Hey, Wowzer fams, Mindy here.
And before we start the show, Happy New Year!
Thank you for helping to make our 2025 so full of wow.
This year we celebrated our 10th season of Wow in the World with our 250th episode, special guests, a new book, New toys, out into the world.
Live events listening parties.
Oh my, so many things.
Whether you shared our podcast with a friend or teacher, joined our WOW membership called our WOW hotline, wrote a review on Apple or Spotify, watched us on WOWtube or just tuned into an episode.
This year would not have been possible without your support.
So thank you for wowing with us in 2025.
And here's to even more in 2026.
That's it.
And now let's get back to the show.
Happy New Year!
Nature.
Lush rainforests teeming with life.
Ocean depths filled with mystery.
Barren tundras where something happens.
Probably.
The natural world is fascinating, with so much to uncover.
This week, we will be exploring none of that.
Instead, we will venture inside the dwelling of nosy neighbor Dennis.
Oh, it's so cozy-wozy in here.
We'll snoop on Earth's greatest snooper in hopes of learning more about him and perhaps more about ourselves.
I'm Stan Pellegrino, and this is WeWow.
The Great Indoors.
Coming!
The Dennis is a social creature.
Hi, Reggie!
Come on in!
Today, he has invited a companion into his home.
Okay, Reggie, I've got the game all set up over here on the table.
Here in the great indoors, boredom can set in quickly.
Games are essential for passing the time.
All right.
So, Reggie, have you ever played Strata Gems of Elder Scrunch?
No.
Okay.
It's really easy to play.
I promise.
The games are often simple and require little movement.
This allows Dennis to conserve energy essential for surviving the harsh winter months.
So to start, we each get five cards, 12 tokens, and 27 dice, okay?
When it's your turn, you spin the spinner.
Reggie, no, not yet.
I'm still explaining.
You spin the spinner and then add your spins to your dice roll.
Reggie, quit it.
I'm still explaining.
This seems complicated.
Then you multiply that number by your ability score.
Oh, right.
We still need to set your ability score.
Here, fill out this worksheet.
In moments like these, the Great Indoors can prove to be a frighteningly tedious place.
Okay, and now on the backside of that worksheet is the bonus scoring grid.
It's a little hard to look at because of all the lines, but once your eyes adjust, I think you'll find that.
Reggie, are you paying attention?
Dennis's friend is beginning to zone out. don't want to play go fish we're playing strata gems of elder scrunch it's a better game easy dennis don't push too hard or else reggie hey where are you going reggie reggie rats oh dear Without a companion, Dennis risks extreme boredom.
He must quickly find someone else to play with.
Um, hmm.
Oh, baby Dennis!
What?
You want to come out of your box and play Stratagems of Elder Scrunch with me?
A stroke of luck.
A strange friend appears.
A version of Dennis himself.
This should work out nicely.
Baby Dennis gets to be the wizard king.
No, big Dennis gets to be the wizard king.
You can be the elf sage.
Careful, Dennis.
You don't want to lose this friend.
Okay, fine.
You can be the wizard king.
Hooray!
Lesson learned.
That's a good lad.
Okay, let's start with the settlement development cards.
Do you want to establish road building or maritime trade?
Maritime trade!
Maritime trade!
Good choice!
This has been another installment of WeWow, the great indoors.
Tune in tomorrow for another adventure with our subject, Dennis.
Next on Wow TV, an episode of Wow in the World.
It's Season 4, Episode 12, Laughter in a Can.
How our brains interpret funny business.
And later, a showing of Spherical Miracle, the inspiring true story of an unmelting snowball.
But first, a brief message from our sponsors.
WeWow will be right back.
Grownups, this message is for you.
That's it.
Now back to the show.
Let's see here.
I'm going to need some milk eggs, some whale blubber caviar tart pops.
Parentheses sardine flavored.
Oh, the door.
Just a second.
Good morning, Guy... You are not Guy Raz.
Hello, ma'am.
Can I ask you a question?
Sure.
I love questions.
Do you ever find yourself wanting something more out of life?
Wanting something more out of life?
