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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 7pm 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! this laboratory of bad ideas to test out all of these bad ideas we have, Reg.
Oh, hey, can you hand me that left-handed monkey wrench over there?
Thanks, buddy.
Okay, just a couple of more twists this way.
And... That should do it.
That's fine.
I didn't need that part anyway.
Mandy, are you in there?
My baby carrots just sprouted in there so...
Hello?
Coming!
Okay, quick, Reg, throw a sheet over this thing.
We can't let Guy Raz see it yet, okay?
Mindy!
Almost there!
Walk, walk, walk, walk, walk, walk, walk.
Opening the door.
Guy Raz-y!
What took you so long, Mindy?
And why are you so sweaty?
Oh, the sweat?
Yeah, I was just thinking about a really hard math problem.
Huh.
So what's up?
Well, you know those baby carrots I planted last year?
Oh, yeah.
How can I forget?
Well, they finally sprouted.
Look at these things.
Oh.
Okay, Kairos, before you say anything, it's not what it looks like.
Really?
Because it looks like you've created some sort of 10-foot-tall robotic dinosaur in your laboratory of bad ideas.
Okay, then it's exactly what it looks like.
What even is this thing?
Okay, Kairos, what you're looking at here could be the latest and greatest in pranking robotics.
Pranking robotics?
Uh-huh.
It's a new field of robotics that I invented.
Here, want to see this thing in action?
Uh, I'm not sure, Mindy.
Is it safe?
Yes, of course it's not safe, Guy Raz.
Here, let me just get out the remote control here.
And extending the antenna.
Slide.
What?
I added that sound effect.
And now we just have to push on the button in three, two, one.
Mindy, is it supposed to be moving towards us?
No, not exactly.
Let me just get this thing under control here real quick.
Maybe it's this button.
As usual, I've got everything out of control.
How is a close one?
Okay, now I don't want you to worry, Guy Raz.
Still working out a few kinks.
The real prank will go much smoother than that, okay?
The real prank?
Yeah, it's the whole reason I built this thing.
It was inspired by a new scientific study from researchers at Seoul National University in South Korea.
They built a giant...
10-foot-tall robotic pranking dinosaur?
Well, not exactly a pranking dino.
See, Guy Raz, their robot was based on a dinosaur called the Caudipteryx.
The Caudipteryx.
Wasn't that the dinosaur about the size of a turkey?
Yeah, a tiny little turkey-sized carnivore that lived about 125 million years ago.
Uh-huh.
So if that robot was about the size of a turkey, then why is your robo-dinosaur so much bigger, bigger.
That's because our prank victim is a little bit bigger than what those researchers from Seoul were after.
What are you talking about, Mindy?
Well, the researchers in Seoul were using their robo-dino to prank locusts.
Locusts?
Like The insects?
Why were they pranking locusts?
I'll tell you in a second, Guy Raz.
But first, I have to get this robot ready for our pranking victim.
And who might that be?
Well, Dennis.
Who else?
Oh, no, Mindy.
You know what happened last time you pranked Dennis.
Yeah, he loved it.
Exactly.
And he kept on trying to get pranked all week.
He never stopped giving us suggestions on how to prank him better next time.
Well, this time will be different, Guy Raz.
I'm almost maybe sure of.
All we have to do is get this giant robot dino quietly over to Dennis' house, sneak it up behind him and then bam, spook his socks off.
Are you sure this is a good idea, Mindy?
Yes, of course I'm not sure this is a good idea, Guy Raz.
All right, I'm booting up the robo-dino again.
Oh, no.
Now, everyone, stand back.
Here we go.
In three, two...
Two.
One.
See?
Totally fine.
Uh, mostly fine.
Come on, everyone.
We've got a prank to pull off.
All right.
Okay, now I just gotta wheel this big boy out of the lab here.
Push.
Push.
Push.
Push.
Push.
Opening the door?
Uh, Mindy, this thing is not gonna fit out the door.
Okay, come on.
Easy.
Easy.
Whoa!
There we go.
So, Mindy, remind me again about the scientific study that this robot's based on?
Oh, yeah.
I forgot to show you the best part of the robot.
You did?
Yeah.
Check this out.
I just need to press this button here and... Voila!
Oh, boy.
Mindy!
Ah!
No!
No!
No, no, no, no, no, no!
Oh, man!
