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Hello, people.
Thank you for coming back to this extremely secret podcast.
If anyone can hear me around you, just tell them it's an audio book.
In today's mystery, we've got musical chairs, jello rain, and a whodunit in a science lab.
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.
As you know, I work at Butthead as a junior temporal analyst during business hours.
Yeah, sure, I've got a highlighter you can use.
It's big.
But I spend my lunch breaks doing my real work.
You know what?
Keep it.
I have so many.
Investigating history's mysteries, to bring my findings to you through this super important and secret podcast.
Please meet us in the break room during lunch for a team-building game of musical chairs.
Lunch?
But that's when I...
Uh, eat lunch!
The last person sitting wins a delicious corporate custard pie.
Pie?
I was excited.
I really, really love pie.
I had never heard of the corporate custard flavor before and I had my suspicions.
But how bad could it be?
It's pie!
So while I waited for the musical chairs party, I got to work.
Lunchtime is usually when I go on my adventures.
So I knew that if I got a new time sealed file, I would have to make a decision between investigating or playing musical chairs.
Time sealed event.
Oh, bad timing.
Decisions, decisions.
Should I use Butthead's time travel elevator to go back in time or play musical chairs for a slice of confectionary perfection?
How do I choose?
How do I choose?
Event.
Oakville, Washington.
August 1994.
Thick rain.
Gross.
Thick rain?
What does that mean?
I decided to enter the clues into my H-Dad device to see if knowing the mystery would help me decide.
Oakville, Washington, August 1994, and thick rain.
Analyzing.
Analyzing.
Analyzing.
Analyzing.
Oh, boy.
Here we go.
Yep.
It was Louis.
Hi, Louis.
My favorite slash least favorite co-worker, slash time travel partner, who seems to spend more time at my desk than his own.
Nothing.
I'm just working.
Did you get a time sealed event today?
Um... Time seal analysis complete!
Yes, I guess I did.
Perfect!
Because I really don't want to be a part of that silly musical chairs business.
Musical chairs is like an iconic national pastime.
All that walking in circles.
Like, why not just add an extra chair?
Then we all get to sit.
But you could win a pie.
So?
If I want pie, I can go to the bakery down the street and buy my own.
But, Lewis, it's free pie.
And you could win it.
Yeah, I know.
So, what's the time-sealed event?
Uh, right.
Uh, H-Dad?
Oakville, Washington, August 1994.
Thick rain.
It is with 99.265% accuracy that this time-sealed event is the Oakville, Washington Blobs.
Blobs are gonna rain from the sky?
Blobs of what?
A blob is a thick, rain-like droplet with a sticky consistency somewhere between solid and liquid.
Vomit emoji.
Ew!
Awesome!
Awesome!
Time to go, Nibbles.
Hey, can we do this without the rat stowaway this time?
What do you have against Nibbles?
She's a rat.
That's it?
What else do you need?
Louis, she is coming.
Nibbles is my friend.
You are the stowaway.
Okay, fine.
Why can't you have a collection of teddy bear friends dressed like historical figures, like everybody else?
Wait, do you have a teddy bear friend, Louis?
No, certainly not bear-ack-o-bear-ma-
I totally support your love for plushies.
Whatever.
Let's go.
You have Berry Curie, right?
Obviously.
You should see her little test tubes.
I mean, no comment.
Odie.
Odie.
Odie, Odie, Odie, Odie, Odie.
Well, if it isn't the biggest troublemakers in Butthead.
I'd argue that Carly is the only troublemaker here.
I just tag along for my interest in science.
Is that right?
No, he is tagging along because he doesn't want to play the musical chairs game.
Okay, that too.
Why not?
Butthead team building exercises are always a rousing good time.
You go to those?
Me?
Never.
Lewis, do you remember when we did office chair races?
Now that I think about it, you didn't participate in that one either.
No, I didn't.
How come?
I just didn't want to.
Can we drop it?
Okay, fine.
Lewis.
Lewis.
The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.
I'm not afraid!
Ah, that gong sound again.
So, where are we headed today?
H-DAD says we're going to investigate the Oakville, Washington blobs of 1994.
Ah, the mid-90s.
What a time to be alive.
Oh, you said 1994, right?
Because 1894 wasn't so fun.
Wait, how old are you?
Did you know it can rain about 100 inches per year in Washington State?
I personally adore rain.
It makes puddles to jump in, and it washes my car.
Ooh, and the worms come out to play.
Rain messes up my shoes.
You could wear rain boots.
As if I'd wear something unfashionable.
Okay, time's wasting.
You both know the rules by now, but I'll repeat them because I'm legally required.
When you go to the past, you can't change or stop anything, so don't try.
You may observe and ask questions, but do not meddle.
Understand?
We understand!
When you arrive back in time, a card reader will remain where you came in.
Use your keycard and the elevator will reappear.
You can also use it to fast forward to other time periods on the file.
But you must be back here before the end of your lunch break!
