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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 7pm 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!
Hey Reg, does this mini moon look like it's hanging?
You know, I think we're going to need some more duct tape.
Yeah.
Well, in the meantime, I'm just going to display this Hug-O-Matic 3000.
I still can't believe I made a whole hugging robot that was inspired by a jellyfish.
You know I got to say Reg, turning my ice cream truck into a mini museum of our latest adventures, the best idea you've ever had.
It's like a trip down memory lane.
I know.
I'm so glad I never throw anything away.
Look, we've got ticket stubs from when we went to see the world's slowest animals in that 100 meter, not a dash.
Oh, and look, a jar of oobleck from my swimming pool.
Remember, Dennis tried to roller blade through it?
Is this our ancient blue-eyed ancestor baby?
Uh, were we supposed to bring him back from the past?
Uh, why don't you just stick him in that clear glass display case over there?
Yeah, the one next to the smart toilet.
He'll be fine.
Oh, and will you give the toilet a quick flush?
I might have made a deposit earlier.
While you're getting that set up...
I'm just going to carefully hang Dennis's static man cape onto the wall here.
Gets me every time.
Mindy?
Uh, Mindy?
Oh, it's Guy Raz.
Hey, Guy Raz-y, over here.
Come check out my newly renovated ice cream truck.
Newly renovated ice cream truck?
Whoa.
Wow on wheels.
Come on in.
We'll even roll out the red carpet for you.
Reggie, hit the carpet.
The red carpet?
What in the... Step right up, Guy Raz, and behold the wow on wheels.
Whoa, what do you have going on in this place?
What in the...
Wow!
Now we still have some work to do.
Like getting gravity to stop making this mini-moon fall off the ceiling.
We're gonna need more tape!
You mean the one that was just flung out of Earth's orbit?
Oh yeah, Reggie was able to lasso it back just in time.
You should see this bird work a rope.
And then we also to find a way to display the spittlebug's little pee-pee bubble habitat without popping it.
But once we finish, we'll have an almost functioning mini museum of wow on wheels.
This is incredible, Mindy.
You've taken artifacts and mementos of our last 20 scientific adventures and turned them into a tiny, curated museum collection.
A tiny curated museum collection on wheels.
Is this really your old dilapidated ice cream truck?
I mean, it's unrecognizable now.
I know.
And it now runs on Beetlejuice.
What?
You know, exploding stars.
Oh, and get this.
Instead of ice cream, the soft serve machine now serves non-Newtonian oobleck.
That's... black into my face!
Yeah, we're still working out a few of the kinks.
Uh, hey, cleaner shrimp!
We gotta clean up on aisle 11!
Are these the cleaner shrimp from our trip to the bottom of the Red Sea?
You know it!
I hired them for my wow on wheels.
Hey guys, missed a spot.
Ugh!
Now get back to your display case.
Well, so I guess my question is, why, Mindy?
I mean, why turn your ice cream truck into a rolling museum of our past adventures?
Well, I could tell you.
Yes?
But I'd rather show you.
Please tell me I'm not going to have to push this thing up a hill like I did with that machine that turned everything we said into song.
Nah, that thing broke into a billion pieces, remember?
But I was able to salvage a piece of one of our songs.
I could show you books and charts and a laundry list of parts, but where's the fun?
Might not be fun, but it'll be informative.
So let's start a new adventure, and I'm very confident.
Ugh, come on.
You know, in hindsight, Mindy, that may have actually been one of your greatest inventions.
Yeah, that thing was pretty bonker balls.
Anywho, I also enlisted the world's slowest animals to carefully pull us around town in this thing, so that we don't fly over any bumps and spill the honey pots of bee barf I have on display.
You mean the sloth and the salamander from the 100-meter Not a Dash are gonna pull this thing?
Those creatures barely moved.
Huh.
Man, you're right.
We'll just have Reggie drive.
Oh, no, no, no, no, no.
As a wise person named Mo once said, don't let the pigeon drive the bus.
Uh, I think Mo was referring to a different pigeon.
Hey, Reg.
Here are the keys.
Catch.
Catch.
Is that burning rubber I smell?
Yep, it'll run like she used to.
There we go.
Are you really going to let people in to tour your tiny science museum?
I mean, it's not even finished.
Guy Raz, science is never finished.
