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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!
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.
Wee-wow on the weekend.
Wee-wow on the weekend.
Because this is what we do on the weekend.
Hello?
Welcome to Wee Wow on the Weekend.
I'm your host, Dennis.
And also Reggie is here as my co-host.
Hey Reggie, do you notice anything different about me?
No, it's not that.
No, it's not that either.
Reggie, look at my hair.
How did you not see that my hair is blue today?
Oh, you were just teasing me.
Don't tease me.
I don't like it.
Yeah, I use blue hairspray.
No, it's the kind that washes out.
Because I might want another color later.
Well, what about you?
Do you think you'd ever change the color of your feathers for a day?
What color?
Really?
Oh, like kind of an ombre thing?
Oh, wow.
And then style it with a bowl cut and a handsome hat?
That's great!
You should do that.
Well, should we jump into our first segment?
Hooray!
Let's answer some questions with a Q&A segment.
Ahem.
The Q&A segment.
Okay, Reggie, where are the questions?
Reggie, no!
I want to answer the questions that got written in, not the phone calls.
You were supposed to print them out.
You had one job, Reggie.
Well, quick.
Print them out now.
Is it done?
Hurry up, printer.
Finally.
Thank you.
Okay.
Okay, this first question comes from username Tween.
And the message says, Dennis, we are Emma and Chloe.
We are wondering if snooping on Mindy and Guy Raz is on a schedule.
Thanks, we love you.
Well, Chloe and Emma, of course I have a schedule.
I eavesdrop on Mindy on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and then I snoop on Guy Raz on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
They're usually together on Mondays, so I check on them before I go to water aerobics.
Because, Reggie, water aerobics is fun and good for you.
Next question.
All right, this one comes from username mbwinter633 and the message says Dennis, Why do leaves turn different colors in the different seasons?
Wow, good question, MBWinter633.
And I happen to know the answer.
Because, Reggie, I asked Guy Raz this same question last fall, and I wrote it down in my journal.
Okay, let's just see here.
Ah, here it is.
My journal entry from September 25th.
Ahem.
Today I asked Guy Raz why the leaves and the trees turn so many beautiful colors in the fall.
Do they just get tired of green and want a new outfit?
Guy Raz said no, that actually the leaves on the trees are always red and yellow all year long.
But you just can't see those colors during the sunniest months of the summer, because the leaves have a whole bunch of of something called chlorophyll, which is green.
No, Reggie, I said chlorophyll.
Right, you got it.
Chlorophyll is the chemical that turns sunlight into tree food.
I know!
So when there's less sunlight, there's less chlorophyll, so the green color disappears and we start to see the orange and yellow colors of the leaves come through.
Isn't that cool?
This next question comes from username IamBlueberry2016.
The message says, what is your favorite food?
Mine is spaghetti.
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
I'm confused.
Is this from a blueberry who likes spaghetti?
Oh, you don't think IamBlueberry2016 is really a blueberry?
Whew, that's a relief.
And a little misleading.
Whew.
Well, I am Blueberry 2016.
My favorite food is burritos.
No, wait.
Pizza.
No, wait.
Nectarines.
Nectarines, Reggie.
They're kind of like peaches.
Oh, yeah.
Maybe my favorite food is peaches.
What about a peach pizza burrito?
Reggie, don't yuck my yum.
My favorite food is peach pizza burritos and I don't care who knows it.
Next question.
Okay, this looks like the last one.
This one comes to us from username Nathaniel.
And the message says, do you ever see an invention getting made when you're not supposed to be?
Well, Nathaniel, that depends on what you mean.
Like, do you mean have I ever snuck into the laboratory of bad ideas?
And ignored the signs that say keep out?
And the other sign that says, especially you, Dennis?
And the other sign that says, seriously, Dennis, keep out, I mean it, left Mindy?
And then have I secretly watched Mindy inventing a machine that turns fish food into energy-efficient rocket fuel, and then jumped out and said hi Mindy, what you making?
And then she accidentally dropped it and the whole thing exploded?
Nope, that's never, ever happened.
Sorry to disappoint you, Nathaniel.
Okay, I think we answered all Next up is a little segment I like to call Inside Tinkercast Studios.
Ahem, ahem.
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 1, Episode 16, called Hot Buttered Popcorn Pee.
What?
Reggie!
Who's peeing on popcorn?
Oh wait, no.
Are they putting popcorn in the pee?
Reggie, what is this?
Hmm?
Oh, maybe it's a typo.
Like, is it supposed to say, hot buttered popcorn, please?
And somebody wrote it wrong?
Yeah, it's probably a typo.
Let's listen to the episode.
Okay, here we go.
And play.
WeWow will be right back.
Grownups, 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.
What 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 curious wowzer in mind.
You can shop our Wow in the World toys at Tinkercast.com slash toys.
That's Tinkercast.com slash toys.
Now back to the show.
I smell popcorn.
Somebody's definitely making popcorn.
And I'm going to find it.
Because as the great detective Toucan Sam always says, follow your nose, it always knows.
