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Hey grown-ups, Mindy here.
And did you hear that we have a brand new book coming out?
That's right.
Dinosaurs Are Wow.
A roaring thunder.
A prehistoric wonder.
And it's coming to a bookshelf near you on October 28th.
And to celebrate...
I'm throwing a little virtual prehistoric pre-order party for Wowzer fans like you.
Together, we'll read from the new book, play some games, and answer some fan questions live.
So what are you waiting for?
Grownups to get an invite to our prehistoric pre-order party.
Just pre-order your copy of Dinosaurs Are Wow at your favorite book retailer.
Then visit Tinkercast.com slash dinosaur to upload a copy of your receipt and sign up for the event.
We can't wait to see you there.
Once again, visit Tinkercast.com slash dinosaur to learn more.
That's it.
And now let's get back to the show.
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3, 2, 1, ignition.
I don't know what you've been told, but 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.
Wild in the world.
Good morning baseball fans and welcome to Big Jim's Little Baseball Park, home of the Little Buff Bunnies.
Today's game is between the undefeated Little Buff Bunnies and Mindy's Barker Ballers, who haven't won a single game yet this season.
OK, team, let's huddle up.
Huzzah!
Who's our pitcher gonna be today, Mindy?
Hmm, I think it's gonna be... Me!
Pick Thomas Fingerling.
You haven't let me pitch all season.
Well, that's because you're all thumbs, Fingerling.
What?
No, I ain't.
Well, you do have more thumbs than me, Tommy.
Just because I have four thumbs and six fingers does not mean I don't know how to pitch.
What?
Don't worry, Mr. Fingerling.
We're going to start with Grandma G-Force, and you'll be pitching later in the game.
He will?
I will.
I thought we wanted to win.
Yeah, we're never going to break this losing streak if we let Thomas Fingerling pitch.
Yes, we will.
Why are you so confident?
Because, Guy Raz, I have a secret weapon.
You do?
Yep.
I got it.
Okay.
Right here.
Uh... Ooh, a bucket.
Just what we needed.
No, no, no.
It's not the bucket that's gonna help us win the game, Thomas Fingerling.
It's what's inside the bucket.
Oh, right.
What is it, Mindy?
All will be revealed in time, Guy Raz.
For now, we have a baseball game to win.
Hands in, everyone!
Okay, Bunker Ballers on three.
Ready?
One, two... Oh, Tommy's third thumb is touching me.
Mindy, help!
Quiet, you baby.
Dennis, one, two, three.
Bunker Ballers!
Let's do it!
Wow!
Up to bat for the Bonker Ballers, it's Thomas Fingerling!
Go, Thomas Fingerling!
Come on, Fingerling!
Here comes the pitch!
Strike one!
Strike two!
Oopsie.
Coming up to the plate, Guy Raz.
Okay, just keep your eye on the ball and here comes the pitch.
And that's a home run for Guy Rouse!
Yay!
Way to go, Guy Rousey!
Woo-hoo!
Baseball time is fun!
But we gotta fast forward through the game.
And that's the end of the fourth inning.
Save!
The end of the fifth inning.
Hot dogs!
Peanuts!
The sixth inning.
Wow, this baseball montage is moving right along.
I'll say.
And here we are at the bottom of the ninth.
The Lil' Buff Bunnies are up to bat with two outs.
Mindy's Bonker Ballers lead by one.
This is the Lil' Buff Bunnies' last chance to win the game.
Wow, can you believe this?
I knew I had a good feeling about this game.
Well, it's not over yet, Mindy.
We're only up by one run and they're sending up their best batter.
She's hit three home runs this game.
Now don't stress, Guy Raz.
We haven't even used our secret weapon yet.
We haven't?
What are we waiting for?
Use it, use it, use it!
Use the secret weapon!
Dennis is right, Mindy.
We can't let them get a single run this inning if we're going to win this thing.
Also, what is the secret weapon?
Okay, Grandma G-Force?
Yeah?
It's time to open the bucket.
Want to give me a hand here?
Well, okay.
Okay.
Ugh, Mindy, what's in there?
It looks like poop.
Ew.
Is it poop?
No, it's not poop.
Oh.
It's mud.
Mud?
That's right.
Mindy, this bucket of mud is our secret weapon?
Yep, but it's not just any mud, Guy Raz.
This mud is magic mud.
Ooh, magic.
Magic how?
Yeah.
OK, everyone, listen up, and I'll tell you the story of Magic Mud.
Yay!
Ahem.
More than 100 years ago, Major League Baseball was founded in the United States.
Major League Baseball?
Yeah, that's professional baseball, Dennis.
The MLB.
Oh, like the big leagues.
Right.