Well okay, but You see, as humans, we are constantly learning and expanding our knowledge of the universe.
And that learning just leads to more questions.
More questions that lead to more scientific investigation.
Yes, yes, I agree with that, but... So to answer your question, Guy Raz, no.
My Wow on Wheels museum is not finished.
It's also not insured or safe.
But just like science, it is a global human endeavor.
And I'm calling on people from all over the world to participate in the process of building it, in curating it.
Now, who's with me?
Uh-huh.
So what you're saying is you're getting tired of doing all the work yourself and you want the neighborhood people to do it for you.
Yeah, pretty much.
Knock, knock.
Dennis?
What you doing in here?
Oh, cool collectibles.
Hey, is that my Static Man cape?
Uh, no.
I've been looking for that.
I mean, Static Man's been looking for that.
Dennis, welcome to Wow on Wheels, a rolling thunder of science and wonder.
Oh, ew.
Dennis, what do you have against science?
It's not that I have anything against science.
It's just that I don't believe in it.
Like air, for example.
I mean, what even is it?
If I can't see it, I don't need it.
Okay.
You know what, Dennis?
Why don't you have Reggie show you around the museum and I'll catch up with you in a minute.
Ooh, a private tour.
Is it VIP?
Reggie, I'm very VIP.
Okay, Guy Raz, here's the deal.
I just read this scientific study in the journal Cognition and Emotion.
And in this study, a researcher from the University of Rochester named Jonathan McPhetress had this hypothesis, or educated guess, that when humans are wowed, we become more aware of the things that we don't know.
Okay.
And when we know what we don't know, we go off in search of filling in those holes in our knowledge.
And wanting to fill in those holes leads us to a bigger interest in science.
So, in other words, wow or a sense of awe can lead people to love science?
Even the Dennis's of the world.
Is this canned laughter?
Oh, I don't think you want to spray that.
But I'm so curious.
See as Dennis checks out the artifacts that I've collected from all of our latest adventures.
What he's experiencing is a sense of awe.
Or as I like to call it, wow.
Is this a growling crab?
How does it do that?
Why do you growl, Mr. Crab?
Are you mad?
He's crabby.
Interesting.
And you know, come to think of it as I'm observing Dennis, I'd say that awe is a similar emotion to surprise and extreme curiosity.
Exactoritos.
In fact, what we're witnessing right now is Dennis experiencing something that is far beyond the realm of his own imagination.
All of the science collected in this tiny museum.
Right.
And since his mind is so blown by what he doesn't yet understand, he's feeling the need to make sense of it all.
To fill in those holes or gaps in his knowledge.
And so, according to the study, that combination of awe and curiosity could lead him to science?
Okay, Mr. Krabby Krab Pants.
We're going to do a little experiment.
Whether he knows it or not.
That's not a buggy, G-Force.
It's a 20-foot multi-stop truck.
Oh!
Hey, what year is this thing?
A 72?
Grandma G-Force?
And Thomas Fingerling?
Mindy, just like my micro house, I'm not sure there's enough room in here for.
Welcome to Wow on Wheels, a rolling thunder of science and wonder.
Cool.
Although, looks like you got a rat infestation.
What?
You have the rat race rats in this museum, Mindy?
Uh, anything for science.
Science.
Whatever happened to going with your gut?
That's what I want to know.
My gut says I'm going to need to use that smart toilet over there pretty soon.
No, no, please don't use that.
That's for display only.
Beast Force, can't you hear nothing?
I call dibs.
Did she just?
You know what?
Never mind them, Guy Raz.
Why don't we just get back to that study I was telling you about, okay?
Oh, right.
The one that suggests that experiencing a sense of awe can lead to a greater interest in science?
Yep, that's the one.
So did Dr. McFetris conduct any experiments to test his hypothesis?
Oh, yeah.
So, as I mentioned earlier, his hypothesis was basically that when humans are wowed by something, we become more aware of what we don't know, which often leads us on a scientific quest to fill in the holes in our knowledge.
Which I'm assuming led him on a scientific quest.
You know it.
Now, would you look at these blood-sucking bats?
Gnarly.
I found my bees.
Back from when there one day I lost my beads.
And look at me!
I am Static Man!
Oh, please put that back, Dennis.
Your Static Man cape is now part of the museum exhibit.
Aw.
