Hey, grownups.
I'm Meredith Halpern Ranzer, the chief executive tinkerer and co-founder of Tinkercast.
You may have heard my name at the end of the credits.
As they say, I power the wow, but I don't do it alone.
I've had the absolute pleasure of steering this ship with the most talented crew of tinkerers you can imagine.
This team of writers producers musicians educators parents, former children, not only embody the spirit of play, curiosity and innovation, but they've made it their life's work to create content that inspires play, curiosity and innovation.
Right now, we need your help to keep the wind in our sails and keep us wowing.
This is our final week of our Fund Drive and we're so grateful for those of you that have already contributed.
Truly it means the world to us to know how much you value what we do, but we're not even close to meeting our goal.
Whatever you're able to give helps, and for those of you with means to help significantly.
We really need you now.
When we started up Tinkercast nine years ago, many of us were parents, just like you.
And as parents, we wanted our kids to look up, have conversations, feel agency in their world.
As media makers, we wanted to tell stories that could connect laughter to learning and kids to the real, amazing wows in their world.
Since then we've built a company we've always wanted to work at, with the dream team we wanted to play, tinker and grow with.
And grow we did.
In fact, our audience, that's you, is still growing every month.
We're so honored.
You welcome our shows into your homes, your cars, your ears, your imaginations and your worlds every week.
We hear from you that we bring your family joy and laughter and a shared experience that brings you closer together.
And we want to keep doing that for your family and for those families that are just discovering our shows now.
Again, this is our last week of asking our audience directly for financial support.
We still have a long way to go to meet our goal.
Please visit Tinkercast.com slash support and give what you can.
You could also choose from a handful of different thank you gifts for your different levels of giving.
We're talking personal shout outs from your favorite characters, special audio and video messages just for your wowsers, a chance to go behind the scenes of a show recording, and more.
Once again, that's Tinkercast.com slash support.
As chief executive tinkerer, along with my co-founders, Guy and Mindy, and our unbelievably talented team of tinkerers, we thank you.
Now, on with the show.
Proceeded.
Three, two, one.
Detention.
Detention on a picture of Matt Anderson performed.
We're in a golden age.
So many discoveries that are jumping off the page.
Wild in the world.
Wild in the world.
Wild in the world.
Wild in the world.
Wild in the world.
Wild in the world.
Wild in the world.
I don't know what you've been doing in a golden age.
Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seat.
The world's spinning championships are about to begin.
Hello, ma'am.
What can I get for you?
Let's see here.
I'll have the curly fries, two ham hock sliders, and a large pretzel with extra caviar.
Oh, sorry.
We're all out of caviar.
Oh, man.
Anything else?
Oh, and an extra large chocolate milk on the rocks.
You got it.
Haji!
Mindy!
Guy Razzi!
Mindy, where have you been?
I thought you were just going to get snacks.
That was an hour ago.
I am getting snacks.
Can you believe that none of these snack shacks have any caviar?
Shocking.
Excuse me, ma'am.
Don't worry about it.
I brought my own Tart Pops anyway.
Um, okay.
Wait, may I use your toaster in there, please?
Ooh, yeah.
Sorry, it's broken.
I was trying to, like, toast the caviar.
Just forget it, Mindy.
Let's go.
Dennis is saving us front row seats.
Front row seats?
Wow, way to go, Dennis.
But the show's about to start.
We gotta move.
Ah!
I'm coming.
I'll follow you, Guy Raz.
Okay.
Welcome, everyone, to the World Spitting Championships.
Sponsored by Francis O'Hanigan's mouthwash.
Come on.
This is the door to our seats.
This place is packed.
Yeah, well, it is the World Series of Spitting, Mindy.
Look, Dennis is down in the front there.
Guy Raz!
Dennis!
Oh, boy.
He better get down there.
I can't believe we're here, Guy Raz.
I have been trying to get tickets to the World Spitting Championships for years.
Well, I guess it does help that Grandma G-Force is a competitor this year.
Yeah, all those years of practice are really paying off.
Guy Raz!
Mindy!
Here, here, here!
We see you!
Stop yelling.
Yay!
We're sitting together, all together.
Hey, these are really nice seats.
Great job, Dennis.
I know.
And I only had to get here five hours early.
What?
