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Hey, Wowzer fans, Mindy here.
And before we start the show, I got to 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!
I think we're on a bridge.
Thanks for giving me a ride to the dentist, Reggie.
I couldn't find Mindy anywhere.
I wouldn't usually make such a big deal about it, but my back left molar is throbbing in pain.
It all started yesterday.
I was at home making my world-famous raw milk latte.
Toast-free, all-natural, mint-infused guys cream.
Get it, Reggie?
Guys cream?
Like ice cream?
Anyway, I was at home making my ice cream when, all of a sudden And now for the most important part of all the taste test.
Here we go.
Mmm, delicious.
I was struck. by a sudden case of tooth freeze.
So I thought I'd move my weekly dentist appointment forward to today and see what's going on.
We're here.
Well, thanks again for the ride, Reggie.
I owe you one.
I'll see you later.
Alright, here we are.
Hello and welcome to You Can't Handle the Tooth Dentistry.
Do you have an appointment with us today?
Uh, yes.
Excellent.
And what time is your appointment?
2.30.
Oh, I know you're 2.30, but I need to know what time your appointment is set for.
No, my appointment is at...
I assume so, sir.
Most everyone is here because they're Tooth Hurdy.
As for me, my back hurdy.
Also my knee kind of hurdy.
No, what I mean is... You know what?
Let's just look you up by name.
It should be under Roz.
Guy Roz.
Guy Roz.
Ah, here you are.
Tooth Hurdy.
Okay, Mr. Roz, please take a seat over there, and the doctor will be with you shortly.
Thank you.
Ooh, new chairs.
Huh?
New hairs?
Well, this is the same haircut I've had for 30 years.
Thomas Fingerling?
Recognize me, eh?
Well, I suppose you want an autograph or something.
Let's see if I got some headshots with me.
Oh, Mr. Fingerling, it's me.
Guy Raz.
Guy who?
Your neighbor and longtime friend.
Really?
We're on the same recreational softball team.
Oh, Mr. Razzy, of course.
Mr. Fingerling, what are you doing here at the dentist?
Well, my jaw stopped clicking yesterday.
Wait a minute.
You came to the dentist because your jaw stops clicking?
Well, yeah.
My jaw clicks are an integral part of my knuckle-cracking performance.
See?
It just ain't the same.
Huh.
Mr. Roz?
Mr. Roz?
The dentist will see you now.
Oh, thank you.
Uh, see you later, Mr. Fingerling.
Okay, bye-bye.
Just right through there.
Sure, thanks.
Hey, doctor.
Thanks for seeing me on such short notice.
Skyrazi?
Mindy?
Fancy seeing you here.
Mindy, what are you doing in here?
Where's the dentist?
Well, I think the question you should be asking is why I am holding these tooth pliers.
You're the dentist?
I mean, do you see me wearing this lab coat?
I guess.
Guy Raz, I finally decided to pursue my lifelong dream of going to dentistry school.
Huh?
I thought your dream was to ride your cat sleigh across the country.
Oh, it was, but Grandma G-Force and I checked that dream off the list last summer.
And so next on your list was to become a dentist?
I mean, what can I say?
I'm really big on self-repair.
Uh... Had to find some way to keep all these teeth from falling out of my head.
Uh-huh...
Patient, why don't you tell me what brings you into the dentist's office today?
Okay well, I was at home this weekend making some of my homemade raw milk lactose-free, all-natural mint-infused ice cream.
Oh, yeah, your guy's cream.
I love that stuff.
Yeah, yeah.
Anyway, I was making my ice cream, and then, as I went to do my taste test, bam!
What?
What?
Hmm.
Tooth freeze, huh?
That's right, Mindy.
I felt like my whole jaw was going to explode.
Well, I'm afraid there's only one solution, Guy Raz, and you're not going to like it.
Well, what is it, Mindy?
They're all going to have to come out.
What?
Your teeth.
All of them.
Come on.
Open up.
No, Mindy.
Wait.
I'm just kidding.
Huh? but for realsies, I think I have just the thing.
Wait right here.
Mindy, where are you going?
The fridge!
The fridge?
What could she be getting from the fridge?
All right, here we go.
Mindy, what in the wow is this?
What?
It's a giant cake.
What does it look like?
It looks like a giant tooth.
Yeah, tastes like it too.
Huh?
Nothing.
Mindy, how is this giant tooth-shaped cake supposed to help me with my toothache?
All right.
Allow me to explain.
Guy Raz, hand me that scalpel.
OK.
Thank you.
Now, let's go ahead and make our first incision here.
Careful.
Careful.
There we go.
And ta-da!
Take a look at the inside of this cake, Guy Raz.
Ooh, it's so multi-layered.
Yep.
