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, 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! physics, biology, and outer space.
Science Explorers with our headquarters.
No, Dennis.
Here at Camp Wee Wow.
OK, that's enough.
Hey, G-Force.
Hey, Larry Paul.
Oh, baby, no.
Oh, yeah.
Camp Wee Wow.
Camp Wee Wow.
Camp Wee Wow.
Camp Wee Wow.
With Dennis and Reggie and Grandma G-Force.
Campers, it's another great week at Camp WeWow, the invisible summer camp for science explorers everywhere.
I'm your camp counselor, Guy Raz.
And I drank a gallon of milk this morning.
Huh?
I mean, I'm Mindy.
And because this is an invisible summer camp, you can join us from wherever you are right now.
It's like the camp that comes to you.
We're kicking things off with a brand new theme, Bug Week.
Yeah, so get ready to think, tinker, experiment, and explore.
And if you stick with us, by the end of the week, you'll have earned your big bug wowzer badge.
But first we're going to practice the art of listening with one of our favorite bug-infested Wow in the World episodes the karate kicking cockroach.
Reggie, roll the tape.
Woo-hoo!
Woo-hoo!
Like cucarachas.
Like cucarachas.
Blah, blah, bleep, bloop, blah, blah, blah.
Oh, Tyrazz!
Mindy, come on.
We're going to be late for our karate class.
Um, ow.
Hang on.
I just got to put on my karate suit.
Where should I put my karate suit?
Oh, here it is.
OK, let me see here.
Thorax.
Abdomen.
And head.
Walk into my full-length mirror.
Oh, yeah.
How you like me now?
What is taking you so long?
If I've said it once, I've said it a hundred times.
Being early is on time.
Being on time is late.
Good morning, Guy Raz.
Ready for our karate lesson?
Mindy, is that you?
Oh, sorry.
I guess I should take off my head.
What?
No, I was...
That's better.
I was starting to get sweaty in there.
Uh, Mindy, why are you dressed up in a giant cockroach suit?
Guy Raz, why would I not be dressed up in a giant cockroach suit?
Uh, I don't know how I'm supposed to answer that question.
Well, good news for you, I made two.
Come on in and we'll get you all suited up.
No, I'm... Come on, it'll only hurt a bit.
Mindy, did you forget about our karate class today?
Um, did you forget about our karate class today?
Looks to me like you're still in your bathrobe.
Mindy, I'm wearing my karate gi.
This is the traditional karate uniform that I had imported from Japan.
Do you know how difficult it is to find one of these things with elbow patches?
Oh.
What?
Well, I didn't sign this up for that kind of karate class.
Oh, no.
I have your email right here.
Look, let me read it to you.
It says...
What's kicking little chicken?
We are, surprise, I've signed us up for karate lessons.
Peace, love, and pogo sticks.
Your B-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F, Mindy.
P.S.
What do you call a pig that knows karate?
Wait for it.
A pork chop.
Yeah, keep reading.
That's...
That's the end.
You didn't read the fine print.
The fine... Here, put these glasses on your glasses so you can see it.
Stay still, I'll help you.
I got it, I got it.
They look a little crooked.
Okay, let's see here.
P.S.S.
The sensei of this class will be the karate kickin' cockroach.
Mindy, the karate kicking cockroach?
Now I just need you to squeeze yourself into this thorax and then put on this abdomen like a pair of pants.
Mindy.
Mindy, the last time you put me into an abdomen and thorax, I became the victim of an exploding ant.
Well, I can assure you there will be no exploding ants this time, Guy Raz.
Only a bunch of ferocious wasps.
What?
Not your run-of-the-mill karate class?
Why can't we ever just do a run-of-the-mill anything?
And the final addition to your cockroach costume the head stand still.
I just need to adjust your antennas.
Ow, just stop wiggling.
Oh, there we go.
This cockroach suit is pinching me.
Okay, i can fix that.
Just going to give you a little shake here.
Shake them up, shake them up, shake them up, shake them up, shake them up, shake them up, shake them up, shake them up, shake them up, shake them.