Yeah, sure.
I just ran out of caviar.
Uh, what?
Caviar.
You know, fish eggs.
I like to dip them in milk and then sprinkle them on my spaghetti.
Oh.
No, I was actually talking about maybe a sense of fulfillment, a feeling of accomplishment or happiness.
Then, boy, do I have a range of products for you.
Ooh, wind chimes.
Oh, no, those aren't wind chimes, ma'am.
Those are elixirs designed specifically to make your life complete.
Hey, what's this one?
Careful.
Laughter in a can.
And?
That's one of our best sellers.
Simply open that candle after and you too can live your life like a TV show.
Like a TV show, huh?
That's right.
It'll make you funnier than your wildest dreams.
Oh, you mean the one I always have where the monkeys are driving go-karts?
What?
My wildest dream.
Okay.
You know, I have been meaning to get back into my comedy routine at the Banana Split Comedy Club.
They haven't let me back in since last time.
Hi, everyone.
Why was the robot angry?
Processing.
Huh?
Punchline unknown.
Because the programmer kept pushing his buttons.
So, how much is it?
That canned laughter is currently on sale for just $249.99.
Oh, man.
All I've got is, um, three buttons and a couple of old mints.
Oh, we also accept buttons.
Really?
Yeah, buttons are really valuable.
Or wait, was it bitcoins?
No, it's buttons.
I'm pretty sure it's buttons.
All right.
Well, here you go.
Oh, sorry.
They're a little bit sticky.
Oh, I see.
Well, here's my card in case you need anything else.
Thank you.
Ooh, laminated.
And on behalf of Essential Potential, I'd like to thank you for your purchase.
Okay, bye.
We hope that your life is...
All right.
Now, what does this can say here?
Warning.
Do not use this product if you are prone to giggle fits, obnoxious laughter, or laugh snorting, yada, yada, yada.
Side effects may include a perceived funnier personality, blah, blah, blah.
Beware.
Where, once opened, this product is irreversible and the effects of such will not be retractable until the entire can has run out.
Oh my gosh, this is so boring.
All right, here goes nothing.
Three, two, one.
Wow in the World is recorded in front of a live studio audience.
What happened?
Where in the wow are those voices coming from?
Hello?
Wait a minute.
That's one of our best sellers.
Simply open that can't laughter and you too can live your life like a TV show.
TV show.
Mindy!
Mindy, let me in!
Something strange is happening!
Guy Razzi!
Mindy, what in the wow is going on?
Where are those voices coming from?
Well... Look, I don't know where they're coming from, but I do know where they came from.
What?
It's canned laughter!
Canned laughter?
Yeah, is there an echo in here?
Mindy, what in the wow is canned laughter?
Well, look, check it out for yourself.
I saved the can.
Canned laughter?
Uh-huh.
Beware.
Once opened, this product is irreversible and the effects of such will not be retractable until the entire can has run out.
Mindy!
It's not my fault.
The salesperson told me it would make me funnier beyond my wildest dreams, Guy Raz.
And why would having a bunch of strangers laugh in the background of your jokes make you funnier?
Well, i do remember reading the scientific study a while ago that showed that laugh tracks on tv shows actually tricked your brain into thinking that certain jokes were funnier than they actually were, and you thought that adding a laugh track to your real life would make you funnier too.
Uh maybe, Uh-huh.
So how exactly did this study show that laugh tracks make jokes funnier?
Well, I could tell you.
But I'd rather show you.
Oh, boy.
What did you have in mind?
Kairos, you and I are heading back to the Banana Split to put this comical experiment to the test and to make my triumphant return to the stage of comedy.
Mindy, you do remember what happened last time, don't you?
The robots?
No, the other time.
The monkeys?
No, the other other time.
Can you promise we're not going to have another incident?
Yes, of course I can't promise you that we won't have another incident, Guy Razzi.
As usual, I've got everything out of control.
Come on, let's go.
Let me just get us a ride to the comedy club.
Excuse me for a second.
Dialing, dialing, dialing, dialing, dialing.
Jello?
Yeah, good.
Uh-huh.
Uh-huh.
