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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 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 to Inside Tinkercast Studios, the show where I reminisce and revisit my favorite episodes of Wow in the World.
I'm your host, Dennis.
That's right, Reggie.
Let's go to the phone lines to hear from my devoted listeners.
What do you mean devoted is too strong a word?
Okay, then let's just call them my fanatic, steadfast listeners.
Dedicated and faithful.
Ardent and affectionate.
Caring and concerned.
Ah, Reggie, give me back my thesaurus.
Fine, let me just get the old answering machine pulled up here.
Okay, there we are.
Hi, you've reached Dennis from Inside Tinkercast Studios.
That's me.
Leave me a message.
Hi, Dennis.
I think your Melody has a question for you.
She is wondering how you make paper.
That's it.
Bye.
Oh, I know this.
I make my own handmade paper.
Reggie, I do so make paper.
I use it for special occasions like award certificates, for awards that I invent and then award to myself, or for invitations to award ceremonies, like the one I'm attending this afternoon for Best Dennis.
Well, paper is made out of tiny little fibers of wood or fabric called pape.
No, Reggie, not pulp, pape.
Paper is made of pape.
Well then, go ahead and try making your own paper out of pulp, and don't come crying to me when it doesn't work.
Next question.
Hi, Dennis.
This is Isaac from Pennsylvania, PA.
I was wondering, are you good at Fortnite?
Bye.
Psh.
Am I good at Fortnite?
Of course I am.
I'm nationally ranked.
Uh-huh.
At the Fortnite tournament last year, my team and I built a pillow fort 20 feet tall and slept in it all night.
It was the best Fortnite we ever had.
There was popcorn and puzzles and... What?
What do you mean he's not talking about forts?
A video game?
Oh.
Ew.
Next question.
Hi, Dennis.
My name's Penelope.
I have a question for you.
Why and how do leaves change colors?
Color in the fall.
I don't know, but it's a huge mess and it drives me crazy.
There's just leaves everywhere in the yard, on the sidewalk, on the roof, in the street.
And then I'm all like, hey, trees, what do you think you're doing?
Who's going to clean up all this mess?
And the trees get sad and I have to apologize.
It's a whole thing.
Well, that's true.
It is beautiful.
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 Inside Tinkercast Studios.
Okay, that takes care of that.
Good question.
Today's episode of Wow in the World comes to us from Season 3, Episode 17.
Here Comes the Sun-Powered Energy.
In this episode...
Guy takes Mindy on a journey to explore the history of fossil fuels and the future of energy production.
Well, why are you asking me?
I don't know where fossil fuels come from.
I only listened to the part that I was in.
Let's play the episode.
And now Inside Tinkercast Studios brings to you a special encore presentation of one of my favorite episodes of Wow in the World, Here comes the sun-powered energy.
Roll it.
Proceed in three, two, one.
Ignition.
Get ready for an attack sky and sell the sky and lift your arms up to the sky and ask the sky.
Don't ask the sky.
Don't fall on me, don't fall on me delivery.
Huh, who could that possibly be at seven in the morning?
Hello, hold on coming.
Sheesh, you think a person would have, especially at this hour.
Uh, who is it?
Delivery from earthsgiantlung.com.
Huh.
For me?
That can't be right.
I always buy my stuff from local shops.
I mean, earthsgiantlung.com just tempts people to buy stuff they don't need.
Uh, good morning.
Good morning.
I've got some packages here.
We got this one, this one.
Here you go.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Wait a minute.
You've got like $100.
150 packages behind you.
Are you sure they're for me?
Uh-huh.
Says right here on the package, Guy Razzi next door to the Gingerbread Mansion.
And here we go.
This one.
Let me see that.
Wait a minute.
These packages are addressed to Mindy, not Guy Raz.
Mindy?
Oh, you mean her?
Yep, you got it.
Just unload them all over there.
That's right.
Keep them coming.
Keep them coming.
Mindy, what is going on? coming along.
Well, it's, uh... That's right, boys.
Keep on dumping.
Mindy, what is going on?
Ah, just dealing with a little delivery from earthsgiantlung.com.
A small delivery?
There's like 150 boxes coming off that truck.
192 boxes, to be precise.
192 boxes?
