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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!
Guy Raz.
Hello, Mindy.
What are you doing?
Oh, you know, just packing my Nina Toten bag with everything we'll need for today's show.
Uh, oh yeah?
What do we have here?
Let me see here.
We've got some hermit crabs.
Stay in the bag.
Get back in there.
Oh, and we've got the fastest runner in the universe.
But shh, he doesn't know he's in the bag.
He'll find out when he wakes up.
Oh, speaking of which, I can't forget to Hey, can you hand me my wrestling arena over there?
Your what?
Just trust me on this.
Well, in that case, I'm bringing my drum set.
Well, in that case, I'm bringing my game show host tuxedo.
Okay, I have no idea what we're going to do with all this stuff.
Hey, Roz, we're going to make today's show.
I guess that means it's time for Wow in the World.
Wow in the World.
You go get them, Scrappy.
Don't give up the fight.
You're a fighter. little hermit crab with a broken shell and abs of steel.
What the?
Give him your best shot.
What are you doing, Mindy?
Oh, hey Guy Raz.
I'm just watching an episode of House Hunters Hermit Crab Smackdown Edition.
It's a real estate reality show mixed with professional wrestling and it stars hermit crabs.
Okay, and so why are you watching it with the TV turned off?
Oh, that's because it doesn't exist.
So I'm watching it in my head.
Okay.
So you're sitting in front of a blank TV, shouting at it and cheering on a hermit crab trying to Fight for the ultimate dream shell to call home.
Here, do you want to take a peek inside and see for yourself?
Uh... Just pop the top.
Of your head?
Here, I'll do it for you.
And in this corner, Hulk Hermit! with a shell so strong you could bounce a nickel off it.
Tell me what you see.
Well, I see one very confident-looking hermit crab in a wrestling ring in the middle of a suburban neighborhood where all the homes are shells.
Oh, this is where all the action happens.
And in this corner, we have Cranky Crabmeister with a broken shell and an attitude to match.
What else do you see?
And now I'm seeing another hermit crab.
Yeah, yeah, that's crabby crabmeister.
He's dragging himself into the wing.
He does not look happy.
In fact, I think his shell might be broken.
It looks like it might be really heavy for him to carry.
Is that the one you were rooting for, Mindy?
Because I don't think he's going to make it.
That That other hermit crab... Oh, Hulk Hermit?
Yeah, Hulk Hermit definitely has the advantage here.
Just look at his beautiful shell.
It's just stunning.
Okay, pause the imagination.
Mindy, we were just getting to the good part.
They were about to fight for the title of the ultimate dream shell to call home.
Well, that's just the thing, Guy Raz.
If you had to place a bet on which of those two hermit crabs would win the shiniest, strongest shell, in the end, who would you pick?
Mindy, without question, it would be Hulk Herman.
He just looks like a winner.
Definitely had the upper claw.
The other one?
Crabby Crabmeister?
Yeah, that one.
He was just kind of falling apart.
His shell was cracked, and he could barely even carry it into the ring.
Well, Guy Raz, the results of this match might just surprise you.
Oh, really?
Have you ever wanted something so badly that you would do whatever it took to have it or achieve it, even if it seemed like a major success stretch?
Oh yeah, like the time i tried to order a kale salad at kfc and they called the police.
That really happened.
Uh, never mind, don't answer that anyway.
So it's the same thing with hermit crabs.
How?
So well, two scientists, one from the university of mexico and one from texas, a m university here in the us, recently spent a lot of time with hermit crabs.
That certainly seems like time well spent.
And after getting to know these tiny little hard-shelled creatures, they started to notice a few things.
Like what?
Well, like the fact that much like we humans, hermit crabs just want to have a nice place to live.
Like with a pool and a tooth crab garage.
What?
Oh, like a really nice shell.
Oh, so how do they find them?
Well, basically by fighting for it.
Hence the hermit crab cul-de-sac wrestling ring reality show happening inside your head.
So, as anyone who has ever had a hermit crab for a pet knows, hermit crabs basically spend their whole entire lives just looking to move on up in the world.
They're constantly on the hunt for better fitting shells that are strong and free of cracks and will last a long time until they're ready to move it on up again.
And if there are two hermit crabs living together and one of them has a nice roomy shell and the other one has a damaged, smaller shell, Then the one with the crummier shell is willing to uh, to fight for the other hermit crab's shell.