All right, got us a couple of programs while I was out scouting for caviar.
And a program for you, Dennis.
Thank you.
Reggie, hold out your wing.
All right, now let's scope out the competition.
Let's see, what do we have here?
We've got a camel.
Wait, what?
Look, there's a snake competing too.
And an archer fish?
Okay, Roz, these spinning competitors are all animals.
Yeah, this looks like an interspecies competition.
I didn't even know that other animals could spit.
Well, it is a very rare animal behavior, but there are a handful of creatures in the wild that do do it.
Even seals.
What?
Here, look on page nine.
A gray seal.
A spitting seal?
A spitting seal.
According to her bio here, it says that she was observed spitting at a sea eagle off the coast of England.
Whoa.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this year's World Spinning Championships.
Brought to you by Francis O'Hanigan's mouthwash.
Tonight we have five competitors from every corner of the animal kingdom competing in a sharpshooting challenge of daring expectoration.
Ooh, a sharpshooting challenge?
Like they have to hit targets or something with their spit?
Exactly.
Oh, wow.
Now, please, welcome to the stage, your competitors.
From the brackish waters of South Asia, weighing in at one and a half pounds and measuring just under six inches long it's the archerfish.
Oh, would you look at that?
I've heard about this fish.
Super accurate with his spinning.
Oh, wow.
Next up.
From the deepest deserts of the Australian outback, this dromedary requires no commentary.
Give it up for the camel!
And now...
Slithering in at three feet three inches long, from the savannas of subtropical Africa.
It's the reptile with the venomous projectile, the spinning snake.
And representing homo sapiens from all over the world, standing at 4 feet 10 inches.
It's the loogie legend.
The little spittle, it's Grandma Jeefus.
And her coach, Thomas Fingerling.
Let's light this firecracker.
Yay!
I know those two.
They're my friends.
Yay!
Go, friends!
Mindy, why is Thomas Fingerling there again?
Oh, he's Grandma G-Force's coach.
He actually used to be a pretty big deal in the spitting world back in the day.
Really?
Yeah.
They used to call him the Saliva Survivor, but then he switched to competitive knuckle-cracking.
And now, our final contender...
From the Isle of Wight off the coast of England.
Weighing in at 370 pounds, she's feared by every eagle, hawk and falcon from here to Nova Scotia.
It's Gracie the Gray Seal.
Oh, I like her.
I want her to win.
Dennis!
We're here to support Grandma G-Force.
Yeah, but Gracie wants it more.
Just listen to her.
Competitors, are you ready?
Yes, you are, G-Force.
We were born ready, Mr. Announcer Man.
And let's get ready to start.
What are they doing, Mindy?
It looks like they're bringing out the spitting targets for round one.
Competitors, you have five attempts to hit all five of the targets you see in front of you.
May the most exceptional Expectorator win.
They keep saying that word, Expectorator.
What is that?
Oh, it's just a fancy scientific way of saying spitting.
Ah.
First at the spitting line, the archer fish.
Wow, the crowd really loves that archer fish.
Well, it appears he is the favorite here, Mindy.
He's probably one of the most well-known animal spitters in the world.
Really?
Yeah, he uses his spitting for hunting purposes.
What?
How?
Well, where he lives in the jungle, he mainly eats insects.
Insects that hang off the branches above the water.
So how does he get them to fall into the water where he can eat them?
He spits at them?
Exactly.
And he spits.
Super accurate, too.
He's able to hit bugs up to five feet above the water surface.
Wait, with his spit?
Yeah, check it out.
He's about to go.
On your mark, get set, spit!
Oh, fastest spit in the West.
Oh, four out of five.
An almost perfect score.
Oh, wow.
So cool.
Next up to the line, it's the camel.
I've heard about this one too, Mindy.
Yeah?
What do you know?
Well, apparently she has a real problem with authority.
Okay now, camel.
Easy now.
On your mark.
Get set.
Spit.
What the?
You just spit in my face.
Disqualified.
You are disqualified from the tournament.
Can someone give me a napkin, please?
Oh, yeah.
Disqualified.
Get out of here, camel.
Yikes.
Okay.
Next up, the spin.
Ooh, I like her.
She's got a sassy attitude.
Look at that slither.
Uh, yeah, she's got moods.