Ready?
We're ready.
You don't speak for me.
We're ready.
Watch out for the...
Wow, everything is so green here.
Yep, this is the Pacific Northwest.
Green and wet.
Oh my gosh, look at those trees.
They are so big and... Green.
Well, I was going to say verdant, but I bet that water from the creek is like the purest water that anyone has ever tasted.
I wish I brought my water bottle.
What's wrong, Lewis?
I'm damp.
I don't like being damp.
Also, there's mud everywhere.
My loafers are ruined.
Told you to get rain boots.
Nah, it's just a little mud.
That's easy for you to say.
You're a rat.
Rats like messes.
Nah, that's not entirely true.
We like the messes that people make, sure.
But we're very clean animals ourselves.
Oh, please.
Really?
My Aunt Sylvia used to take two baths a day.
Where would a rat take a bath?
In the toilet, in the restroom at Captain Charlie's.
That is so wrong on so many levels.
Excuse me, we need to focus, you two.
We have a serious mystery on our hands.
Okay, okay.
So, where are these blobs you're so excited about?
I don't see any.
Well, maybe they've all been collected.
Or maybe they liquefied when it got warmer.
Ooh, good point.
Um, okay, if a jello factory nearby exploded, that might explain the blobs turning back to liquid.
When I hold strawberry jello in my mouth too long, it turns back into strawberry soup.
Eh, a factory explosion would have made the news, don't you think?
Mm, you're right.
Uh okay well maybe oh, alien jellyfish from space descended on Earth to eat all of our.
Hey H-Dad, what do jellyfish eat?
Kelly fish eat crab, fish, shrimp, and tiny plants.
If that's what they eat, why wouldn't they have some on their own planet?
Ooh, valid observation.
Look, there's somebody over there in a uniform.
She seems official.
Let's go ask her what she thinks the blobs are.
Uh, excuse me, officer.
Can you tell us what you think happened here?
Are you from, uh, the lab about the blobs?
Yes, yes, we are from the lab.
I am Dr... Day.
She's Dr. Day and I'm Dr. Knight.
And the, um, rodent?
She's just here to observe.
Okay, well, you're a little late to the party.
Blobs stopped falling a few days ago.
There's not much to show you.
How long did they fall?
Five times total in about three weeks.
I was never outside.
When they came down, I only saw it on the ground.
But one of the guys from my station told me that the rain smeared and smudged when he turned on his windshield wipers.
I hate it when that happens.
It was clear, like water, but thick like petroleum jelly.
And when he touched it later, it was all goopy.
Goopy?
That's the word he used.
Did the blobs smell like anything?
No, but some of the people who touched it, including my co-worker, got sick.
Sick?
I mean, sick?
How?
In different ways.
One of the residents in town reported getting vertigo.
Vertigo?
Vertigo is a sensation of motion or spinning that is often described as dizziness.
Is that a talking calculator?
Rad.
Maybe I can get the captain to issue me one.
HVAD is expensive.
Bag of money emoji.
Dollar sign emoji.
Gold bar emoji.
You said there were other sicknesses, too?
Oh, right.
Upper respiratory and ear infections were reported as well.
And a lot of people in town came down with what seemed like the flu at the same time.
Do you have a sample of the blob back at the station?
Oh, no.
A sample was sent to the Washington Department of Health a few days ago.
Wait, isn't that where you're supposed to be from?
Uh, oh, yeah.
Uh, yes.
We were just looking for some more.
You never can have too many blobs.
Well, all right.
I've got to get back to work now, doctors.
We have to get our hands on that blob symbol.
How far away is the Department of Health?
Doesn't matter.
We have a time-traveling elevator.
We can go anywhere, any when, any time we want.
Come on, let's go.
I'm going, I'm going.
Now we're getting mud all over the elevator.
It's fine, Louis, it's fine.
You'll have to just clean it up.
Me?
Oh, I have to clean it up.
Whoa!
Ooh, this place looks like a spaceship.
Oh, yeah.
We have a very modern futuristic tone here.
White walls, pristine floors, expensive looking equipment.
Well, it is a laboratory, right?
That's kind of the vibe?
Yeah, maybe you should stay in the backpack, Rat.
Wouldn't want to contaminate anything.
I could say the same about you with your dirty loafers.
You don't have to be so mean, Nibbles.
I don't see anyone here.
Maybe it's their lunch break.
Well, our lunch break ends soon, so let's split up and see what we can find.
What are we looking for?
Anything related to the blobs.
Research, pictures, mummified alien bodies.
You know, the usual stuff.
Why don't we check this computer?
I bet there's a treasure trove of information here.
We don't know the password.
HDAD, can you crack their password?
Analyzing.
Analyzing.
HDAD devices break into computers?
Don't know.
I never read the manual.
Analysis complete.
The most common password is 123456.
That's ridiculous.
These are scientists.
No way they use 123... I can't believe that worked.
Humans are so disappointing.
