Hey, Bowser fans, Mindy here.
And before we start the show, we know that March is known for madness.
But why not mystery and mischief, too?
We pulled some of our favorite mystery episodes from WoW and the World, plus a special bite sized episode with some real mysteries from real kids now playing on the Who Win WoW podcast feed.
And what's a little mystery without a little bit of mischief?
Well, we've sent out a pigeon -dropping to all of our world organization of Wowser members with ideas for how you can add a little mischief and spread a little wow to the people in your life.
So members of the WOW be sure to check your mailboxes.
And if you're not a member yet, well we've also got some fun ideas for how you can add a little mystery and mischief to your month too!
Visit Tinkercast .com slash mystery for mysterious episodes, mischievous activities and more wow!
That's it, and now back to the show!
Regi, singing, laughing.
And then we, oh wait, no, I said laughing twice.
Uh, whatever! We wow on the weekend.
Ahh! We wow on the weekend.
Slap, flap! We wow on the weekend.
Cause this is what we do on the weekend.
Hello and welcome to We Wow on the Weekend!
I'm your host, Dennis.
And that's my co -host, Regi the Giant Pigeon.
who's wearing a top hat for some reason.
This is the show where we hang out, chitchat, answer questions from our fans, and listen to Tickercast podcasts.
OK, Reggie, what is with the top hat?
You're a magician today.
Yay! And you're going to do a magic trick right here in the show.
I love magic. What are you waiting for?
The floor is yours!
Brrr! Eh? All right, I have to introduce you.
Ahem! Everyone, please welcome to the stage...
Um... Psst! Up, what's your magician name?
Brrr! All right. Please welcome to the stage...
Rachel! The stupendopigeon!
Brrr! Yeah! Brrr! Woo, you have a magic wand, come on.
Okay listeners, Reggie the Stupenda Pigeon has taken off his hat and is tapping the brim with his magic wand.
He's saying the magic words.
He's reaching into his hat.
I think he's pulling something out.
Is it a rabbit? Is it a normal sized pigeon?
It looks like. Woo hoo hoo hoo hoo!
Goto! It's Baby Dennis!
Baby Dennis? Hee hee.
Whoa. Baby Dennis, were you just hiding in Reggie's hat the whole time?
Baby Dennis would never reveal Big Reggie's magic secrets.
OK, well, Reggie, that certainly was stupendous.
But it's time to make Baby Dennis disappear so we can get on with the show.
Oh no! Baby Dennis will never disappear.
Baby Dennis is eternal.
Sorry, Baby Dennis.
We gotta get you back in your box now.
Let me just open it up and..
Aha ha ha! The box is full of jobs!
Tada! Jay, your bird friends are destroying mother's porcelain squirrel figurines.
Aha ha! Stop! Bye, birdies!
Stop! Thanks, baby Dennis.
That is not helping!
Yes, Reggie! Please tell them to get back in the box, if you don't mind.
Whoo! Whoo! All right.
Whoo! All right, since the box is full of pigeons, baby Dennis, you get back in the hat.
Okay. Wee! My baby Dennis.
Okay, let's move on to the Q &A segment.
The Q &A segment. Alright, let's just get the old answering machine pulled up here.
Okay, here we go. Hi, you've reached Dennis from WeWow on the weekend.
That's me. Do you have a question?
Well, I do too! Lots of them!
And who's gonna answer all my questions?
You? Probably not. But I guess I can answer yours...
Leave me a message.
Hi, Dennis and Janine, my name is Sawyer.
Hi, Sawyer. I have a haiku for you.
Do you want to hear it?
You have a haiku? Yeah, I want to hear it!
Reggie is so cool! Dennis is a big whiner!
Together, they rock!
What?! That is so cool!
Whoa! Bad! I think you meant to say winner.
Dennis is a big winner.
Yeah no, I think that's what Sawyer meant.
Reggie, I want to make up a haiku too!
Ahem! Haikus are cool!
They have a certain number of syllables, but I forget how many they are, and also I kind of forget what a haiku is.
The end! Thank you, thank you!
Next question. Hello, my name is Grace.
Hi, Grace! What's your question?
Why do guinea pigs sleep with their eyes open?
Why do guinea pigs sleep with their eyes open?
Great question! Well, I'm not sure, but I know why I sleep with my eyes open!
Yes! Reggie! Of course I sleep with my eyes open for sleep snooping!
Sleep snooping Regie!
It's like sleepwalking, but it's for snooping instead of exercise.
Yeah! With sleep snooping I could get twice the amount of snooping done, plus I can also be on the lookout for anyone trying to snoop on my dreams. No!