Guy Raz, does she also use her spitting for hunting?
Not exactly, Mindy.
According to the program here, it says she uses it for self-defense.
Let me see that program.
So it says here that when backed into a corner, this kind of snake can protect itself by spitting its venom almost seven feet towards its attacker.
Whoa, I'm going to keep my social distance from that thing.
Sounds like solid advice for anyone.
Okay, snake, on your mark, get set, spit!
Ooh, only three out of five.
Unfortunately, Mr. Snake, that means that you are eliminated.
Elimination.
Oh, poor little venomous snakey.
Next up to the line, this year's newest addition, Gracie the Gray Seal.
Yay!
Go, Gracie!
The Gray Seal's my favorite.
Yeah, we know Dennis.
So maybe what's the story with this seal?
Well, according to the program here, she's actually new to the spitting world.
It says here that she was first observed spitting in the wild back in 2022.
Huh.
Spitting in the wild, eh?
Apparently, she was caught on camera spitting at sea eagles.
Here, look at this photo.
That eagle does not look happy.
Gracie.
I mean, would you be happy if a seal just spit in your face?
I wouldn't be happy if anyone spat in my face, Mindy.
Exactly.
So what was the reason for her spitting?
Protection?
Hunting?
Well, neither.
It says here that scientists think that she was spitting at that eagle to try and scare it away from the fish.
She was trying to protect the fish?
Well, not exactly.
She was actually trying to eat the fish.
Oh, I get it.
Fewer eagles swooping in and eating our fish means more food for the seal.
Gray seal, are you ready?
On your mark, get set, spit!
And four out of five.
We have a tie for first place.
Way to go, Gracie.
I'm your biggest fan.
Dennis, remember, we're here for Grandma G-Force.
I have to say Mindy, for someone who's relatively new to the spitting game, this gray seal is pretty talented.
Yeah, I guess there's a reason she made it all the way to the world championships.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, the moment you've all been waiting for the lean mean clean, spitting machine herself, it's Grandma Grace.
You got this, Grandma G-Force!
Boo!
We love Gracie!
Janice!
What?
As our final competitor, Grandma G-Force will need a perfect score in order to win and take home the title of World Spinning Champion.
Now remember what I said, G-Force.
Become one with the flam.
I am the flam.
That's right.
You are.
G-Force, are you ready?
No.
I mean, yeah.
On your mark.
Get set.
Spirit!
Oh!
Oh, snap!
She's taken out the first four targets.
Can she do it?
Oh, wow.
That's it, little spittle.
Be the flame.
Okay.
What is she doing, Mindy?
I don't know.
I guess this is part of her technique or something.
Wow.
Ugh.
What in the world?
Got Roz!
She did it!
Amazing!
Way to go!
Come on, G-Boys!
And there it is, folks!
A perfect score!
Yeah!
That's my brother!
Yeah!
Billy!
Oh, yeah.
I win.
I'm the best.
Perfect!
Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for this year's world spinning champion, Grandma G-Force.
So long, Mommy.
I knew you could do it, boy.
Now G-Force.
Do you have any words to all the little boys and girls out there who one day want to be in your shoes?
My shoes will not fit you.
I got unusually wide feet.
What?
You heard me.
Okay, and your coach here, Thomas Fingerling.
How do you feel seeing your protege follow in your footsteps?
I can't believe I finally won America's Funniest Home Makeovers.
Uh, no, Mr. Fingerling, this isn't America's Funniest Home Makeovers.
It ain't?
No, it's the World Spitting Championships.
Oh, well, do I still get the $10,000?
No.
Ah, rats.
Will I win?
Oh, I'm so glad you asked.
Tonight, our world champion will leave here with a lifetime supply of Francis O'Hanigan's mouthwash.
Just swirl and spit.
Oh, boogie.
Well, it's just what I always wanted.
Thank you all for attending tonight's event.
Um, You can all leave now.
Aw, Gracie the gray seal could have really used that mouthwash.
What?
She has a raw fish diet, Mindy.
Think how bad her breath is probably.
Uh-huh.
Oh, there she is, leaving the stage.
I'm going to go get her autograph.
Gracie!
Gracie!
Wait up!
I've been...
Well, that certainly was an eye-opening event.
