And now it's time for who's smarted.
Hey there, smarty pants.
Trust you, nerd or here.
If you couldn't help, by the sudsy scrubbing sounds, I'm washing my face.
Whoops, probably not the best place for a microphone.
There, all dry. I'll just put this over here.
Now to rinse. Okay, nice and clean.
Huh, look at that. That mole on my neck is looking kind of funny.
Quick, trust me. We've got to go.
There's no time. Go. Where?
The safehouse. We've got to move.
Now. Wait a minute. Who are you?
And how do you know my name?
The name's blonde. Ames blonde.
I'm a secret agent for MI6.
MI6? To work for British intelligence?
No. Mole's international.
The secret governing body of body moles.
Oh, the secret governing body of body moles.
Who knew? No one. That's the point.
It's secret. What does the six stand for?
That's a secret. You don't know.
Do you? It doesn't matter.
What matters is there's a mole in our organization.
I would assume so. After all, you're the secret governing body of body moles.
No, not a normal body mole.
A body mole. Mole. Huh? A spy.
They've been feeding information to our rivals.
I, Hoff. The International House of Freckles.
Oh boy. That's not all. We think we've tracked the location of the mole mole.
Uh-huh. We have reason to believe this mole is...
...on your body. Trusty.
Of course, I guess you could say I've been...
...murked by international skin tree.
Get it? Instead of... ...intrigued skin tree?
Because it's a mole? On my skin?
I get it. Can we go now? The freckles could be listening.
One sec. Smarty pits. Have you ever wondered what exactly are body moles?
How are they different than freckles or birthmarks?
How many moles do people usually have?
And what's their purpose?
It's time for another whiff of science and history on...
...Hell smart egg. Who smarted?
Who smart is it you? Isn't me?
Is it science or history?
Listen up. Everyone. We make smarting.
Lots of fun on those smart eggs.
Hi. Trusty here with a special message for all the parents and guardians listening.
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Learn more at IXL.com. Alright, we made it to the shave house.
We can speak freely. A Starbucks.
For a secret agent, you sure picked a public place for a safe house.
They like to hide in plain sight.
Oh, I get it. Kind of like a spy mole or a body mole.
They're right there on your skin, but you don't really notice them.
What would you like to drink?
Um, just a coffee. Black.
Thanks. One coffee and one peppermint mocha chino.
Shaken, not served. Now, what were you saying about body moles?
I said, even though they're right in front of us, we don't really notice them.
Which is peculiar because moles are defined by visibility.
Good point. Smartypants, do you know what a body mole even is?
According to my research, they are a pigmented, flat or fleshy mark on the body.
Usually composed of melanocytes.
Wow, that's a big word. Melanocytes.
I'm sure the Smartypants aren't too sure what that means, but maybe.
Just maybe they can figure it out.
See if you can guess, Smarties?
Are melanocytes A, cells that humans share with melons?
B, microscopic aliens.
Or C, skin cells that synthesize or create melons.
A pigment that gives your skin its color.
If you said C, skin cells that synthesize melanin, you nailed it.
But get this. The moles are often brown, black or blue, and therefore contain melanin.
Some do not, and are actually red or pink.
Also, the size of moles vary.
They can be smooth, wrinkle, or raised.
Some may even have hair growing out of them.
With such variation, no wonder it's tough to track down your mole.
You mean your mole, trusty.
Shhh. The freckles, I think they're onto us.
On to us? Don't you mean all over us?
No time for jokes, trusty.
We gotta move. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.
Another Starbucks? Won't they just find us again?
All contraire. There's so many Starbucks, we never run out of safe houses.
What exactly are we hiding from?
The freckles. They're the sworn enemy of body moles.
Really? Freckles and moles seem pretty similar to me.
Aren't they both just darker spots on your skin?
Far from it. In fact, freckles and moles couldn't be more different.
Smarty pants? Do you know how freckles and moles are different?
Is it because A, freckles are a reaction to UV light and moles are not.
B, unlike moles, freckles are genetic.
Or C, freckles are drawn with magic marker and moles are drawn with permanent marker.
If you said C, then you are...
Incorrect. Although you can draw moles and freckles on your skin for fun, make sure to do so with non-toxic washable markers.
If you said B, unlike moles, freckles are genetic.
That's also incorrect.
Genetic factors affect the appearance and number of both freckles and moles.
But if you said A, freckles are a reaction to UV light and moles are not.
That's correct. Those sneaky freckles are caused by an overproduction of melanin, which helps protect your skin from sun damage by absorbing and reflecting UV light.
So that's why in the summer when I get more sun exposure, my freckles come out.
Exactly. And if you have a light complexion, you're more likely to freckle than tan when exposed to the sun.
Because your skin makes more melanin to protect itself.
But isn't UV light bad for moles?
Since freckles absorb UV light with their pigments, couldn't they just work together?
Work. Together? Have the marks gotten to you?
I don't know any marks. Now who are you talking about?
I'm talking about the original body mark, Nature's Tattoo.
The birthmark. Uh, isn't that just a mole you have from birth?
That's what they want you to think.
Birthmarks have been trying to end the conflict between freckles and moles since...
Well, since they were born.
Sounds like a noble cause.
You'd think that. Except birthmarks can't be trusted.
Why not? They're shifty.
Smarty pants, true or false?
A birthmark is a mole you have from birth.
If you said true, that's correct.
And if you said false, that's also correct.
Because moles can be birthmarks, but not all birthmarks are moles.
Tone you, they were shifty.
Let me explain. If you're born with a mole, it's considered a birthmark.
