Grownups, Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to Wow in the World early and ad -free right now.
Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or Wondery Kids Plus on Apple Podcasts.
Hey Grownups, Mindy here from Wow in the World.
And in case you haven't heard the big news, my friend Carly Q.
from Who and Wow Mystery Edition will be hitting the road with me this fall.
And if you live in or around San Francisco or New York City, we are coming to you.
Introducing Make It Wow presented by our friends at Audible.
There's more to imagine when you listen.
Make It Wow is the Bonker Balls competition game show where teams of kids from our live audience are challenged to turn their wildest and weirdest ideas into jaw -dropping inventions live on stage.
Featuring live music from the pop -ups and special appearances from Dennis, Grandma G.
Force and Thomas Fingerling, plus at the San Francisco performance, our buddy Guy Ross will be stopping by too.
So come join the party!
Grownups, you can get your tickets now at Tinkercast .com slash events.
That's Tinkercast .com slash events.
We can't wait to make it wow with you this fall.
Wow on the weekend cause 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.
Whatever! We wow on the weekend.
We wow on the weekend.
We wow on the weekend cause this is what we do on the weekend.
Hello and welcome to We Wow on the Weekend with me, Dennis.
No Reggie, I can't introduce you today.
There's no time because I think the show is getting too long.
We gotta be snappier.
We gotta be punchier.
We gotta have a laugh a minute.
Yes Reggie, a laugh every minute.
I set a timer and when it goes off, we gotta say something funny and get a laugh from my devoted listeners.
Oh well let's just see how much time we have left.
Uh we have 20 seconds.
Ah! Hooray Reggie! Think of something funny.
No, that's not funny enough.
It's got to be funnier.
Hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry.
Reggie, that was the timer.
What do we do? What do we do?
Make a fake toot sound.
Reggie, no. Toots aren't funny.
Well then you make a fake toot sound.
Oh yeah, you don't have lips.
Weird. I never noticed that.
Huh. Yeah, might as well move on to the Q &A segment.
Unless you can think of something funny.
Anything? You got nothing?
Okay fine. The Q &A segment.
And time. All right, let's just get the old answering machine pulled up here.
Okay, here we go. Hi, you've reached Dennis from We Wow on the weekend.
That's me. Do you have a question?
Well I do too. Lots of them.
And who's gonna answer all my questions?
You? Probably not. But I guess I can answer yours.
Leave me a message.
Hi Dennis, my name is Eloise.
If you're reading a book that is 251 pages and you have to finish half of the book in a week, how many pages do you have to be on in one week?
Ooh, is this like a riddle?
What? You don't think so?
Oh, you think Eloise has a reading assignment and is trying to figure out how much work it's gonna be?
Well, let's see. Half of 251 would be 125 and a half pages.
And you're probably not gonna want to stop in the middle of a page, especially if it's a good story, so it'll probably be at least 126 pages.
But make sure not to count the title pages and the table of contents page.
Those are free pages.
You can skip those.
And then double check that the end of the book doesn't have an index.
Don't count any index or glossary pages either.
What book do you think Eloise is reading?
Yeah, I hope it's a good one too.
Next question. Hi, I'm Siobhan.
I live in Berkeley, California.
How do puffer fish like blow up into a giant bubble thingamabobber?
Great question Siobhan.
How do puffer fish like blow up into a giant bubble thingamabobber?
Maybe they hold in their burps?
Their toots then. Okay fine, Mr.
Smarty Pigeon. We'll look it up.
Asking Zoodle, how do puffer fish blow up?
Okay, let's see. When a puffer fish is frightened, it unhinges its jaw, widens its mouth, swallows a large amount of water, and stretches its skin.
This is way too freaky.
Next question. Hi Dennis.
I'm Stephanie from Hopkins, Minnesota.
My question is why are we the only animals who cry when we're sad?
What? Is that true?
No other animal cries tears?
Oh wow. Huh, I had no idea.
And now that I think about it, not only do my eyes cry tears when I'm sad, my nose cries boogers when I'm sad too.
Do other animals' noses cry boogers when they're sad?
And what about when they need to blow their noses?