There.
That should be all better.
You know, I'm feeling surprisingly comfortable now.
Almost cozy.
Ah, cozy as a cockroach in a cupcake.
Well, you ready to kick it?
Like a karate kicking cockroach?
Actually, on second thought.
No time for second thoughts, Guy Raz.
A wise old owl once told me that being early is on time and that being on time is late.
Again, that wise old owl was me.
After you.
Waddle, waddle, waddle, waddle, waddle, waddle.
Opening the door.
I really hope we don't run into any neighbors dressed like this.
Morning, Guy.
Morning, Mindy.
Oh! are you wearing you can't go around like that what will the neighbors think i mean what will i think i'll tell you what i think i love you too dennis just keep walking just keep walking mindy did you tell reggie when we needed him to pick us up oh reggie's in new york city's central park at a family reunion man with all the pigeons there that must be a giant family reunion Let's walk and talk, Guy Raz.
Well, Mindy, we can't walk down the street dressed like giant cockroaches.
Sure we can.
Look out, world.
Here we come.
Well, looks like we're cleared for takeoff.
How do I let her rope me into these things?
Waddle.
Waddle.
Waddle.
Waddle.
Waddle.
I've been walking a while now.
I thought we'd be there.
This place was only like two and a half centimeters from us on the map.
Mindy, when are we going to get to this karate studio?
Hey, Guy Raz.
Did you know that a cockroach can live for a whole week without its head?
Huh?
Yeah.
It's because they don't need their heads or mouths to breathe.
Instead, they breathe through these tiny little holes in their bodies.
Huh.
So then what causes them to eventually die?
Thirst.
Thirst.
They die of thirst.
You see, cockroaches need their mouths to drink water, and bodies without mouth holes can't get any.
Ooh, yeah.
Hey Guy Ross.
Did you know that a one-day-old baby cockroach, the size of a speck of dust, can run as fast as its parents, which is three miles an hour?
Really?
On those tiny legs?
Speaking of legs, did you know that cockroaches have 18 knees?
Huh.
Six legs.
Three joints on each leg.
Hey, Ross.
Did you know that a cockroach can hold its breath for 40 minutes?
Did you know that ancient cockroaches were living at the same time as dinosaurs?
Did you know that in some parts of the world you can buy deep-fried cockroaches on a stick and eat them as a snack?
What?
Did you know that the human head weighs eight pounds?
Mindy, where's this all going?
We're here!
I will not take one more step in this hot and steamy cockroach suit.
Wait, wait.
Did you say we're here?
Well, if standing in front of a storefront with a sign that says Kickin' Cockroach Karate means we're here, then I'm pretty sure this is the place.
Karate.
Karate.
Karate.
Mindy, I know Webster's Dictionary, but I'm pretty sure that karate is not spelled carrot-tay.
C-A-R-R-O-T-A.
T-A-Y.
Karate.
Hmm.
Well, that just must mean that this is an unaccredited karate school.
Well, it is taught by a cockroach.
You know it.
Come on, let's go inside.
Deep breaths.
Deep breaths.
Um, hello?
Mindy, where is everyone?
Greetings.
Wow.
Greetings, my cockroach friends.
I see we have our first students.
Yeah, you know, we're just a couple of real cockroaches hoping to learn some carrots.
Well, you've come to the right place.
In this class, you will be instructed by an unlicensed and unprofessional cockroach.
Oh, wait.
Did she just say shh?
And it all happens in our State of the Arc facility.
Sounds good to me.
Before we start the class, I'll just need you to sign a few forms.
Let me see these forms.
This class may result in wasp stings, zombification, diarrhea.
Hmm?
Well, sign me up.
Mindy!
Where do you want my autograph?
Right here, and here, and over here, and here, and here, and here.
I'm sorry, I just can't use a pen to sign these forms, when all I got are these cockroach feet for hands.
Allow me to sign for you.
Mindy, do you think this is a good idea?
Yes, of course I don't think this is a good idea, Guy Raz.