But non-moled birthmarks, those brown or red marks on your skin you're also born with, are not moles as the name suggests.
To this day, the cause and purpose of birthmarks is unknown.
Come to think of it, what's the purpose of a mole?
And how many moles do people usually have?
We'll find out right after a short break.
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To save 10%. Thanks! Now back to who's smarted.
And yet another Starbucks.
Anything to keep you safe, trusty.
Is that your third peppermint, Mochicino?
How many of these do you drink in a day?
Never mind that number.
How many moles do people usually have on them?
Oh, I don't know. Smarty pants.
Do you? Do people usually have a 1-10 moles?
10-50 moles or C-50-100 moles.
If you said B-10-50, nice.
Moles can develop practically anywhere on your body.
Your scalp, armpits, under your nails, even between your fingers and toes.
Some people have up to 600 moles.
Holy moly! Why'd you say that?
What? Holy moly. I was surprised.
The fact that some people have 600 moles is remarkable.
Holy moly is the coo-name for the Spymole we're searching for.
Has it tried to contact you?
I don't know. Didn't you say you thought the Spymole was on my body?
Does that count as contacting me?
Joking. Again. At a time like this.
Wait a minute. That's it.
If the Spymole is on your body, that must be why it's been on to us the whole time.
Don't you mean on to me? As in on me?
Let me inspect some of your moles.
Fine. Start with this arm.
And while you're doing that, could you at least tell us the purpose of all these moles?
What do you mean? I mean, we know freckles reflect and absorb UV light.
And that non-mole birthmarks are a total enigma.
So what do moles do? Everyone likes a beauty, Mark trusty.
Don't overthink it. Okay.
Then can you at least explain the conflict between moles and freckles?
It's territorial. There's only so much skin to inhabit.
Also, freckles don't like the fact that moles can become cancerous.
Cancerous? Really? That's scary.
It is. But for your young smarty-pants listeners, there's little need for concern.
Cancerous moles are almost never seen until after puberty.
Is skin cancer treatable?
Yes. It's highly treatable, of course, early.
But why when the time comes, you should visit a dermatologist annually.
It's not known why all cancerous moles develop.
But we do know that reducing exposure to UV radiation from sunlight decreases the risk of cancerous moles.
But don't freckles reflect and absorb UV light?
Yes, but that's not enough.
It's still important to reduce exposure to UV light when possible.
Smarty-pants, how would you protect yourself from the intense exposure to the sun?
Would you A, seek shade?
B, wear proper clothing, or C, put on lots of sunscreen.
The answer is all three.
Each option, seeking shade, wearing proper clothing, and putting on lots of sunscreen, helps protect you from sun exposure.
Trusty, have you noticed any changes in your moles lately?
Cancerous moles usually change in appearance, and we have reason to believe holy moly only began betraying secrets after he became irregular.
Changes in my moles? Uh, yeah.
This morning when I was washing my face, I noticed a funny looking mole on my neck.
Let me see. Aha! This may be the one and only holy moly.
I'll use the ABCDE test to see if this mole is potentially cancerous.
Oh boy. What's the ABCDE test?
A is for asymmetry. That means it's lopsided.
Is it asymmetrical? Yes.
Then there's B for border.
Is it notched or irregular?
Is it? I'm afraid so. C for color.
Are there multiple colors?
And there are D for diameter.
Is it larger than a pencil eraser?
Is it? It is. And E for evolving.
Hmm. It must have changed in size.
Shade color or height because I don't remember it looking like that.
I'm afraid this mole is potentially cancerous.
Good thing we caught it early.
Indeed. Hold it. I'm getting you intel.
We have a visual on holy moly.
It's confirmed the body spy mole is this very one on your neck.
What do we do? We have it removed.
Removeed? For one thing, it could be cancerous.
For another, it's a double agent.
Come. We'll make you an appointment at a dermatologist.
I know a good one. One week later.
It's been a week since I had my neck mole removed.
I'm just glad it turned out to be benign, which means it was not cancerous.
Trusty. Bad news. It is cancerous?
No. Holy moly escaped. It's on the loose.
We need you to stick your neck out again and help us catch it.
Mole good deed goes unpunished.
But I am thirsty. Can we hit a Starbucks?
A double shot out to Benjamin and Samuel in Stevens, Pennsylvania, who say they love listening to Who Smarted because of all the interesting facts, great sound effects, and creative storylines.
Wow, that is a better review than my mother gave us.
Thanks so much for smarting with us, Ben and Sam.
This episode, Body Moles, was written by Dan Goldfinger Gold, and voiced by Secret Sam Intrater and Jerry Colbert, technical direction and sound design by Josh Hardt Target-Han, who smarted his recorded and mixed at the Relic Room Studios.
Shhh. Our associate producer is Max the Mole Kamaski.
The theme song is by Brian Black Ops Suarez, with lyrics written and performed by Adam Trapp, Davis, who smarted was created and produced by Adam Tech's Davis and Jerry Colbert.
This has been an atomic entertainment production.
Starglow! I wore winter boots every day for two years.
I hate climbing trees. I'm Deborah Goldstein, host of the podcast The Big Fib, and half of those statements were indeed Fibs!
On every episode of The Big Fib, we bring on two grown-ups.
One is an expert, and the other is a liar, and it's the job of our human child contestant to help us figure out who is who, because no one can spot a liar better than a kid.
We've had episodes on everything from Minecraft to Mythology and from Lego to Libraries.
Join me and my robot co-host Lisa on The Big Fib on Apple Podcasts or on GZMShows.com.