And in the big leagues around 1920 there was a new rule put into place that every time a baseball got scuffed or dirtied or hit.
A new, clean, bright and shiny baseball had to be swapped in for the old one.
Ooh, shiny.
But there was a problem.
These clean and shiny new baseballs were a little bit slippery.
And sometimes a pitch would just slip out of the pitcher's hands.
Yikes!
Oh, my.
Whatever did they do?
Well, around 1940, a third base coach from Philadelphia discovered a super effective trick to give the baseballs a sticky grip without scuffing or damaging or discoloring the ball.
What was it?
It was a mysterious substance, a slimy, sticky, muddy substance A substance known as magic mud.
Ooh!
And with magic mud, players could finally get the grip that they needed.
Steer right!
And soon it became a rule that every ball used in every Major League Baseball game must be rubbed with magic mud.
Wait a minute, Mindy.
You're telling me that each ball in the MLB is covered in mud?
Well, kind of.
I mean, you don't smother the ball.
You just use a little tiny bit of the mud and kind of rub it in like a lotion.
Huh.
Just what exactly makes this mud so magic?
Yeah.
Does the mud grant wishes?
Nope.
It just makes the balls extra grippy.
Oh well, if we want to make the baseballs grippy, why don't we just use something like super glue or maple syrup?
I got a stash of maple syrup up here in my unitard.
You want me to start pouring?
What?
No, keep that maple syrup away from those baseballs, Grandma G-Force.
Putting anything on a baseball that might affect its performance is against the rules and it could get us disqualified.
Fine.
More for me, I guess.
That's good.
So you can't put anything on a baseball that might affect its performance except for this magic mud?
That's right.
So magical.
And your plan is to coat these baseballs in this mud to make them more grippy and then help us pitch better.
Bingo, Guy Raz.
You got it.
Oh, I want to try it.
Give me a ball.
Take it easy, pal.
There we go.
Magic.
Wow.
Uh, not quite.
That is too much mud, Dennis.
You know what you always say, Mindy.
If it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing.
Well, too much mud like that won't work.
We're just trying to take the slippery shine off the ball, Dennis.
Ah.
So just take a little tiny bit of the mud and rub it into the baseball kind of hard.
Oh, like an exfoliating facial scrub?
Uh, yeah, sure.
Okay.
Okay.
Scrub, scrub, scrub, scrub, scrub.
And there.
How's that?
Ooh, that looks good.
Okay, Grandma G-Force, now you take this ball and see if you can strike this next batter out.
Let me at him.
Come here, muddy ball.
Yay!
Go, G-Force!
Strike him out!
Quit everybody telling me what to do.
So I guess this is where we find out if that magic mud of yours actually works, huh, Mindy?
Yeah, but don't worry, Guy Raz.
If this batch doesn't work, I've got two others to try right here.
You have two more buckets of mud?
Why?
Well, the spot where they harvest the real magic mud for the MLB is a super-duper well-kept secret.
Nobody knows where it is.
All we know is that it's harvested from somewhere on the Delaware River.
Uh-huh.
So last week Reggie and I went out and took samples from three different spots along the riverbank.
So one of them's gotta work.
If you say so.
Waffle!
Ooh.
That's another walk batter for G-Force.
Hey, Mindy, Grandma G-Force just walked a batter.
The mud didn't do anything.
Oh, man.
Must have been a bad batch.
Guess we're just gonna have to try the second bucket.
Uh, someone hand me another ball.
Here you go.
Okay, coating it in mud.
Rubbing it in, rubbing it in, rubbing it in.
Up to bat for Lil' Buff Bunnies.
Number 14 Joshua Toe Jam Johnson, who has the unusual technique of batting with his feet.
It may be unorthodox, but this crowd is loving it.
Okay, Dennis?
Present.
You're up.
Think you can get a strikeout?
Of course I can.
Great.
Here, use this ball with mud from the second bucket.
You can count on me, Mindy.
Come on, ball.
Let's go see if you've got the right mud on you.
We've got a relief pitcher coming in.
G-Force will sit.
And now pitching for the Bunker Ballers will be... Dennis!
Yay!
I'm a reliever!
So Mindy, I still don't fully understand.
How does covering these balls in mud make them more grippy?
Well, for the longest time, we didn't know.
But now, thanks to a study by the University of Pennsylvania, we do.
And what did this study say?
Well, the first thing that these researchers tried to figure out was what exactly is in this mud to make it so magical anyway.
And they did this by putting it under a microscope?
Exactly.
And what they found were minerals like clay and quartz and sand.
Huh.
The rest of it, almost 43% of it, was made up of water.
And how many percents is the magic?
The magic was the proportions of all these different ingredients together.
You mean it had just the right amount of water and just the right amount of clay and sand.