Uh-huh.
Okay, great.
See you soon.
Our ride will be here any second now.
Right.
So tell me, Mindy, how is this thing going to work exactly?
How is what going to work exactly?
The experiment.
Right.
Well, the study, which was performed by the University College London, started off by collecting 40 jokes from dads across the world.
Dads?
Yeah, a male parent, one's father.
What?
I don't know how else to define dad.
Dad jokes?
Yeah, dad jokes.
You know, those super corny jokes that dads are famous for.
Well, what's an example?
Okay, here's one of the actual jokes that the researchers used in the study.
You're going to want to hold on to your funny bone for this.
What American state has the smallest drinks?
What American state has the smallest drinks?
I don't know.
Minnesota!
Huh?
Oh, man, that was so bad.
Want to hear another one?
No, I'm good.
Okay, okay, okay.
What does a dinosaur use to pay the bills?
I don't know, Mindy.
What does a dinosaur use to pay the bills?
Tyrannosaurus checks!
Okay, Mindy, point made.
These jokes are cornier than a corn souffle on 4th of July.
Wait, you eat corn souffle on the 4th of July?
Yeah, a family tradition.
So what did they do after they got this collection of perfectly corny jokes together?
They got a group of participants, or people, to rate the jokes on a scale of one to seven.
One being not funny at all, and seven being pretty much so funny that you'd wet your pants.
And then what did they do?
Then they got interrupted by a doorbell.
That must be our ride.
I'll tell you the rest later.
I'm coming!
I'm coming!
Reggie!
Oh, Reggie.
Okay, you ready to take off?
Nice.
How is that funny?
Am I the only one that doesn't understand what this bird is saying?
Alrighty, Guy Raz, Reg's got the motor pickle idling in the driveway.
We've got our jokes locked and loaded baked potato.
And I've got my can of laughs.
Let's get this experiment underway.
I'm right behind you, Mindy.
We'll be right back after these messages.
Come to the Spit Take Restaurant.
This month, orange rinds only $3.99.
Coffee grounds at $2.99.
And prepare your bitter buds for our all-new ginger and dandelion summer salad, just $5.99.
Only for a limited time at the Spit Take Restaurant, where we'll have you saying Ugh, is this food even?
And now back to everyone's favorite group of misfits.
It's Wow in the World.
Man, that took forever.
Yeah well, we would have gotten here a lot quicker if you hadn't stopped for that roadside hot dog, Mindy.
What was I supposed to do?
It looked lost.
Okay, so what's the plan now?
Well, according to the scientific study I was telling you about, after those researchers had collected those 40 corny dad jokes, Yeah.
They got a professional comedian to record themselves delivering each joke and then took those recordings and made different versions of each one.
Oh.
Okay.
The first version had no laugh track whatsoever.
Got it.
The second version had canned laughter on it.
You know the random laughter that had been recorded beforehand and then slapped over the top of a joke later on.
Okay.
And the last version had a laugh track of people actually reacting to the joke in real time.
Like a live studio audience?
Exactoritos.
And so what happened next?
Well.
The researchers then played these three versions to the participants and asked them to rate each one on a scale of one to seven.
One being not funny at all, seven meaning it made them laugh so hard they peed their pants.
Basically.
And what did they find, Mindy?
Well, I think we're about to find out.
Okay, okay.
How's everybody doing tonight?
Tough crowd.
All right.
Well, we've got a great show for you tonight.
Some of the best comics in town are here in the building.
It's a great lineup.
And to get us started making a triumphant return to the Banana Split.
Please welcome to the stage, Oh boy.
Mindy!
Mindy!
Hello, Banana Split.
How's everybody doing today?
Uh, fine.
Yikes.
Okay.
Tough crowd.
Let's hope this works.
Okay, stop me if you've heard this one before.
What state has the smallest drinks?
Uh, I don't know.
Minnesota!
Huh?
That's actually pretty funny.
All right, all right.
What does a dinosaur use to pay the bills?
What?
Tyrannosaurus checks.
Tyrannosaurus checks.
It's working.
This crowd is loving it.
All right, one more.
