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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 and honeybees and snails and rocks and sugar peas and dogs and cats and fish and mangoes and dandelions and grapes.
Reggie, why'd you turn off the drum machine?
I'm almost finished.
Five, six, seven, eight.
Earth week, week, wow.
Earth week, week, wow.
Gonna have the whole earth on week, wow.
Earth week, week, wow.
Ah, hello.
Welcome to another day of Wee Wow Earth Week.
I'm your host, Dennis, and this is Reggie, my co-host.
This is the week where we talk about being super cool to the Earth and listen to eco-friendly episodes of Wow in the World.
Now, as you know, I am the most environmentally conscious person in the entire neighborhood.
Reggie!
Yes, I am!
Well, I'll have you know that I spent the entire day cleaning up our entire neighborhood.
Yes, I did!
I vacuumed the grass, dusted the bushes, and sprayed air freshener on all the air.
Yes, Reggie, air freshener.
I used my favorite scent, bubblegum mountain mist.
What?
Did I pick up wayward garbage?
Well, recycling is one thing, but I'm not touching other people's trash.
Of course, Reggie, I clean up my trash.
I would never leave trash lying around.
Besides, I don't even make that much trash.
I recycle everything.
Yeah, I'll prove it.
Here, listen to this episode of Wow in the World.
In it, I saved the neighborhood from single-use plastics by becoming a human spider.
It's Wow in the World Season 7, Episode 17, called Spider Dennis to the Rescue.
What?
What do you mean that wasn't me?
Mindy?
Mindy's not Spider Dennis.
I'm Spider Dennis.
Spider Mindy?
Reggie, no!
I specifically remember swinging from rooftop to rooftop dressed as a spider, pooping out clear plastic rope, and then crashing into Guy Raz's micro.
Wait no, you're right.
That was Mindy.
Well, I'm sorry.
I forgot.
There are a lot of these episodes, and I can't be expected to remember every single one of them.
But it's okay, because now it'll be like I'm listening to it for the first time.
I know!
I'm so excited.
Okay.
Here we go.
And play.
Wee Wow will be right back.
Grownups, this message is for you.
Hey, grownups.
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.
Grownups give the gift of wow and wonder this holiday season with our latest wow in the world.
You can shop our Wow in the World toys at Tinkercastcom.
Slash toys.
That's Tinkercast.com slash toys.
That's it.
Now back to the show.
Wow in the World. can see the whole world from up here on the roof of my gingerbread mansion, Reg.
I mean, just look.
There's Guy Raz's micro house and Thomas Fingerling's knuckle hut over there.
And is that Grandma G-Force's pepper wrestling patch?
Oh, those poor peppers.
Oh, yeah.
And what?
That over there is just Dennis' industrial-sized dumpster filled to the brim with single-use plastic take-out containers that he's planning to throw away.
Okay, dumpster, this will be our little secret.
Don't tell anyone about all this plastic waste I'm making, especially Guy Raz.
Or Mindy.
Or Reggie.
Or the children of the world.
There we go.
That takes care of that.
I know.
So wasteful.
Well, anywho, I've got a solution that might put a stop to that problem.
But first, I need to get into this costume.
Okay, Reg, I've got the head, the eyes, and the abdomen.
Now, I just need the legs.
Think you could give me a wing and help me attach them?
Thanks, buddy.
One leg.
Two legs.
Three legs.
Four legs, five legs, six legs, seven legs, eight legs and one more leg, because i just like to be a little extra.
Hey reg, how do i look?
Whoa reggie mindy, is that you up there?
Why are you on the roof of your gingerbread mansion dressed up like a nine-legged spider?
I know why not.
I mean, I mean, is there some kind of costume parade I'm not aware of?
Or Or am I just dressed up like this for science?
Why would you be dressed up like a nine-legged spider for science?
I mean... Morning, guy.
Oh, morning, Spider Mindy.
Wow, you look terrifying.
I like the extra legs.
Mindy, why don't you come down here so you can explain what's going on?
Oh, happy to, Guy Raz.
But I've got some work to do on my way down.
What?
Reggie, the spinnerets.
Here, just attach them to my abdomen here.
Thank you.
Hey, Spider Mindy, what did Reggie put on you?
It looks like... six belly buttons.
What, Dennis?
Oh, I think I see it.
Yeah, what?
I don't think those are belly buttons, Dennis.
Oh, well, what are they?
Those appear to be her spinnerets.
They're what spiders use to spin silk threads and... What?
They're raisinets?
No.
Wow.
Guy, did you see that?
Spider Mindy jumped off her roof and landed on my roof.
Mindy?
And she pooped out a clear plastic rope and made a bridge between our houses.
