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Hey, Wowser fams, Mindy here.
And before we start the show...
Oh, hey, Reg. What's that?
A new pigeon dropping?
Isn't that the postcard you send out to members of the World Organization of Wowsers every quarter?
Can I see it? What?
You need to see if I'm a member of the W -O -W first?
All right. Come on.
It's me, Mindy. Huh?
You're not seeing a Mindy on the list?
OK, try Mandy. I think Thomas Fingerling signed me up.
Yes. Can I get my pigeon dropping now?
What? I got to wait for it in the mail?
But it's right there.
hair. Okay, fine. Guess I'll go wait out by the mailbox.
In the meantime, to get the next quarterly mailing from Reggie, grownups, you can sign your wowser up to be a member of the World Organization of Wowsers by Sunday, July 27th.
It's so top secret, I haven't even seen it yet.
Now, where did I put my mailbox?
Grownups, when you sign your wowser up to be a member of the World Organization of Wowzers, you also get birthday cards in the mail from me and Guy Raz, access to over a thousand online activities inspired by our podcast, and a welcome kit from me and Guy Raz, including our autographs and a special t -shirt.
Plus, you get to help support all the work that goes into powering the wow at Tinkercast. Grownups, visit Tinkercast .com slash membership to sign up today.
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Wee -wow on the weekend Wee -wow on the weekend Wee -wow on the weekend Because this is what we do on the weekend Talking, laughing Me and Reggie Singing, laughing And then we Oh wait, no, I said laughing twice Ah, whatever Wee -wow on the weekend Yeah, wee -wow on the weekend Clap, clap, we wow on The Weeknd Cause this is what we do on The Weeknd Hello and welcome to We Wow on The Weeknd I'm your host, Dennis And that's Reggie, the giant pigeon Right, right, right, he's my co -host And my best friend And pickleball partner This is the show where we hang out And chit -chat And answer questions from our
fans And listen to Tinkercast podcasts podcasts.
So, Reggie, what's new?
Ooh, you took a bike ride.
That's fun. Oh, a sky bike ride.
What's that? Ew, sounds like a lot of flapping and pedaling, but in a fun way.
What's new with me?
Well, let me just crack the old diary slash memoir open and I'll tell you in a new segment I like to call Dear Diary.
Dear Diary, it's me again.
Writing to you and sharing with my friends.
Dear Diary, let's take a look and read all the cool stuff that I wrote down.
Dear Diary, how are you?
I am fine. Today I saw Mindy talking to Guy in her backyard. yard. Oh, hey, Mindy.
But I couldn't hear them so good.
So I decided to go for an afternoon snoop in Mindy's gingerbread garden shed.
I'm gonna go snoop.
But once I got to the shed, I still couldn't hear them so good.
So I tried to get out, but the door was locked.
So I decided to climb out of a window.
But I got stuck. Then, while I was stuck, a squirrely squirrel climbed up on the side of the shed to say hi.
Hi, Squirrel. I mean, shh, I'm snooping, and I'm stuck.
And then it bit me on the nose.
Oh, why? So cute, but so biting.
Finally, I managed to push myself back inside the shed.
Ah! And I fell into a pile of watering cans.
I got up, dusted myself off, and tripped over a rake.
Ah! Then a flower pot fell on my head.
I can't see. I can't see.
And then I fell into a pile of mulch. The mulch was actually nice and soft, and the flower pot made everything all dark.
So I settled down for a nice nap.
When I finally woke up, someone had pushed me all the way home in Mindy's wheelbarrow.
What the? How'd I get here?
Oh, it was you. Thanks, Reggie.
The End by Dennis What'd you think, Reggie?
No, only I can read my diary.
It's secret. Okay, next up is a little segment I like to call Inside Tinkercast Studios!
Inside Tinkercast Studios This is the part where we revisit an episode of one of my favorite Tinkercast shows And today, we're listening to Wow in the World Season 3, Episode 6 Called Duck Duck Poop, A Tale of Symbiosis What?
Another poop one? What is it with Wow in the World and poop?
It's always poop this or poop that Or the poop troop or poop poop kajoop It's like they think poop is funny or something thing oh ha ha real mature reggie okay here we go and play wee wow we'll be right back grown -ups this message is for you hey grown -ups it may be summer but learning doesn't have to stop whether you're keeping up a light homeschool curriculum through the break or just want to help your child catch up stay sharp, or get a head start on school, IXL can help.
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Now back to the show!
And then I said, oh, your baby can talk.
Well, Big Dipper, I can eat a fork.
And I did, right there in the middle of that buffet.
That was two weeks ago, and I still haven't passed it.
Okay, okay. Thank you, Grandma G -Force.
That was, um, a story.
And to everyone else, thank you for joining us for our first annual Regional Library Story Slam Potluck and Pajama Party, sponsored in part by the Knuckle Hut.
