67, 68, 69, 70... Oh, hey, Mindy.
Whoa, nice goldfish you've got there.
73, 74, 75... Oh, no, you've got that intense look in your eye, Mindy.
Shh, shh, shh.
I'm in the middle of a staring contest, Guy Raz.
A staring contest with a goldfish?
81, 82...
83.
I'm sorry to tell you this, Mindy, but you're never going to win this staring contest.
Highs are starting to water.
91, 92, 93.
Mindy, you might as well blink.
You're never going to win this thing.
Whose side are you on anyway, Guy Raz?
97, 98, 99.
Goldfish don't even have eyelids.
Wait, what?
Fish do not have eyelids.
They're some of the most natural staring contest champions of the entire animal kingdom.
Are you telling me that this staring contest is rigged?
Where's the referee?
No time for referees, Mindy.
We've got a game show to do.
Oh, right.
Wiggle the eyebrows.
Put on the sunglasses.
And set the sights.
And now for everyone's second favorite game show, after building a drone to walk the dog.
It's Two What's and a What of Two What's and a Wow.
Two What's and a Wow.
The scientific game show that separates the wows from the what's, and the category for today is Animal Eyes.
Mindy, why don't you refresh our contestants on how the game works?
You know it.
Wowzers, we are going to give you three scientific statements about animal eyes, but and this is a big but Only one of those statements will be a true wow.
The other two, just a couple have made a what?
Woo!
Okay, let's get started.
Which of the following statements about animal eyes is a true scientific wow?
Is it A, camels lick their eyeballs to clean the sand away?
Or is it B, reindeer eyeballs turn blue in the winter?
Or is it C, owl eyes are twice the size of ostrich eyes?
When you think you've got it figured out, link it to us in Morse code.
We're going to take a quick break to let you rest those eyes.
And when we come back, we'll find out if your wow is the winning wow.
To what's in a wow, we'll be right back.
Grownups, this message is for you.
Hey, Wowzer fans.
Mindy here.
And before we start the show, I got to let you know that this November is about to get a lot more wow.
Join us each week for the rest of the month for special episodes of Wow in the World.
Wow.
This week.
Grab a plate and join us for a slice of turducken, 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!
Okay, wowsers, it's time to reveal the what's and the wows.
But before we do, let's do a quick review.
We gave you three statements about animal eyes and challenged you to find the one true wow.
Was it A, camels lick their eyeballs to clean the sand away?
Or was it B, Reindeer eyeballs turn blue in the winter.
Or was it C?
Owl eyes are twice the size of ostrich eyes.
Joining us by phone with the answer to today's question is Polly from Canada.
Polly, what's the wow?
Hi, guys and Mandy.
My wow in the world is that reindeer eyeballs turn blue in the winter. so they can see in low light.
Winner, winner, 2020 vision for dinner.
Holly, you are correct.
Wowzers, if you guessed B, that reindeer eyeballs turn blue in the winter congratulations, you found the winning wow.
Researchers have found that reindeer's blue winter eyes are at least a thousand times more sensitive to light than in the summer, when their eyes are golden.
And that's useful because where these animals live, there's so little light in the winter.
And with those extra sensitive blue eyeballs, they can see what's going on around them much easier.
But Wowsers, if you chose A or C, don't lose sight of the big picture.
If you chose A that camels lick their eyeballs to keep the sand away well, you might do a spit take when you hear the real answer.
Camels have three eyelids for that.
Two of those eyelids have eyelashes to help protect them from all that sand flying around.
But the third is actually see-through.
When camels close this third lid, they can get protection from sand and still see.
It also works to clean sand out of their eyeballs when they blink, kind of like a windshield wiper.
If eyes are the window to the soul... Let the eyelid be the windshield wiper.
And Wowzers, if you went with C, that owl eyes are twice the size of ostrich eyes.
The truth behind that is a real hoot.
Ostriches actually have the largest eyes of any land animal out there, at about five times the size of human eyes.
Ostrich eyes are bigger than ostrich brains.
Those are some big eyes.
Skyroz, why don't you tell our winning wowsers what they want?
Mindy, all of our contestants today will be taking home their very own invisible...
Anti-X-ray glasses?
Yeah, you know how X-rays help you see through something like human skin?
Yes?
Well, these anti-X-ray glasses don't.
With these babies, you can't see through anything.
So the prize is just regular glasses?
Well, yes, technically, but they're also invisible.
Okay, well, that's about all the time we have left for today, but before we go...
We've got a little scientific challenge for you.
We call it Operation Blink and Think.
Wowzers, can you build or draw us an eye?
It can be a human eye, an animal eye, a fish eye, a made-up eye, can be from a totally made up creature.
If you want, label the parts as best you can and feel free to throw in your own ideas too.
Maybe there's a special part that lets this eye see a zillion miles away.
Maybe it sees way more colors than we do.
Maybe it cries glitter grown-ups.
You can upload photos and videos to us at tinkercastcom slash share.
Well, that's all the time we have for now, but until next time, keep on rowing.
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, prime members can listen ad free on amazon music.
And before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at wonderycom slash survey two what's in a wow is executive, produced by meredith halpern ranzer, mindy thomas and me.
Our writers are Anna Zagorski, Darnell Walker, Ruth Morrison and Heba Gouda.
Sound production and design is by Alishaba Itoop and Marion Lozano, with help from our senior producer, Jed Anderson.
Special thanks to the rest of our team of tinkerers, including Anna Zagorski, Rebecca Caban, Henry Moskal, Jessica Bode, Jacob Stein and Jason Rabinowitz.
Our theme song was written and composed by The Pop-Ups.
For more on their three-time Grammy-nominated all-ages music, find them at thepopups.com.
And to keep the What's in the Wow's rolling, visit us at tinkercast.com.
There you can find our two What's in a Wow Think and Tinker playbook, interactive Kahoot games and info on becoming a member of the World Organization of Wowzers.
Grownups, you can follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at Two What's and a Wow.
And our email address is hello at tinkercast.com.
Finally, if you're a kid with a big wow to share, it could be used on an upcoming episode of Two What's and a Wow.
Call us at 1-888-7-WOW-WOW.
Thanks again for listening and playing along.
Meet us back here on Monday for Wow in the World.
Made by Tinkercast and sent to you by Wondery.