Exact Doritos.
Yeah!
So, like, if the mud was too watery, all those sand particles probably wouldn't stick to the ball.
Yeah, and if it wasn't watery enough, it would be too thick.
And you wouldn't be able to spread it all over the baseballs.
Exactly.
The consistency of this mud has to be just right.
Watery enough to spread like a face cream, but sticky enough that it leaves a nice, even layer of mud all over the ball.
But what is it about this mud that makes us so grippy?
Well, when these researchers looked at it under the microscope again, once they'd applied it to the baseballs, they discovered something interesting.
Oh, what was it?
Ball four, take your base.
Toe Jam Johnson will walk to first base.
The Lil' Buff Bunnies now have runners on first and second.
Uh-oh.
Pass me another ball, Mr. Fingerling.
It's time to sample mud number three.
Thank you.
Opening the bucket.
There we go.
Wait a minute, Mindy.
I don't see any other buckets of mud.
Is this the last one?
Yep.
Fingers crossed this mud sample has all the right stuff in it.
The right stuff being the perfect combination of clay, sand, and water.
Exactoritos.
There.
Now that should do it.
Okay, Mr. Fingerling, take this ball and go get us a strikeout.
Huh?
Really?
Me?
Yep.
Mindy, are you sure this is a good idea?
I mean, it's the bottom of the ninth and we're only one run ahead.
And Thomas Fingerling hasn't even had a strikeout all season.
And he has four thumbs.
So?
Don't listen to them, Fingerling.
You're going to do great.
Here, catch.
Whoops-a-daisy.
Let me just pick that up here.
Oh, boy.
Come on, Thomas Fingerling.
Just shake it off.
We need you to have the best game of your life out there.
Okey-doke.
Here comes Fingerling.
Mindy's sending a new relief pitcher in to replace Dennis.
And it looks like...
Oh, I don't believe it.
It's Thomas Fingerling.
Thomas Fingerling is yet to get a strikeout this whole season.
Get ready for my split thumb fastball.
So what is it about this mud that makes it so sticky, Mindy?
I mean, how do you know this is going to work?
Oh, yeah.
So, as I was saying, when those scientists put one of those baseballs that had been covered in mud under their microscopes, they discovered something interesting.
What was it?
Well, they discovered that the grains of sand that were in the mud had stuck to the clay, which had stuck to the slippery surface of the ball, basically covering the whole thing in what was almost like real fine sandpaper.
Huh.
Under the microscope, it looked like the ball was covered in lots of little barnacles.
And those tiny little barnacles gives the hand more to grip onto when the pitcher is throwing the ball.
Exact Doritos.
All right, everyone, we gotta cheer on Thomas Fingerling.
He needs all the help he can get out there.
Uh, has anyone seen my megaphone?
I think Dennis had it last.
Dennis?
Dennis, where did Dennis go?
No time, Mindy.
It looks like the Buff Bunny's next batter is coming up to the plate right now.
Wait, who is that?
Why does he look so familiar?
Now up to bat, number zero-zero.
It's Static Man!
Oh!
Dennis?
No, Dennis plays for the Bonker Ballers.
Static Man plays for the Lil' Buff Bunnies and is about to win this game and be a big hero.
Uh-huh.
Well, let's hope this magic mud works, Mindy.
Yeah, I don't know if I can stand losing to Static Man.
I ain't afraid of you, electricity dude.
Thomas Fingerling winds up and the pitch.
Yeah!
I don't believe it.
Thomas Fingerling delivers his first on-target pitch of the season.
Hey, I did it.
Wow.
Way to go, Fingerling.
Two more of those and we're home free.
Looks like that magic mud might actually be working, Mindy.
I knew it had to be in one of those buckets.
You can have that strike for free, Tommy.
Static Man is now fully charged and ready.
You'll never be able to...
Oh.
Uh... The Bunker Ballers are just one strike away from winning their first game of the season.
This is it, Guy Raz.
This one's for all the bananas.
I can barely watch.
I'm so tense.
How's this for all films?
All right, Green, you're out!
Yay!
We did it!
I don't believe it!
The Bunker Ballers have won!
In all my three weeks of announcing rec league baseball, I have never seen anything like this!
I knew that magic mud wouldn't let us down!
Woo-hoo!
I did it!
I did it!
And I only needed to use two out of my four thumbs.
I still had more thumbs.
Thomas Fingerling, that was incredible.
I can't believe you got to strike out your first one ever.
Yeah, something about that ball just felt a little different, you know?
It's the mud.
I knew it.
I love you, Magic Mud.
Uh... That's nasty.
I wonder if we could improve the grip of anything else with that mud.
