You're listening to Brains On where we're serious about being curious.
Brains On is supported in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation.
Oh, hi. It's me, Bob.
I'm having the best day.
You see, listeners have sent so many mystery sounds to Brains On that Molly asked me for a little assistance.
She needs to put the sounds away in the mystery sound store room and so she asked me to help by doing one of my favorite things.
Filing! See? Every mystery sound goes in its own special jar.
Now, let's see. We have here an electric toothbrush mystery sound that's filed in the bathroom -related section right over here.
Okay, let's see. This next one is fun!
Painting a wall with a roller brush!
Almost as much fun as my number one favorite activity, watching paint dry.
Thrilling! This sound goes in the household maintenance section.
Wow, so many sounds left to sort!
Hmm. I bet I can carry more than one of these mystery sound jars at a time.
One, two, three... Ah, balanced just so.
No problem. I'll just walk carefully.
Easy does it, Bob. Easy does it.
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.
I dropped the jars, and the lids have popped off and...
I don't know which lid goes on which jar.
How will I know which sound is which?
Molly! You're listening to Brains On from APM Studios.
I'm your host Molly Bloom, and my co -host today is Violet from Knoxville, Tennessee.
Hi, Violet. Hi, Molly.
Today is a special day because it's time for our annual mystery sound extravaganza.
Yay, I can't wait. Violet, would you say you're good at guessing mystery sounds?
Um, yes. Which sounds do you find like are easier for you to guess?
I think the ones that you like hear in your everyday life, like the ones that are in your area, are the easiest.
And which ones do you find hard?
I think the ones that you don't find in your area, like I think for example, you and me, we don't really hear like sounds like a beach because like when we live, we don't have like beaches.
So that sound would be like less familiar for us.
Well, Violet, it is time for you to guess a lot of - Molly!
I ran all the way here from the mystery sound storeroom.
Bob? Oh my goodness.
Are you okay? I'm fine.
Thank you for asking, but these mystery sounds, they are not okay.
Oh no, did somebody send in the sound of two frozen hot dogs being hit together again?
That one was impossible to guess.
No, that's not it. And I love that sound, by the way.
Me too. It's these three jars.
I don't see any jars.
Oh, right. I found safe carrying spots because I didn't want to drop them again.
I have one in my fanny pack, one in my left cargo pocket, and one in my right cargo pocket.
Okay, what's the problem?
They look like normal mystery sounds storage jars to me.
Well, you see I dropped them on the ground and I mixed up the lids.
So I'm not sure which mystery sound is which.
Oh, no worries, Bob.
Violet and I can help you out.
Yeah, this is a great warm -up for the rest of the mystery sounds we're about to guess.
Oh, great. Thank you.
The three lids say fireplace crackling, grinding pepper, and clipping toenails.
All right, no problem.
We got this. So we got fireplace crackling, grinding pepper, and clipping toenails.
I've heard all three of those sounds in real life.
Have you heard them before?
I think I have. Wonderful.
Well, let's hear them.
See if we can help Bob.
Here is the first one.
So that's the grinding pepper.
I think you're right.
Okay, let's try putting the lid on and see if it's right.
Hi, my name is Miles from Alameda, California, and that was the sound of me grinding pepper.
Yes, we did it! Okay, let's hear the next one.
I think that's clipping toenails.
I think you're right.
Let's hear the other one just to make sure we're right before we try the lids.
Yeah. I think that's the fire crackling.
I think you're right.
Okay, so the second one was toenail clipping.
Third one, fireplace crackling.
Let's see if we're right.
Here's the lid. I'm new from monument, Colorado, and that was the sound of me clipping my toenails.
Yes! We did it! All right, and fireplace crackling.
Hi, my name is Alec.
I'm from Portland, Oregon.
That was the sound of my fireplace crackling.
Oh my gosh, Violet!
We did it! Wow! You two have great ears.
Thanks for the help.
Back into the cargo pockets and fanny pack you go, little jars.
Have fun with the rest of your mystery sound filing, Bob.
You know I will. Quince, thot, thot, thot.
Okay, after that little side quest, thanks to Bob, it's time to really get this show off the ground.
It's time for our first...
Mystery sound. Okay, Violet, are you ready?
Yes. Here it is. Mystery sound.
Hmm, what do you think, Violet?
I sort of kind of feel like it has something to do with like a motor and then like you're like...
I don't know how to describe it.
Like when you take your hand and then like there's a handle and then you like move it in a circle.
