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.
On the coldest of winter days, extra covering is advisable.
Today, Dennis plans to stay warm in a nest he's building out of blankets and pillows.
An entire fortress of comfort and snugglies.
La, la, la, la, pillow fort, yeah.
La, la, la, la, pillow.
Dennis, I need you to take out the trash, please.
Shh, shh, shh.
Oh, no.
The trash.
The worst of the winter chores.
Dennis!
Oh, no.
Gotta hide.
Gotta hide.
Ever, the Dennis not wanting to face the harsh outdoor temperatures, he hides from his mother.
She'll never find me here.
But mother is cunning if you take out the trash, i'll make you smiley face french toast.
Smiley face, french toast.
Coming mother.
Oh, smiley face french toast, a dennis's favorite meal.
Now, motivated by food, dennis takes action.
Fire up the griddle, mother i'm.
But in his scramble for a reward, Dennis forgets to prepare for his journey out of doors.
Ah!
It's cold!
It's cold!
What will he do?
The winter wind bites at Dennis's skin, but the promise of smiley face French toasts tugs at him.
Okay.
I can do this!
With no coat, no gloves, not even shoes, Dennis the Fool launches himself into the winter air.
Here I come!
It's a rare journey into the out-of-doors for Adenus.
A fascinating look at this creature away from his natural habitat.
Okay, trash in the bin.
But the journey is short and Dennis ever, the indoorsman, is soon back in his warm smiley face.
French toast environment.
Mother, I'm back.
Oh, it smells good in here.
This has been WeWow, the great indoors.
Thank you for watching.
Please stay tuned for a presentation of Wow in the World, Season 9, Episode 24, Playing Dead, followed by Wow TV's 17-hour pledge drive.
I'm Stan Pellegrino, wishing you a warm week indoors.
So long.
WeeWow will be right back.
Grown-ups, this message is for you.
That's it.
Now back to the show.
Welcome, friends and fellow thespians, to the Actors' Workshop.
Thank you.
You know, Mindy, I'm a little nervous about this class.
I don't know that acting is really my thing.
The registration is non-refundable, so can't you just I don't know act like it's your thing, Guy Raz?
Oh.
My name is Madame Pompous.
You may have seen me in several off-off-off Broadway community theater productions, such as An Audience Member is Born.
Romeo and Juliet 2, Tokyo Drift and Limitless.
The unauthorized and unlicensed musical based on the hit sci-fi film starring Bradley Cooper.
No!
I'm sorry.
I didn't quite catch that.
Uh, G4 says we're real big fans.
I do not want to be here.
Here we go.
Polite!
Well, I think you'll be very happy you're here, because in today's class we will be exploring the fine art of playing dead.
And... Oh no, I'm dying.
Wow.
Playing dead, huh?
Okay, now I'm listening.
And scene, and scene, and scene.
Bravo, bravo.
Thank you, thank you.
She's so talented.
Uh-huh.
My unique approach to playing dead or, as I like to call it, my phony dramatic exit, is inspired by the animal kingdom.
Ooh, which animal?
Ooh.
I think I know.
Is it the Virginia possum?
It fakes its own death to avoid predators.
Um, no, no.
Oh, man!
While the Virginia possum is one of the most famous fraudulent bucket kickers, I am not playing a possum today.
Oh, I think I know.
Could it be the lemon shark?
It's known for floating on its back and going limp in order to fool the other sea creatures into thinking it's dead.
Wrong again.
Huh.
While a master in the art of fake drowning, inspired by the lemon shark, I am not.
Oh, I know.
Isn't the guinea pig?
They fake their own deaths all the time.
That's a good guess, but actually, the guinea pig... Here, I'll show you.
Oh.
Oh.
Come here, little fella.
Time to come out and fake your own death.
Thomas Fingerling, you have a guinea pig in your pocket?
No.
I got three guinea pigs in my pocket.
Oh, good heavens.
He's holding them for me.
What?
No, no, no.
While guinea pigs are known to fake their own deaths by rolling over onto their backs and stiffening up when threatened, I am not mimicking their version of pretend dying.
Ah, rats.
Well...
Back in my pocket, little rats.
I mean, pigs.
My playing dead method comes from a non-venomous fish-loving reptile found on the island of Gollumgrad in Macedonia.
Oh, wait, I think I know this one.
This reptile has no arms and no legs.
Well, big whoop.
And no tail.
No tail?
Even I got one of them.
Grandma G-Force?
Shh!
Now...
Can anyone guess what this animal might be?
Ooh!
Me!
I know!
Yes, yes, you there!
What's your name?
I'm Thomas J. Fingerling III Esquire.
Ew, liar.
I'm gonna guess the animal is some sort of lizard that got in a fight with a saber-toothed tortoise.
No.
Darn it.
My friends and fellow thespians, today we will be learning the fine art of faking one's own death by none other than the dramatic
Dice Snake.
Oh, yeah, that was going to be my next guess.
Dice Snake was my nickname in high school.
Wait, I know this snake.
You do?
I do.
Well, not personally, but I just read about it in the science journal Biology Letters.
Interesting.
Go on.
Okay.