A bridge?
What is she doing?
Is she leaping between her house and yours, Dennis?
Yeah, and she's pooping out more of that strange plastic rope.
Uh... It looks like she's making a net?
No, no way!
Spider Mindy is building a spider web!
Parkour, parkour!
What in the wow?
Spider Mindy, do the little webby spiral in the middle.
Oh, yeah, that's nice.
Mindy.
Mindy, can you please come down from that web and explain to all of us what it is you're doing?
All right.
Mindy!
Oh, that's not good.
I'm okay!
Yikes.
My micro house!
Beautiful, sustainable micro house.
Got a real mess in there to clean up, Guy Raz.
What's all the racket out here?
I can't hardly hear myself think about nothing.
What?
Grandma G-Force!
Pugs!
Where's that nine-legged tarantula talking?
Oh, no, Grandma G-Force, it's me!
Who?
What in the world wide web would you look at that?
A web?
That's some expert craftsmanship right there, too.
Looks to be made out of some kind of soy protein isolate.
Wait.
Say that again, Thomas Fingerling.
Huh?
I said, what in the world wide web?
It's kind of my catchphrase.
No, no, not that part.
The last part.
Oh, you mean it looks to be made out of some kind of soy protein isolate?
Soy protein isolate.
Aha!
Yes!
Now this is all starting to make sense.
Yay!
So does that mean that you're cool with me crashing through the window of your micro house, Guy Raz?
No, it definitely does not mean that.
But what it does mean is that I now understand what you were doing building that human-sized spider web, Mindy.
You do?
Yes, yes, you were doing it.
For science.
Come on.
Make it stop.
No, no, no groaning.
Now, please allow me to explain.
No.
You see, spider silk is one of the strongest and most durable materials on Earth.
Oh.
Well, well.
And if we could supersize a spiderweb to human size, it would be five times stronger than steel.
Oh, snap.
Kairos is right, everyone.
A human-sized spiderweb would be strong enough to trap a... You know what?
Why tell you when I could just show you?
What's she gonna do now?
Okay, Dennis?
Uh-huh?
Dennis?
Yeah, what?
Here are the keys to my ice cream truck.
Uh-huh?
I need you to pull it around the front here, okay?
Captain, I mean Spider-Mindy.
I mean Captain Spider-Mindy.
And Thomas Fingerling.
Present.
Remember that time you threatened to blast Grandma G-Force out of a cannon if she didn't quit eating your deodorant sticks?
Oh, yeah.
Gotta keep my deodorant away from both G-Force and my cat.
What?
Oh, you don't like the taste of mountain breeze, boy?
So what?
You want my deodorant too, Mandy?
What?
Cannon!
Go get the cannon!
Oh, gotcha.
All right.
Come on, G-Force.
I'm gonna need some muscle.
Mindy, does all of this spiderweb stuff have anything to do with that recent study that came out of the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom?
Oh, you mean the one published in the scientific journal Nature Communications?
Yeah, that's the one.
You know that study?
Well, yeah.
I was just reading about how these researchers used plant to replicate or copy the silk that spiders create to spin their webs.
Yes, plant proteins.
Specifically one called soy protein isolate, which is really just a fancy way of saying the protein taken out of soybeans.
In fact, you'd find these in things like veggie burgers and fake meat.
And from what I read in this study, it sounds like they researched how the molecules in spider silks are structured or arranged so they could do the same with these plant proteins.
Exactly!
It's like recreating a puzzle using different materials that could act the same way.
Yes.
So once this team of researchers unlocked the secret to how spider silks are formed, Kind of like getting a sneak peek at the picture on the puzzle box.
Yeah.
Once they did that, they had all the information they needed to essentially create spider silks of their own.
Yes.
But they did not create spider silks for spider webs.
Instead, they created something that looked a little different.
Something called a polymer film, which looks like a thin sheet of plastic, but it's not.
Nope.
It's 100% genuine vegan or plant-based spider silk.
Uh-huh.
Instead of looking like a spider web, it looks more like the plastic wrap that you use to wrap up your leftovers.
Honk, honk.
I'm back.
Oh, hey, Dennis.
You're just in time.
In time for what?
Hey, Mandy.
We got the cannon you asked for.
Oh, thanks, Thomas Fingerlings.
You can leave it right there in front of my giant spider web.
Okie doke.
So, wait a minute.
Is that what you've done here, Mindy?
Did you create this spider web out of your own plant-based vegan spider silk?
Handcrafted by yours truly in my very own laboratory of bad ideas.
Wow, that's incredible.
Oh, and that's not even the most incredible part.
It's not?
Oh, remember how we were saying how strong spider webs are?
