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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!
Good afternoon and thanks for joining us at WOW News.
I'm Gail Richard Simmons.
And I'm late for dinner.
Bob.
What?
That joke never gets old.
Okay, fine.
I'm Bob Ralph Macchio.
And tonight's top story, wow. in the water.
It's a real gully washer out there, folks.
That's right, Bob.
For a seventh straight day in a row, the rain is coming down and there is no end in sight.
No end in sight?
There's no place for the water to run off to.
Well, sure It could just run off into the storm drains and the pipes under the city.
Well, normally that would be the case, but not with this much rain.
That's right.
It's a record-breaking cloudburst.
Just buckets and buckets of rain out there.
Not just rainwater.
It's raining cats and dogs out there.
Well, that's a great expression, but in an actual fact... What in the... What is going on?
This is just too much for our city's drains and pipes to handle.
Let's go live to our Storm Team reporter, Penny Presley, standing out in the rain without an umbrella.
Thank you, Gail.
As you can see, I am being absolutely drenched in a substance some would call water.
Uh... What would others call it?
And now everyone's wondering, where did this so-called water come from?
What?
Uh... it came from clouds in the sky.
Well, we know that water comes from clouds.
How is this even news?
Regardless of where the rain came from, the water has flooded the city, turning it into a water park of epic proportions.
Also, my shirt's all wet.
You'd think she'd at least wear a raincoat or something.
However, one brave citizen decided to come out today.
Despite these torrential downpours, warnings to stay indoors.
Oh, no.
I don't understand.
Who would ever want to go out in this weather?
Her name is Gertle Greenpeace, and she's here.
Her name is G-Force.
What?
I said G-Force.
That's your name?
That's your question?
That's Grandma G-Force?
Hi, Mandy.
On the news?
I'm on the news.
Okay, right.
Grandma G-Force, what brought you out into this devastating storm today?
My legs.
Uh, yes, yes, but why did your legs bring you out here?
We've been cautioning people to stay indoors at all costs.
Yeah, I'm never not going to listen to that.
I see.
Well, it looks as though you came prepared.
As we can all see, you are wearing your swimsuit.
What?
Oh, boy.
This ain't no swimsuit.
Here we go.
This here is a hot pepper wrestling unitard.
Oh.
All right, then.
I was just on my way to Little Buff Bunny's big gym over there, trying to get my workout on so I can wrestle some hot peppers.
Ah, yes.
Little Buff Bunny's big gym.
The gym's, so big of natural forest, were taken down and paved over to make room.
You talking to me?
No, i was.
I was talking to the viewers where, the viewers at home watching us on tv.
What tv?
I can't see it through the camera.
Wow, developers had to cut down over five acres of trees just to build little buff bunny's big gym Yeah, and in front of that they tore down another four acres to build the parking lot.
And next to the parking lot, the city built the world's largest parking lot, the size of 500 football fields.
Oh, and let's not forget all the forests that had to be cut down in order to build the spin zone last year.
And the river that had to be paved over in order to build the parking lot for the spin zone.
So many trees plowed and paved over to create parking lots.
And the parking lots for the parking lots.
Flooded parking lots now.
Yeah, the city's been so paved over by concrete there's nowhere left for all of this rain to run off to.
Everyone's mind is, where did the pennies come from?
So I dive into the fountain at the mall and then I take all the pennies and I shove them into my unitard, like so.
And that's how I get my lumps.
Ha!
Lumpy handfuls of pennies in your bathing suit.
It's a unitard!
Presley, can we get back to focusing on the rain and flooding for this news report, please?
I agree.
I do not want to hear any more about lumpy bathing suits.
Well, huh.
Nothing like live local news.
This is a disaster.
I'll say.
Grandma G4 should never have agreed to speak on camera.
No, I mean the incessant rain, the flooding.
It's a disaster, Mindy.
Oh, right.
The flooding.
So...
Why is it happening, Guy Raz?
I mean, does all of this flooding have anything to do with the fact that all of the forests and rivers in this city have been bulldozed and replaced by concrete and asphalt?