It's a 100 deliciously accurate cake-based representation of what the inside of your tooth actually looks like.
Really?
Yeah.
You see, a tooth, much like this cake, is made up of many layers.
Okay.
First, you've got this hard outer shell here called enamel.
Right.
And enamel acts like a protective coating for the tooth.
Exactoritos.
It's also what gives a tooth its white glow.
Now, on the cake here, it's made out of a candy shell coating.
But on your actual tooth, it's made out of a bunch of super strong molecules.
Huh.
Then, underneath this layer of enamel, you have a layer of dentin.
Dentin, huh?
Yeah, dentin is the hard stuff that makes up most of the tooth.
Right.
And then if you dig down a little deeper, past the enamel and the dentin, you'll find the soft marshmallowy center.
Mindy, are you telling me that deep in the middle of each of my teeth is a Tiny marshmallow?
Yes, of course I'm not saying that, Guy Raz.
What I'm saying is that deep inside this cake, there's a tiny marshmallow.
Oh, right.
But your tooth has a soft center too, and it's made up out of the same stuff that your gums are made of.
Oh, right.
That makes a lot of sense.
And this soft, squishy, pulpy center is home to two very important kinds of cells.
Which are?
Well, the first kind are the cells that produce the dentin.
Huh.
And what's the second type of cell found in this pulpy center?
The second kind of cells are nerve cells.
Nerve cells?
Like the kind of cells you find in your hands and legs and pretty much everywhere else in your body?
Yeah.
Nerve cells are those special cells in your body that allow it to, you know, feel things.
And so these nerve cells allow your teeth to feel things?
You know it, including heat and... Cold!
Bingo, Guy Raz.
Okay, Mindy, I think I see where you're going with this.
Right, but here's the thing.
Until recently, scientists weren't really sure how something touching this crispy outer part of our tooth was making the nerve cells in the delicious marshmallow-y part of the tooth Ugh.
Mmm.
Uh-huh.
But now, thanks to new research from scientists at Friedrich Alexander University in Germany, we do.
You want a slice of this cake, Doc Ross?
It's really good.
No, Mindy.
I just want you to help me fix my tooth freeze.
OK.
OK.
Fine.
Let me just get one more bite.
Mmm.
Mmm.
OK.
Open up.
Uh, why?
Will you trust me?
No.
Yeah, you do.
Come on, Guy Razzi.
All I want to do is take a look at the insides of all your teeth.
Huh?
With this.
Uh, Mindy, what is that?
It's a dentist's invention of my own creation.
It's half microscope, half x-ray, and 100% awesome.
Pretty rocker balls, huh?
And you want to put that in my mouth?
Don't worry, Guy Raz.
It's probably not going to explode like it did the last time.
The last time?
Yeah, I'm like 90% sure that's not going to happen again.
Anywho, say ah!
Ah!
All right, now let me just fire this bad boy up.
All right, so with this, we can see exactly what's going on inside.
Now, if you'll just look over on the monitor over here.
OK, look right there.
Ooh!
It's your beautiful, pulpy, marshmallowy center with all of those lovely little nerve cells in it.
See those?
All those branches that are coming out of it.
Those are the branches that the dentin grows out of that forms the rest of the tooth.
You know it.
Exact Doritos, Guy Raz.
And those researchers in Germany found out that those branches are chock full of this protein called TRPC5.
Does it come in green?
Does what come in green?
What does that mean?
Oh, what does that mean?
Guy Raz, you need to enunciate a little bit more.
I can't understand a word you're saying.
What this means is that these little proteins... That's right.
TRPC-5 are just great at sending cold feelings throughout your body.
And there we go.
My job here is done.
There.
Okay, Guy Raz, now you're just going to rinse and spit.
Thank you.
So, these proteins, TRPC5, they're found online?
All over our bodies?
You know it.
You know how on a really cold day your eyes start to feel a little chilly and dry?
Uh-huh.
Well, that's because the cold air is making the TRPC-5 proteins in the front of your eye go bonker balls.
Huh.
And so the same thing is happening in those little branches inside my teeth?
Uh-huh, that's right.
And when I bite into a spoonful of my homemade guys cream, these proteins activate and then send that cold sensation from the outside of my tooth all the way down to the pulpy center where my nerve cells tell my brain that I'm chomping into something very cold.
I chew, chew.
Exact Doritos.
Wow, so that's what's causing my tooth freeze?
In fact, those scientists from Germany were even able to deactivate these proteins in some test mice in their lab.
And?
And once these proteins were turned off, these mice had no problem whatsoever eating cold foods.
In fact, they showed no signs of pain or distress at all.
Wow, do you think you could do that with my teeth, Mindy?
You know, deactivate my TRPC5 protein, so maybe I could guzzle down my guy's cream without having to worry about getting a toothache.
