Tell me, listener, do you believe in magic?
I love magic.
Always have.
That's why for this year's annual Butthead Talent Show, I'll be performing my world-famous one-woman magic show.
Want a preview?
Okay, keep your ear on the card.
You know what my favorite part of this magic trick is?
It's how easy it is to do.
It looks super complicated, but like all good magic tricks, it's simply an illusion.
Ah, no, wait, that's not the card you should have gotten.
Ah, all right, well, I need a bit more practice.
I'm gonna go over this one more time.
Uh...
I'm Carly Q, and this is Who, When, Wow!
Mystery Edition.
Our past is vast and wild.
Many things have brought us to this day.
As history has been compiled, Some important details have slipped away In our spectacular shared existence.
We consider it our business To recognize a few folks you may not know Made important inventions, Asked all the right questions.
History will never be the same, Hey.
Hey, Steven!
What is he, a magic trick?
No?
Okay.
Ooh, ooh, ooh, Donna!
Donna!
Donna Sue!
You look like the kind of person who likes to be mesmerized.
No, not your thing.
Okay, fine.
Uh, Brendan, my man.
Wanna see some magic?
Uh, sure, Carly Q. Just waiting for my face paint to dry.
Ooh, very cool.
You're face painting for the talent show?
What talent show?
Huh, never mind.
Uh, wait a minute.
What's that behind your ear?
What?
Let me just... Careful with the paint, Carly.
Aha!
My ace of spades!
It was behind your ear this whole time!
It's a trick, Brendan!
She has cards up her sleeve.
Lewis!
Don't listen to him, Brendan.
I do not have... Ah!
Oh, mumble crust!
Well, that's the last time I trust a magician.
HR will be hearing about this.
Great!
Way to go, Lewis.
Now I'm going to have to deal with HR again.
I can't help it.
I'm a natural cynic.
Wait, what do you mean again?
Carly?
Carly?
Carly?
I went down to the basement to practice my magic tricks, but I found something rather interesting lying on my desk.
Well, well, well.
What do we have here?
A time-sealed event.
I suppose magic practice can wait.
Let's see what we've got.
Event.
Cape of Good Hope.
1799.
Flying Dutchman.
The Flying Dutchman?
I was confused.
He's got the best ring entrance.
The Flying Dutchman was one of my all-time favorite professional wrestlers.
What in the world was he doing in 1799?
I decided to ask my handheld device.
H-Dad, powering up.
H-Dad, what is the Flying Dutchman?
Analyzing clock emoji, hourglass emoji.
As per usual, H-Dad was taking ages to... Analysis complete.
Oh, that was a lot quicker than I expected.
What do you got for me, H-Dad?
The Flying Dutchman is the name of a ghost ship that allegedly haunted the Atlantic Ocean in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Ooh, baby, now we're talking.
Fair to say, I was excited for this mystery.
I can't wait till lunch.
But first, I had some card tricks to practice.
Right there, nothing up my sleeve, nothing to see here, and...
Voila!
Aha!
Is that your card?
That's what I thought.
Hey there, basement companion.
Hey there yourself, Carly Q. Want to see a magic trick, Odie?
Do I have a choice?
So, the Ace of Spades has gone missing.
Guess not.
And... Wait a minute, Odie.
What's that behind your ear?
The Ace of Spades...
What?
Ah, did Louis come down here and spoil my trick for you already?
I can see the card poking through your fingers.
Oh, right.
Well, I guess I could do some more practice.
But it'll have to wait until after we tackle this.
Another time-sealed event?
You know it.
The Flying Dutchman, 1799.
And it's not the professional wrestler.
I assumed.
Yeah, this one's a flying ghost ship that haunted the Atlantic Ocean in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Oh, right.
That flying Dutchman.
That doesn't sound very believable.
Lewis!
Stop sneaking up on me!
Why?
Afraid I'll get caught doing something you're not supposed to?
What?
No.
Right, Odie?
She was planning to use the elevator for another unsanctioned time trip.
Odie!
What?
My talent is that I cannot tell a lie.
Wait, really?
Uh-huh.
Oh, who's your best friend at Butthead?
Hmm?
Phineas Jr.
The plastic office plant up on level two?
He's a really good listener.
So, shall I record this trip in the official butthead logbook, or... Fine.
You can come along again, but not if you're gonna be a hater.
No promises.