You got it, Guy Raz.
The hermit crab with the messed up shell will straight up try to kick the luckier crab out of his lap of luxury shell and not even apologize.
And they're doing all of this without any lawyers getting involved?
Guy Raz.
The scrappy hermit crab will walk right up to the lucky hermit crab and start banging like crazy on his shell.
Then that hermit crab will get all annoyed and start fighting back.
And in the end only one hermit crab gets to call the shell home, because they're basically like one-bedroom hermit crab studio apartments.
Well, that doesn't seem very fair.
I never said hermit crab life was fair, Guy Raz.
Well, what's so bad about having a cracked shell anyway?
I mean, isn't there beauty in imperfections?
Well, that's one of the things that these scientists set out to discover.
So one of the things that they began to notice was that when hermit crabs have broken shells, they themselves are in pretty bad shape as well.
Like their health?
Yeah, they become really unhealthy and weak.
And all of this is because of their cracked shells?
Yep.
A bad shell can make a hermit crab really miserable.
And by miserable, Guy Raz, I mean crabby.
You get it?
You get it?
Ugh, never mind.
But does it make the hermit crab even more determined to want to leave his or her shell and find a new one?
Well, that's exactly what these scientists were thinking.
So, they started to experiment.
And what did they do?
Well, they set up a hermit crab wrestling arena.
You're making this up, Indy.
Well, not entirely.
They got a bunch of hermit crabs off the coast of Mexico.
Some had broken shells, and some shells were fully intact.
And...
And what did they do?
They gave them all awesome wrestling names.
No, they didn't.
Okay, fine.
But they did put them in a tiny wrestling ring.
And in one corner of the ring, they put one scrappy hermit crab with a sad little broken shell.
And in the opposite corner of the ring?
They put a strong, healthy hermit crab with a pretty good shell.
And in the middle?
In the middle was a glowing strong shiny, roomy lap of luxury shell that the scientist had attached to a thread.
A hermit crab's dream home.
You know it.
And then they fought for the new shell?
They did, and the thread attached to the shell was also attached to a pulley and a dynamometer, which is a special device that measures force or power.
And that was so they could measure which hermit crab was the strongest?
Yep, and then they had pairs of hermit crabs wrestle each other.
Once again two with broken shells, two with intact shells.
And who do you think came out the strongest?
Mindy, I'm going to place all my money on the underdogs here.
I'm going to guess that the broken-shelled hermit crabs proved to be stronger.
Well, you'd think that what doesn't break you makes you stronger, But that's just not the case here.
I really thought this story would have a happier ending.
Who says that this is the end?
These scientists discovered that, in the case of hermit crabs, what doesn't break you makes you scrappier.
Meaning.
While they don't have the muscle strength to beat their opponents in a fight, what they do have is the sheer, raw willpower to match their opponents when going for what they want.
Okay, so you're saying they can win the fight for the best shell just because they're willing to fight so intensely for it?
Yep, and as it turns out that, after living for a long time in these old, broken shells, these hermit crabs value the better life that a new shell would bring them so much that they're motivated to fight harder than even the strongest hermit crabs around, and they ultimately win the title of world's best shell.
Not always, but their chances of winning are way better than their general health and muscle strength would suggest.
So now I'm dying to see who wins the hermit crab dream shell in that reality show you were watching in your head.
Ready to pop the top?
Nope.
Okay, I'll do it.
Me may be little, me may be weak, but using tenacity and sheer aggression, I give you your champion, the underdog Krabby Krabmeister.
He will trade his crab shack for a spacious four-bedroom shell with a swimming pool and indoor tennis court.
Such luxury!
I knew he had it in him.
It's just too bad they can't share.
Yeah, I agree.
But you know what they say about crabs, Guy Raz?
They're very shellfish.
Crabs-solutely, Mindy.
Welcome to another episode of Hardcore Wrestler or Monster Troll!
Hi, I'm Hudson, and I'm six years old.
Hi, I'm Bradley, and I'm six years old.
Hi, I'm Britt, and I'm nine years old.
So guys, we're going to play a game right now called Hardcore Wrestler or Monster Truck.
I'm going to give you the name of a hardcore wrestler or a monster truck, and you have to guess which one.