Well, that's a great question, Mindy.
See in highly developed cities like ours, Cities with lots of big buildings and even bigger parking lots.
Exactly, yes.
In order to build these parking lots and buildings, Space has to be made for them, and that space can only be created by removing nature and essentially, paving over it.
Ah, so kind of like how the space where Little Buff Bunny's big gym used to be a lush forest.
Right, a lush, water-absorbing forest.
Or how the world's largest parking lot used to be a river bank.
Right, a riverbank for rainwater to run off to.
Paving over a riverbank to build a parking lot.
And when this happens over and over again, all over a city, suddenly we're left with two potentially big problems.
And plenty of parking.
And the first problem is that all of that concrete and asphalt actually makes a city hotter.
Ah, by absorbing and trapping the heat from the sun, which causes temperatures to rise.
And when this happens, cities essentially turn into urban heat islands.
But then it rains and everything cools off again.
Well, it might, but all of that cool, refreshing rain has to go somewhere once it hits the ground.
And that's why we have storm drains and pipes to carry the water out to nearby rivers, lakes or the ocean.
Right, but when there's too much rain for the drains to handle, or when the nearby rivers and lakes have been paved over and turned into parking lots Ah, there's nowhere left for the rainwater to go.
And that's when we get the flooding that we're experiencing right now.
As you can see here, folks, the flooding is now up to my waist.
G-Force!
Thomas Fingerling?
G-Force, what are you doing out here?
Can't you see it's flooding?
Can't you see that I'm on TV, Fingerling?
Ooh, live TV, eh?
Joining us now, a gentleman in a very strange boat.
Well, technically it's a bathtub, but I'm using it as a boat to come and rescue G-Force over here.
T-Force, get in the tub.
No.
Well, then I'll put you in the tub.
Come here.
Hey.
Ow.
I told you.
No, my girlings.
You're spilling them.
And I told you to stay out of that mall fountain.
Those pennies are for the wishes.
And I'm wishing for money.
This is a disaster.
Don't call me honey bunny.
The flooding rain or Grandma G-Force and Thomas Fingerling fighting on live TV?
Both.
Now get in here.
Don't tell me what to do.
Okay, well, let's solve one problem at a time.
And the easiest problem here to solve is reversing the effects of paving over all the trees and wetlands in our city.
Okay, well, let's get to work.
Give me your best idea.
Okay, let's say we take everything off the ground, including the ground, and then we elevate it.
You know, put it up on stilts or something.
The buildings, the houses, the parking lots, all of it.
We raise it all up to a level where the flooding can't reach it.
Okay, terrible idea.
Costly and impossible to implement on a large scale.
What else have you got?
Okay, let's see here.
Okay, we embrace the flooding and turn the whole city into a giant water park.
The roads become water coasters and the parking lots become boat docks.
Completely unfeasible.
Never gonna work.
Next.
All right, all right.
I got this, I got this.
Okay, what if...
We gave every citizen really big straws.
And then on the count of three, we get everyone in the city to come outside and set the water away.
Great idea for poisoning everyone.
Awful idea for rainwater mitigation.
Mindy, can't you think of any good ideas?
Nope.
Citizens are concerned.
What can be done to save our city from flooding?
That's right, Bob.
What or who will save us from these flooding waters now and in the future?
Dennis?
Never fear.
I'll save you, citizens.
Oh, look at that.
This just in.
Our local supervillain, Static Man, appears to have arrived on the scene.
No, I'm not Static Man.
I'm Soapburst, super sponge man.
Did any of our friends need the warning to stay inside and avoid the floods today?
And as super sponge man, you will.
I will save the city.
Floods and rain don't stand a chance against sponge man assassinated.
Do you plan to save the city?
What do you mean?
Isn't it obvious?
No.
Well, I'll suck up the water with my sponge powers.
See?
I got sponges all over my cape and a little sponge strapped to my forehead here and another sponge glued to my butt and sponge gloves all over my head.
Super sponge, Beth.
This is ridiculous.
Wait, what?