Kairos, at this point, Dennis is part of the exhibit.
Hooray!
Huh?
Anyhoo, back to the study.
Dr McFetris conducted four experiments where he manipulated or attempted to sneakily control people's sense of awe by showing them amazing science videos.
And then I guess he was able to see how those videos made the groups of people feel?
You got it!
Huh.
Did the know they were being manipulated?
Well, not necessarily, but these people were participants in the study, so they knew that they were part of the experiment.
Gotcha.
And for these experiments he broke the participants into two basic groups the awe groups and the control groups.
And just to be clear, a control group in an experiment is the group that's not being experimented on.
But they don't necessarily know that right.
Right.
So in this case, the control groups were not manipulated in any way.
They were supposed to serve as groups of regular people who might not be feeling a lot of awe.
And I guess because the control group wasn't actually being experimented on, they could help the scientists measure how those
Cool videos affected the other groups that were being experimented on, the awe groups.
You got it.
And that's because the control groups gave the scientists something to compare the awe groups to.
In some of these experiments, the awe groups were shown a 3D virtual video of the Aurora Borealis from the BBC's Planet Earth.
Oh, I've seen that.
It's incredible.
Yeah, and the whole purpose of showing this particular video was to spark a sense of wow and wonder in the participants.
Aha, an attempt to manipulate their sense of awe.
A little scientific trickery.
Interesting.
And in one of these awe groups the researchers gave the participants a little extra information connected to the science in the video.
As an additional effort to stoke their sense of awe?
Uh-huh.
But what about the control groups?
Were they shown a video too?
Well, the control groups were also shown a video, but not one that was intended to manipulate their sense of wow and wonder.
In fact, they were just shown a silly science video from the BBC's Walk on the Wild side.
What?
Are you some sort of talking animal?
Yeah.
Great.
I'm a talking animal, too.
Nice one, mate.
And then?
And then afterwards Dr McFetris had them answer a bunch of questions like Do you regularly ask yourself how the natural world works?
Or...
Did this video make you realize how much you don't know about nature?
Okay.
And then, in another part of the study, he offered each participant tickets to either a science museum or an art museum.
Did somebody say fart museum?
What?
Sign me up.
Ahem.
And what he discovered was that 68 well over half of the people who had watched the awe-inspiring video chose the science museum.
And only 32% chose the fa-art museum?
Exactoritos!
Dr McPhetress found that the awe-inspiring groups not only showed more feelings of awe, but that they also seem to know what they didn't know about the natural world.
And those two things combined awe and knowing what you don't know lead to seeking out science to fill in the gaps.
And that might be why they chose the Science Museum.
Yep.
Science helps us to fill in the gaps of knowledge we're missing, or as I like to call them, I don't know holes.
Exactly.
I don't know what's in these holes, but it tastes delicious.
Thomas Fingerling, that's bee barf, and those holes are honey pots.
It's fine, Guy Raz.
That barf comes from the bee's honey tummy, remember?
Oh, I want a honey tummy.
Do you sell them in the gift shop?
Anywho, after reading this study, I was inspired to create this Wow on Wheels museum to help share all of the knowledge holes we've filled for ourselves through our scientific adventures.
With the hopes of inspiring others with the wow and wonder of science, too?
Bingo, Guy Raz.
Now, hand me my megaphone.
I'm about to say something inspirational.
Reggie?
Reggie?
My megaphone?
Thank you very much.
Science helps us to make sense of the world and our place in it.
Science helps to improve our lives.
It helps us to solve problems and to prevent new ones.
You're right, Mindy.
It's because of awe-inspiring science that we have light bulbs and medicine, and airplanes and machines that help us to connect with people halfway around the globe.
And the best part is there is a never-ending supply of wow and wonder to go around, which means we'll never ever, ever run out of new discoveries.
Uh, Mindy?
We ran out of things to see here in this tiny museum.
Well, Dennis, I'm sorry, but... Actually, wait!
I've got it!
Since we're out of things to see, I'll go collect things we can't see with the naked eye.
A rival museum of invisible science!
I'll start with a display of invisible air, and then a display of black holes, and then the Higgs boson.
Dennis!
Don't interrupt me, Mindy.
My sense of awe is sailing like a kayak in a brainstorm.
I'll include a tardigrade farm, followed by an infrared light show.