And anyway, why are half of them being delivered to my house?
Oh, so turns out, earthsgiantlungcom has a limit on how many boxes that they'll deliver to a single address, so I had to put yours down too.
Hope you don't mind.
Mindy, what have you ordered?
I mean, I know you've got a food truck and all, but I mean this can't all be cricket powder for your bbbq truck?
Yes, of course it's not cricket powder, guy ross, why would i need so much cricket powder?
Well then, what could you have possibly ordered?
Oh well, just the other day i was sitting at home minding my own beeswax when my zoodle told me that it was cyber fun day.
Cyber fun day, what are you talking about?
Oh, so Cyber Fun Day is the day when all of these shopping websites like earthsgiantlungcom have deals on everything you could ever want, and everything you didn't even know you wanted.
All these toys and glitter bombs and unicorns that poop rainbows and unicorns that poop potatoes and cheesy bake ovens and keychains and novelty gifts and inspirational decorative plates.
See?
Look, this one says, Love, Laugh, Live.
And even Dennis got in on it.
Dennis, tell Guy Raz what you ordered.
400 fidget spinners.
They were overstocked from 2017.
I will never be restless again.
Whee!
I'm bored.
Mindy, I...
I don't understand.
Are you sure you need all this stuff?
Yes, of course I don't need it, Guy Raz.
It was all on sale.
I used the money that I made from those energy bars that Reggie and I sold to his paleo pigeon friends and boy howdy we made a fortune on those things.
I walked away from that business venture with $1,000.
Wait, wait, hold on, hold on.
You're telling me you made 1000 in profit from selling business bird seed paleo energy bars and you decided to spend it on a bunch of a bunch of junk.
Well, you know what you always say, Guy Raz.
One bird's trash is another bird's treasure.
What?
I don't say that.
Yeah, you do.
Remember last week when Reggie and I helped you fish out all of those old plastic bottles and aluminum cans from Dennis's trash.
Hey, Mindy.
Hey, Reg.
Oh here, can you give me a hand.
I'm going through dennis's trash and he's not recycling anything.
I mean, we need to fish all these bottles and cans out of this trash bin.
You want us to help you dig through dennis's trash?
Well, as i always say reg, one bird's trash is another bird's treasure.
See Now, do you remember?
Oh yeah, but I was talking about trash that could actually be recycled and turned into something new.
Huh.
Because otherwise all that trash gets dumped into a giant trash dump or landfill and well, that's not good for our environment.
Oh, I'm picking up what you're putting down, Guy Raz.
Talking about trash turning into treasure, you meant recycling.
Yes.
Oh.
And judging by these 190 boxes... Actually, 192 boxes, but it was downing.
Judging by those 192 boxes, you've actually generated more trash.
Trash?
You know what they say, guy.
One person's trash is another person's toilet paper dispenser that plays Christmas songs.
My Wi-Fi-enabled, Bluetooth-ready eggbeater earrings trash.
Well, yes.
I mean, no.
I mean, yes.
Look at all the plastic and cardboard out here.
All these things you've ordered are packed in stuff that's going to go in the trash.
Well, just recycle it.
Well, Mindy, unfortunately, that's not going to solve the problem.
Well, of course it will.
What are you talking about, Guy Raz?
Haven't you heard?
Heard what?
Well, for the past few decades a lot of our recycling things like paper and plastic and glass has actually been shipped off to China to get recycled.
Oh, thank you, China.
Except over the past year, China has told the world that it can't take all of our junk anymore.
What?
Why not?
Well, we humans have generated too much of it, and recycling all of that trash has become too difficult for China.
Ooh, so what does that mean for how we recycle our garbage?
Well, it means that in many cities in America and even in other countries, they've stopped recycling.
Just stopped recycling?
Like Dennis?
Oh, Mindy, I didn't stop recycling.
I never started.
Guy Raz, if they're not recycling, then what's happening with all of that cardboard and plastic?
Well, a lot of it is being incinerated or burned.
Oh, well, that sounds like a pretty good plan to me.
Well, unfortunately it's not, because every time you burn this stuff, it creates pollution in our air.
Pollution that makes our air dirty, and that isn't good for us.
So, Guy Raz, this doesn't sound great.
What can we do about it?