Now I've got to fix another wall!
Mindy, are those wings coming out of the side of your robot?
Yeah, they sure are, Guy Raz.
Where did they even...
Oh, they were tucked into its side, kind of like a chicken.
You know chickens are direct descendants of dinosaurs, right?
Right.
In fact, dinosaurs were some of the first animals to develop feathers.
That's right.
Feathers and wings.
Wait, is that why you have two massive flaps hanging off the side of your giant robot body?
Dino chicken?
Yes, and one of them is currently stuck in the side of my gingerbread mansion.
Let me just retract those back in here real quick.
So what do these wings have to do with the scientific study, Mindy?
Well, for the longest time, scientists haven't been able to figure out why dinosaurs developed wings in the first place.
They haven't?
Nope, but there are some theories.
Well, like what?
I'll tell you on the way to Dennis' house. on the robo-dino and I'll drive us there.
Here, let me give you a little boost here.
Well, uh... There we go.
Okay, now make room for Mindy.
All right, everyone on board?
Yep.
Okay, next stop, Dennis' house.
Giddy up.
Whoa, whoa.
Okay, Guy Raz, so there are three possible theories for why dinosaurs developed wings.
And a theory is a guess that scientists have before they start to conduct research.
To see if the guess is actually correct.
Exactly.
Okay, so theory number one.
Dinosaurs developed wings to help them make sharper turns and jump higher, which would have helped them when they were hunting prey.
Okay, and what's the second theory, Mindy?
Theory number two. that dinosaurs may have used their wings to keep their eggs warm.
And presumably keeping their eggs warm is important because it helped the baby dinos inside develop and grow.
Exact, Doritos.
Keeping their eggs at a warmish temperature was extremely important to their survival as a species.
Got it.
And theory number three. dinosaurs may have used their wings to attract a mate.
Huh, I guess it's sort of like how male peacocks use their colorful wings to attract a female mate.
Exactly.
So, what does this have to do with this robotic dinosaur we're riding?
Well, those scientists from the University of Seoul have suggested a new theory as to why the dino got its wings.
And what is it?
Oh, I'll tell you in a second.
Looks like we've made it to Dennis' house to dismount.
All right reg, hand me my wow noculars, your wow noculars yeah, they're just like regular binoculars, only wower, uh-huh.
Just see what our good friend dennis is up to here.
Focus focus, focus.
Ah, dennis where are you?
Is snooping in the backyard, just as I had expected.
Let me just bring up the audio here.
La-da-da-dee-da-da-dee-ta.
Oh, my prize-winning Azaleas, you're my best friends.
But don't tell Mindy, or Reggie, or Mother.
Well, obviously don't tell Guy Raz.
Huh?
All right.
Looks like we're all set for a prank, Guy Raz.
Hee-hee-hee-hee.
Wait, Mindy.
First, you need to tell me about this new theory that researchers came up with to explain how the dino got its wings.
Oh, right.
Two words.
Flush pursuit.
Flush pursuit.
I think I've heard about that before, Mindy.
Isn't that a hunting strategy that some birds use to catch insects?
Yeah, exactly.
They spread their wings super wide...
And then they slowly walk through some tall grass.
And then they catch all the insects that come jumping out.
Here, I'll show you.
Hey, Reg, can you demonstrate?
So first, the bird spreads its wings as far as they can go.
Perfect, just like that, Reg.
And then they slowly walk through the tall grass where they usually do their hunting.
Use that patch of grass over there, Reg.
And here's the coolest part.
Insects, like locusts, when they see large animals approaching them, jump up in the air.
They can't help themselves.
It's like trying to control a sneeze.
Okay.
So the bird uses this to its advantage.
It makes itself look as big as possible and it waits for these insects to jump out of the grass and then snatch them up as a tasty treat.
Look, there's one right now.
Get it, Reg.
Ah, way to go, buddy.
You got it.
How'd it taste?
Needs a little salt?
Wait.
So these researchers from the University of Seoul think that dinosaurs might have developed wings for the same reason.
To scare bugs out of the grass?
Exactly!
And so now you're trying to see if this bug-scaring theory also works on Dennis?
Ah, you're picking up what I'm putting down, Guy Raz!
Okay, let me just put on my wow-noculars here.
Looks like Dennis is finishing up his morning snoop.
G-Force doing?