So in this journal I read a fascinating new scientific study about how this dice snake fakes its own death in order to confuse the predatory birds who also live on this island.
Yes!
Bravo!
Wait.
You mean predatory birds try to eat the dice snakes and the dice snakes pretend to be dead in order to fend them off.
You know it.
And are we going to learn from an actual dice snake in this theater?
Well, dice snakes are semi-aquatic reptiles who spend a considerable amount of time in water.
Ooh, let's go swimming.
Alas, animals are strictly prohibited from being in this community theater.
Well, I'm an animal.
Guess I better go.
Gee, Forrest, you're just a human animal.
Now listen to Madame Poo-Poo and learn how to be dead.
Whatever.
It's Madame Pompoo.
Pardon me.
Um, excuse me, Madame Pompoo?
Yes?
Well, if the dice snake is not allowed in the theater, then how are we going to learn how to act?
Dead from it?
Ah, wonderful question.
A fortnight ago, we held auditions for the most dramatic individual in town.
Oh, boy.
An individual with a flair for the theatrical arts.
Uh-oh.
And, without further ado, performing the dramatic death roll of the Dice Snake.
Please welcome Dennis.
Dennis!
Oh, no.
Ta-da!
Thank you!
Thank you!
Bow, curtsy, and Dice Snake!
Yes!
Get away!
You know, that snake looks awfully familiar.
Why you got no arms and legs, boy?
Because I'm Dennis the Dice Snake.
Win it!
Uh, did you know this was happening, Mindy?
No, when I invited Dennis to come to this acting workshop, he said he'd rather be dead.
No, I said I'd rather play dead.
Well...
Now, if I could please get a volunteer to play the role of the predator.
I'll do it.
Anyone else?
Anyone at all?
Anyone at all?
You're kind of low on options there, honey.
Okay, then.
Ms.
Geforce, would you please join me and Dennis the Dice Snake on stage?
Booyah!
Oh, boy.
Now, Miss Geforce will be a predatory bird.
I'm a raptor.
Caw, caw.
Yeah, but which raptor are you?
Falcon.
Very nice.
So Kairaz.
According to this study, researchers from the University of Belgrade in Serbia wanted to better understand how some dice snakes are able to dodge getting eaten by the predatory birds on the island of Golemgrad.
Birds who hunt them down and swoop in to eat them for lunch?
Exact Doritos.
But once you learn how they do it, you might lose your appetite for lunch as well.
Now, if I could have your attention, please.
May I present to you Grandmother Geforce in the role of the raptor.
Falcon.
Yes, in the role of the falcon.
She will attempt to devour our dice snake, played by the very dramatic Dennis.
You got this, Dennis!
Yes, thank you!
Thank you!
I am sensational!
Reginald?
Reginald in the lighting booth?
Reg?
Please, dear, dim the house lights as we are about to begin our death scene.
We take you now to Golemgrad, an island on a lake in North Macedonia.
It's a small, lush, green island full of mystery and wonder, where plants and animals live and thrive together in harmony. tra la la i'm a friendly non-venomous water snake living on the island of goo goo gad or something hiss hiss hiss me too i'm a falcon yeah but like you don't see me yet okay whatever slither slither slither hello all my snaky little friends oh we're all so happy Hiss.
That's right.
In fact, there are so many snakes on the island of Gollumgrad that many people refer to it simply as Snake Island.
Oh, Snake Island.
I like the sound of that.
Hiss, hiss, hiss.
But there's a dark side to Snake Island.
Yeah, the dark side is on me.
Give me that spotlight, pigeon.
Yes, an island with so many non-venomous snakes makes for a bountiful buffet for hungry birds of prey.
That's me.
I'm a falcon.
Look at my talons.
Did she walk in here with those talons?
I think they're just a couple of lawn rakes sticking out of her pant legs.
Our little dice snake is completely unaware.
It's just slithering happily through the lake.
Tee hee!
Look at me!
I'm a cute little snakey.
Hiss!
I see you, snake.
You're gonna be my dinner.
I'm gonna put you in a hot dog bun and gobble you all.
Oh, no!
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
Cut!
Well, huh.
Um, what seems to be the trouble, Mr. Garage?
I'm sorry, but this is not scientifically accurate.
Guy Raz?
How dare you?
Dennis, everyone knows that snakes don't shriek.
What?
Yes, they do.
Oh, McDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O.
And on his farm he had a dice snake, E-I-E-I-O.
With a shriek, shriek here and a shriek, shriek there.
Yes, that's quite enough.
Well, I believe I proved my point.
Uh, not really.
Nevertheless, the show must go on, scientifically accurate or not.
All right, continue.
Yes, thank you, Garage.
Now, Reginald!
The raptor approaches.
Caw!
Caw!
I'm a hungry falcon, and I want to eat that snake.
Caw!
Caw!
The dice snake knows it must think fast in order to survive.
Come on, dice snake Dennis.
Think!
Think!
The falcon lands and grabs the snake.
Gotcha!
And as the falcon goes in for the kill.
I'm gonna eat you up, you floppy little hot dog worm.
The snake does something unexpected.
What?
Something risky.
Risky?
Something utterly disgusting.
What is it?