Reggie, you stay out of my dreams!
We hang out enough.
Hmm... Okay fine, we can hang out at Dreamland, but just this once...
Brrrrrrrr... W -W -W -W -W -W -W -W -W -W!
Benji, no! Not right now!
Wake up! Next question!
Hi, Dennis. It's Evelyn from Tennessee.
Hi, Evelyn. Brrrrr!
Do you know what Mindy and Guy Ross do on the weekend?
Huh. Do I know what Mindy and Guy do on the weekends?
Brrr! Well, I don't think they do anything on the weekends.
If I leave them, I'm pretty sure they just sit around and wait for me to show up again.
Right Reggie? What?
They do stuff on the weekends without me?
Like what? Like go to the grocery store?
I want to go to the grocery store and then maybe go through the car wash?
I want to go through the car wash?
And they come home and put all the groceries away?
and maybe clean the bathrooms?
Okay, I don't want to do that, but wait, Reggie, do you think this means Guy and Mindy are doing something right now without me?
Ah ha, I have to call Mindy.
Dialing, dialing, dialing, dialing.
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.
Hi, you've reached Mindy!
I'm out doing super fun things on the weekend and I'm currently unavailable.
Oh no! I might be out riding a donkey or racing a rollercoaster.
We're sitting in a very large bird's nest. We're visiting Mars.
Oh, no, no, no. They're having even more fun than we thought.
OK, Reggie, we have to finish doing the show and go find Mindy and Guy Roz and make sure they aren't having fun without me.
Thanks for your calls, everyone.
If you've got a question for me, call and leave me a message.
The number is 1 -888 -7.
Wow, wow. I just might answer your question on wee -wow on the weekend Okay, that takes care of that Next up is a little segment.
I like to call inside Tinkercast Studios Inside Tinkercast Studios This is the part where we revisit an episode of one of my favorite Tinkercast shows and today We're listening to WoWin' the World, season three.
Episode 14 called, The Song of the Singing Mouse.
Whoo, whoo, whoo, whoo, whoo.
Oh, you really like this one, huh?
It has your favorite band in it.
It has your favorite mouse band in it.
Oh, your favorite Central American mouse band.
Wow, so specific! Right, that's a good genre.
OK, here we go. And...Aye.
WeWowW will be right back.
Grown -ups, this message is for you.
That's it, now back to the show.
WowYou World. Mail's here...
RRRRRR Knaawn... Run, run, run, run, run, run, run!
A phone delivery? Ahh!
Oh! Ooh, looks like I overshot the door.
Ugh. Backtrack moonwalk, backtrack moonwalk.
Ma 'am, please stop moonwalking away from me in shame.
Good afternoon, mail carrier, and how are we doing on this fine day?
Last week there was a trap door under your doormat.
Two weeks ago, a giant pigeon ordered 14 tons of gourmet birdseed to be delivered by mail.
Reggie! Three weeks ago, you mailed yourself an ice cream cone which ended up melting all over my delivery bag.
Sorry, next time I'll spring for same day shipping on the ice cream.
So, what do you have for me today?
Okay well let's see...
looks like a new edition of Gingerbread Architecture Magazine.
Ooh la la! Several invitations to a croquet and multi -level marketing party from your neighbor, Dennis.
You can keep those.
And this huge box. Ooh, what's inside it?
I don't know. Well, then could you shake it?
No. Yeah, just shake the box and I'll guess what's inside.
Fine. Shake, shake, shake.
Is it a shirt? Sh -sh -sh.
No, it's got to be a caplet.
Ow! Oh no, it's one of those plant -your -own herb gardens.
Maybe it's a ham. Stop!
Guy, Roz? Of course, it's a human being.
OK. Have a good day, ma 'am.
I will be going on a long vacation.
Aaah! Aaah! Aaah! Surprise?
Guy, Roz, what were you doing in that box?
Did I do this to you?
Uh, no. You did not do this to me, Mindy.
Yeah. You want to say that a little louder for the people in the back?
Ahem. Mindy had nothing to do with this.
I mailed myself, myself.
Hi, Guy. Could you keep it down, please?
Ugh. But, Guy -Roz, you live next door.
I mean, if you wanted to come to my house, all you'd have to do is call Reggie to fly you over or take the while machine, or borrow my motor pickle, or snack Dennis' roller blades.
Hey. No. The truth is, Mindy, I've been trying to make an effort to be more, I don't know, spontaneous to think outside the box a little.
Oh, so you literally climbed into a box and mailed yourself to my house next door.
Well, yeah, but for good reason, Mindy.
You see, I've got a surprise for you.