Yeah, who knew so many animals knew how to spit?
And for so many different reasons.
And we only learned about seals being able to spit a few years ago.
I mean, who knows how many other animals out there have extraordinary spitting abilities and they're just hiding them from us.
That's true, Mindy.
I guess we'll just have to come back next year.
I can hardly wait.
Okay, folks, moving on out of here.
I got to pack up all these chairs.
Oh, I'm sorry.
Sorry.
Don't worry about it.
Just keep moving.
We got the interspecies world splashing competition here in like 20 minutes.
Ooh, world splashing competition.
I got to stay for that.
Indeed.
But first, I got to go find some caviar to put on this pretzel.
Okay.
Wow in the World will be right back.
Grownups, this message is for you.
That's it.
Back to the show.
Wow in the World.
Hi, thanks for calling Wow in the World.
After the beep, get ready to record.
Hello, my name is Theo, and I live in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
I'm nine years old and my wow in the world is that roly-polies are actually crustaceans and they have gills.
Say hi to Reggie and Dennis.
Hi!
Bye, love your show.
Hello, my name is Brennan.
I am from North Carolina.
My wow in the world is bamboo can grow one and a half inches in just one hour.
Goodbye.
Hi, my name is Lily, and I'm from the Port Indiana.
And my wow in the world is that starfish can regrow arms.
Hi, Mindy and Guy walls.
My name is Stacy.
I live in Burlington, Vermont.
And my wow in the world is that about 10,000 cells in your body could fit on the head of a pin.
Say hi to Dennis, Reggie, Thomas Ringling, Grandma G-Force, and the Sleigh Cats for me.
Howdy.
Oh, yeah.
Hi, my name is Theo, and I live in Dunstable, Massachusetts.
And my wow in the world is that you can eat little things.
Small walks to help them digest food.
That's my wow in the world.
My name is Sophia and I live in China Spring, Texas.
And my wow is that scorpions are arachnids.
Hi, I'm TJ and I'm eight years old and I live in Chicago.
My wow in the world. is that there's a type of snake called the pit viper.
It has heat vision, and it's really cool.
Hi, my name is Clementine.
I live in Raleigh, North Carolina, and I'm 50 years old.
My round the world is that Bananas are actually berries.
Say hi to Grandma Devor.
Wow.
Mama Fingerling.
Gnarly.
Reggie.
Dennis.
Hi there.
And the sleigh cat.
Hi, Mindy and Guy.
I'm Claire.
And I'm Wyatt.
And we're from Cincinnati, Ohio.
Our wow in the world is that one day on Venus is equal to 243 Earth days.
Jay had a very, very annoying dinner for me.
Ahoy there!
And Grandma Dee was... Moo-yay!
Bye!
Bye!
End of messages.
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 Tyler Thole with help from our supervising producer, Jed Anderson.
You can also hear Jed Anderson in the voices of Dennis Thomas Fingerling, Reggie and many of the other silly characters that you hear on our show.
And Lizzie Freilich can also be heard as some of the silly characters 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 Kit Ballinger, Rebecca Caban, Dr Natasha Crandall, Kenny Curtis, Kristen Yang, Thuy Mac, Erica Medina, Henry Moskal, Jodi Nussbaum, Ali Paksima, Linda Rothenberg, Steph Sosa, Joanna Weber, Anna Zagorski and all of the other tinkerers at Tinkercast HQ.
And to keep the wow rolling after you finish this episode, visit us at Tinkercast.com.
There you can become a member of the World Organization of Wowzers to get year-round mailings and weekly activities.
Shop our wow shop.
Get tickets for upcoming events, find our best-selling books and learn about some of the other amazing podcasts from Tinkercast.
Grownups, you can follow Wow in the World on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at Wow in the World.
And our email address is hello at Tinkercast.com.
And if you're a kid with a big wow to share with us, call us at 1-888-7WOW-WOW for a chance to be featured at the end of our show or an upcoming episode of Two.
What's in a Wow?
Thanks again for listening.
We're here every Monday or you can check out Two What's in a Wow every Friday right here in the Wow in the World podcast feed.
And don't forget, we wow on the weekend with Dennis, Saturday and Sunday.
Keep on wowing!
Wow in the World was made by Tinkercast and sent to you by Wondery.