Nah, bad news, Guy Raz.
We are still a long way away from being able to do anything like that with humans.
So what am I supposed to do with my tooth freeze in the meantime, Mindy?
Well, the researchers did find that there was a common household ingredient that temporarily stops these proteins from activating.
Really?
What is it?
It's a little something called oil of cloves.
Oil of cloves, huh?
You know, I think I picked up some clove oil just last week from the local health food store.
Yeah.
And so it turns out oil of cloves or clove oil has an ingredient in it called eugenol.
And this ingredient, for some reason, stops these cold-carrying proteins from activating.
And as a result, can help with tooth freeze.
You know it.
In fact, oil of cloves has been offered as a household remedy for toothaches for hundreds of years.
And now we think we know why.
Huh.
Well, if that's what the dentist prescribes.
Uh, say what?
If that's what you prescribe.
Oh, I'm not a dentist.
What?
I thought you said you went to dentistry school.
Oh well, I mean I did for a couple of hours, but I was ready to, you know, get the hands-on experience, so I just came here instead.
What?
Wait a minute.
If you're not a dentist, then whose office is this?
I don't know.
Okay, Mr. Roz, according to your chart here, it says your tooth is hurty and... Hey!
What are you doing in here?
And why are you wearing my lab coat?
I was cold!
Oh!
And my cake!
What have you done to my birthday cake?
I was hungry!
Oh, why did I bring that cake into work?
Mindy!
Loud in the World will be right This message is for you.
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.
Hi, thanks for calling Wow in the World.
After the beep, get ready to record.
Hello, Mindy and I, Roz.
I live in New York City.
My name is Ripley, and my wow is that oyster mushrooms eat glass. in Minnesota and I am five.
My vow in the world is that Olympus Mons is the tallest volcano in our solar system and is on Mars.
Bye!
Love your show!
My name is Levi and I live in Boulder Colorado, and my vow in the world is a battery can be made out of a potato.
They had Reggie Grandma G-Force.
Oh, sorry.
Couldn't hear that.
Mindy, Guy Raz, and Reggie, and Grandma G-Force.
Hi, I'm Maisie, and I'm from LaGrange Park.
And my wow in the world is that in 1972, a Scottish family survived...
38 days at sea on a rubber raft after their boat was struck and sunk by a pot of killer whales.
Hi, I'm John, and I come from Boulder, Colorado.
My wow in the world is that a sperm whale's tooth is about the size of a banana.
Say hi to Reggie for me.
Bye.
Hi, Mindy and Guy Roz.
My name is Gert, and I am from Prescott, Arizona.
One of my wow in the world is that one average ladybug can devour up to 50 aphids a day.
You know, that adds up.
Isn't that bunker balls?
Well anyway, I love your show and say hi to Grandma G-Force Reggie, Thomas Fingerling and Dennis.
Hi!
Hi, Minji and Guy Raz.
My name is Abby.
And my name's Eloise.
And we're from Newport, Rhode Island.
Our round the world today is... Some tornadoes can move faster than Formula One race cars.
One quarter of your bones are in your feet.
Bye.
Hi, my name's Abel.
I live in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota.
My wow in the world is that ancient Egyptians used sticks to brush their teeth.
Wow.
It would hurt for my teeth if I was an ancient Egyptian.
Bye.
End of messages.
Hey, everyone.
Thanks so much for hanging out with us this week on Wow in the World.
And to keep the wow rolling, consider becoming a member of our World Organization of Wowzers.
Each membership includes episode, specific digital activities, science experiments, book lists and more.
Plus, you'll get a welcome box including a special edition members only T-shirt and an autographed picture of us.
Find out more at Tinkercast.com.
There you can also find more info on our upcoming shows.
Shop our shop and find our New York Times bestselling book, The How and Wow of the Human Body.
Wow in the World is written by Mindy Thomas and Tom Van Kalken with help from me.
Our senior producer, Jed Anderson, brings our show to life with sound design and music editing and is also in charge of wrangling Dennis Thomas Fingerling, Reggie and many of the other silly characters you hear.
And Grandma G-Force wrangles Grandma G-Force.
Grandma G-Force, get out of the credits!
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 their music at thepopups.com.
And special thanks to the rest of our Wow in the World team, including Anna Zagorski, Rebecca Caban, Kit Ballinger and Henry Moskal.
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 1-888-7-WOW-WOW for a chance to be featured at the end of the show or on an upcoming new episode of Two.
What's in a Wow?
Also, be sure to subscribe to Wow in the World wherever you get your podcasts.
And you can also ask your smart speaker to play Wow in the World.
Thanks for listening.
And until next time, keep on wowing.
Keep on wowing.
And before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey.