Oh, the Knuckle Hut?
Off Highway 72? Why, I hear kids under three get in free.
Mindy, is that Thomas Fingerling?
From the Knuckle Hut?
Oh, wow! Coupons on the website.
KnuckleHut .biz. Our next storyteller of the evening is a person who owes an outstanding amount of debt to libraries across the region and who has proven that even an indoor voice can become an outdoor voice if you really believe in yourself.
Please give a long overdue round of applause for Mindy.
Hi! Well, thank you for that introduction, and for really just allowing me back into the library after that incident where I cooked one of your cookbooks.
I know that my future here was kinda dicey for a little while after that, and it's just really, really good to be back.
No, no, please, hold your knuckle -cracking and applause.
It's not that big of a deal, I'm just...
That's my granddaughter That's my grandma G -Force Hi grandma G -Force Did somebody call my name?
That's my best friend Thumbs up Mindy, you got this Okay Roz Okay, well, today I would like to share with you A non -fiction story About a duck Yeah, non -fiction Shh What?
Factual assertions are sweet And it goes a little something like this Sorry It's taken me a second to unscroll the story Okay, here we go Ahem Once upon a time There was a duck What was the duck's name?
Uh, I don't know if it had a name It was just a duck I once wrestled a duck Named Waddle What?
He was a real fire quacker I tell you what Shut your bell, G -Force.
I want to hear about the duck.
Well, duck and cover, fingerling.
Okay, can we just get back to the story, please?
Oh, I love stories.
What's it about? So, every morning, this duck would visit his favorite pond in search of his favorite food, duckweed.
And this particular duckweed had a name, and its name was Wolffia columbiana, known for being one of the teeniest, tiniest flowering plants ever found in nature.
Oh yes, duckweed. You know guys, there is some buzz in the health food community that duckweed, when grown in clean water, could be the next superfood.
Which means that other superfoods like kale and quinoa could be getting some healthy competition.
In fact, some places in Southeast Asia, they're already on it.
This is so exciting!
Gross! Oh, sorry, sorry.
Sorry. And once this duck ate all the duckweed he could fit into his little ducky belly, he would fly off to another pond containing no duckweed, and there he would drop off a magical gift. What in the world wide web are you talking about?
Magical gift? Like a Christmas present from Santa?
Did the duck wrap the present first?
Good question! We want details.
Now, what kind of wrapping paper was it?
Well, actually, in a way, this duck did wrap this magical gift. He wrapped it in his own poop.
We're listening. You see, this duck would waddle all around, pooping it up like nobody's beeswax.
And then, with almost every poop, a new duckweed plant would appear and then multiply.
And before he knew it, the entire pond was covered in a thick emerald green carpet of duckweed.
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait a minute here, Mindy.
If there's one thing I know about duckweed, it's that it has the ability to copy itself or multiply.
And even if the duck in your story ate the duckweed plant earlier, it's not like its poop would have anything to do with why it would suddenly appear in this new pond.
She said it was a magical mystery!
Oh, I believe I've got it.
Just like a chicken can lay an egg, the duck laid poop eggs filled with self -multiplying plants called duckweeds.
Oh, good thinking, Miss Missy!
See? See? Ducks ain't the only ones what poop eggs.
Ahem! Who is supposed to be telling the story here?
Oh, sorry, sorry. Thank you!
So, the question you should be asking is how?
How did this mysterious layer of duckweed suddenly appear in the very place where there was none?
And was it just a mere coincidence that the duckweed began to multiply from the exact spots where the duck was doing its bathroom business?
Was there something magical about this poop?
Or was it just a curious case of cold, hard science?
Cold science. Yeah, I suppose magic poop ain't exactly non -fictional.
Oh, oh, oh, I know, I know, I know.
Pick me, pick me. me yes skyrazz thank you for calling on me mindy now if you'll all allow me to interject here well actually i didn't you see scientists have known for quite a long time that some birds carry certain seeds from place to place and they do this through their uh digestive systems and so when they reach their destination they uh you know they poop out viable seeds and viable meaning meaning that even after the seeds pass through the bird's digestive system, they still have the ability to germinate or to begin to grow.
Yes, and many seeds, including seeds of tomatoes, have incredibly strong protective layers, layers that protect the seed from anything that might threaten the teeny tiny growing plant baby inside of it.
That is true, Guy Raz.
I was born a plant baby.
Okay, well, um, thank you for that interjection.
Now, you see everyone, the protective layers of certain seeds are so strong that when swallowed by a bird or a duck, not even the stomach acids could break through the shell.
Amazing. Now, would anyone mind if I got back to my story now?
Uh, quick question, are ducks technically birds or fish?
You ever heard of a chicken of the sea?
Who you calling a chicken?
Everyone, I am trying to tell you a story here.
Oh, sorry. Sorry, sir.