Okay, you go first.
No, no, you go first.
Okay, what if were the answer to all of the problems we've created for ourselves.
Go on.
Well see, we humans have created this mess by paving over nature to build parking lots and buildings right.
Yes, because with nothing but asphalt and concrete as far as the eye can see, there's nothing left to absorb the water.
Unless we add sponges.
Mindy, are you suggesting we... suggesting that we turn our city into Sponge City.
Sponge City?
Mindy, we're never going to be able to find enough sponges to soak up all the excess rainwater.
Yeah, but And besides, we'd have to cut down even more forests just to be able to build factories to manufacture that many sponges.
No, no, no, you don't understand.
And on top of that sponges, especially synthetic ones, can be bad for the environment because they're not biodegradable and can contribute to plastic pollution when we throw them away.
And on top of that... I'm not talking about sponges made in factories.
I'm talking about nature's natural sponges.
I'm sorry.
I haven't heard of that brand.
It's not a brand, Guy Raz.
It's nature.
I'm not sure I understand.
Well, you said it yourself.
Before dense cities were paved over, replacing trees and wetlands with concrete buildings, rainwater was able to run back into the earth.
Okay.
So imagine our city like a giant sponge.
And just like a sponge soaks up water when you spill it, Our Sponge City will soak up rainwater when it rains, and that would prevent flooding.
But what will we use for the sponges?
Well, in Sponge City we'll place natural sponge-like materials on roofs, the outer walls of buildings and other places where we can add big areas of with absorbent soil layers underneath.
So essentially adding large areas of natural plants and absorbent soil to places where we wouldn't normally do that.
Exactly.
I'm talking green roofs, green facades and other garden-like areas that can act like shallow drains to capture rain and stormwater runoff.
Ah, and these natural sponge-like areas could collect water before it moved to the streets, where it could become polluted.
Yes, and doing this would keep it from reaching our drinking water sources and other bodies of water, like rivers and streams and lakes.
SpongeCity, I like the sound of that.
Wow.
I mean, Dennis, uh, Super Sponge Man could really be onto something here.
And, as the mayor of Sponge City, I vow to use my super snooper I mean super sponging powers to make this city softer, more absorbent and more um.
I need a third thing.
Spongier.
Yeah!
Spongier!
And there you have it, folks.
Could the future of flood mitigation be found in sponges?
Back to you, Bob and Gail.
Sponge City.
You know Bob, while I'd like to give Super Sponge Man all the credit for coming up with this concept, It was actually an idea first introduced in China some 20 years ago by a landscape architect named Yu Kangzhan.
That's right, Gail.
And since then he has led the movement in implementing areas of spongy vegetation in the dense concrete jungles of major cities all over China.
And soon, the world.
For WOW News, I'm Gail Richard Simmons.
And I'm not.
Bob.
What?
Gail, it's a little joke.
Well, it's not a joke if it's not funny, Bob.
That's it for the weather report.
Stay tuned for our next story, how a raccoon became best friends with a squirrel.
Wow, Mindy.
In the age of technology that we're living in, it's wild to think that something as simple as adding natural soils and plants and other absorbent spongy materials to our cities could be the answer to our flooding problems.
Now, if only we could get the rest of our city, no, the rest of the world on board.
Dante!
Guy!
Did you see me?
I mean, did you see that sponge-wielding superhero on TV?
That superhero would be me.
What?
No, Granny G!
Boy, all that rain is making me have to go potty.
Mind if I use your lavatory, Mindy?
Sure, Thomas Fingerling.
It's right over there.
Thank you.
So what do you say?
We all be sponge city superheroes and make plans to help our city to be the spongiest it can be.
Sorry, guy.
There can only be one super sponge man.
And it's not you.
And it's obviously not you either, Dennis.
Oh!
I like your pardon.
I love this idea.
Turning ourselves into a pack of flood-fighting superheroes?
I'll go get my sponge cake.
I mean, my sponge cape.
And a sponge cake just in case I get hungry, saving the city from floods.
Great.