Like grinding. Yeah, so a motor, a grinder maybe?
Okay. Like maybe like a wood shipper?
Okay, let's hear it again.
I'm going to give you a hint this time.
The hint is this is something that you could go inside.
Okay, so here it is.
Okay. Okay, what do you think?
I feel like it has to do something like maybe like where they turn like the water into like electricity.
I feel like it could be in like one of those like buildings.
I mean you were you're definitely right there's a motor involved for sure.
You ready for the answer?
Yes. Here it is. Hello, my name is Sophie and I'm from Arlington, Massachusetts and the sound that you just heard was a gondola ride on my family's trip to Montremered, Canada.
The high -pitched sound was the wind coming through the window.
The bumpy sound was our gondola going over the wheels on the support tower.
The creaking is us moving around on the benches.
It's really fun if you have a chance to go there.
So as you said at the beginning of the show this is one of those sounds that you don't encounter in your everyday life unless you've been to this place in Canada.
So basically what it is it's like a little car like a train car that takes you up a mountain.
So like the wheels and the wind and the creaking.
That's what's happening there.
All right. Are you ready for the second mystery sound?
Yes. Here it is. All right.
What do you think? I sort of kind of feel like why do I feel like it is something too like either like fireworks or like popcorn?
Oh yeah there's like definitely repeated noises happening.
I'm going to give you another hint.
This sound is being made by a person and they're doing an activity that is in the Olympics.
What do you think? I have no idea.
It's something you have to wear special gloves for.
Is it like punching like like one of those like hangy things that like you punching like boxing?
Oh very good guess.
Let's hear the answer.
My name is Dominic and I'm from St.
Louis, Missouri. That was the sound of me punching my punching bag.
I like to punch it because it helps me get my anchors out.
Before we got my punching bag I would just throw myself in the ground and cry and use my voice really stern but now that I have my punching bag I can just punch it.
Nice work Violet. I'm just imagining that kid just like punching the punching bag.
Exactly. I had one when I was little actually when I was like four and it felt great.
Yeah, mine was like one that stood up on the ground and it had a clown painted on it and it was like weighted on the bottom and you'd punch it and it would like come back up.
I guess yeah good time.
Violet. Excellent, excellent job.
We're going to take a quick break and then we'll be back with some more mystery sounds.
Keep those ears ready.
We're working on an episode about how paper is made.
Paper is all around us.
There's pizza boxes and toilet paper, books and wrapping paper.
We use it to pay people, wipe up messes, share ideas, and so much more.
And we want to see your paper creations.
What have you made out of paper?
Origami? Paper planes?
Violet what's something cool you've made out of paper?
Once I made like this little like mini trash can that you can put on your desk.
What? Out of paper?
Yeah so you don't like hardboard and paper but like what you do is you like you just put it on your desk so you don't have to walk and throw something in the trash.
I love that idea, that's so cool.
What else have you made out of paper?
I've made a lot of things for I have like this Barbie house I've made and of like recycled materials and a lot of it was made out of paper.
That is so inspiring.
So creative. All right, listeners we want to see pictures of your paper creations.
Take a photo and send it to us at brains on dot org slash contact.
While you're there send us your mystery sounds and questions like this one.
Hi I'm Gracie and I'm from Knoxville, Tennessee and my question is how do you make bricks and why are they red?
You can find answers to questions like these on the Moment of Um podcast.
A short dose of facts and fun every weekday.
Find a Moment of Um and more at brains on dot org.
Keep listening. Brains On Universe is a family of podcasts for kids and their adults.
Since you're a fan of Brains On we know you'll love the other shows in our universe.
Come on let's explore.
Brains On. I'm their biggest fan.
I also love Smash Boom Best, a fun debate podcast for kids and families.
Listen, I will play you Smash Boom Best.
You will love. To refresh your memory the ugly duckling goes like this.
A bunch of duck eggs hatch and the cute little ducklings go quack, quack, quack.
Mother Duck is super happy with her eggs.
When crack the last one explodes and out comes the.
Zarp where did the signal go?
Must find Smash Boom Best now.
Listen to Smash Boom Best wherever you get your podcasts.
Brains On. You're listening to Brains On from APM Studios.
I'm Violet. And I'm Molly, and today is a very special day.
It's the Mystery Sound Stravaganza.
But first a detour.
Violet, have you ever watched a movie where a character is walking down a long echoey hallway?