There we go.
All signed.
Now, before I introduce you to your sensei, I'm going to have you watch a brief video.
Ooh, a brief video.
Ooh la la.
Are you a cockroach?
No.
Yes.
Are you a cockroach sick and tired of being stung by jewel wasps, zombified, and then fed to little wasp babies?
What?
Yes.
If one more jewel wasp tries to turn me into a zombie, I'm gonna... I'm gonna...
I'm probably not going to do anything because I will be baby wasp food at that point.
Then you've come to the right place.
Here at Kickin' Cockroach Karate, we make a sandwich out of the latest scientific research and awesome moves.
Moves that will help you break your brains free from the clutches of the evil jewel wasp.
Mindy, are you sure this is a karate class?
I mean, zombies, wasps, scientific research?
Yeah!
Oh, yeah.
So when a jewel wasp finds a cockroach, it'll swoop in and sting the cockroach in two places.
One sting in its lower abdomen to paralyze or basically freeze its front legs, and one sting to its brain.
What?
And with that sting, Guy Raz, comes an injection of poisonous venom.
A venomous sting that turns that cockroach into a zombie!
Basically.
And once that happens, the wasp is able to control the cockroach.
Oh, yeah.
And at that point the wasp grabs the zombie cockroach by the antennas, drags it into a hole like a dog on a leash, and there the wasp lays an egg on the cockroach.
When that egg hatches...
The larvae burrows its way down into the cockroach and when it's done, it pops back out of the cockroach as a full-grown wasp.
Ta-da!
But scientific research has shown us cockroaches that there is a better way.
And that's what we're going to learn today in Kicking Cockroach Karate.
Scientific research?
Oh, yeah.
So I was just reading this amazing new study conducted by a scientist named Dr. Kenneth Catania.
He's a biologist at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.
And what was the study?
Dr Catania wanted to see up close what, if anything, cockroaches do when faced with a zombifying jewel wasp.
And how did he do the experiment?
Well, he took some jewel wasps and some cockroaches and he put them together in this fancy, clear scientific shoebox, basically.
And then he took a bunch of high-speed video.
Once he captured all the video, he watched it played back in slow-mo.
And what did he discover?
He discovered that... The Kicking Karate Cockroach is in the house!
Mindy, something tells me he's not a real cockroach.
What?
Just because he can talk and wear gym socks and has a price tag stuck to his head?
Is that a costume?
Among other things, yes.
In this class, we are going to learn the fine art of Karate Kicking.
Our way to freedom!
Can I get an oh yeah?
Oh no.
Oh yeah.
Nice.
Step one.
Stilt standing.
As the wasp approaches.
As the wasp approaches.
Sharon, I mean, come on.
The wasp approaches.
I'm a wasp.
And I want to sting your brains.
Oh, Sharon, you're an amazing wasp.
Wait, isn't that wasp the same person who... She's a real wasp.
Just go with it.
As the wasp approaches, you rise up, turn your body away from the wasp, but your antennae towards the wasp.
Lift up one of your hind legs and let the wasp know that you mean business.
Mindy, there are no wasps in this class.
There are no other students.
Mindy, how much did you pay for this lesson?
That's the best part.
Step two.
With your body positioned away from the wasp, wait for the wasp to approach.
Sharon, approach.
And just as it gets ready to attack, Use your spiky, barbed wire-like back legs to deliver a hearty kick to the wasp's head.
Keep on kicking for at least three minutes.
Please don't kick that wasp.
That wasp is a person in a wasp suit.
I can tell by her shoes.
Of course I'm not going to kick this wasp.
We here at Kicking Cockroach Karate practice peaceful alternatives to working out our differences.
Namaste.
Okay, okay, so why are we here again?
I got this, Guy Raz.
Um, excuse me, excuse me, Mr. Sensei.
Sup, my young Padawan.
Um, why would the wasp just hang around while you kicked it in the head for three minutes?
I mean, I would just get up and fly away, but you know, that's just me.