And I'll start researching some local tree planting and gardening programs to increase green spaces that can absorb water.
And I'll start collecting rainwater in barrels and reusing that water in your gardens, Guy Razzie.
Oh.
Great idea, Thomas Fingerling.
If everyone did that, we could reduce the load on our stormwater drains and pipes.
And I'll see if I can arrange a meet and greet with the mayor of this sponge city, Super Sponge Man himself.
Uh... We don't even need Super Sponge Man, Dennis.
What?
What are you even talking about, Guy Raz?
Yeah, we got this, Dennis.
No, I don't got this.
I'm just gonna sit here and count the coins I sponged off of the mall fountain.
Oh, cram a G-Force.
Okay, fine, I'll help.
Yay!
Yay!
Sponge City, here we come!
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.
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 curiosity.
That's Tinkercast.com slash toys.
My name is Fiona.
I'm 13.
I'm from Detroit, Michigan.
And my wow in the world is that spaghetti got its name from the Italian word spago, meaning cord, string or twine.
Spaghetti's my favorite food.
Say hi to Reggie, Dennis, Grandma G-Force, and Thomas Fingerling.
Ooh, what are you doing on that?
And I live in Brooklyn, New York.
And my wow in the world is that raspberries are actually part of the ocean.
Say hi to Grandma G-Force.
Say what?
Reggie and Thomas Winger.
What's up?
I love your show.
Bye.
Hello, Minnie and Guy Raz.
My name is Alton, and I live in Manchester, Connecticut.
And my wow in the world is that Barbie's full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts.
Say hi to Dennis for me.
Cool!
Hi, my name is Edna, and I live in West Seattle.
My wand world is that butterflies can taste with their feet.
Hi, my name is Rita, and I'm from Apopka, Florida.
My wow is that there's a spring in Florida that in the winter, over 700 manatees visit to stay warm.
P.S.
Say hi to Reggie and Grandma J for me.
Cool!
Nassau, Bahamas.
My wow in the world is that before alarm clocks, people would pay someone to knock on their window and wake them up.
They were called knocker uppers.
Hi, Mindy and Guy Raz.
My name is Una, and I live in Hatchby, California.
My wow in the world is that squirrels' brains grow 15 larger in the fall to help them remember where they buried their nuts.
Isn't that wild?
Love the show.
Say hi to Reggie for me.
Hi, Mindy and Guy Raz.
My name is Charlie, and my one in the world is that a dime has 118 ridges.
And everyone, you have to do my riddle.
What do you call a volcano that explodes grass?
A mountain.
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 production director, Jed Anderson, and audio producer Tyler Thull.
You can also hear Jed Anderson in the voices of Dennis Thomas Fingerling, Reggie and many of the other silly characters that you hear on our show.
Lizzie Freilich can also be heard as some of the silly characters 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 Kit Ballinger, Rebecca Caban, Dr Natasha Crandall, Kenny Curtis, Kristen Yang Twee Mack, Erica Medina, Henry Moskal, Jodi Nussbaum, Ali Paksima, Linda Rothenberg, Steph Sosa, Joanna Weber, Anna Zagorski and all of the other tinkerers at Tinkercast HQ.
And to keep the wow rolling after you finish this episode, visit us at Tinkercast.com.
There you can become a member of the World Organization of Wowzers to get year-round mailings and weekly activities.
Shop our Wow Shop.
Get tickets for upcoming events, find our best-selling books and learn about some of the other amazing podcasts from Tinkercast.
Grown-ups, you can follow Wow in the World on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at Wow in the World.
And our email address is hello at Tinkercast.com.
And if you're a kid with a big wow to share with us...
Call us at 1-888-7WOW-WOW for a chance to be featured at the end of our show or an upcoming episode of Two.
What's in a Wow?
Thanks again for listening.
We're here every Monday or you can check out Two What's in a Wow every Friday right here in the Wow in the World podcast feed.
And don't forget, we wow on the weekend with Dennis Saturday and Sunday.
Keep on wowing! in the world was made by Tinkercast and sent to you by Wondery.
