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Hey Grownups, Mindy here from Wow in the World and in case you haven't heard the big news, my friend Carly Q from Who and Wow Mystery Edition will be hitting the road with me this fall and if you live in or around San Francisco or New York City, we are coming to you!
Introducing Make It Wow presented by our friends at Audible.
There's more to imagine when you listen.
Make It Wow is the Bonker Balls competition game show where teams of kids from our live audience are challenged to turn their wildest and weirdest ideas into jaw -dropping adventures live on stage.
Featuring live music from the pop -ups and special appearances from Dennis, Grandma G -Force and Thomas Fingerling, plus at the San Francisco performance, our buddy Guy Roz will be stopping by too.
So come join the party!
Grownups, you can get your tickets now at Tinkercast .com slash events.
That's Tinkercast .com slash events.
We can't wait to make it wow with you this fall.
Hello and welcome to Day 5 of WeWow Creepy Crawl Week.
I'm your host Dennis and that's my co -host Reggie.
This week is all about icky gross bugs and it's also about Mindy's pet cockroach Smokey McDougall who turns out is surprisingly not that gross.
No no no no no no Reggie.
I don't like Smokey McDougall.
He's a bug but he's kind of nice and smart and not disgusting for a bug.
Speaking of which it's time for Smokey McDougall's deep tissue massage.
Oh Smokey McDougall time to work the tension out of your thorax.
Reggie why is the lid of Smokey McDougall's tank open?
Oh no Reggie he can climb out.
He's very athletic.
We gotta find him. Smokey!
Smokey McDougall where are you?
He couldn't have gotten far Reggie.
I'm gonna search the basement.
I know. I need to look in all the nooks and the crannies.
If there's one thing I know about Smokey it's that he loves those crannies.
Smokey here boy. I've got some cheese pops for you.
Smokey come out come out wherever you.
Smokey! Oh no no no no no no I didn't mean to step on him.
Oh please be okay. Please be okay.
Please be okay. Speak to me Smokey.
Speak to me. Oh thank goodness you're okay.
Don't scare me like that Smokey.
Oh if anything happened to you I don't know what I'd do.
You're safe now. You're safe little Smokey.
There there Papa Dennis is gonna put on a podcast and rock you to sleep.
Okay fine Reggie I like him but only a little.
Don't worry little Smokey.
Here's wow in the world season five episode two called so you've been swallowed by a frog.
Reggie shush this episode's only a little creepy Crawley.
It's not that bad. Okay it's kind of bad.
Okay Smokey here we go and play.
Wee wow we'll be right back.
Grownups this message is for you.
Hey Grownups Mindy here from wow in the world and let me tell you Carly Q and I are so excited to make it wow in New York City I mean New York and San Francisco with our new live show Make It Wow presented by Audible there's more to imagine would you listen.
And apparently you're excited too because our San Francisco performance is filling up and our New York City performance is almost sold out so we're adding even more wow with a second show for New York City.
Grownups get your tickets today at tinkercast .com slash events that's tinkercast .com slash events that's it we'll see you there.
That's it now back to the show.
Mindy in her ice cream truck this early in the morning now who's feeling bright eyed and bushy tailed this morning.
Not me I was up all night counting sheep.
Get out of here sheep.
No count your cash.
Now who's ready to attack this day with them and figure.
You're attacking my constitutional right to a peaceful sleep.
If you're with me let me hear you snore.
I'm with you Mindy S N O R E.
Let me hear you read loudly.
Snore. Snore. Yay. Snore.
Dennis. What's going on?
You're gonna get run over.
Morning Mindy. Care for a cup of decaffeinated espresso?
I call it a depresso.
No thanks a latte Dennis but I'm trying to cut back.
I'm just out here to wake up the neighborhood for a little early morning mindfulness sesh.
Good morning Mindy.
Morning Dennis. Did I hear someone say mindfulness?
I love mindfulness.
Breathing, meditation, relaxation, guided imagery.
What in the world Wide Web is all this racket?
And which one of you just said they're imaginary?
He's not imaginary Fingerling.
He's a real boy. Look.