So Oh, my young protege.
After this class, your cockroach kicks will be so fast, so ferocious, so fast that a wasp wouldn't be able to escape it if it tried.
Well, I mean, at least 63% of the time, according to this new scientific research.
Okay, well, then, step three?
Step three.
At this point...
Of course, you're going to have wasp guts stuck all to the spines of your roachy little legs.
Now, what you're going to do is you're going to use the spines of your other legs, the ones that don't have guts on them, to rake them free of wasp debris.
Do you get it?
I'm making it rhyme so it helps your brain.
I'm raking up these wasp guts off of me.
Mindy!
What?
Step four.
Once you've finished raking that wasp off your legs, you're going to hold the wasp away from you in a stiff arm stance and take a big bite out of its abdomen.
What?
Which we're not going to do in this class, as we are uninsured and peace-loving citizens of the insect community.
Seriously, I wouldn't hurt a fly.
You can ask Sharon.
She will attest.
Sharon, right?
Would never bite.
Okay, so what's step five, the fifth and final step?
Step five?
Step five?
You make it out alive.
Class dismissed.
That'll be 75 bucks per cockroach plus tax.
75?
I got this, Sky Roz.
Let's see here.
75 plus 75.
Here's $150 in cold hard certified and licensed counterfeit cockroach.
Ash.
Awesome.
Counterfeit.
Fit for a counter.
See you at the next intrusion.
The what?
An intrusion is what you call a group of cockroaches.
Oh, right.
So I'm confused.
Did we earn a black belt or what?
Hey!
Stop those cockroaches!
Counterfeit means fake.
I didn't know that.
I bet you're not even real cockroaches.
We gotta run.
Cockroach style.
Scurry, scurry, scurry, scurry, scurry, scurry, scurry, scurry.
Wow in the World will be right back.
Grown-ups, 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.
Plus, 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.
My name is Ellen and I live in Silver Spring, Maryland.
My wow in the world is that water bears are microscopic animals that live in moths.
They can survive extreme climate changes and have even been into space.
Say hi to Reggie for me.
Hi, my name's Fiona and I live in Marshall, North Carolina.
And my wow in the world is that a long, long time ago There was a species of zebra called the quagga and it looked half horse and half zebra.
Bye, Mindy and Guy Raz.
Hi, Mindy.
Hi, Guy Raz.
My name is Dahlia from Chicago, Illinois.
My wow in the world is that some scientists think the sun may have a sibling because in other solar systems they have two suns.
I love the reggie music.
Bye, Mindy.
Bye, Guy Raz.
I'm an Indian guy, Roz.
My name is Nathan.
I live in Fort Worth, Texas.
Did you know that there is a venomous caterpillar called the furry puss?
It has spines under its fur.
If you pick it up or touch it, you could be injected with venom.
That's my wow in the world.
Bye.
Hi, my name's Ella.
I'm from Malacca, Minnesota.
My wow in the world is that when you mix vinegar and baking soda, it makes visible carbon dioxide.
Thanks, bye hi, mindy and guy ross.
My name is julius bellman and i live in dallas, texas.
My wow is that an octopus has six arms and two legs, not eight arms.
Bye hi, mindy and guy ross.
My name is camille and i live in arlington, virginia.
My wow in the world is that Puerto Rico has the only tropical rainforest in North America.
Bye.
My name is Dorothea Cook.
I live in Montclair, New Jersey.
And my wow in the world is that 9 of the people in the world are left-handed, with two right-handed parents.
Hi, Mindy and Guy Ross.
My name is Eleanor.
I live in San Francisco.
And my wow in the world is that once upon a time, we didn't exist and neither did the world.
Bye.
I love your podcast.
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 grownups.
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.
Hello.
Our show is written by me, Guy Raz, and Thomas Van Kalken, who also provides silly characters.
The role of Sharon the Wasp Lady was played by Dr. Jessica Russo-Rivand.
Thanks, Jess.
Thanks also to Jessica Bode, Casey Koffer, 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 info on their two-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-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.