Thank you. Now, where was I?
You're at the library.
Oh, right. Yes. So, to solve this mystery of the scientific magic poop, a group of scientists from southern Brazil entered the scene.
One of them, a graduate student named Guilandro Silva from Unicinos University in Brazil, was dressed head to toe in curiosity.
And I suppose he wanted to find out whether or not the duckweed was catching a ride in the feces or the poop of the duck as it traveled from one pond to the other.
Well, not only that, Guy Raz, but he also wanted to find out how a duck like this was was able to spread seeds or pieces of duckweed plant from pond to pond.
So what did he do? Well, he did what any good scientist would do, and he set out on a mission to collect as much duck poop as he could possibly find.
Anything for science.
And then he took the duck poop back to his lab and stuck it into the freezer next to his mini bagel pizzas.
Anything for science.
And that's when this story takes a turn for the wow.
Just as this scientist was digging into the duck poop, he noticed something very unusual.
At first, he couldn't believe his eyes.
So he pulled out his trusty magnifying glass and inched closer and closer and closer to the duck poop.
and you'll never guess what he found.
A million dollars! Duckweed.
Whole bulbs of it. And get this.
They were all still completely intact.
It looked almost exactly like all of the other duckweed that had not been pooped out of a duck.
Good shoots! Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Wait a minute here, Mindy.
You mean to tell us that inside this duck poop poop that he'd collected, froze, saved, and dissected that he found teeny tiny duckweed plants and they were all still perfectly intact?
Guys, even after being swallowed, digested, and pooped out of the duck, the plants were not only still intact, but they were also alive.
alive. Wait, wait a minute.
I know I'm saying that a lot, but Mindy, are you sure this wasn't just a one -time fluke of nature?
I mean, like we said, certain seeds can pass through a bird's digestive system intact because they have that strong protective casing.
But you're talking about the plant itself.
I can't see how it could possibly pass through all those stomach acids and and survive!
I got eaten by a duck once, and I ate it, bam!
Guy Raz, you're right to be skeptical of this discovery.
In fact, even these researchers were shocked and surprised by what they found.
So to make sure that it wasn't just a one -time fluke of nature, they went back out into the field, collected even more duck poop, this time from three different ducks, took it all back to the lab, and then pick the teeny tiny bulbs of duckweed out of the poop one by one and place them in small glass petri dishes.
And petri dishes are these small, shallow, round dishes that biologists use to do things like multiply bacteria.
Yes, that is a petri dish.
In fact, the petri dish is actually named after the famous German bacteriologist Julius Ricard Petrie, who passed away in the year 1921.
Old Julius Petrie. He was my roommate back in college.
How old are you? Thank you for that sidebar, Guy Raz.
You're welcome. As I was saying, in an effort to see whether or not these duckweed plants found in the different duck poops were still alive, these scientists put them into different Petrie dishes and waited.
And waited. And? And what did they discover?
Wait for it. I'm waiting.
Wait for it. Mindy.
Wait for it. Sounds like somebody brought a duck to story hour.
Guy Raz, everyone, not only did these scientists discover that many of the duckweed plants were still alive, but that they were multiplying.
Before they knew it, seven duckweed bulbs were suddenly filling up a petri dish that had previously only had one.
So that means not even the stomach acids or the digestion process were able to stop this amazing plant from thriving.
In the words of Jeff Goldblum playing the role of Dr. Ian Malcolm in the 1993 sci -fi adventure hit Jurassic Park, life, uh, finds a way.
And then what? I'm sorry, what?
You said the duckweed survived the digestion process.
How did it do that?
Oh, right, yes. So actually, the answer to that question is best left for the future of scientific exploration.
Oh, no, not a cliffhanger.
Well, see, these scientists still don't know.
I mean, they do have a few theories, like maybe it has something to do with the round, globe -like shape of this particular duckweed mixed with the fact that it's really, really small.
Which, I presume, would help with the speed of digestion, giving it less time for those killer stomach acids to soak in.
Exact Doritos. But for now, we still don't know for sure.
Well, I'm gonna go find out myself.
Hold up, fingerlings.
Not without me or not.
I'm going too. Did they just...
So in conclusion, this duck continued to spread the riches of duckweed to ponds and wetlands all over the world, one scientifically magical poop at a time.
The end. Mindy, everyone, thank you for that inspiring story of pooping propagation.
Next up, in our Night at the Library Story Slam Potluck and Pajama Party, We're going to change into our pajamas and then continue with more stories before moving on to the potluck portion of the evening.
No, please, ma 'am. Changing is in the bathroom.
Oh, no. That was a really fascinating story, Mindy.
Thanks, Guy Razzi. You know, the relationship between the duck and the duckweed was a great example of symbiosis, or the close relationship between two different organisms or living things.