And then, the cherry on top, an entire jar of neutrinos.
This fellow's lost his marbles.
So long, my allies in adventure.
Science duty calls.
Did he say science duty?
Come along, grandparents.
You're with me.
Well, I guess.
In no way are we related.
Mindy, I think you might have sparked a sense of wonder and wow in Dennis.
Uh-oh.
Well, Mindy and Reggie, I think I see some empty space in the back of this wow on wheels.
What do you say we start dreaming up our next big scientific adventure?
Good idea, Guy Raz.
See where our curiosity leads us.
Hey, Reg, you still have the keys to this truck?
Good, because here we go!
Wow in the World will be right back.
Grown-ups, this message is for you.
That's it.
Back to the show.
Guy Raz.
My name is Ainsley and I live in Greenville, South Carolina.
My wow in the world is that frogs blink when they swallow big mouthfuls of food.
This makes their eyeballs push down on the food and makes it easier to swallow.
Isn't that bonker balls?
Bye.
Love your show.
Hey Guy Raz and Mindy.
I'm Miguel.
I'm calling from Oakwood, Ohio.
My wow is that Hi, Minty and Guy Raz.
My name is Sammy from Bethesda, Maryland.
And my well in the world is that you can hear a blue whale heartbeat from over two miles away.
Hi, love your show.
Say hi to Dennis, a.k.a.
Static Man.
Hi, Mindy and Guy, right?
My name is Olivia.
I live in Lawrence, Kansas.
And my wow in the world is that ospreys have tiny hooks on their talons so they can hold on to slippery fists better.
Say hi to everyone for me, including Bob.
I'm from Charlotte, North Carolina, and my wow in the world is that newborn koalas are the size of a jelly bean.
Say hi to Reggie for me.
Hello, my name is Ren and I live in Bluffton, South Carolina, and my wow today is that a duck-billed platypus has no stomach.
Say hi to Grandma G-Force for me.
Yeah, that's what I'm talking about.
Hi, Mindy and Guy Roz.
My name is Emily.
I live in Cranston, Rhode Island.
My wow is elephant trunks have over 40,000 muscles.
I loved your show.
Bye.
Hi, I'm Bella.
And I'm Avery.
And we're from Chicago, Illinois.
Our wow is that spinner dolphins can jump 10 feet and spin around 7 times in the air.
Now that's dolphinly bonkers.
Hi, Reggie, Dennis, Grandma G-Force, and Thomas Fingerlings.
Hi.
Did somebody call my name?
Hi, my name Hunter, and I am from Bend, Oregon.
My wow is that honey never goes bad.
You can eat 1,000-year-old honey and it'll still be okay because honey never goes bad.
Say hi to Grandma G-Force, Thomas Fingerling, Reggie, Baby B, Sadic Man, And that's it?
Are you sure?
I mean, you said hi to Baby Bee and Static Man, but maybe there's not another name you're wanting to mention.
Reggie, I'm not being hashtag ungrateful.
Bye.
End of messages.
Hey, everyone.
Thank you so much for hanging out with us this week on Wow in the World.
And to keep the wow rolling, check out this week's scientific conversation starters at our website wowintheworldcom.
And grown-ups.
There you can find more info on how your kids can become members of the World Organization of Wowzers shop, our Wow Shop.
Upload photos and videos to us and check dates for our upcoming live events.
That's wowintheworld.com.
Our show is produced by Jed Anderson.
Who provides the bells, whistles, and silly characters.
Say hello, Jed.
Yo.
Our show is written by me, Guy Raz, and Thomas Van Kalken, who also provides silly characters.
Tom?
Hello there.
Thanks also to Jessica Bode, Anna Zagorski, Rebecca Caban, Kit Ballinger, and Alex Curley.
Meredith Halpern-Ranzer powers the wow at Tinkercast.
Our theme song was composed and performed by The Pop-Ups.
For more on their three-time Grammy-nominated all-ages music, find them at thepopups.com.
And grown-ups, you can follow Wow in the World on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at wowintheworld.
And our email address is hello at wowintheworld.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 the show.
Also, if you haven't already done so, please subscribe to Wow in the World on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Yeah, leave us a few stars, a review, or just tell a friend about the show.
Thanks again for listening, and until next time, keep on wowing.
Jinx!
And before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey.