Hey, Mindy, I'm in the kitchen.
I'm just doing some science experiments.
Wait.
You're popping up science?
Well uh Well, in that case, Guy Raz, I'll take a bag of red vines and a large soda, because it smells like this science is about to take us to the movies.
First of all, Mindy soda and red licorice are both full of sugar and artificial colors and are linked to all kinds of long-term Satisfaction.
Because they are so delicious.
Oh well, Okay Roz, the last time we went to the movies, all you brought was dried seaweed and sprouted wheat berries.
This time, I'm packing the snacks.
Who said anything about the movies?
I'm doing science here.
Well, all I see is a bag of hot butter, jiffy pop on the counter, just waiting to release that delicious smell of movie theater all through the house.
Precisely, Mindy.
That's the experiment.
Here.
Can you hold this bag while I cut it open?
Yeah, sure.
By the way, Guy Raz, love the fact that you're wearing a white lab coat to make popcorn.
It really classes up the experiment.
There.
Ah.
The smell of two acetyl-1-pyrolyne.
Wait, what did you just say?
Oh, I'm taking in the smell of two acetyl-1-pyrolyne.
Uh.
The what?
Mindy, you and I have just experienced the Maillard reaction right here in this bag of hot buttered popcorn.
Right, the Maillard reaction.
Uh, yeah, so what is that?
Well, it's what happens when you heat up kernels of uncooked popcorn, or when you toast bread, or when you cook some rice.
It's named after a famous French scientist named Louis Maillard, who first discovered it back in 1912.
Whoa.
Time out.
I need to imagine this discovery.
Oh, la, la.
I take the amino acids in this room reducing sugars.
Crank up the heat and voila the Maillard reaction.
Whoa.
So according to my imagination, Louis Maillard basically invented hot butter popcorn.
Well, not the popcorn, but he did discover what makes things like popcorn or rice or toasted bread smell so delicious.
And it happens when the acids and the natural sugars in these foods get heated up.
They form a chemical compound called 2-acetyl-1-pyrolyne, or for short, 2-AP.
Okay, and just to be clear, Guy Raz, when you say chemical compounds, you're talking about the tiny microscopic molecules inside the popcorn.
Exactly, Mindy.
Molecules are invisible and they happen when two or more atoms form a bond or like a friendship.
Oh, so kind of like you and me, Guy Raz.
Best friends.
Forever, right?
Yeah, and atoms are these teeny tiny, invisible little balls that are in almost everything in the universe, even in the air we breathe.
I'm breathing in all the atoms!
There are invisible atoms in the oxygen that fills our lungs, and almost everything in our universe includes invisible atoms from hydrogen, which is the most abundant chemical in our universe.
Yeah, and when an oxygen atom becomes friends with a couple of hydrogen atoms, you get a molecule better known as H2O.
That's my favorite molecule, Mindy.
H2O, better known as water.
Ah, just love the taste of fresh molecules in the morning.
Okay.
So now that we've got that down to the hot buttered popcorn, hang on a second, guy ross, i'm firing up netflix time to make my own molecular compound using hot buttered popcorn combined with the minion movie.
Well, that's not not exactly.
Well, that doesn't matter.
Anyway mindy, we don't have time for movies.
You don't have time.
What are you talking about, guy ross?
Last week i broke all of your clocks when you were running late so that you wouldn't have to worry about time.
The time is now 3 30 pm.
I'll tell you what time it.
No, I mean, now that we've experienced the Maillard reaction and now that we know the chemical compound 2-AP smells so delicious It really does.
We've got to get to the bottom of a mystery.
A mystery?
Guy Raz.
The only mystery I smell is why we're standing here staring at a fresh bag of hot buttered popcorn and not eating it.
Well, to get to the bottom of this mystery, we're going to have to take a trip to the rainforests of indonesia.
Whoa, that is really far away.
But you know what?
My carrier, pigeon reggie, can totally take us.
Hang on a second.
Hey reggie, i need you to fly us to southeast asia stat whoa, watch out kairos.
Oh reggie, you really stick that landing.
All right, Guy Raz, come on, hop aboard.
We've got no time to wait.
Okay, I'm ready, Mindy.
But by the way, thanks so much for letting us fly on Reggie.
It's so much easier than going commercial.
And no lines to get through security.
I know, he doesn't even care if you bring snakes on board.
Reggie, get ready to step on the gas.
Guy Raz, here we go! delivery.
Must have been feeding Reggie some high-powered bird seed lately.
Mindy, Mindy, keep quiet.
Do you smell that?
Yeah, it smells like hot buttered popcorn.
But why are we whispering?
Mindy, keep it down.
We just found an important clue.
Okay, but all I smell is hot buttered popcorn.
I'm not seeing any clues.
That's the The hot buttered popcorn is exactly why we're here.
Wait a minute.
We came all the way to the rainforests of Indonesia to eat hot buttered popcorn?
We could have just done that in your kitchen back home.
No, but we did come here to find the source of that hot buttered popcorn smell.