A surprise? Is it in the box?
No. So many packaging peanuts.
You think I can eat these?
No, no, Mindy, don't eat them.
The surprise is not in the box.
It's inside of me. Oh, so are you going to barf it up?
Barf it? What? I mean, you just said it was in.
Mindy, Mindy, I got three tickets to the America's Squeak Arts Hide and Squeak concert tour.
Happy, when is your birthday?
Mindy's birthday is March, September, umpteenth.
Uh, wait. That can't be real.
There aren't umpteenth days in March, September.
Kyraus, you know that America's Squeak Arts is my favorite band of the week.
Yeah, yeah, I was just thinking.
You are so kind to indulge me that time I wanted to go listen to my favorite elevator music band to that office building elevator downtown And yeah, I gotta rise I pretty much just complain the entire time well.
That's what friends are for wow So when is the concert well looking at my watch?
Huh? What that's weird. What's weird?
Oh? All of the numbers on my watch are out of order oh That's because I scrambled them all up for you you what?
So a while ago, I got mad about Daylight Savings Time and I took it out on your watch. But hey, I got you that hour back.
Mendy? You're welcome.
Reggie, we've got a surprise for you.
Wait for it? Wait for it?
Wait for it? Reggie, the three of us are going to see America's Squeak Arts live and in concert on their hide and squeak tour, and it's a surprise!
Aaaaah! Just spoiled it.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Slow down there, Reggie.
I'm not exactly picking up what you're saying, mostly because I don't speak pigeon, but also because you're talking faster than Mindy.
I got this. Say what, Reg?
Yeah, uh -huh. Oh, wow, really?
Whoa. What's he saying Mindy?
He's saying that America's Squeakarts are at the center of a brand new scientific break -through.
A scientific break -through?
And their performance is basically going to take us through a whole reenactment of the experiment that lead to the break -through.
What in the wow? This is going to be even better than I thought.
They're going to do an experiment on stage?
What are they, a singing duo of lab rats?
Actually they're lab mice, Guy Roz, but not your typical lab mice.
Wait, did you say America's squeak hearts are… mice?
Well, yeah, they're my favorite band.
What'd you think they were gonna be, singing humans?
Well, uh... Come on, Guy Roz, saddle up on Reggie's back.
We'll see for yourself once we get there.
Okay, but I'm not sure this is what I signed up for...
Singing mice? What are they going to come up with next?
A band of singing chipmunks?
A musical starring cats?
OK, Reg, prepare for takeoff, because here we go.
Ah, I think our surprise landing is scaring all the mice away!
Come back here, you little mice!
Come back! Ahhh! And I think all the mice are scaring Guy Raus away.
Good laws, stop! They're not going to bite you, they're here for the concert.
Just like us. All right, the concert, we're here to see Mindy's favorite band, America's Squeak Arts Liven Concert.
They're just like any other band only.
They're... Lap Mice.
Tickets, Blaze. And I have nothing to be freaked out about.
We're all mammals. Uh, Kiraaz.
Tickets. Oh, right, three...
Tiny tickets. Thank you.
I should have known by the size of these microscopic tickets that this concert would be performed by mice.
Here's your program.
It explains the scientific breakthrough connected to the band, and on the back there's a coupon for America's Squeak Arts merch booth.
Hi, we'll take three matching sets of mouse ears, three matching America's Squeak Arts hide and squeak tour t -shirts, three matching sets of mouse trap clip on earring, and - Mindy, Mindy, Reggie doesn't have ear lobes.
Okay, make that two.
Mindy - And three big wheels of jeans.
Please. Here you go.
Thank you. Oh, Mindy, they're about to start.
Come on. So, Mindy, Reggie was saying something earlier about this being a concert that re -enacts a scientific breakthrough?
Oh yeah, it's pretty amazing.
So it all starts off with this neuroscientist. And a neuroscientist is a scientist who studies the nervous system or the way our brains and spinal cords and nerve cells work together in our bodies.
Yeah, and so this neuroscientist named Michael Long and his team of researchers from New York University's School of Medicine noticed something very unusual about a particular species of mouse that lives in the tropical cloud forests of Central America.
A species of mouse called the Americas Squeakarts?
What? No, that's just their band name.
The mice in the band have a completely different name.
And that name is...
Skodanomis tequina.
Hee hee hee. Mindy, Mindy, I told you, I don't speak pigeon.
That's not pigeon, Ta -Kai Raws, that's their name.
Ha! They also have a nickname which is much easier to say.
Olstens Singing Mouse.
Uh -huh! And let me guess, that unusual observation made by Dr. Long and his team was that these mice could sing?