Yes I believe it was Muppet's Haunted Mansion.
Oh an excellent movie.
So yes so though the Muppet was walking down the hall but guess what?
Muppets don't have feet so they need a little bit of help.
Those sounds are made by specialists called Foley Artists.
Joining us now is Shelly Rodin.
She's a Foley Artist that has made sounds for movies like Guardians of the Key.
Hi everybody. So Shelly where are you right now?
So right now I am where I work every day and that is called a Foley Stage.
And my Foley Stage is basically a room that has built -in floor surfaces like tile and wood and metal and cement and I even have a large dirt pit in the water and make sounds of people swimming.
And then all around me is tools like a ski boot or a typewriter or a flashlight.
Things from everyday life that I repurpose to create the sound effects for the movies that you watch.
And I also have microphones in the room so that somebody on another side of soundproof glass can record me.
And they're called the Foley Mixer.
It seems like it'd be easier to get sound effects or Foley sounds when you're filming a movie.
Why do Foley Artists have to remake them?
Okay so if we take something like Guardians of the Galaxy a lot of the actors on set are not really on a spaceship.
They're actually on a set that's probably made out of wood.
So if you hear their footsteps and running around on wood then you'll say to wait a minute they're supposed to be on a spaceship.
I want to hear metal.
If I'm doing Gamora I will put on some shoes that look like her shoes or sound like they're her shoes.
Set up a spaceship surface and then follow her so I set up a microphone pointing at my feet and I watch the screen and perform at the same time that she is moving I become her so that the footsteps you're hearing sound like Gamora's.
Is there a difference between sound effects like explosions or lasers and Foley?
Foley is sound effects but the difference between sound effects and Foley is sound effects are usually edited from a library of already recorded sounds and these sounds are collected anywhere like it can be jet sounds it can be a a door slam it can be the hooves of an animal running it can be anything
Foley is performed sound effects with things that are available within a room that soundproof and Foley artists walk in sync to picture watching the screen and mimicking what the actors are doing with their hands or with their feet so that is the difference between Foley and sound effects.
Oh that makes sense.
That is so cool. Now we're going to play some of the mystery sounds we've used in our past Brains On episodes and we want to see if you can guess what the sound is and then tell us how you might use the sound in a movie or TV show.
Sound good? Yes. All right here is the first sound.
All right Shelley what do you think that sound was?
Okay so as I'm listening to this sound I hear a bit of moisture I hear twiggy -ness but it's kind of thin and I do hear some cloth moving so that somebody's hands probably manipulating this thing in the air it's not connected to anything and it's small -ish.
Let's see I would say just some twigs or a pine cone perhaps being smushed.
I love hearing you talk through that you are such a sound expert so that was the sound of an onion being peeled.
Oh you're close Shelley.
That is amazing. So yes okay so that was peeling onion you were close you you knew it was something organic being manipulated by hands so what would you use that for in a movie?
Okay that's such an amazing sound I'm definitely going to use that in the future thank you for the inspiration.
I would use that probably for the thing that I visualized was a creature eating something.
I love that. But it also could be like the footstep of somebody creeping through a forest like with leaves.
Exactly. Like a lot of crunchy leaves.
Yeah and maybe it just rained because it did sound wet to me so it's up to your imagination like what you want that to be which is that's the part of the fun of foley.
So cool all right we have one more for you to guess here it is.
So guys what do you think it is?
I think it's something or someone eating something.
I don't know why that just popped into my mind.
What do you think Shelley?
That's a great idea because I hear a cavity like a resonant cavity which sounds like an apple being eaten you know the sound that you hear in your head when you're eating an apple like oh yeah so I hear that but I believe it could be a what I call a chamois cloth and it's a wet cloth that it's a great foley
tool. We get these at auto parts stores because you use a chamois to dry your car after you've washed it it absorbs a lot of liquid so what I hear is like somebody pulling the chamois up off of a surface that's neutral like cement and then plopping it back like plop that's my what I imagine it to be
what is it? You're so close Shelley because this is the sound of a kid pulling on their wet you know bathing suit like a top like a rash guard so that's it's against their skin so it is basically a piece of cloth against a surface it just happens to be someone's shirt.
That's great. So what would you use that kind of sound for do you think?
Okay so I made the sounds of Hank the octopus in Finding Dory so I think I would use that for if he gets stuck on a surface and he's trying to pull his tentacles off to free himself because he was up his tentacle his leg I would do I would add that and then when he places it down plop just have the plop
against the skin again.
