gazelle called the geranook lives its whole life without drinking water.
Say hi to Reggie.
Dennis.
Dennis.
Yes.
My wow on the world is that the tallest tree in the world is a California redwood.
Say hi to NASA agent man.
What?
Sven.
Okay, next.
Zybraz, Mindy, Dennis, and Reggie.
Hi.
And you're on G-Force.
Bye.
Oh, yeah.
Hi, my name is Elias, and I live in Wilmington, NC.
And my wow is did you know that platypuses are the only mammals, are one of the only mammals who can lay eggs?
Love your show.
Also, say hi to Dennis, Reggie, Thomas Fingerling, Grandma G, Forrest, you, Guy, and Donkey.
What?
Oh, yeah, one more guy.
Those researchers who sent you that piece of the mammoth tusk thing.
Mammoth tusk.
Copy that.
All right.
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 our senior producer Jed Anderson and Tyler Thull.
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 the rest of our team of tinkerers, including Anna Zagorski, Rebecca Caban, Kit Ballinger and Henry Moskal.
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 Wowzers.
Learn more about upcoming events.
Shop our shop and pick up a copy of our new number one New York Times bestselling book, The How and Wow of the Human Body.
Grownups, you can follow Wow in the World on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at Wow in the World.
And our email address is hello.wow.
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!
Wow in the World was made by Tinkercast.
And sent to you by Wondery.