It is okay.
Are you guys ready?
Yeah!
Crybaby Cannon.
Hardcore wrestler.
Monster truck.
Monster truck.
The answer is...
Hardcore Wrestler, one point to Hudson.
Okay, ready for the next one?
Yeah.
Grave Digger.
Monster Truck.
Monster Truck.
Hardcore Wrestler.
And the answer is Monster Truck!
Two points for Hudson, one point for Bradley.
Red, you're in third place.
You ready for another one?
Yeah!
Undertaker.
Wrestler.
Wrestler.
Hardcore wrestler.
And the answer is hardcore wrestler.
Everybody gets a point.
Here's the next one.
The California Crusher.
Monster truck.
Monster truck.
Monster truck.
And the answer is monster truck.
Point for me.
Okay, last one.
Pork chop.
Cash.
Wrestler.
Hardcore wrestler.
Wrestler.
And the answer is... Hardcore wrestler!
Hudson takes the game!
What do I win?
You win your very own hardcore wrestler, this invisible, and will visit you in your sleep at night.
That's so weird.
What would your hardcore wrestler names be?
Um, John Cena.
Ratkowski.
Dragon Puncher.
The Rat Dragon.
Guys, thank you so much for playing this round of... Bye!
Where'd everybody go?
Wow in the World will be right back.
Grunups.
This message is for you grown-ups.
It's mindy and guy ross 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.
Mindy, do you know the name of the fastest human on Earth?
Of course I do, Guy Raz.
It's, um, for... Can I give you a hint?
No, it's just on the tip of my face.
Mindy, it's okay.
Just a little hint.
Okay, just one tiny hint, but that's it.
His name rhymes with... Rhymes, rhymes.
Lee and Ryan.
Volt.
Usain Bolt!
Uh, I think you mean Usain...
Bolt.
Nope.
I'm talking about Usain Bolt.
He's the guy that races to my house every time the electricity goes out.
Uh... What?
You know him, too?
Well, I'm actually referring to Usain Bolt, the fastest human on Earth.
You know the guy who ran the 100-meter dash in 958 seconds and the 200-meter dash in 1919 seconds.
Faster than any other human in recorded history?
Yeah, but can he do a one-headed...
Uh... Guy Raz, I know who you're talking about.
Why didn't you just say that in the first place?
Well, Mindy, say Usain Bolt decided to have a race against, let's say, a rabbit, right?
And let's say that if you predicted or correctly guessed the winner of the race, you got a giant ice cream sundae with caramel sauce and four cherries.
Would you make that bet?
Guy Raz!
I would race Usain Bolt and that rabbit if it meant getting to that ice cream sundae first.
So take that as a big yes.
I would make that bet.
Okay, Mindy.
So the big question, of course, is who would win that race?
Usain Bolt, the fastest human ever to walk planet Earth, the man who won eight Olympic gold medals, or the teeny tiny, itsy bitsy little rabbit.
Who.
I just bust out my own personalized ice cream shovel my Roz because I have a feeling I'll be needing it when Usain Bolt leaves that rabbit in the dust.
So you're betting on Usain Bolt, the fastest human ever to run on planet Earth, beating the rabbit.
100%.
Well, what if I told you, Mindy, that you might have to give that ice cream sundae to the rabbit?
Oh!
You never.
Uh, well... Guy Raz, Usain Bolt has way longer legs than any rabbit.
How could I possibly lose this bet?
Because Mindy, in a race between a rabbit and Usain Bolt, the fastest human to ever run on Earth, the rabbit would actually beat Usain Bolt so bad it would probably have enough time to make a carrot casserole and do the dishes by the time Usain Bolt had completed the race.
Wow, that's impressive.
I had no idea that rabbits knew how to cook.
Uh, well, they don't.
I was just trying to illustrate how much faster a rabbit runs than a human.
Oh, got it.
Okay, so now that we've got that all cleared up, why exactly are we talking about carrot casserole and Usain Bolt?
Where is this going, Guy Ross?
Oh, yeah, I almost forgot why I'm telling you this story, Mindy.
Well, one of the advantages most four-legged creatures have is that they walk or run in a very particular way.
And what way is that?
Well, Mindy, almost all animals, when they walk or run, they land on their toes.
And that is very different from us humans.