Tell us!
First, it begins to wriggle and writhe theatrically.
Let me go, you mean old bird!
Not a chance.
I'm a bird of prey.
Come, come!
Then, the snake goes limp.
Okay, I'm just gonna go limp.
What in the... It's mouth agape.
It's long tongue protruding and lolling.
You better cut that out.
But it's not enough to scare away this bird.
You can't fool me.
I ain't scared of nothing, you limp little danger noodle.
The cunning snake then dials up the drama as it begins to bleed from its mouth.
This is so great.
Yes.
Oh, that's nice.
Is that real?
It's fake blood, Guy Raz.
It's used all the time in live theater.
Oh.
Actually, I had my wisdom teeth removed this morning.
Oh, yeah, that's real blood all right.
Ha!
You think a little blood is gonna stop me?
The falcon is unfazed and undeterred.
The dice snake will need to put on the performance of a lifetime.
Aha!
I know what I'll do.
The dice snake readies itself.
And then...
And then... Yes?
And then... Just say it!
And then the dice snake soils itself.
Wait, what?
Yes!
Mindy, what did she say?
She said the dice snake poops all over itself.
That's exactly right.
The dice snake soils and smothers itself with its own feces.
That's nasty.
I didn't rehearse for this.
Quit stalling and poop already.
Yeah.
Please don't.
Okay, I've got this.
Anything for the stage.
Anything for the stage.
Come on, Dennis the Day Snake.
You can do it.
I believe in you.
Is that it?
Is that all you've got?
Yeah, sorry.
That was it.
Reginald.
Reginald, cut, please, dear.
Thank you.
Everyone hold, please, while I have a brief rehearsal with my actors.
Thank you.
Okay, what is my motivation?
I think the blocking should adjust slightly.
So, Mindy, is this really true?
Do these snakes bleed from their own mouths and then poop all over themselves to ward off hungry predators?
Well, that's what these researchers discovered.
And how did they discover this?
First...
They gently captured 263 dice snakes on the island.
Where I assume they experimented by pretending to be natural predators?
Exactly.
The researchers carefully grabbed each snake by the middle to see if it could encourage the snake to act out its most defensive behaviors.
And I should note that these researchers were very careful not to actually hurt the snakes but to learn from them before releasing them back out into the wild.
Okay, very important note.
And as they held and gently squeezed the snakes, they noticed that the snakes began to play dead.
So, just like we saw with Dennis and his dice snake performance, they went limp and let their mouths gape open, with their tongue sticking out.
You know it.
But what they discovered was that almost half of these snakes pooped on themselves and then smeared it all over their bodies.
Ugh.
And then about 28 of the 263 snakes started spewing blood from their mouths.
This is so gross.
The researchers discovered that the fake deaths without spewing blood or poop lasted almost 40 seconds.
Wow.
But the snakes who did all of those things?
The ones who really committed to the role with all the blood in the feces?
Yes.
Yeah, those snakes play dead for two seconds less than the others.
Huh, so that might mean, in the wild, this fake death strategy could fool predators more quickly.
Right.
This two-second difference suggests that the predators find these committed snakes too dead and too disgusting to eat and they back off.
This is wild!
I know!
The researchers also discovered that this behavior was only something that the adult snakes did.
Wow, that's interesting.
They studied some juvenile or baby snakes as well?
Yeah, and they discovered that the baby snakes were much less skilled in the art of dramatic survival.
And, I assume, much more likely to be eaten by hungry birds.
You know it.
I don't want to soil myself.
Can't we just change the script?
No, the script cannot be changed.
Well, it looks like our very dramatic human snake is having a hissy fit on stage.
Oh, boy.
Well, I think the falcon should win.
Oh, that would be a tragedy.
I want a happy rom-com ending where the Dice Snake and the Falcon fall in love and open a cute little bookstore together.
Monsieur Dennis, absolutely not.
I cannot end up getting eaten.
I don't taste very good.
Well, I'm a Falcon, and I'll be the judge of that.
Hey, Pigeon, give me one of your talons.
Oh, Reggie, do not turn on me.
You're my best friend. second best friend, Reggie!
Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop!
None of this is in the script!
I think more experiments are going to be needed to answer that one, Guy Raz.
See, boys, let that snake boy go!
Yeah!
Ha, ha, ha!
Never!
Mike!
Work like this?
In my dressing room?
Oh, no.
Lady Boo Boo, come back.
I want to see the end of the movie.
Don't worry, Tommy.
The ending is me and the Falcon open a cute little bookstore.
The end.
Oh, that's really cute.
Thanks for joining us for this edition of WeWow 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 Moskal, with contributions from Jed Anderson and Tyler Tholl.
Original music for WeWow is composed and performed by Tyler Tholl.
Special thanks to Jessica Bode, Rebecca Caban, Dr Natasha Crandall, Kenny Curtis, Lizzie Freilich, Kristen Yang, Meredith Halpin-Ranzer and all of the other Tinkerers at Tinkercast HQ.
Be sure to visit Tinkercastcom, where you can become an official member of the World Organization of Wowzers.
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!
Wow in the World was made by Tinkercast and sent to you by Wondery.