Is she giving Colonel Toots Thunderpaw a bath on a Tuesday?
That's unusual.
I better write it down in my snooping journal.
What in the... Okay, it's now or never.
Time to deploy the Robo-Dino.
Okay, we're in position.
Now it's time to unfurl the wings...
And unfurl.
So the question is, what was that?
A giant robot dinosaur.
Mother, your horoscope was right.
Got him.
Well, I suppose you could call that a success.
Oh, yeah.
Major successful scientific prank.
Were the researchers from the University of Seoul as successful with their robotic dinosaur?
Oh, yeah.
They ran a bunch of tests with their turkey-sized robotic dinosaur, where they rolled it through a patch of grass with a bunch of locust insects hiding in it.
Okay, and what did they find?
And they found that when they rolled the robot through the grass with its wings extended out...
Like in a flush pursuit?
Exactly.
When they used the flush pursuit hunting technique, they found that tons more locusts jumped out of the grass compared to when the robo-dinosaur's wings were tucked in.
Huh.
So it's definitely possible that this is one of the reasons that dinosaurs developed wings.
It made them better hunters.
That's right.
And not only because it made them more agile and able to jump higher, but because they could use their wings to flush out insects from tall grasses, like a lot of modern day birds do.
Huh.
But we don't know for sure, right?
Well, yeah.
I mean, these dinosaurs lived like 125 million years ago, so there's no way to know for certain.
But it's a pretty fun theory.
Well, we should probably go tell Dennis that this was all a prank and that there isn't a 10-foot-tall robotic dinosaur chasing after him.
Yeah, let me just plug into the loudspeaker on the robo-dino.
Testing roar!
Uh, Dennis?
Hello?
You can come out.
You sound a lot like my friend Mindy.
It is me, Dennis.
Look.
Over here.
Oh, hey, Mindy.
I was just talking about you with Mr. Robot Dinosaur here.
How'd you like the prank, Dennis?
Prank?
What prank?
It was a prank, Dennis.
We were using this giant robot to get a scare out of you.
And it worked like a charm.
What?
You mean Mr. 10-foot Robot Dinosaur here isn't trying to eat me?
No.
Oh.
I'm a very popular pranky.
Told you he'd love it, Guy Raz.
People love pranking me because I have the best reactions.
But I have a few recommendations for you.
And I told you he'd have a few suggestions.
First, Mr. Robot Dinosaur needs a hat.
Bye, Dennis.
See you later, Dennis.
Bye.
We'll be right back.
Grownups, this message is for you.
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 Kids 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.
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.
Hi, Guy, Roz, and Mindy.
Hi, Dennis and Reggie.
Howdy.
My name is Colleen, and...
I live in Richmond Vermont, and my wow in the world is that cats can use their whiskers to detect if they can fit through space.
I love your show.
Hi, Manny and Guy Raz.
My name is Jasper.
I live in Atlanta.
My wow in the world is at Luna Mall, where we live for one week.
Bye.
Hello, my name is Maya, and I live in Carrollton, Texas, and my wow Hi, Mindy and Guy Raz.
My name is Noga, and I'm 10 years old.
I live in Albany, California.
My wow in the world is that pigs can be trained to play video games.
Bye, Mindy and Guy Raz.
I love your show.
Hello.
My name is Wyatt.
And I live in Vienna, Virginia.
And my wow in the world is that your fingertips grow at the same speed as continents move.
And hello, Reggie.
And hi, Dennis.
Ahoy there.
Hi, my name is Hannah.
I live in Germany and I'm nine years old.
My wow in the world is that if you put a green, red and blue light together, you have a white light.
Bye.
And my name is Jack, and I live in Jupiter, Florida.
My wow in the world is that plasma is the fourth state of matter.
Bye.
Love your show.
Hi, Mindy and Guy Ross.
My name is William, and I live in Naperville, Illinois.
My wow in the world is that buffalo birds lay their eggs in other birds' nests. name is Evelyn.
I live in Williston, Vermont, and my wow in the world is a Mars year is 687 days, not 365.
Thank you.
Say hi to Reggie and Thomas Fingerling for me.
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 Twee Mack, 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 and Find our best-selling books and learn about some of the other amazing podcasts from Tinkercast.
Grown-ups, 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-WOW seven.
Wow, 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.
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Wow in the World was made by Tinkercast and sent to you by Wondery.