Why did you just pinch me?
We're in my jeep horse.
Well someone better pinch me because this is a dream come true.
I've never had the whole neighborhood here in front of my house before.
Okay well I'll pinch you too.
Ow. Hey. Wow. That pinch was as good as a cup of coffee.
I'll call it a compresso.
Do it again. Okay. No.
No Grandma G -Force.
There is no pinching in mindfulness.
What about imaginary ones?
You know pinches of the mind.
No. No pinching. Actually practicing mindfulness helps you to focus on being aware of what you're sensing and feeling in the moment.
Why don't you sense this Fingerling?
Gee force would you quit it.
I'm mindful enough.
Okay no more pinching.
Okay. No more pinching.
Mindy. Mindy when are we gonna start this morning mindfulness exercise?
Oh uh I don't know.
What about now? Now?
Yeah no better time to be in the present than the present right?
Oh speaking of presents that reminds me I have to conduct roll call.
Now when I shout your name yell present.
Dennis. Present. Very good Dennis.
Reggie. Reggie just say your name please.
No one likes a smarty pigeon.
So should we just take a seat where we're standing?
Oh yes. I need everyone to just get situated on the ground in a comfortable seated position okay.
There we are. What in the?
Yeah don't mind me.
That's just all my bones.
Gross. Now what? All right now I'm just gonna run back to my ice cream truck to turn on some mindful music.
So just sit there and breathe or something okay.
What in the? Sorry wrong side.
There we go. Now I want everyone to close your eyes and take a deep breath in.
Hold it. Now take a deep breath out.
I love breathing. Today I want you to focus your intention on allowing yourself to receive the gift of a little self -scare.
What did she say? Self -scare?
Oh I get it like self -care but spooky.
That's right a little self -scare and as you're breathing imagine that you are a tiny water beetle scampering through a field of lily pads.
When oh what is that you see?
I don't know. What is it?
It's a frog. Oh a frog.
I'm gonna kiss it. Come here froggy.
Gee farts don't do that.
You'll get rabies. Actually frogs can't get rabies but one time I got rabies when I read you don't interrupt me.
The frog looks hungry and she's got her big bulging eyes set on you.
I thought exactly pigeon this self -scare meditation it freaked me out dude.
Stay in the present.
Just stay in the present.
Oh good idea Kai -Roz.
We should all hide from the frog inside of a present.
It'll never find us in there.
You can run from this frog but you can't hide.
Oh yeah watch me. Oh no those are my pride -winning azaleas!
Oh sorry. You stop dead in your tracks paralyzed by fear when this frog opens her mouth wide and she's pulled you in with her lungs ticky tock.
Oh now exhale. And before you can even digest the idea that you are inside of her big toothless frog mouth she takes one big gulf and she swallows you alive.
Ah Mindy no I want out of this meditative self -scare.
Calm down fella it's not even that scary.
Why look at Mr. Razi over there.
I am swallowed alive.
I am inside of a frog.
I am still in the present.
Oh fine. What happens next Mindy?
You realize that you must get your tiny beetle body out of this frog.
You ask yourself what what a bombardier beetle do.
A bombardier beetle would surely let out a tooth so powerful it would force the amphibian to bark you up.
Ah what! Oh now I'm listening.
But you you are not a tooting bombardier beetle.
I'm not. You are a Japanese water beetle who goes by the scientific name Reganbartia attenuata and you you like to do things the hard way.
You know that is so like me.
Just stay in the present.
Stay in the present.
No guy remember you're not in a present you're in a frog.
Using your tiny beetle legs to brace you you begin to crawl and swim your way through the frog's digestive tract and as you work your way through its guts it's powerful and corrosive stomach juices threaten to break you down.
Oh that is just disgusting.
But you keep on going squeezing your way through the frog's intestines.
I think I can. I think I can.
I think I can. Attaboy Razzie.
At this point you realize you've gone as far as you can ride down the digestive slide and there is only one way out.
Oh look everyone a way out.
What is it like a secret door on the side of the frog or something.
Well I don't think it's on the side of the frog if you know what I mean.
Um no I actually don't know what you mean.