Well, I don't know about making things grippy, but the researchers behind the study said that the techniques that they used to understand how the baseball mud worked could also be used to help develop more sustainable construction materials in the future.
So this baseball mud might actually help us build houses in the future?
I mean, it's possible, but it's still a pretty long way away.
But right now, we need to celebrate.
Yeah!
Come on, everyone.
I think I saw a sports drink cooler over there that we can pour over Fingerling.
Come on, follow me.
All right.
OK, but who if it's grape flavored?
The other flavors give me a rash.
Yay!
We won!
Way to go, everybody, especially Dennis.
Hey, wait for me!
Wow in the World will be right back.
Grownups, this message is for you.
That's it, back to the show.
Hi, thanks for calling Wow in the World.
After the beep, get ready to record.
I'm Indy.
I'm Guy Ross.
My name is Abigail, and I live in Dallas, Texas.
My wow in the world is that crocodiles are more closely related to birds than to lizards.
Isn't that bonker-bonk?
Say hi to Grandma Geforce, Thomas Fingerling, Dennis, and Hendy.
Bye!
My name is Luca.
I live in Columbia Tennessee, and my wow is that Penguins molt each year, meaning that they shed their feathers each year.
I'm Indian Guy Raz.
My name is Crosby.
I'm eight years old, and I live in Bloomington, Minnesota.
My wow in the world is that killer whales are actually dolphins, because they live in pods and they're the largest member of the dolphin family.
Say hi to Reggie for me.
Hello, Mindy and Guy Laws.
My name is Meredith.
I live in Murphy'sville, Tennessee.
My law and my law is that there's not a biggest number.
Say hi to Reggie, Dennis, Grandma G-Force, and Thomas Fingerling.
What's up?
Hi, my name is Audrey.
I'm six years old and I live in Rathdrum, Idaho.
My wow in the world is that lizards drop their tails when they're scared.
Say hi to Dennis.
Hi there.
Grandma G-Force.
Yay!
Oh, oh, oh.
And Reggie.
Bye, love your show.
Hi, this is Elle from Michigan.
My wow is that turtles can breathe through their butt.
Bye.
Hi, my name is Avery.
I'm from Cincinnati.
My route is jellyfish don't have heart.
Hi, Guy Ross.
Hi, Guy Ross.
Oh, yeah.
Hi, Thomas Springling.
Oh, cool, dude.
Hi, Dennis.
Ahoy there.
Hi, my name is Guy Ross.
My name is Ike.
I'm eight years old.
No, nine, actually.
And I'm from Florida.
My wow in the world is that octopus have blue blood because it's actually copper-based.
Say hi to Mr. Thomas Fingerling.
Okie doke.
And say hi to Grandma G-Force.
Mr. Annoying, a.k.a.
Dennis.
And the sleigh cats for me.
Bye.
My name is Mila.
I live on the Sunshine Coast in BC, Canada.
My wow in the world is that popcorn can pop up to three feet in the air.
Say hi to Reggie for me.
Bye.
End of messages.
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 listening to this episode of Wow in the World.
If you're a kid with a big wow to share with us, call our wow hotline at 1-888-7-WOW-WOW for a chance to be featured at the end of the show or an upcoming episode of Two.
What's in a Wow?
And while you're at it, why don't you head over to Apple Podcasts and tell us what wows you about our show by leaving a review?
You just might hear your reviewsy read by Dennis on WeWow on the weekend.
Oh, and don't forget to visit us at Tinkercastcom and become a member of the World Organization of Wowsers.
With that, you'll get year-round mailings, weekly activities, birthday cards, and more.
On Tinkercastcom.
You can also shop our Wow Shop, get tickets for upcoming live events, find our books and learn about all the other amazing podcasts from Tinkercast.
Once again, that's Tinkercast.com.
Wow in the World is written by Mindy Thomas and Tom Van Kelken with contributions from me, Guy Raz.
Original sound design and music editing is done by our senior production director, Jed Anderson.
You can also hear Jed Anderson in the voices of Dennis Thomas Fingerling, Reggie and many of the other silly characters you hear 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 our team, including Kit Ballinger, Rebecca Caban, Dr Natasha Crandall, Kenny Curtis, Kristen Yang, Thuy Mac, Erica Medina, Henry Moskal, Jody Nussbaum, Ali Paksima, Linda Rothenberg, Steph Sosa, Tyler Thull, Anna Zagorski and all of the other tinkerers at Tinkercast HQ.
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.
Thanks for listening.
Find episodes of Wow in the World every Monday, Two What's in a Wow every Friday, and We Wow on the Weekends with Dennis every Saturday and Sunday, right here in the Wow in the World podcast feed.
Until then, keep on wowing!
Wow in the World was made by Tinkercast and sent to you by Wondery.