Yeah, and how.
If we were to supersize them to human size, kind of like you did here, it would be five times stronger than steel.
Yep.
Now is the time to test it out and see for ourselves.
Uh, does this have anything to do with Dennis behind the wheel of your ice cream truck and Grandma G-Force climbing into that cannon?
G-Force?
I don't think you're going to fit.
Give the old Tush a push.
It has everything to do with that guy, Roz.
Dennis.
Yep?
I want you to back that truck up and when I say three, I want you to rev up the engine and gun it into my spider web.
Okay,
You got it, Spider Mindy.
Are you sure this is a good idea, Mindy?
Yeah.
Of course I'm not sure this is a good idea, Guy Raz.
But anything for science, right?
There are exceptions to that rule.
Okay, Dennis, get ready to slam on the gas.
Ready.
In three, two, one.
Ah, oops.
Oops, oops, oops, oops.
Nope, that's... Dennis!
I got it, I got it.
You know how to drive.
I know how to drive, Tommy.
Try it again, Dennis!
I am trying it again, Mindy!
But this piece of junk won't... Oh, wait.
That's the clutch.
That's the brake.
All right, I got it now.
I just need to... Ow.
Stop!
Would work.
You did?
No, I had no idea.
This was a really risky experiment.
But look, it paid off.
And now my human-made spider web is holding both Dennis and my ice cream truck.
Look how strong it is.
Okay, I did it.
I'm stuck now.
You know, this is actually pretty incredible, Mindy.
If scientists are able to create a material that's as strong and as durable as a spider silk, they could essentially use the same process to create materials that work the same way plastic does.
Did someone say plastic?
Because I don't use plastic.
I've never even heard of plastic before.
And it sounds really bad for the environment to me.
Yes, but they can make a plastic-like material that doesn't harm the Earth the same way real plastic does.
Especially the plastics that we use once and then just throw away.
What?
Single-use plastic?
Oh, who would do such a thing?
Not me, that's for sure.
And I definitely wouldn't have a whole dumpster full because that would just be awful.
And that boy never stopped talking.
Who said that?
Was it a ghost?
Him.
Oh, yeah.
G-Force is in the cannon.
I forgot.
I mean, just imagine.
With a discovery like this, we could be on our way to getting rid of those single-use plastics altogether.
Yeah, I mean.
This plant-based vegan spider silk is compostable, meaning that it can break down in a way that's helpful to the planet instead of hurtful.
And creating it doesn't require anything from animals, well, other than the inspiration behind it.
Yay!
Spider-Man day!
Dennis!
Dennis!
And it can be an environmentally good alternative to all the plastic we humans use and waste every single day.
And it also makes a great spider web for holding your ice cream truck.
And your friend, Dennis.
Are we ever going to get him down from there?
Huh, I don't know.
Well, maybe we could shoot him down with this here cannon.
Oh!
Well, we ought to test how strong that web is.
Sorry, Thomas Fingerling, but we've already proved just how strong the web is.
I mean, look at Dennis and the ice cream truck just stuck up inside of it.
Yeah, just look.
So you're not going to shoot me out of the cannon?
No, I don't think we need to.
Well, huh.
Bye!
But you know, Guy Raz, scientists do have to test their experiments more than once to make sure that their findings are consistent.
Yeah, boy.
Science.
Mindy, you're going to shoot your own grandmother out of a cannon into a giant spider web?
Of course I'm not going to do that, Guy Raz.
Thomas Fingerling is.
Fire in the hole.
Yeah.
Welcome to my web.
Fingerling, you get me out of this thing.
I'm stuck.
All right, all right.
Hold your horses.
Let me just climb up here and I'll just... Uh-oh.
Well, now I'm stuck.
Somebody want to give me a hand?
He's looking at you, Guy Raz.
Get in there.
Me?
Why do I have to do it?
It's your web.
Fine, I'll do it.
Coming!
Hurry it up, young lady.
You know, Reggie, that really is an impressive web she's woven.
I mean, who knew that spider silk could inspire something strong enough to hold all of our friends in one ice cream truck?
Guy Raz?
Oh, no.
All right.
Here I come.
Climb.
Climb.
Oh, no.
Oh, no.
Oh, Guy.
I think I must be stuck.
Oh, you think?
Don't worry, everyone.
I know what to do.
What?
Just stay here forever, together woven in an intricate tapestry of friendship.
And soy protein isolate.
Oh, snap!
Reggie!
Save me, pigeon!
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. at Tinkercast.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 our show or an upcoming episode of Two What's and a Wow.
Thanks again for listening, and until next time, keep on wowing!
Wow in the world was made by Tinkercast.
And sent to you by Wondery.