Here, here, let me show you.
Aw, are we going on a hike?
Okay, so, uh, stand up.
Okay, I'm coming.
Hold on, I've been sitting in this laundry basket for an hour and I've just got to stretch it out.
Okay, and let's just walk down the hall.
Are you ready, Mindy?
Yep.
I'm ready.
Let's do it, Guy Raz.
Okay, left, right, left, right.
See how our heel touches the ground before our toes do?
Oh, yeah.
I get it.
There it goes again.
My heel touches the ground as my other foot starts to lift off and swing forward.
And then the next thing I know, Guy Raz, I could do this all day.
But watch out, please, slow down.
You don't want to hit the... From the set I set up at the end of the hallway.
Uh, are you okay?
Ah, yeah, never been better.
Uh, okay, where were we?
Ooh, I believe we were at left, right, left, right.
Oh yeah.
Well, you might be wondering why we humans, when we walk, why we land on our heels rather than our toes, like most other animals.
Carol?
Are you trying to get me to ask why we land on our heels rather than our toes like other animals?
Uh, yeah.
And in fact, an anthropologist by the name of James Weber from the University of Arizona was wondering the same thing.
Because Mindy, he likes to run and he uses those barefoot running shoes when he goes out for his morning jog.
Oh, I've seen those.
They make your toes look like foot fingers and your feet look like leg hands.
Yeah, yeah.
Sort of.
Anyway, he noticed that when he runs in those shoes, he tends to land on his toes.
But when he walks in those very same shoes, he tends to land on his heels.
And Mindy.
This didn't seem to make sense to Dr Weber, because one of the reasons animals land on their toes first rather than their heels is because it actually extends or stretches the length of their foot.
In other words, it makes their legs longer.
Yeah, but Guy Raz, wouldn't it also make our legs longer?
I mean, my toes are pretty far away.
Hey!
Hello!
Well, Mindy, you would think so.
But actually, in humans, it has the opposite effect.
What James Weber discovered is that when we humans land on our heels, it actually makes our legs longer than if we were to land on our toes.
It's a trick of evolution.
Because a long, long, long time ago, our human ancestors probably stood on their toes.
But over time, their bodies evolved or changed.
And eventually, over millions of years, their feet got smaller and their heels dropped to the ground.
So by the time we humans, or Homo sapiens, appeared here on Earth, our bodies were designed to allow for our heels to touch the ground before our toes do.
Wow, so how was he able to investigate this?
Well Mindy.
This scientist at the University of Arizona asked two groups of humans to help him with his experiment.
And with the first group, He asked them to walk normally.
Okay.
And so what did he do with the second group?
With the second group, he asked them to walk on their toes.
And guess what?
What?
He found that when humans land on their toes first, they use a lot more energy than if they land on their heels.
And landing on our toes actually slows us humans down because of how hard the front part of our foot has to work to push our bodies forward.
Here.
Let's try this, but this time, please watch out for the drums, okay?
Not making any promises.
Okay, you ready?
Yep.
Okay, let's go.
All right, here goes nothing.
Toes out, landing on the floor first.
Left, right, left, right.
I'm losing my balance.
You sure?
Ugh, never been better.
Uh, okay, okay, great.
Well, now you understand why it makes sense that we humans land on our heels rather than our toes.
Yeah, after all that, it's obvious to me that, unlike cats or dogs, or even rabbits, we're much better off landing on our heels when we walk, because that's what gives us length, efficiency and stability.
And that seems to be James Weber's conclusion as well.
Now let's walk heel to toe to the ice cream truck and get that giant sundae you owe me.
Hey, thanks so much for listening to Wow in the World this week.
And parents if you want to continue the conversation with your kids.
We've posted some questions about this episode at our website And, while you're there, you can find links to some of the sources we used to tell our stories this week.
Also, we love hearing from you.
You can write us at hello at wowintheworld.com.
Our show is produced by Jed Anderson.
Say hello, Jed.
Our theme song, Wow in the World, was written and performed by The Pop-Ups.
Check them out at thepopups.com.
Also, big thanks to all of the awesome kids you heard in today's episode.
Hudson, Bradley, and Rhett.
We're back with a brand new show next week.
See you then.
Can't wait for it.
Wow in the World is made by Tinkercast.
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.
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