Well looks like somebody's gonna make an exit out the old poop shoe.
Oh no. You find what appears to be an opening of sorts but it's closed tightly shut.
You knock three times.
Knock knock knock. Suddenly the opening releases and you come spilling out into the world in a flood of fresh frog feces.
That is really gross.
What did I say? So disgusting.
Mindy what kind of guided meditation was that?
A defecation meditation.
Oh if you'll excuse me I need to go wash out my mind's eye.
Yuck me too. You got me soap.
Well let's see I've got hand soap bar soap body soap soap.
Great job everyone now give yourselves a round of applause.
Mindy where in the world did you get the idea for horrifying guided meditation?
Oh well I got the idea from science.
Science? Yeah specifically this bonker ball's new study that I just read from Kobe University in Japan it was led by this biologist named Shinji Sugira.
Wait a minute I've read about him he's been studying the strange behaviors of insects and predators for years.
Yeah and he's seen a lot of weird stuff in his day.
Yeah like bugs who when eaten by a frog make the frog vomit so they can avoid being swallowed and escape alive.
Yeah and the bombardier beetle is a pretty good example of that after a frog gobbles it up it tees out this hot chemical spray that is so gross and so foul it makes a frog puke all over the place allowing the beetle to escape the frog and live to tell the tale.
Oh right you mentioned that in your um defecation meditation uh.
Anywho this study was about a completely different beetle a Japanese water beetle who goes by the super long scientific name Regan Bardia a tenu wata.
Whoa that's a mouthful even for a frog.
Yeah I thought about calling Regan Bardia a Reggy for sure but.
So anywho Dr Sugira had been noticing these beetles and frogs hanging out together around the lily pad fields in Japan so he brought one beetle and one frog back to his lab so he could study how they um interacted with each other.
And was he surprised when the frog ate the beetle?
Well he was surprised that when the frog ate the beetle it didn't spit it right back out.
Live beetles are not exactly known for their flavor.
I taste like chicken.
Gee farce ain't nobody want to know that.
But according to that disgusting gross mindset exercise you just put me through the frog must have swallowed the beetle giving it a journey through its intestines.
You know it and just a couple of hours later the beetle having taken a little ride down the frog's digestive slide shot right out of the frog's cloaca covered in poop.
You mean it shot out of its butt?
Well not just a butt the cloaca is kind of a one -stop shop that frogs and other animals use for pooping, peeing, laying eggs.
Now that sounds like a handy little multi -tool where can I get one?
What? Sorry Mr Fingerling cloacas are not for most mammals.
Rats. Oh a Reggy would like everyone to know that he has a cloaca?
In fact all birds do.
Sheesh Reggie no need to brag about it.
Excuse me can we get back to this study please Mindy you were saying that after the beetle worked its way through the frog's digestive tract it shot out of the same hole that the frog uses to um defecate?
What did he say? Well defecate is a more polite way of saying um poop.
Wow. Oh no Guy not you too.
Yeah what goes in must come out and when you're this particular beetle you're using the back door and that is not even the most amazing part.
It's not? Nope. What Dr.
Sugira discovered was truly bonker balls.
When the frog pooped out the beetle the beetle was still alive.
What? Oh no. Oh wait that's gonna..
That's right the frog eats the beetle the beetle emerges from the frogs behind in a pile of poop and survives like that death -defying journey never even happened.
Whoa whoa whoa hold on a second that's impossible I mean first of all how would a beetle survive being chewed up by a frog?
Yeah. Oh well that's easy see these pond frogs don't have teeth so they just have to gobble and swallow their prey whole.
Okay okay well how could the beetle possibly survive the frogs corrosive stomach acids?
I mean the whole purpose of these digestive juices is to tear apart and break down anything that the frog eats.
Yeah what about that?
Well Dr. Sugira had the same question and he thinks that the exoskeleton or protective outer shell of the beetle is probably strong enough to withstand being digested by a frog but he'll need to do more research before he can say for sure.
Okay but how was it able to breathe that whole time it was swimming through the frog's digestive tubes?
Oh yeah. I mean I know it's a water beetle but still.