So what nonsense have you gotten yourself into this time?
The Flying Dutchman, not the wrestler.
It's a ghost ship from the turn of the 18th century.
Ooh, a flying ghost ship, huh?
I'm sure there's some logical explanation for it.
Do you have to suck the fun out of everything?
I don't Half-kid.
Okay, you two, are we going or what?
I've got a hot bowl of sinigang to get to.
Yes.
Ready.
Great.
You both remember the rules.
Don't alter the past.
Be back by the end of lunch.
Good.
And remember, just like Carly's card trick, sometimes seeing and believing are not the same thing.
Ooh, that reminds me.
Pick a card.
Any card.
Goodbye.
Carly, nobody wants to see your trick!
I suppose a smooth landing would be too much to ask for.
Yeah, I got a funny feeling she's doing it on purpose.
So where did she plop us down this time?
Well, this is where you've got to start using your detective skills.
Okay, let's see here.
From the sound of the waves outside and the dampness of this room, I'd say we're in the hull of some sort of ship.
Now, what kind of ship?
Great question.
It's the Malabar.
What?
The ship.
It's called the Malabar.
Look, it's written right here on this barrel.
Oh, yeah.
Hello.
Who goes there?
Lois, get down.
Any stowaways had better come out now or be tossed overboard.
You've got till three.
One, two... Go away, do something.
Fine.
Two and a half.
Hello.
Hi.
No need to throw anybody overboard.
Who are you?
Who are you?
I am First Mate Phillips, and if you don't identify yourselves this instant, I will have no choice but to throw you in the brig.
Uh, well, my name is Car- Ar- Lee.
Wow, it's really hard to think of a fake name once you've already started.
Now you've done it, Carly.
And who are you?
Uh, my name is Lou- Is.
Wow, that is hard.
We're here on an investigation.
An investigation?
Yes.
We are here to solve the mystery of the Flying Dutchman.
The Flying Dutchman?
You two wait right here.
Do not move a muscle.
Way to go, Carly.
You scared him off.
No, I didn't.
He's probably just going to get the... Where are these stowaways, this way, sir?
Captain, uh, uh, shiver me timbers, Captain.
We're not stowaways.
No, we're investigators who have been sent to solve, To solve the mystery of the Flying Dutchman.
First mate Phillips here told me all about you two.
My name is Captain Edmeats, commander of this vessel.
And a very nice vessel it is, Captain.
Well, I'm afraid you've wasted your time.
There is no mystery here.
There's no such thing as ghosts, and I won't have you two spreading lies and hysteria amongst my crew.
First mate Phillips?
Yes, Captain?
Would you be so kind as to escort our guests to the brig?
We'll dispose of them once we make landfall in the Cape of Good Hope.
Yes, sir.
The brig?
That doesn't sound so bad.
Oh.
Oh, that's pretty bad.
Alright, you heard the captain.
Follow me.
Come on, come along.
I'm fragile.
Carly, do something.
We can't let them lock us up until they dock.
That could be weeks.
Yeah, I know.
I'm working on it.
You two stop whispering.
Listen, first mate, about this whole Brig thing.
I know all about the Dutchman.
What?
I've laid eyes on her myself.
You mean you've seen the flying ghost ship?
That's what I said, innit?
You actually witnessed the flying boat.
You daft.
I said that twice already.
But you saw what the captain's like.
He wants to keep calm and order.
But some of us... The flying Dutchman.
It's back.
400 feet off the starboard bow.
What?
Now?
What?
Now?
Come on.
Everyone's gathered on the deck.
All right.
Let's go.
You'll see.
We are making room.
Come on, Lewis, keep off before this ghost ship disappears again.
I'm sure whatever these sailors are docking at, Carla Q, it's not a... Ghost ship.
Why?
There it was.
A real-life floating ghost ship.
Hundreds of feet off the sea and half transparent.
Lewis couldn't believe his eyes.
I wish you could have seen Lewis's face.
I did not know his mouth could hang open that wide.
And I have seen him eat a six-foot sub.
Sir, look.
Look at what?
What?
What is that?
It's the flying Dutchman gap.
No, it can't be.
That's impossible.
Dana!
What was that?
Oh, nothing.
I definitely heard something.
What if it's a ghost?
Everybody calm down.
There are no ghosts here.
Not let hysteria take a hold of my shit.