Yes, but there's more.
Rrrr! Go on. These scientists discovered that these mice can sing over 100 different musical notes and...
Woo -hoo! I'm here! Thank you.
Thank you. Gracias.
We are American Squikas, a tormentor named birth certificate in American Squikas, but it's confusing.
This one goes out to all the ladies.
Ugh. Come on. No, really.
What you're about to see are the two lead singers of the band engage in a little rap battle to win the hearts of the Lady mice in the audience, or at least one in particular, though she could be any one of these mice for all we know?
...a rap battle? You mean like a singing duel to win the affection of a mate?
Well, yeah, basically.
And while there are other mice that will sing for love or whatever you call it in the rodent world, most of the time, human ears can't hear them.
But these singing mice?
Well, they come in loud and clear.
What just happened?
Isn't this Bonker balls?
That back and forth call and response, vocal turn taking?
it was like a fast -paced musical conversation.
You know, Mindy, now that I think about it, I guess that is pretty amazing.
Thank you. Thank you.
Gracias. I mean, all the different vocal muscles and parts of their little mouse brains that had to work together to create that snappy back -and -forth sing -off...
I mean, that's just not something you see very often in the animal kingdom, unless you count us humans.
That's just the thing, Guaras.
See, Dr. Long and his team noticed this in the wild cloud forests of Costa Rica and decided to invite these singing mice back to their lab at NYU.
And just like that, they came?
Well, they did promise them some pretty cush digs.
You know, like workout equipment in their cages, organic mealworms, dry cat food three times a day, fresh fruit, a lucrative record deal, a national tour.
Well, I took all of that to get these mice to visit their lab at NYU.
Yeah. I mean, Dr. Long has actually been quoted as saying that they're kind of divas, especially when you compare them to their lab mice cousins.
So Mindy, once Dr. Long and his team got the singing mice settled into their plush laboratory apartments, what did they do?
Well, they began rehearsal.
And by rehearsal you mean… I mean, they let the singing mice sing their brains out while researchers studied their brains over a few different experiments.
So let me just make sure I've got this straight.
The researchers knew that these mice could sing.
But they wanted to know what was happening in their brains that allowed them to sing duets or musical conversations.
Well, basically, yeah.
So humans have the unique ability to take turns while talking in a conversation, You know, so immediately you're starting a new sentence when the person you're talking to ends theirs.
Ha! And in fact, that pause between when one person starts talking and the next person picks up is only about a fraction of a second.
And I guess that means that our vocal muscles and our brains have to work together extremely quickly and send signals back and forth to make that happen at such a fast speed.
Right! But why? And how?
And what part of our brains controls this complicated operation?
And that must be where the experiments with the singing mice divas come in!
Well, they prefer to be called America's Squeakhearts, but yeah!
See, these researchers were hoping that by studying the pretty simple brains of these mice, they might better understand how back and forth conversation works in our much more complicated human brains.
So what was the first experiment?
Ooh, hang on. I'll tell you in a sec.
Gracias! Okay, we'd like to welcome a spatial guest up to the stage.
Let's get it up for the Bottlenose dolphins.
What a family! What?
That's just their name.
Whoo! bottlenose dolphins!
Yes! Wait, are they...
flapping onto the stage, Shouldn't they be in the water?
Hey, shouldn't those dolphins be in the water?
See? Bottle -nosed dolphins are one of the only other mammals besides humans and singing mice that sing in that vocal turn -taking style.
Ah. Watch this. Ah!
Maybe they sound a little better underwater.
The first thing they did was take the two mice and put them in separate cages where they could hear each other but not see each other.
And then the researchers just sat back and listened.
And what did they hear?
Well, they heard the mice having a musical conversation.
Huh. In fact, they learned they sing differently together than they do when they're alone or solo.
That's interesting.
But what's really interesting is that they learned that these mice have certain unspoken rules to their musical back and forth, just like we humans do when we're having a conversation.
Rules, huh? Huh? Well, I did notice when the mice were on stage having their singing duel that they seemed to be very polite with each other.
I mean, they never sang over each other and they seemed to pay attention to when the other mouse was finished before picking up the next verse and then also...
And they never interrupted!
Ahem. Huh? Not like some humans do!
Oh, anywho, once these researchers figured out the way these mice communicate through song, they wanted to figure out what part of their brains were responsible for telling them when to sing, and when to wait their turn.
And how did they do that?
OK, so they used these tiny electric sensors, or tools, to help them read the signals that the mice' brains were sending to their vocal muscles.