Well, the first thing we can do is not burn it.
Buy so much stuff.
But the Cyber Fun Day sales were so good.
How is not buying so much stuff going to help the planet?
Because, Mindy, every time we buy something, it means that energy had to be used to make it.
And energy, or most of the energy we humans currently use, creates carbon dioxide.
Oh, and are you talking about the same carbon dioxide that's making our planet hotter?
Exactly.
And most of the factories that make the stuff we buy have to use fossil fuels to create or generate that energy.
Huh.
Fossil fuels.
Guy Raz, whenever I think of fossil fuels, I think of fossils like in dinosaurs.
Are you talking about those kinds of fossils?
Well, yeah.
I mean...
Hey, I have an idea.
I love ideas.
What's the status of the wow machine these days?
Oh well, it's breaking down all the time and leaking dirty hot dog water for some inexplicable reason.
Oh, and there's a bunch of pigeon feathers stuck to the windshield, but other than that I'd say it's perfect.
Uh... Why?
You thinking about taking a little fossil-fueled trip?
Well, we could go back in time to find out how fossil fuels were created.
Yes!
Okay, I'll meet you at the wow machine in just a minute.
But first, I gotta get my new portable airbags out of this box here.
Got him!
Well, while you're getting ready, I'm just gonna head over to the garage, okay?
Sure! if we want to see the origins of fossil fuels, we need to go back to the Carboniferous Period.
Oh, I was just at a Carboniferous Period birthday party.
It's the geological age that started more than 350 million years ago.
That's the one.
Can you set the dial?
You got it.
Let's see here.
350 million years ago.
And let me just Punch in the coordinates here.
Any specific location?
We could just stay here in North America, right where we are right now.
Okay, North America.
Carboniferous period.
And here we go.
Yummy.
I think I'm going to barf.
We interrupt this program for a brief barf break.
Wow in the World will return in three, two, one.
Mindy, you really should consider eating whole grains for breakfast.
Glad I got that out of my system.
So now what?
All right.
Let's get this hatch open.
OK.
Opening the hatch. these plants, Guy Raz.
Man, this place sure beats my Aunt Mojo's collection of indoor ferns.
Mindy, this is what our planet Earth looked like 350 million years ago.
Amazing.
So green and lush and untouched.
I guess it's good for us that dinosaurs aren't going to come around for at least 100 million more years.
So while we have the time, let's go take a walk.
Sure.
Let me just get my mud boots on.
Hang on.
Got him on.
I'm ready.
Mindy?
Mindy?
I'm out here, Guy Raz.
Trying to find some of those fossil fuels you were talking about.
Wait up.
I just need to climb out of the wow machine.
Wow.
What do you think?
It really is beautiful out here.
I know.
It's incredible.
So, Guy Raz, I'm looking at all of these plants, and right now we are 350 million years in the past.
So does that mean...
That, as we get closer and closer to the present, that all of these plants will turn into the fuels that we humans will use to power our factories and our cars and our airplanes, and all that.
Yup.
Over the next several hundred millions of years, all of these plants around us will get covered by layers of soil and rocks.
That's a lot of centuries for these plants to be pushed under all of that weight.
Exactly.
And with all of that pressure from millions of years of more rocks and more soil covering the plants well Eventually, these plants will have no choice but to turn into a mushy goo.
Exactly.
And some of that goo will become petroleum or oil.
And some of it will turn into coal and gas.
Hey, Mindy, I have an idea.
Do you still happen to have that fast-forward wand in your tool bag?
Actually, the fast-forward wand was a breadstick, so I ate it.
But, lucky for you, I do have my flip-forward fan.
It's right here in my adventure tool bag somewhere.
Let's see here.
Battery-operated marshmallow rotator.
Nope.
Hey, look, I've got your cat Alice in here.
Alice?
Hi, Alice.
Okay, got a George Foreman grill.
Nothing like that.
Oh, here it is.
My flip-forward fan.
It's a little rusty.
Huh.
It's wet.
Why is this thing wet?
Uh, salsa.
Oh, yes!
I forgot.
I poured some salsa in my adventure tool kit last week, just in case I came across some chips.
Maybe.
But the good news is, it seems like the flip-forward fan still works.
