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Hey, Wowzer fans, Mindy here.
And before we start the show, I got to 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!
We'll be right back.
What's going on in here?
I'm just trying to crack open this coconut.
With a hammer?
Give me that thing.
You're not even using it correctly.
Man, you really have gone cuckoo for coconuts, haven't you?
Mindy, coconuts are packed with nutrients.
They're good for our immune system so we don't get sick as easily.
They're good for our hearts.
They help to keep our skin healthy.
Yeah, and?
They also really stress you out when you can't bust them open.
Careful, Guy Raz.
You're going to hurt yourself.
What in the Well?
How else am I going to get this thing open if I want to get the nutrients out of it?
A chainsaw?
Are you kidding me, man?
Stop.
Stop it.
Stop it right now.
That's it.
I'm calling the clock on this operation.
Guy Raz, there's a better way.
Wait, did you say there's a...
Okay, to be clear, there are a million better ways of busting open a coconut.
But we're going to try the most newly discovered way.
Oh, great.
Is this like a new kind of invention?
We can just, you know, pick up from the store maybe you know order online same-day delivery, something like that.
Well, not exactly.
See...
We sort of need to, um, well, we need to bring your coconut to the coconut cracker itself.
Eh, that sounds like too much work.
Here, here, just hand me that hammer.
Nope, don't you come near this hammer.
Kairos, do you trust me?
No.
Reggie!
Oh, boy.
You know Mindy, on second thought I could just run to the store and grab you know a jar of organic unfiltered coconut oil and you know, kind of go on with my day.
Ah!
Get on the bird, Guy Raz.
Mindy, I have a very busy day ahead of me and... Saddle up.
This might be a wild ride.
Here, put these on.
Okay, but this better only take a minute.
Guy Raz, Reggie, hold on to your coconuts.
Next stop, Solomon Island, South Pacific.
Mindy, I just don't... Here we go.
But not even that crash landing could crack this coconut, Mindy.
Well, don't you worry, your funny little head about that, because we have come to the right place for coconut cracking.
Where are we?
This looks like the middle of nowhere.
Are we in a rainforest?
Guy Raz, welcome to the island of Banganu, part of the Solomon Islands.
Here, you can see it right here on this map.
Let me see that.
Solomon Islands.
So we're on one of these islands in the South Pacific.
It looks like we're just a little tiny bit northeast of Australia.
Yep.
And we're on that one right there.
That giant red island that's covering up the others?
No, that's ketchup.
I use this map as a placemat for my lunch sometimes.
Here.
There better.
So do you want to tell me why i'm standing here in the middle of a remote island in the south pacific holding a coconut?
Oh yeah well, that's because we're here to see that coconut cracker.
I was telling you about the coconut cracker, well also known as the aromas vika or the van gunu giant.
Rat rat, did i just say rat.
You said rat, here's the deal for the last 20 years.
Hang on a second.
Hey jett, Can we get some mysterious, legend-y sounding music up in here?
Oh, sure.
Thanks, man.
For the past two decades, the people of this very island have been telling scientists about the elusive Vangunu giant rat who, as legend would have it, has lived amongst them in the trees, but never before been spotted alive.
In the trees?
Like high up in the branches?
Like in the canopy?
And the scientists were all, Nah, we can't see it.
We don't believe it.
For it had been 80 years since a new rodent species was discovered on this island.
But eventually they did discover that it exists, right?
Yes.
So there were some scientists like Tyrone Lavery from the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.
That guy spent years searching for this legendary creature.
And did he ever find it?
Nope.
Bummer alert, he did not.
Oh, that's too bad.
But he did find some poop.
Mindy!
And after digging around in that poop for a while, he discovered the fur of an Unidentified species of rodent.
The Venganu giant rat.
And then, in the year 2015... Uh, that was like two years ago.
A ranger from the island named Hykuna Judge was just out minding his own beeswax, taking a walk through the island's thick rainforest when a giant rat appeared.
It fell from the sky!
What?
Well, I mean, technically it jumped out of the tree it had been living in, but... Phew.
Anywho, it was in that moment that the Bangunu giant rat went from being a legend to to a scientific fact.
The first new rodent species found on the island in 80 years.
Exact Doritos, Guy Raz.
Pretty cool, huh?
So, uh, do we need to be worried about, you know, giant tree-dwelling rats falling from the sky?
Well, I mean, if it's not your thing, then, yeah, I guess.
I guess.
Reggie, take me back home, please!
I'm just joking, Guy Raz.
You don't have to worry about giant rats falling out of trees and bonking you on the head.
In fact, the Vangunu giant rat, or the Yeromi Savika, as scientists call it, is super-duper rare.
Well, I'm looking up into the trees of this rainforest and there's a super-thick canopy of leaves and branches.
It's hard to even see the sky, and...
Maybe it makes it easier for the Vanganu giant rat to hide?
Yep, that's one reason.
But the other reason is that timber companies have been coming to the island and cutting down the trees.
Like, most of the trees.
And to lots of creatures in the wild, trees are their homes and their houses.
Yeah, I mean, can you imagine if nearly all the homes in your town were destroyed?
That would be awful.
Yeah, so that's kind of what it's like to be a Bangunu giant rat on the island of Bangunu.
And without a home and everything that comes with it, it's really difficult to survive there.
And now there's even talk of the Bangunu giant rat becoming an official endangered species.
Meaning they're a risk of extinction.
You know it.
Pretty sad, huh?
Yeah, sure is.
So I don't know if now is the right time to bring this up Mindy, but didn't you bring me here so that the Vanganu giant rat, could you know, crack open my coconut?