Can you show us a few examples of sounds that people might have heard in their homes that you use for movies and tv shows?
Absolutely and speaking of Hank I have something here that I used for his body movements.
Okay let me show you what I've got.
So to me it kind of sounds like I don't know rubber gloves or something what do you think?
I was sort of thinking the same thing but like like a plastic bag almost I don't know.
Yeah like a balloon like oh yeah or like a wubby cushion like trying to open the opening at the end of the balloon.
Oh totally. These are awesome guesses you guys are right on because I have a rubber mask and yeah it's made of latex and latex masks are really hard to find.
I found this in a Halloween shop and it's the tin man from the Wizard of Oz so that's this part there's a high part check it out here's what it sounds like by itself.
That's the rubber mask but I'm also to make Hank sound like he's a big octopus putting this against a big tube an inner tube that you might go down the river on and it's rubber as well so that's what this sounds like.
Oh cool. So those two together make up Hank because it's the high and then the low playing together to create this character.
That's amazing all right do you have another one for us?
Sure I do it's going to take me a moment because I have to put something in its place and I'm not going to reveal what it is yet.
Okay so here is a demonstration let me know if you can hear it.
Yes we could hear it.
I feel like you're like you take like a plastic spoon and you're hitting it like on a keyboard and then like a metal bucket.
Wow really good brain work there.
Yeah my guess was not as good I was saying like a maybe like an egg beater you know one of those cool dealies but I don't I don't really think that's it but that's what popped in my head.
Because of the way I was doing it right the way I was performing it sounded like an egg beater right?
Yeah so this is the sound that I made for a cockroach.
It was a cockroach in Despicable Me 4.
So he runs around all the time and he hangs out with his friend Maxime.
So to make him sound like he's traveling from one place to the next I set up one piece of metal and then I set up another piece of metal and then on my hands I have these cotton gloves with fake nails taped to the end.
So that creates this like that kind of sound and then I have two metal boxes one less resonant and then one that's very resonant.
Amazing do you have one more you can share with us?
Some footsteps maybe?
Yeah I'm gonna ask you guys out of all the movies maybe a recent movie to figure out which character I might be I might be walking so let me put on some shoes one moment please.
I'll give you a hint I'll say the character has a glass ball in their hand and they're placing it in water and they're very excited.
Oh my gosh so they're putting a glass ball in the water I think I have an idea.
What do you think Violet?
I think I think I know what character it is I think it's either like anxiety or like joy in like the new Inside Out movie I feel like I just have a sense.
Yes. That's what it is.
That's my guess too.
Guess what you nailed it.
Yeah you got it. Anxiety.
Oh yeah. So cool. I just I watched that movie.
I just watched it too.
Oh my gosh yeah. Anxiety is really intense right and she's very quick and actually the sample I gave you was probably slowed down compared to how she really moves I had to move very fast.
Shelly thank you so much for talking with us this is so fun.
Thanks Shelly. Thank you so much for having me here I had a lot of fun with you today.
We have even more cool Foley sound effects and stories to share with you on our website.
Head to brains -on .org to see pictures of her tools and hear more.
Okay Violet we have two more mystery sounds before we wrap up the episode.
Are you ready? Yes.
Okay here is the next one.
What do you think? Why do I feel like it's a garbage disposal?
Oh like a really heavy duty one because it was like that made like really loud screech for like five seconds.
I feel like somebody did that.
Yeah it was really loud and did you notice the beeping before the loud sound?
I noticed like the beep beep beep beep.
What do you think could make the beep sounds?
I feel like it could be like an oven like in the background because I know like my oven sort of kind of makes that sound like I'm going to give you a hint that this is on somebody's door.
Here's the sound. I think I know what it is.
What? I think it's like one of those things that has like the keypad and they're like typing it in and then it just makes it's a warm.
Oh you ready for the answer?
Yes. Here it is. Hi I'm Vivi.
I live in Arizona. That was me unlocking my keypad lock to my house.
Oh my gosh you were like half right.
Yeah. There was definitely a keypad and that loud noise is actually the lock unlocking.
That is weird. I mean it's cool because I'm like if you go to if you go home and you don't have your keys like no problem I can still get in the house.
Yeah. Just need to remember a code.
Okay we have one final mystery sound.
Okay. Here it is. What do you think?
I think you're like I think somebody's like I like a really high like altitude and then there's like a really fast jet coming by.