Well Dr. Sugira suspects that since this aquatic beetle can trap air under its wing cases to breathe underwater well it could probably do the same to breathe inside of a frog.
Well that checks out no further questions your honor.
Now get to the part where the bug starts knocking on the back door if you know what I mean.
Oh yeah so once the beetle reaches the end of the uh you know tunnel it's got to find a way back out but the problem is there's an obstacle in its way and that obstacle is a little ring of muscle holding that cloaca hole closed sort of like a drawstring on a bag cinching it shut.
Or like the drawstring on my hoodie.
There now I'm cool.
So wait a minute Mindy are you saying that the beetle has to get that muscle to loosen up before it can escape from the frogs behind?
You know it and after some poking and rotting and maybe a little knocking muscle loosens the cloaca opens and out pops the beetle in a flood of fresh frog poop.
Oh that's nasty. And what about the beetle what happens after it's pooped out alive?
Well from what Dr. Sugira could tell the beetle just goes on to live like it never even happened.
It pulls itself out of the poop and goes back to swimming around and living its little beetle life.
Mindy Come on lady I just washed my mind's eye.
Anything for science.
So Mindy are we sure that this wasn't just a one -time thing?
I mean scientists have to conduct their experiments more than once to make sure that their findings are consistent.
Oh yeah after this Dr.
Sugira went on to conduct this experiment five more times including some different beetle species and different insect eating frogs.
And what did he find?
Well he found that over 90 percent or most of the time the Regan Bardia beetle made it out alive and went on to live happily ever after.
But the other beetles weren't so lucky.
So besides the protective exoskeleton or shell on the Regan Bardia beetle were there any other clues to how it was able to survive?
Oh yeah and those clues lie in the legs.
The legs? Yep when the Regan Bardia beetle had full use of its legs it managed to pop out the other end between six minutes and six hours after it was swallowed by a frog.
Okay. But when Dr. Sugira made it difficult for the beetle to use its legs by covering them with wax well the digestion took days and the beetle did not make it out alive.
So by conducting this experiment he was able to determine...
What? He was able to determine that the beetle was using its legs to crawl through the frog's intestines.
Exactoritos that beetle was plotting its escape route from the very beginning.
But I guess it's kind of hard to know for sure without seeing inside the frog's intestines.
Yeah sometimes even scientists have to use their imaginations.
Hey uh speaking of imagination Mindy do you mind if I lead us all through a little mindful guided meditation?
Oh yeah sure but uh do you think you're gonna be able to corral everyone else?
And let your breath drown out the noise.
Actually you know what I think I need another depresso.
No you get pooped out by a frog.
Grownups if you like WoW in the world you can listen early and ad free right now on Wondery Plus.
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Thanks for joining us for this edition of We WoW on the weekend.
Our show is written by Ruth Morrison and Jed Anderson.
The role of baby Dennis is played by Jed Anderson.
Ah well then who plays the role of big Dennis?
Never you mind. Original sound design and production is done by Henry Moskell with contributions from Jed Anderson and Tyler Thole.
Original music for We WoW is composed and performed by Tyler Thole.
Special thanks to Jessica Bodhi, Rebecca Caban, Dr.
Natasha Crandall, Kenny Curtis, Lizzie Fralik, Kristin Yang, Meredith Halpin -Ranser, Tui Mack, Erica Medina, Henry Moskell, Jodi Nussbaum, Ali Paxima, Kai Raz, Linda Rothenberg, Steph Sosa, Mindy Thomas, Joanna Weber, Anna Zegorski, and all of the other tinkerers at Tinkercast HQ.
Be sure to visit tinkeercast .com where you can become an official member of the World Organization of Wowsers.
Learn about upcoming events, shop our WoW shop, find our best -selling books, and learn about all the other amazing podcasts from Tinkercast.
Thanks again for hanging out in the basement this weekend.
Be sure to check out episodes of WoW in the World every Monday and remember, Who Wows?
I WOW! No, baby Dennis!
We WoW! Alright! We WoW!
WoW in the World was made by Tinkercast and sent to you by Wundery!
