[The Science of Light: A Wow in the World Game Show]-[Two Whats?! And A Wow! - Hit The Lights]

Wow in the World · B1 · 2026-01-09

📋 Summary

Exploring the Wonders of Light: A 'Two Whats and a Wow' Special

In this episode of the popular scientific game show Two Whats and a Wow, hosts Mindy and Guy Raz take listeners on a fascinating journey through the physics and biology of light. Through a series of interactive rounds, the show separates scientific facts from imaginative fiction, highlighting some of the most “bonkers” phenomena in our natural world.

The Glowing Secrets of Nature

The first round of the game introduced a surprising biological fact: some flying squirrels possess the ability to fluoresce. While many might assume that glowing is reserved for deep-sea creatures, the show explains that these squirrels can absorb light in one color and radiate it in another, resulting in a pink glow under UV light. This phenomenon serves as a reminder of the hidden complexities in mammalian biology that often go unnoticed.

Astronomical Distances and the Speed of Light

Moving from biology to space, the second round tackled the sheer scale of the universe. The show highlighted the concept of a light-year, noting that light travels an astonishing 5.88 trillion miles in a single year. This astronomical distance is essential for understanding our place in the cosmos. When scientists describe the closest galaxy to the Milky Way as being 25,000 light-years away, it underscores the vast, nearly incomprehensible scale of space, a fact the hosts describe as truly "astronomical."

The Sun's Delayed Arrival

The final round focused on our most immediate light source: the Sun. A key scientific "wow" revealed during the show is that the sunlight we perceive through our windows is actually light from eight minutes ago. Because the Sun is roughly 93 million miles away, its light requires about eight minutes to complete its "commute" to Earth. This means that we are constantly looking back in time whenever we look at the Sun, a concept that makes even the most consistent star in our sky seem "fashionably late."

Bonus Discovery: The Thresher Shark

Beyond the primary topic of light, the episode included a bonus round featuring the thresher shark. Scientists have discovered that these sharks possess a unique superpower: they can whip their super-flexible tails over their heads. This high-speed maneuver is used to stun schools of fish, allowing the shark to capture its prey in a single gulp. This segment reinforced the show's mission to highlight the diverse and often bizarre survival strategies found in the animal kingdom.

Conclusion

Two Whats and a Wow successfully combines humor with education, encouraging listeners to engage with scientific concepts through play. By debunking myths—such as the idea that sunlight feeds sun bears or that light bulbs float above people's heads—the show cultivates a spirit of curiosity. Whether discussing the fluorescence of squirrels or the time-delayed light of the Sun, the program emphasizes that the world is full of “wows” waiting to be discovered by the next generation of budding scientists.

🎯Key Sentences

There is so much in store made just for you

separates the wows from the what's.

Only one of those statements will be a true wow.

All right, everyone ready to start the game?

Great, then let's do it.

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📝Key Phrases

in store

refresh our contestants

guess correctly

guess incorrectly

time is up

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📖 Transcript

Hey, Wowzer fans.

Mindy and Guy Raz here.

And before we start the show, did you hear that we are on YouTube?

That's right, Mindy.

Wowzer fans, you can find full episodes of Wow in the World and more of your favorite Tinkercast podcasts on our YouTube channel, WowTube.

Plus on WowTube you can also watch me explode some watermelons and test out Bonker Ball's experiments in the Laboratory of Bad Ideas.

Or study on the web version →