Well, wouldn't the source just be the hot buttered popcorn?
Well actually, the source of that hot buttered popcorn smell is an animal that lives in the lives in this forest.
Animals are making that popcorn smell, that's right and specifically an animal known as the asian binturong.
It's also called the bear cat because it it kind of looks like a cross between a baby bear and a cat.
A cross between a baby bear and a cat yes oh, that's so cute.
I can't stand it uh, Wow.
Well, if those bear cats are making popcorn, they better not be charging as much as they do at the movie theater.
Can you even believe it?
They're not actually making popcorn, nor are they selling it.
Okay, so then who's making the popcorn?
Well, no one.
In fact, Mindy, the smell you're smelling, the delicious smell of fresh, hot, buttered popcorn?
Yeah?
It's actually, uh... Yeah?
It's from, uh...
Urine.
Urine what?
Urine.
From their urine.
Yeah, I think there might be something wrong with my ears, Guy Raz, because for a second there I thought you said that the smell of hot buttered popcorn that we're sniffing in this Indonesian rainforest is actually bear cat pee.
I thought that's what you said.
Yeah, that's exactly what I said.
Wow.
Okay, so you're telling me that when bear cats pee...
Their urine smells like hot buttered popcorn.
That's what I'm saying, Mindy.
And right now, by my sense of smell, there may be some bearcats lurking nearby in this forest.
Oh, oh, shh, shh, shh.
Oh, oh, in fact, Mindy, I think I see one right now.
Oh, I see it too.
And I think it's going to pee.
Amazing.
Ow, Ken Ross, I think it's peeing on its own tail and feet.
Oh, oh.
You're peeing all over yourself.
Mindy, you scared it away.
Well, somebody needed to warn it.
It's disgusting.
Mindy, the bear cat pees on its own tail and feet on purpose, deliberately.
What?
Ugh, you're going to have to explain this one to me.
Well, the bear cat pees on its tail, so as it walks away, it drags its tail on the ground and leaves a trail of pee that smells like Hot.
Buttered popcorn.
Yes, and guess why it wants to leave that scent.
Well, if my scientific reasoning is still sharp, I guess it's because it was trying to signal something to the other bear cat.
Yes, exactly.
It's a way for this bearcat to send a message to another bearcat.
And that message is, keep out, stay away, this is my turf.
Okay, but I still don't get why their pee smells like hot buttered popcorn.
Well Mindy, a team of scientists led by Lydia Green of Duke University in North Carolina, were wondering the same exact thing.
Why does Bearcat pee smell like hot buttered popcorn?
Man, I love science.
So what did they find out?
Well, the scientists were able to take samples of the Bearcat's pee and then examine it very closely.
And they ran a bunch of experiments, and lo and behold, Mindy, they found their answer.
So what was it?
Well, Mindy.
Remarkably, after looking closely at the Bearcat pee, these scientists found the very same chemical compound.
Found in hot buttered popcorn.
The 2-A-P compound.
Yes, which explains why their pee smells that way.
Yeah, but it still doesn't explain the bigger why their pee smells that way.
Well, here's the beauty of science.
The researchers simply don't know why.
I mean, they think it may be because when the bear cat's pee comes into contact with its skin...
There's a chemical reaction that results in that hot buttered popcorn smell.
Yeah, but if they could figure it out, it seems like that could be very valuable information.
It could.
We could help scientists figure out how certain smells are made and maybe even allow us to create certain smells in a laboratory.
Wow.
You know, I'm thinking that maybe this discovery could even help lead us to new ways of doing things like
Like, I don't know, rescuing endangered animals or something.
Mindy, in fact, the scientists are thinking the same thing.
I mean imagine a future where we could produce certain smells to attract endangered animals to a safer place.
Yes!
Or even attract an injured animal to a place where an animal doctor or veterinarian could treat it.
That would be amazing.
You know what, Mindy?
What, Guy Raz?
I think our work is done here.
Yeah, all this hot buttered popcorn and pee business has really got me hungry.
I just want to fly back home, fire up the old Netflix and watch my favorite movie, Alvin and the Chipmunks Road Chip.
Good.
You know it.
You've watched that movie like... 349 times.
Yeah, 349 times.
I mean, can we watch something else this time?
Nope.
Hey, Reggie, get back here, you crazy old bird.
We're ready to fly back home.
Wow.
Now hold on tight, Guy Raz, because Reggie's about to crank it up to supersonic speed.
No.
Okay, Reggie, we're ready to go in three, two, one.
Ew, ew, ew, ew, gross.
Reggie, it was about pee.
Ew.
No, I do not want hot buttered popcorn right now.
Well, that and I'm more of a kettle corn person.
Oh, I don't know why it's called kettle corn.
Um, I think it's because you make it in a tea kettle.
Oh, good idea.
Let's wrap up the show and go make some.
Ahem.
Thanks to all you listeners out there for tuning in to WeWow 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.
Or leave a comment on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
And I just might answer your question on WeWow on the Weekend.
All right, the goodbye song.
That's the end.
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 Plus.
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