Uh, it says here that two organisms were found in the first round of testing and both are known to live in the human digestive system.
That could explain the sicknesses.
I don't see any more test results, though.
There's an audio file.
Oh, perfect.
I came in, and the material was not where it was supposed to be.
I asked management what happened to it, and the exact words were, do not ask.
Someone stole the samples?
This material and I have no proof one way or the other was manufactured by someone for some purpose.
And for some reason, Oakville was chosen as the test site.
I knew it!
Just take a breath, Carly Q. A breath?
Come on, Lewis, this is a cover-up.
Who got rid of the samples?
Where did they take them?
And are they from Earth?
What are they hiding?
Why don't we keep looking through this computer to see what the other theories are before we commit to the alien conspiracy angle?
Yeah, I actually agree with the rat on this one.
Good plan, Nibbles.
Here, let me try.
Let's see.
Oakville blob origin theories.
H-Dead chiming in.
Don't hurt yourself there, desktop.
I got this.
The tiny blobs are jellyfish parts, the result of an explosion set off in the water for a military training exercise.
See?
Didn't I tell you it was jellyfish?
You said it was alien jellyfish.
I was on the right track.
This theory has been debunked.
The explosions were set off over 50 miles away.
It is unlikely the jellyfish were thrown that far and there was no record of a water spout.
Oh, right!
The water spout thing!
I learned about that when I went to France to investigate the raining frogs.
Wait!
You went to France?
Mm-hmm.
Without moi?
Well, that was before we were co-adventurers.
Oh, so now we're co-adventuring together.
Okay, it sounds weird when you say it, but yes, before that, I went to France.
And while you were there, it rained frogs?
Well, kind of.
It turned out that the frogs were swept up in a water spout during a storm and dropped someplace else.
I guess that could have happened here.
I'll add it to the list.
Agreed.
Uh, what's next?
Fluid waste from an airplane flying overhead.
I can't.
This was debunked.
The waste would be blue, not clear.
Good.
Could you imagine?
Astral jelly falling from the sky.
That sounds promising.
What is astral jelly?
A gelatinous substance.
According to folklore, it drops to the Earth from space during meteor showers.
I like the direction this is going.
I mean, it's no government cover-up.
But it does make sense.
Was that the lunch bell?
Uh-oh.
We better get out of here before the scientists catch us.
Our lunch break is probably close to being done, too.
Come on, let's get to the elevator.
Hurry, Paul, hurry.
I have a phobia of science.
What's a phobia of science?
It doesn't matter.
A phobia of rats doesn't stop me.
I am suddenly in the mood for peanut butter and jelly.
Yay!
Hey, Odie.
Welcome back, basement companion.
And her companion.
What did you learn about blobs?
We learned that they're disgusting.
But thankfully not human waste.
That's good to hear.
There might be some sort of alien cover-up surrounding the blobs.
The samples disappeared from the lab.
Oh, I love a good old-fashioned cover-up.
Of course you do.
Also, I love yoga with cats.
They have that yes, but only when they run out of goats.
The point is, i have a life outside of butthead and i love that.
For you, carly q and lewis, your presence is requested in the break room for musical.
The game is still going on.
Come on, we still might be able to get a few rounds in.
Remember, first floor companion, the brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who...
I don't want to conquer anything!
Are you afraid of musical chairs, Lewis?
I am not afraid.
I just... It's okay if you are.
I am afraid of lots of things.
Like the word chartreuse.
Oof.
The way it sounds.
The way it's spelled.
The whole thing freaks me out.
Even the color itself.
I mean, you could just say yellowy green and be done with it, so...
Well, that's just weird.
But no, Carly Q, I'm not scared.
Well, then why don't you want to play?
I don't like sitting on chairs other people sat on, okay?
Is it a germ thing?
No, I just don't like the way the cushions feel warm after someone else sat on them.
Oh.
Yeah, now that you point that out, that is a little weird.
That's why I always put a stapler on my chair when I'm not at my desk.
I think I know how to handle this.
Come on.
Where are we going?
I think they'll have just what we need in the break room.
Come on, Lewis.
Since Louis didn't like to sit where others have sat, I used plastic grocery bags to come up with a solution.
I carefully cut two holes in the bottom of the bag for Louis to put his legs through, and then he pulled the bag up to protect his pants from the seats.
He ended up winning musical chairs and getting corporate custard pie. which he shared with me.
Here's a slice for you, Carly Q. Oh, thank you.
Today was a great day.
It's amazing what you discover when you're working on a mystery.
Today I learned what jellyfish eat and what astral jelly is.
I also learned that Odie does yoga with pets.
And I found one more way to reuse plastic bags.
I can't wait to see what I learn next time.
Until then, I'm Carly Q signing off from your favorite extremely secret podcast.
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, Brandon 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.
HDAD, powering off.
Who, When, Where was made by Tinkercast and sent to you by Wondery?
Shh, it's starting.
GCN shows Imagination Amplified.