Symbiosis, huh. Oh, yes, like a symbiotic relationship Exactly, I was just reading about this and I learned that there are three different kinds of symbiotic relationships Yeah, and what are they?
The first is called mutualism and that's the type of symbiotic relationship where both organisms benefit or get something good out of the relationship Yeah, like in our friendship.
Remember that time I removed two of your wisdom teeth for you while you were sleeping?
And then you gave them to me to make myself a pair of earrings?
Uh, Mindy, I do not remember giving you my wisdom teeth to make earrings.
Well, do you remember complimenting me on them?
Wow, those are some interesting earrings, Mindy.
They look like real teeth.
That's because they are real teeth, Guy Raws.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.
Really? You know, maybe a better example of mutualism would be the symbiotic relationship between plants and pollinators.
Uh, yeah. So a lot of flowering plants provide food like nectar or pollen for birds and bees and other pollinators, right?
That's right. Very generous of those flowers.
But they get something out of it, too.
In return, the pollinators carry the pollen of the plant to other plants and fertilize them to help them reproduce.
The birds and the bees get to eat, and the plants get to survive and multiply.
Exact Doritos. And my duck story from earlier is also a really good example of mutualism.
Huh, that's right. The duckweed provided itself as food for the duck.
Yes. And in return, the duck would allow the duckweed to hitch a ride in its poop.
And then the duck would drop it off in a place that maybe needed duckweed.
And the duckweed would multiply and spread for more ducks to eat.
A symbiotic relationship built in mutualism.
Whoa, pretty wow. Okay, so the next type of symbiotic relationship is commensalism.
Commensalism. Oh wait, this is where only one species is helped while the other is like, no big deal either way.
Yes, in commensalism, only one species benefits while the other is neither helped nor harmed.
Like when I eat scraps from your compost bin.
I get to enjoy all of your leftover pizza crusts and you don't even notice they're missing since you were just going to compost it all anyway.
You ate the pizza crusts out of my compost bin?
Let's not focus on where it came from, okay?
I'm just, do you know where?
Okay, time for the third and final type of symbiotic relationship.
That would be parasitism.
Parasitism. Hmm, I think I know where you're going with this one.
Parasitism is the type of symbiotic relationship where one organism or parasite benefits while the other organism suffers.
So, parasitism is like when, um, like when fleas or ticks stick themselves to dogs or cats and then live on their blood?
Yes! Or that one time that you had that fungus attack the plants in your garden, thriving on the life it sucked out of them?
Yes! Or every time you take the wheels off my car for a new invention.
Or that time you shaved off my eyebrows while I was sleeping and gave them to Reggie for his birthday.
Okay, technically, Reggie benefited from your eyebrows more than I did, and it was only one eyebrow because you woke up halfway through.
Or that time I re -frosted your entire gingerbread house, and then I found you on the roof eating all of the hard work that I had just put in.
Parasitism. Symbiotic parasitism.
Oh, Fingerling, you could have just ridden on my handlebars.
And risk injuring these prize -winning knuckles?
No way, mister. Looks like our favorite new symbiotic relationship is back.
Uh... Hey, Grandma G -Force.
Did you and Thomas Fingerling find out how the duckweed was able to survive the duck's digestive system?
Nah, Fingerling over here couldn't find the car.
I told you I don't own a car.
I use ride sharing mobile apps.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go look for a book on how to use ridesharing mobile apps in the card catalog.
I'll look you up in the card catalog.
Well, it looks like we might have to wait a little longer before we're able to solve this particular scientific mystery.
I kind of like that the more we know, the more scientific mysteries reveal themselves.
Oh, speaking of scientific mysteries, looks like Reggie is about to take the podium.
Reggie? Our next storyteller of the evening just flew into town, and boy are his arms tired.
I'm sorry, that should be wings.
Please give a warm round of applause for our resident library pigeon, Reggie!
Here we go. Whoa! That was so cool!
Yeah, the ducks and the duckweed have a symbiotic relationship.
It's just like us, Reggie.
Symbiosis means we help each other.
I help Reggie and he helps me.
We're just like ducks and duckweed, except we don't eat each other or poop each other out, yeah.
Hey, Reggie, guess what?
I'm thirsty. Yeah, let's wrap up the show and go get bubble tea Thanks to all you listeners out there For tuning in to Wee Wow on the weekend If you have a question for me Call and leave me a message At 1 -888 -7 -WOW -WOW That's 1 -888 -7 -WOW -WOW And don't forget to call in with your super cool talents For the talent show Okay, should we do the goodbye song?
Here we go. That's the end of the show.
I need to go and get a taro milk tea with boba and red bean jelly.
But I'll do another show tomorrow.
But for now, that's the end of the show.
Bye. Grownups, if you like Wow in the World, you can listen early and ad -free right now on Wondery+.
Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Wondery Kids Plus on Apple Podcasts.
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