Now would be a really good time for us to get out of here, Carly.
Good idea.
Let's just move to the other side of the poop deck.
Oh my gosh, let's grow up.
Full analysis complete.
Thumbs up emoji.
Party popper emoji.
Fist bump emoji.
What do you got for us, H-Dad?
The Flying Dutchman, second entry.
Referring to the flying ghost ship of the 18th and 19th centuries was the result of an optical illusion known as Fata Morgana.
What in the world is Fata Morgana?
Fata Morgana is a rare optical illusion that can take place at sea when a cool layer of air gets trapped underneath a warm layer of air.
Light interacting with this air can make objects that are beyond the horizon appear closer and as if they are floating.
Wait, so let me get this straight.
What we just saw on that deck wasn't a flying ghost ship.
It was just a regular ship beyond the horizon that was being distorted by the air?
That is...
Affirmative.
So that flying ghost ship is just like my magic trick.
An illusion.
Yes.
Except this one is actually a convincing illusion.
Well, that's funny, Lewis.
The stowaways!
They brought the ghosts!
Get them!
Uh-oh.
Quick!
Through that door, Lewis!
Hold down!
Hold down!
Hurry, Carly!
Call the elevator!
Call the elevator!
I will!
I will!
I just gotta find the keycard in my bag!
Hold on!
Carly, they're getting closer!
I know!
I know!
It's in here somewhere!
Okay, lip balm, keys, some old almonds, gross, uh, lip balm, oh, coconut lip balm!
I was looking for that!
Carly!
Got it!
So long, sailors!
Gross!
Gross!
So, how did it go?
We saw it!
You saw it?
You saw a flying ghost ship?
And as I had predicted from the start, the whole thing had a very reasonable scientific explanation.
Is that so?
Yeah, turns out it was something to do with the air above the water making it look like ships in the distance were floating.
Huh.
But we learned something even more important.
We did.
Yes.
We learned that sometimes the illusion is more impressive than the explanation behind it.
Right, Lewis?
I suppose.
All right, let's give a very warm butthead welcome to Carly Q.
By the time the talent show had rolled around, I still didn't have that card trick down perfect.
Mumblecrust, let me just pick these up real quick.
But at least I knew that Lewis wasn't going to ruin it.
So why did all those cards fall out of her sleeve again?
You know, sometimes it's more fun not knowing be it an 18th century floating ghost ship or a mediocre car trick.
Sometimes the illusion is more magical than the explanation.
Until next time, this is the amazing Carly Q saying, now you hear me, now you don't.
H-Dev, initiating end credits mode.
Who Went Wow Mystery Edition is an original Tinkercast production with help from Gen Z Media.
Handshake emoji, high five emoji.
For Tinkercast, the executive producers are Guy Raz, Mindy Thomas, and Meredith Halpern-Ranzer.
The shows are written by Aaron Weissman, Danielle Nicky, Tom Van Kalken, Kenny Curtis and Mindy Thomas.
Carly Shiraki is a producing consultant.
Big shout-outs to Jed Anderson, Steph Sosa, Henry Moskal, Jessica Bode, Natasha Crandall, Rebecca Caban, Sona Ali-Mohamed, Anna Daniker, Anna Zagorski and the rest of the team at Tinkercast.
Megaphone emoji, applause emoji.
Who Went Well's theme song was composed and performed by The Pop-Ups.
For more information on their three-time Grammy-nominated all-ages music, find them at thepopupscom.
Producers for Gen Z Media are David Kreisman, Ben Strauss, Chris Terry, Claire McClanahan and Amy Cervini at gzmshowscom.
Sound design and editing is by Chris Terry and Oded Lev Ari.
Voice editing by Yoni Reckham.
Headphones emoji, microphone emoji, thumbs up emoji.
Original music was created by Jennifer Rohkamp, and voice direction is handled by David Kreisman.
Our main cast features Carly Shiraki as Carly Q, Brendan Salerno as Lewis, Melissa Vandershiff as Nibbles the Rat, Kenny Curtis as H-Dad and Angela Desai as Odie.
Want to explore Who Went Wow's mysteries even further?
You can find free activities and resources to extend the wow at whowentwow.com.
And if you have a time-sealed mystery you want Carly Q to explore, email us at hello at tinkercastcom.
H-Dad, powering off.
Just history will never be the same GZM Shows Imagination Amplified