Let me just fire this baby up.
Whoa.
Whoa.
That thing is glowing.
Hold on to your donkey, Sky Rosby.
Because the world around us is about to flip forward one million times faster.
Flip forward fan, activate.
Whoa, whoa, everything around us is speeding up.
Look.
Yeah, all of these plants are being buried by layers of rocks and soil.
Some of it's turning into coal and some of it's turning into petroleum.
And look over there.
Those plants are turning into natural gas. we're witnessing an anaerobic decomposition.
Which is a scientific term for, well, natural materials being broken down into new materials.
This is bonker balls, Guy Raz.
We are literally watching fossils being burned into fuel.
And in 350 million years from now, humans will discover this fuel underground that will be used to power our cars and airplanes, and factories and even the lights we use in our homes.
Whoa, that is incredible, Sky Ross.
But this flip-forward fan is starting to flip us out of control.
Time to hit the emergency stop button.
Whoa, that was close.
Whoa.
Check it out.
Guy Raz forward fan brought us all the way up to the 1800s.
This is when humans started to dig this stuff out of the ground.
Whoa, wait and look over.
There is that a giant oil.
Well Yeah, it looks like a huge slow-motion hammer going up and down and up and down.
And when that giant hammer thing moves back and forth, it seems to be sucking up oil from deep down in the ground and bringing it to the surface.
Let's go check it out and see if we can take a sample of some of that oil.
Come on.
I love free samples.
It's so black and gooey.
How would we humans turn it into energy?
Well, once this oil is refined or cleaned up a bit, it turns into material that is very easy to burn.
And once it burns, it gets really hot.
And all of that heat is used to generate or create steam that makes a giant wheel or turbine go around and around in a power plant.
Oh, yeah, like that one big power plant in our town, the one with the giant smokestack.
That's exactly right.
And when that turbine goes around and around, it makes electricity.
Which is why we can have lights on in the house and TVs plugged into the walls and factories that can make all that stuff you ordered from earthsgiantlungcom.
Which seems like a really good thing, but it also means that we're burning these fuels.
And when we burn stuff... We create carbon dioxide.
That's right, the same carbon dioxide that's making our planet hard.
Man, so if we keep this up, no more winter?
Well, it's a little more complicated because it also means that as our planet gets warmer, our weather gets a little crazier.
Oh, yeah.
So like how some places on the planet might get too much rain, while other places don't get any rain at all.
Exactly.
This is what people mean when they talk about climate change.
Oh, man.
Well, I have noticed that we've been getting some pretty crazy storms in the past few years.
And Mindy, unless we humans start to work on this problem soon, we could get even crazier storms in the future.
Well, I've got an entire adventure toolkit full of inventions.
What can I do to help out?
Well, I'm glad you asked.
Want to head back to the wow machine and I'll show you something I just installed in my house?
You installed something without my help?
Yep.
I got to see this.
Just open the hatch here.
Okay, I'm in.
All right, let's get back to the present day. punch in our coordinates, and here we... Go!
Look at that.
We lost an entire side panel.
Okay, so what was that cool installation you wanted to show me?
Oh, yeah, it's on my roof.
I put in this special safety ladder to help us climb up.
Come on.
Shimmy, shimmy, shimmy, shimmy, shimmy, shimmy, shimmy, shimmy.
Whoa, are these solar panels?
Not just that.
Look over there, Mindy.
You put in a wind turbine?
Yep.
Can I ride it?
Just had them set up a few days ago.
All the energy I'll ever need right here, using the good old fashioned power of wind and the sun.
And I'm guessing that these are those renewable sources of energy that don't burn fossil fuels and create carbon dioxide.
Exactly.
You don't need to burn anything to get electricity from the sun and the wind, because they're always here.
So that means that energy that's generated from wind and sun are clean.
And more and more countries around the world are trying to use sun-powered solar energy and wind-powered wind energy.
Dennis, get a load of this wind turbine.
If we all start using this stuff, we could stop putting all that carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Whoa, that's so cool.
Can I ride it?
And hopefully we can slow down how hot our planet will get.
Oh man, Guy Raz.
This reminds me of this story that I just read about this 16-year-old girl named Greta Thunberg.
Greta Thunberg.