Can any animals blow their noses with a tissue?
Or do they even have tissues?
Being an animal must be hard.
Well, thanks for your calls everyone.
If you've got a question for me, call and leave me a message.
The number is 1 -888 -7 -WOW -WOW.
I just might answer your question on wee wow on the weekend.
Okay, that takes care of that.
Alright, 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 this weekend, we're revisiting episodes from the very first season of Wow in the World.
Today, we're doing a story from episode 11 called How Pandas Got Their Spots.
In this episode, Minby and Guy Roz discuss an animal ability called Cripsis.
Uh, I actually don't remember what Cripsis is.
Where are my notes?
Uh, okay, what do we got?
Okay, here we go. Cripsis.
Raje! Cripsis is spelled with a C -R -Y.
Does that have something to do with how animals cry?
Is that how pandas got their spots?
They cried and cried and cried until their moms gave them spots?
Oh yeah, I suppose probably not.
Let's play the episode and find out.
Okay, here we go. And play.
WeWow. We'll be right back.
Grownups, this message is for you.
Hey Grownups, Minnie here from Wow in the World.
And let me tell you, Carly Q and I are so excited to make it Wow in U -Nork City, I mean New York and San Francisco with our new live show, Make It Wow, presented by Audible.
There's more to imagine when you listen.
And apparently you're excited too because our San Francisco performance is filling up and our New York City performance is almost sold out.
So we're adding even more Wow with a second show for New York City.
Grownups, get your tickets today at Tinkercast .com slash events.
That's Tinkercast .com slash events.
That's it. We'll see you there.
That's it. Now back to the show.
Hey Mindy, have you heard of the word kripsis?
Oh, yeah, Guy Ross.
Let me tell you a story.
So one time I was eating a bucket of Christmas fried chicken that was so big I actually climbed inside the bucket.
And then just when I was about to take my savory last bite, I fell asleep in the bucket, nap there for the rest of the afternoon.
So yeah, I love some Christmas fried chicken.
No, no, I don't think that's the thing.
I said kripsis. Oh, kripsis.
Well, in that case, nope, I've never heard of it.
Well, neither did I until recently when I happened to come across that word in a scientific journal.
And a scientific journal is just a fancy way of describing a magazine for scientists and researchers.
And the journal I was reading is called Behavioral Ecology.
So what did this journal tell you about this kripsis business and why it's so hard to say?
Well, it sounds like a complicated word, but it's a word scientists use to describe an animal that hides or camouflages its body in the wild to, you know, protect itself from predators or other animals that might try to eat it.
Oh, so kripsis is like when one of those cool lizards that looks like tree bark blends in with the trees so well that you can't see it.
Exactly. Or when a white arctic fox blends in with a bag of marshmallows in your pantry.
You got it, Mindy. That's kripsis.
When an animal is able to blend into its environment to protect itself from harm.
So why were you reading about kripsis anyway?
Well, I came across a very interesting discovery that has to do with a very specific animal and how it blends into its environment.
And that animal is the panda.
The panda? Yeah, pandas.
But what do pandas have to do with hiding?
I mean, everyone knows a panda is pretty much the easiest creature to see.
Well, that's what a team of scientists from the University of California Davis and Cal State Long Beach also thought, Mindy.
And the story begins when these scientists wanted to find out how pandas got their patches.
Yeah, that's a good question.
How did pandas get their patches?
Well, as you know, Mindy, pandas are some of the most unusual and beautiful creatures in the world.
And they're only found in the wild in central China.
And as you know, Mindy, they have a white head and body, but also black furry spots around their eyes and then black furry arms and legs.
And these spots are what gives the giant panda a piebald appearance.
A pie what? Piebald.
Guy Roz, first we're talking about kripsis, then patches, now bald pies?
Well, not exactly Mindy.
Piebald is a word we use to describe things that are two different colors.
And normally we use the word piebald to describe animals that are light colored with dark patches.
So for example, a horse with giant spots or a black and white cow.
Or maybe a bald eagle?
Actually Mindy, that's exactly right.
A bald eagle usually has a white head, a brown body, and then some white tail feathers.