What's orange and sounds like a parrot?
What?
A cat.
Thank you, Banana Split.
I'm back, baby.
Drop the mic.
Oh, sorry.
Do I have to pay for that?
Hey, not this time.
Everyone gets one mic drop exit, am I right?
Wow.
Okay, I was not expecting that to go so well.
That was Mindy, everybody.
Coming up next on the stage, we've got Georgie.
Baby, that was incredible.
Incredible.
You crushed it up there.
Yeah.
I guess this canned laughter thing really works.
So did those researchers from London have similar results with their study?
Yeah.
They found that when they asked people afterwards to rate the jokes again on a scale of one to seven, the recordings that had the added laugh track either natural or canned scored much higher than the recordings that didn't have any laughter at all.
That's so cool.
Hey, Mindy.
Hey, Woody.
Great set tonight.
I don't know where that came from, but how's about you come back tomorrow night and do the headlining spot?
I mean, as long as you got more bits, those ones tonight were killers.
Oh, boy, do I. OK, try this one on for size.
What do you call a man with a shovel on his head?
I don't know, Mindy.
What?
Doug!
I said Doug.
Yeah, I heard you.
Like, I dug a hole with a shovel?
No, I get it.
It's just, uh, it's not funny.
Wait a minute, Mindy.
Do you hear that?
Hear what?
I don't hear anything.
Exactly.
The canned laughter.
It stopped.
Oh, bonker balls.
I guess we must have used up the whole can.
Wait a minute.
Did you just say you were up there using performance enhancing laughter?
Uh, no.
Mindy, there is no place for canned laughter here at the Banana Split.
Oh no, no, no, please no, Mr. Manager.
I need to be on that stage.
I was born to perform.
I'm sorry, but we have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to artificially enhanced jokes.
And now I'm going to have to ask you and your friends to make like a tree and get out of here.
Uh, don't you mean make like a tree and leaf?
Who owns the comedy club here, Mr. Wiseguy?
Uh, you do.
That's right.
Now, please, make like a get out of here.
Hey, I don't want none of your sassy beak, Mr. Huge Pigeon.
Now, out.
All ears.
Well?
Easy come, easy go, Mindy.
Yeah.
Hey, cheer up, Mindy.
It's not the end of the world.
Yeah, I guess you're right.
Hey, wait a minute.
I know what I'll do.
What?
I'll call up that salesperson again.
She gave me her card.
It's right here in my pocket.
See?
Ooh, laminated.
So what now, Mindy?
You're just going to buy some more canned laughter?
You redonkulous guy, Roz.
I don't want to go through all that again.
Good.
I think she was also selling some spray on happiness.
Mindy.
Or maybe it was some lavender oil that was supposed to boost my cheritonin production.
Hey, everyone.
Thank you so much for hanging out with us this week on Wow in the World.
And to keep the wow rolling, check out this week's scientific conversation starters at our website wowintheworldcom.
And grown-ups.
There you can find more info on how your kids can become members of the World Organization of Wowzers shop, our Wow Shop.
Upload photos and videos to us and check dates for our upcoming live events.
That's wowintheworld.com.
Our show is produced by Jed Anderson. who provides the bells, whistles, and silly characters.
Say hello, Jed.
Hello.
Our show is written by me, Guy Raz, and Thomas Van Kalken, who also provides silly characters.
Tom?
Hello there.
Thanks also to Jessica Bode, Anna Zagorski, Rebecca Caban, Kit Ballinger, and Alex Curley.
Meredith Halpern-Ranzer powers the wow at Tinkercast.
Our theme song was composed and performed by The Pop-Ups.
For more on their three-time Grammy-nominated all-ages music, find them at thepopups.com.
And grown-ups, you can follow Wow in the World on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at wowintheworld.
And our email address is hello at wowintheworld.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.
Also, if you haven't already done so, please subscribe to Wow in the World on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Yeah, leave us a few stars, a review, or just tell a friend about the show.
Thanks again for listening, and until next time, keep on wowing!
Jeep!
Wow in the World was made by Tinkercast and sent to you by Wondery.