And by seeing what part of the brain was lit up or active while they were singing, they could determine what part of the brain was responsible for telling the mice when to sing.
exactoritos, guy -roz, and they discovered that it was the part of the brain known as the oral -facial motor cortex or the OMC for short.
Oh, what is happening?
They're singing so fast that they're all out of tune!
Oh, wow! This is just like in the experiment!
Huh? So using those same electronic sensors, Dr. Long and his team sped up the signals that the mice's brains were sending to their vocal muscles.
And before they knew it, the mice were going all bonker balls and singing all the wrong notes and completely out of tune!
And I'm guessing that if they sped up the signals, then they also experimented with slowing them down.
You know it. Thank you.
Thank you. Gracias, and now, let's slow things down.
Let's go, see? Are they singing in slow motion?
Ew, almost seems that way.
See, after experimenting with what What would happen if they sped up those brain signals?
They decided to experiment with slowing them down.
And what happened? Well, it turns out that these mice could still sing the right notes.
There were just longer spaces in between, and it took them a lot longer to finish.
Thank you, thank you.
And thank you all for coming to the show.
We've got one more song.
Oh yes I know, I know.
The band is going to sit this one out.
Hmmm, it's called who turned out the lights.
Woohoo! Shh. Oh, this must be the last part of the experiment.
They turned out the lights?
Well, metaphorically speaking, yeah.
Kinda See, after speeding up and then slowing down that O .M .C.
section of the mice's brains, they decided to turn that O .M .C.
section off completely.
They just turned out the lights.
They shut off the mice brains?
No, no, no, no, no, not the whole brain.
Just that one little tiny part, the OMC.
And only temporarily.
And what did they find?
Well, they found that the mice could still sing.
Yeah. But only to themselves.
In other words, they could no longer sing back and forth to each other.
No more musical conversation.
They became solo artists?
Only temporarily. Before the mice even knew it, they turned that OMC part of their brains back on and that was the end of the experiment.
Incredible! Mindy, this must mean that the OMC part of the singing mouse's brain isn't what gives them the power to sing, but it is what gives them the power to sing in a back and forth way, just like we humans and bottlenose dolphins.
Winner winner, mouse trap dinner.
Thank you. Gracias.
You have been an amazing audience.
Our new album is called Hide and Squeeze.
Please, check it out.
Whoo! Peace, love, and be nice to one another.
Way nice, no chase.
Wow, what an amazing concert.
Yeah, thanks for surprising Reggie and me with the tickets, Gyrozz.
That was our first time seeing them perform live since the experiments!
Yeah and about those experiments.
You know Mindy, I'm wondering if these researchers are planning to take what they've learned and use this new information to help solve other problems with human communication.
Well it just so happens that they are.
See now that we understand how the OMC part of the singing mouse's brain controls its ability to have singing conversations with other singing mice, Dr. Long and his team are planning future studies to see if they can find the human version of the OMC in our brains.
With the thought that it might hold clues as to how we humans are able to have such quick, back -and -forth conversation.
Right, but not only that, they're hoping that they can take what they learn from these experiments and come up with new ways to help people whose brains don't let them have these quick back -and -forth conversations.
So like some people with autism whose brains work differently or maybe people who have had strokes where parts of their brains stop working altogether.
Or people like me who sing all the wrong notes at all the wrong times and can't stop interrupting.
I think that might be something worth experimenting on your own, Mindy.
Speaking of experimenting, is that Reggie backstage trying to communicate with a bottlenose dolphin?
Swim. And I thought a mouse rap battle was going to be the weirdest thing I saw today.
What in the wow? Whoa!
That was so cool! I can't believe we can learn all this stuff about our own brains from little mouses.
Like the way we communicate is so it's just like really Rrr...
You know. Like, what's the word?
Rrrr Rrrr.... Communication Two.
Yeah. Communication Two.
The Dennis needs to work on his conversation skills.
They're a concern. Ha ha ha ha...
Baby Dennis. T -T. Oh, Baby Dennis, what are we going to do with you?
Do more magic tricks.
That's actually a great idea.
We could do more magic tricks.
Hooray! But first we need to wrap up the show.
Thanks to all you listeners out there for tuning in to We Wow On The Weekend.
If you have a question for me, call and leave me a message at one -eight -eight -seven -wow -wow.
That's one -eight -eight -eight -seven -wow -wow.
I just might answer your question on We Wow On The Weekend.
Okay, should we do the goodbye song?
Great, here we go. Ahem!
That's the end of the show.
I need to go and magically saw baby Dennis in half and then put him back together.
Whaaat?! But I'll do another show tomorrow.
But for now that's the end of the show.
E -E - Bye! Grown -ups, if 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 wondering .com slash survey.