And the bald eagle was actually named after the word piebald.
So was another bird called the magpie.
Magpie. That's right.
And a magpie is a sweet little black and white bird that is a cousin of the crow.
Huh. So basically a piebald animal is just an animal with patches of light and dark.
Yeah, that's that's an excellent way to think about it.
So why do pandas even have patches anyway?
Why aren't they like other bears?
You know, like all black or all white or all brown?
Well, that's what these scientists I mentioned earlier were trying to figure out.
And after doing a lot of research, they came up with an interesting theory, which is an idea that is backed up by scientific evidence.
So what's the theory?
Well Mindy, the theory goes something like this.
What do pandas eat?
Well, if I were a panda, I would eat panda cakes.
Get it? But I'm pretty sure they probably just eat bamboo.
That's right Mindy, bamboo.
And bamboo is not particularly nutritious.
So pandas have to eat a lot of bamboo every day just to have enough energy to walk around.
Okay, but how does that make their fur black and white?
Well Mindy, because pandas are constantly eating and constantly searching for food.
They spend part of the year in cold and snowy mountains and then part of the year in dark bamboo forests and their white fur allows them to hide from predators in snowy areas.
And their dark patches make it easier for cripsis or hiding in a dark bamboo forest.
But who would go after a panda?
They're so cute! Well pandas are generally safe from most predators, but panda cubs are sometimes hunted by snow leopards.
And of course humans can pose a danger to pandas as well.
Oh, not cool snow leopards in humans?
Hmm, by the way, Kairas, how do pandas tell each other apart?
I mean, they all pretty much look exactly the same.
Well, to us humans Mindy, they may look the same, but each panda has a unique or one -of -a -kind patch of black fur around their eyes.
And that's one of the key ways they can figure out who's who.
Or they could just wear different color pandanas.
Uh, get it? Not really.
Well, I thought it was pretty black and white.
Get it? Uh, you like that Peter Panda?
He doesn't speak English.
Hooray pandas! I love pandas.
They're my favorite animal.
Oh right, I forgot about season seven episode four poo poo panda where I tried to interview pandas and ended up in a pile of horse poop.
Yeah, maybe pandas are my favorite black and white animal after penguins and zebras and dalmatians.
There are black and white pigeons too?
Oh wow. Well, that will just about do it for this edition of wee wow on the weekend.
Thanks for listening everyone and if you want to ask me a question call and leave me a message at one eight eight eight seven wow wow that's one eight eight eight seven wow wow I just might answer your voicemail on wee wow on the weekend.
Okay Reggie, let's go upstairs and make panda cakes.
Panda cakes. I don't know what they are, but Mindy mentioned them in the episode we just listened to and now I want some.
Well, I'm thinking we need cocoa powder and extra sugar and extra buttermilk and extra.
Grownups, if you like wow in the world you can listen early and ad -free right now on Wondery Plus.
Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Wondery Kids Plus on Apple Podcasts.
Prime members can listen ad -free on Amazon Music.
And before you go tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery .com slash survey.
Thanks for joining us for this edition of wee wow on the weekend.
Our show is written by Ruth Morrison and Jed Anderson.
Original sound design and production is done by Henry Moskal and Marion Lozano with help from Jed Anderson and Tyler Thull.
Original music for wee wow on the weekend is composed and performed by Tyler Thull.
Special thanks to Steph Sosa, Rebecca Caban and all of the other tinkerers at Tinkercast HQ.
There's still time to share your wee wow crafternoon challenges with us.
Grownups you can upload pictures and videos of your projects to us at tinkercast .com slash share or call us at 1 -888 -7WowWow.
Our website is tinkercast .com.
There you can learn more about becoming an official member of the World Organization of Wowsers, learn about upcoming events, shop our shop and pick up a copy of the latest edition of our number one New York Times best -selling book series, Wow in the Wild.
Thanks again for thinking, tinkering, experimenting and exploring with us this week.
Meet us back here on Monday for Wow in the World and remember who wows, we wow.
Wow in the World was made by Tinkercast and set to you by Wundery.