Oh, yeah.
So while we've been talking down here, Reggie's actually been up in the treetops making some new friends.
Hey, Reg!
And it looks like he actually found you one of those elusive coconut crackers.
Whoa, is that a...
Is that a Vangano giant rat riding on his back holding a lasso?
Nope, that's something in your eye.
Here he comes.
Look at that giant rat!
Man, if only scientists could get a load of this.
Oh, man.
Okay, so walk up to him slowly so you can get a closer look.
Here, take your coconut.
Whoa.
He's way bigger than I thought he would be.
I know, right?
He weighs in at about two pounds and is one and a half feet long from nose to tail.
Whoa.
In fact, he's about four times bigger than the average city dumpster rat.
Whoa.
Isn't he a cutie?
Well, I guess you could say he has cute little ears, you know, comparatively speaking.
And he's got pretty wide feet with big pads and curved paws and, Oh yeah, those big, wide feet help him to move around on those skinny forest branches high up in the trees where he lives.
And his long hairless tail.
It looks like it's covered in tiny scales with big patches of skin, kind of.
Kind of like an opossum.
Yep.
And now I'm going to try to make him laugh so you can check out his teeth, OK?
Uh, yeah.
I think I'm good.
No, really.
You know that some baby rats laugh when you tickle them, right?
I've heard that somewhere before.
Yeah, it's so crazy.
So these researchers at Germany's Humboldt University did a whole study on it about a year ago.
Some baby rats laugh when they're tickled, but at a frequency that's too high to hear with our own human ears.
It's just incredible to think about laughing rats.
So I'm just going to tell this giant rat a joke and see if we can at least get a smile out of him.
Oh, no.
Hey, buddy, so what's a rat's favorite game?
Huh?
I don't think he's going to respond to you, Mindy.
Hide and squeak.
Get it?
Reggie gets it.
Wait, wait, wait.
Oh, I got one.
Why was the rat afraid of the river?
I don't think he speaks English, Guy Raz.
Catfish.
Get it?
Catfish?
Wait, look.
I think he's smiling.
Oh, man.
Get a good look at those teeth.
Oh, those are some long, sharp teeth.
Which brings me to the reason we're here, Guy Raz.
Oh, no.
You're not going to feed me to that giant rat, are you, Mindy?
What?
No.
Why would I feed you to the giant rat?
It probably tastes like kale and kombucha, and that just wouldn't be fair to this giant little guy.
What?
I don't taste like kombucha, do I?
Guy Raz, stop sniffing your own armpits and out your coconut.
Oh, wait a minute.
You mean to tell me that this guy really is the coconut cracker in the flesh and in the fur?
Wow, okay.
Well, should i put the coconut on a plate first maybe, you know, with a little garnish?
No, just put it on the ground and watch him work his magic.
Okay well, i'm just gonna gently place this coconut on the ground here and i'm gonna slide Back away a little bit.
He's moving towards it.
His teeth are starting to look all powered up.
Oh, there he goes.
He's using his sharp teeth to crack the shell of the coconut.
And now he's running away with it.
Ah, rats.
Hey, that rat stole my coconut.
You know what, Mindy?
Maybe I should just let him have it.
I mean, you know, with all of his trees getting chopped down, they're probably getting harder and harder to come by.
Anyway,
That's probably for the best.
Hey, do you want this Mounds bar that's been melting in my pocket for two weeks?
It's got chocolate and coconut.
I think I'll pass.
Why don't we just go back to the lab?
Hey, Reggie, you ready?
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.
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After the beep, get ready to record.
Hi, my name is Maggie, and I'm eight years old.
I live in North Carolina.
My Wow in the World is if we didn't blink, our eyeballs would dry out, and we couldn't move them.
We'd have to move our heads instead.
Hi, girls.
Hi, Mindy.
I love your show.
My name is Joan, and I live in Kenya.
And my wow in the world is that there are 148,000 hippos in Kenya.
Bye.
Hi, my name is Evan, and I live in Hilliard, Ohio.
My wow in the world is that body goes use their poop to stick their nest together.
Ella, I'm eight years old.
I'm from New Jersey.
And my wow in the world is in art class at school.
We're learning about Georgia O'Keeffe.
And I'm painting massive flowers like her.
Bye, Mindy Gaius.
I love your show.
Hi, my name is Jack.
I am from Macomb, Illinois.
And I am nine years old.
And my wow in the world is the leap year, February 29th.
It comes around every four years.
And I was born on that leap year, so I'm legally two.
Thank you and goodbye.
Hi, my name is Tess.
I'm from Baltimore.
And my wow in the world is that we went canoeing and we saw a snapping turtle.
It was so, so, so cool.
Bye.
My name is Adrian.
I'm from California.
My wow in my world is that penguins eat jellyfish.
Bye, I love your show.
Hi, my name is Sterling.
I'm six years old.
My wow in the world is that I got away with a tooth and lost it in the same day.
Wow.
Hi, my name is Isaac, and I'm from Colorado.
My wow in the world is playing with my big brother.
Hey everyone, thank you so much for joining us this week for Wow in the World.
And if you want to keep the conversation going, check out some of the questions we've posted on this episode at our website, wowintheworldcom.
You'll also be able to find all of the sources and journal articles we used for today's show.
Our show is produced by Jed Anderson with help from Thomas Van Kalken, Chelsea Urson and Jessica Boddy.
Meredith Halpern-Ranzer is the big boss.
Our theme song was composed and performed by The Pop-Ups.
Find more of their awesome all-ages music at thepopups.com.
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