Greta Thunberg.
Yeah, she's a student in Sweden who's trying to get kids from all over the world to tell their grown-ups to stop using all of those old fossil fuels.
Go on.
And a few weeks ago, kids around the world marched through their cities and their towns, holding signs and making noise, demanding that grown-ups listen to them.
Because all of the kids in the world today will have to work extra hard to clean up the mess left behind by all the grown-ups who've been using all this fun fossil fuel energy for the last 200 years.
Exact Doritos, Sky Roz.
And if we start making different choices about the way that we live now well, we can make a pretty big difference for the future.
Starting with a few simple decisions.
Yeah, what are you thinking?
Well, for starters, we should try to buy as much food as we can in its natural state.
So just to be clear, you're not talking about individually wrapped bags of pre-sliced crepe.
Oh yeah.
What else?
Well, Mindy, you... could start by cutting down on all the stuff you order from earthsgiantlung.com.
I mean, do you really need a solar-powered marshmallow turner?
Well, it is solar-powered.
So Yeah, I guess that's true, but the factory that made that marshmallow turner had to burn fossil fuels to make it, and then it had to burn more fossil fuels to send it on a ship and then a truck to get to your house.
So you know it's not.
So if I wanted to do my part, then I could just focus on buying only the Things that I truly need.
Exactly.
And instead of all those packets of ketchup and soy sauce we use, we should politely ask restaurants to offer a single dispenser for everyone to use.
And instead of those disposable coffee cups we get from Herman Melville's House of Coffee, we could buy a reusable coffee cup and use it again and again.
Huh.
Well then, I guess I'll have to figure out what to do with all these cardboard boxes that I got from Cyber Fun Day.
Well, besides cutting down on all this stuff from now on?
For sure.
But in the meantime, Reggie!
Hey, Reg.
I've got a bunch of cardboard here with your name on it.
I was wondering if you might be interested in building a brand new shredded cardboard nest.
Oh, you are?
Huh?
Guy Raz here is looking to do the Earth a solid, so he will help you shred every one of these boxes with his scissors and bare hands.
And soon enough you'll have a cozy comfy brand-new state-of-the-art Earth-friendly, recycled cardboard nest Reg.
Come on, Guy Raz.
You're slacking on the job.
Time to start shredding for the planet.
What have I gotten myself into?
Hey, grownups, 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.
Grown-ups.
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.
Hi, thanks for calling Wow in the World.
After the beep, get ready to record.
Hi, Mindy and Guy Ross.
My name is Owen.
I live in Prairie Village, Kansas.
My Wow in the World is that giraffes have the same number of neck bones as us humans.
Bye!
Hi, Mindy and Guy Ross.
My name is Amelia from Stroud in the United Kingdom and my wow in the world is that a sugar cube of neutron star weighs the same as Mount Everest.
And Reggie, come and visit us in England soon.
Love the show.
Bye!
Hi, my name is Simone.
I live in Brooklyn, New York.
My wow Eagles can see six times better than people.
Bye.
Hi, my name is Shia Dom.
I live in San Diego, California.
And my word in the world is that Reggie might be related to the Victoria Crown Pigeon, the largest pigeon in the world.
Say hi to Reggie for me.
Bye.
Hi, Mindy.
Hi, Guy Ross.
My name is Devin.
Island is in Los Angeles, California.
My wow is tarantulas can shoot their hairs, but hedgehogs and porcupines can't shoot their quills.
Say hi to Reggie and Dennis for me.
Ahoy there.
Bye.
Hi, my name is Ori from Atlanta, Georgia.
And my wow in the world is that dinosaurs started out as small creatures like Cetophilus, Herrerasaurus and Eoraptor.
Isn't that really cool.
And they evolved into giants like Argentine source Brachiosaurus and Spinosaurus and T-Rex.
Hi, Minion Guy Roz.
My name is Theo, and I am calling from Mount Laurel, New Jersey.
My round the world is that when astronauts poop, it is sterilized, deodorized and then freeze-dried.
It is stored in a tank until the astronauts return to Earth.
Yup!
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.
Tom?
Hello there.
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.
Jink!
Wow in the World is made by Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Wondery Kids Plus on Apple Podcasts.
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And before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey.