Oh very nice. Let's hear it again.
See if you feel the same.
Okay do you have new thoughts?
Do you want to stick with your your jet answer?
I think I'm going to stick with that because I've like I've been in like pretty high altitude.
I yeah and like I've recorded up there and it's it sounds like that like the background noise sounds the same.
Here is the answer.
My name is Lila and my name is Lizzie.
I'm from Phuketina.
The sound that you just had was the airplane taking off.
So it was an airplane taking off.
Nice work. Yeah I hear that sound a lot because we live under a flight path so when I sit in my backyard it's all airplanes all day.
It's funny. You did such an amazing job interviewing our guests.
Guessing all these mystery sounds.
It's not easy and you did an amazing job.
Thanks. If you have a mystery sound you'd like to share with us you can send them to us at brains -on .org slash contact.
Remember to tell us what the sound is at the end so Bob can file it correctly.
That's it for this episode of brains -on.
This episode was written by me, Mollie Blue.
Our editors are Sandin Totten and Shayla Farzan.
We had engineering help from Tim Berry and Josh Savageo with sound design and original music by Mark Sanchez.
We had production help from the rest of the brains -on universe team.
Rosie Dupont, Anna Goldfield, Nico Gonzalez -Wistler, Ruby Guthrie, Lauren Humpbert, Joshua Ray, Charlotte Traver, Anna Weigel and Aron Waldeselassie.
Beth Prehlman is our executive producer and the executives in charge of APM Studios are Chandra Kavati and Joanne Griffiths.
Special thanks to Rames Elgamal, Katie Elgamal and Eric Ringham.
Brains -On is a non -profit public radio program.
Join SmartyPass for bonus episodes and ad -free versions of all four shows in the Brains -On universe.
Become a SmartyPass subscriber today for just $5 a month or $45 a year.
Head to brains -on .org to learn more about SmartyPass.
Now it's time for the Brains honor roll.
These are the incredible kids who keep the show going with their questions, ideas, mystery sounds, drawings and high fives.
Fia from Dublin, Ireland.
Kyle from Eastfield, California.
Axel from Santa Barbara, California.
Luke from Lake Mary, Florida.
Simona and Lucinda from Anchorage, Alaska.
Rosie from Chicago.
June from Brooklyn, New York.
Quinn from Rio Rancho, New Mexico.
Allie from Rio Rancho, New Mexico.
Alaina and Elias from Encinitas, California.
Mira from Pacifica, California.
Clara from Tallinn, Connecticut.
Avery from Jamison, Pennsylvania.
Edie from Decatur, Georgia.
Ainslie from Spokane, Washington.
Cleona from Skokie, Illinois.
Adeline from Kentville, Nova Scotia.
Anna from Natick, Massachusetts.
Ethan from Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Ruben and Lucas from Worthing, United Kingdom.
Maya from Redwood City, California.
Clara from Kahuku, Hawaii.
Casper from St. Paul, Minnesota.
George from Edswold, Australia.
Libby and Haas from Dallas, Texas.
Gam from Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Juliana from Arlington, Virginia.
Lucia from Terra Hills, California.
Cora from Idaho. Luke from Leslie, Missouri.
Ada from Seattle. Josie from Orlando, Florida.
Sophia Rose from Shenzhen, China.
Hugo from Brunswick, Maine.
William from Issaquah, New York.
James from Portland, Maine.
Reno and Riegel from Sarasota, Florida.
Alaina from Albany, Oregon.
Dawn from Portland, Oregon.
Jack from Pasadena, California.
Ava from Eagle Lake, Minnesota.
Jacob and Madeleine from Danville, California.
Bee from Edinburgh, Scotland.
Enon from Ashland, Virginia.
Nora from Columbia, Missouri.
Laura, Nico and Patrick from Edmonton, Alberta.
Kayla and Emma from Marietta, Georgia.
Isla from Sewell, New Jersey.
Declan from Christiane in Tennessee.
Graham from Richardson, Texas.
Ever and Mack from Minneapolis.
Boaz from St. Petersburg, Florida.
Ernie from North Carolina.
Samuel from Malta. Mikayla from Ayrshire, Scotland.
Ella from McKinney, Texas.
Wynn from Charleston, South Carolina.
Ian from Victoria, British Columbia.
Lulu from Vancouver, Washington.
Rhea from California.
And Abby and Micah from Jackson Heights, New York.
We'll be back next week with an episode all about paper.
Thanks for listening.
