So, You’ve Been Swallowed By A Frog…

THOMAS: Rise and shine, friends and neighbors. It’s your old pal Mindy with your Saturday morning wake-up call.

GUY RAZ, HOST:

Ugh. Mindy? In her ice-cream truck this early in the morning?

THOMAS: Now, who’s feeling bright-eyed and bushy tailed this morning?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As Grandma G-Force) Not me. I was up all night counting sheep. Get out of here, sheep. Go count yourselves.

(SOUNDBITE OF SHEEP BLEATING)

THOMAS: Now, who’s ready to attack this day with vim and vigor?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As Thomas Fingerling) You’re attacking my constitutional right to a peaceful sleep.

THOMAS: If you’re with me, let me hear you snore.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) I’m with you, Mindy. (Singing) S-N-O-R-E. Let me hear you breathe loudly. Snore, snore, yay, snore.

THOMAS: Ugh. Dennis, get out of the road. You’re going to get run over.

(SOUNDBITE OF TIRES SCREECHING)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) Ahh (ph). Mayday.

(SOUNDBITE OF DOOR CLOSING)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) Morning, Mindy. Care for a cup of decaffeinated espresso? I call it a depresso (ph).

THOMAS: No. Thanks a latte (ph), Dennis. But I’m trying to cut back. I’m just out here to wake up the neighborhood for a little early morning mindfulness sesh (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) Ooh.

RAZ: Good morning, Mindy. Morning, Dennis. Did I hear someone say mindfulness? I love mindfulness – breathing, meditation, relaxation, guided imagery.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As Thomas Fingerling) What in the World Wide Web is all this racket? And which one of you just said they’re imaginary?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As Grandma G-Force) He’s not imaginary, Fingerling; he’s a real boy. Look.

RAZ: Ow. Why would you just pinch me?

THOMAS: Grandma G-Force.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) Well, someone better pinch me ’cause this is a dream come true. I’ve never had the whole neighborhood here in front of my house before.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As Grandma G-Force) OK. Well, I’ll pinch you, too.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) Ow. Hey. Wow. That pitch was as good as a cup of coffee. I’ll call it a compresso (ph).

RAZ: Ugh.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) Do it again.

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD COOING)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As Grandma G-Force) OK.

THOMAS: No. No, Grandma G-Force. There is no pinching in mindfulness.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As Thomas Fingerling) What about imaginary ones – you know, pinches of the mind?

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD COOING)

THOMAS: No. No pinching.

RAZ: Actually, practicing mindfulness helps you to focus on being aware of what you’re sensing and feeling in the moment.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As Grandma G-Force) Why don’t you sense this, Fingerling?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As Thomas Fingerling) Ahh. G-Force, would you quit it? I’m mindful enough.

THOMAS: OK. No more pinching, OK? No more pinching.

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD COOING)

RAZ: Mindy. Mindy, when are we going to start this morning mindfulness exercise?

THOMAS: Oh, I don’t know. What about now?

RAZ: Now?

THOMAS: Yeah. No better time to be in the present than the present, right?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As Dennis) Oh, speaking of presence, that reminds me – I have to conduct roll call.

THOMAS: Ugh.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) Now, when I shout your name, yell present. Dennis? Present. Very good, Dennis. Reggie?

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD COOING)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) Reggie, just say your name, please. No one likes a smarty pigeon.

THOMAS: Ugh.

RAZ: So should we just take a seat where we’re standing?

THOMAS: Oh, yes. I need everyone to just get situated on the ground in a comfortable seated position, OK?

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD COOING)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) All right.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As Thomas Fingerling) OK, there we are.

(SOUNDBITE OF CRACKING)

RAZ: What in the…

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As Thomas Fingerling) Don’t mind me. That’s just all my bones.

(SOUNDBITE OF CRACKING)

RAZ: Ugh.

THOMAS: Ooh.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) Ugh. Gross.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As Grandma G-Force) Now what?

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD COOING)

THOMAS: All right. Now I’m just going to run back to my ice-cream truck to turn on some mindful music. So just sit there and breathe or something, OK? Run, run, run, run, run.

(SOUNDBITE OF BREATHING)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) Excuse me. Choked on my spit.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

RAZ: What in the…

THOMAS: Sorry. Wrong song.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

THOMAS: There we go. Now, I want everyone to close your eyes and take a deep breath in.

(SOUNDBITE OF BREATHING)

THOMAS: Hold it. Now take a deep breath out.

(SOUNDBITE OF BREATHING)

RAZ: I love breathing.

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD COOING)

THOMAS: Today, I want you to focus your intention on allowing yourself to receive the gift of a little self-scare.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As Thomas Fingerling) Huh?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As Grandma G-Force) What’d she say? Self-scare?

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD COOING)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) Oh, I get it. Like self-care but spooky.

RAZ: Ugh.

THOMAS: That’s right – a little self-scare. And as your breathing, imagine that you are a tiny water beetle, scampering through a field of lily pads, when – oh, what is that you see?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) I don’t know. What is it?

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD COOING)

THOMAS: It’s a frog.

(SOUNDBITE OF FROG CROAKING)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) Oh, a frog.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As Grandma G-Force) I’m going to kiss it. Come here, froggy.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As Thomas Fingerling) G-Force, don’t do that. You’ll get rabies.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) Actually, frogs can’t get rabies. But one time, I got rabies when I…

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD COOING)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) Reggie, don’t interrupt me.

THOMAS: Ahem (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As Thomas Fingerling) Oop (ph). Sorry, Mindy.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As Grandma G-Force) Sorry, Mindy.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) Sorry, Mindy.

(SOUNDBITE OF FROG CROAKING)

THOMAS: The frog looks hungry. And she’s got her big, bulging eyes set on you.

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD COOING)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As Thomas Fingerling) My thoughts exactly, pigeon. This self-scare meditation is freaking me, dude.

RAZ: Stay in the present. Just stay in the present.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) Oh, good idea, Guy Raz. We should all hide from the frog inside of a present.

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD COOING)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) It’ll never find us in there.

THOMAS: You can run from this frog, but you can’t hide.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As Grandma G-Force) Oh, yeah? Watch me.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) Oh, no. Those are my prizewinning azaleas.

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD COOING)

RAZ: Shh (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) Ooh, sorry.

THOMAS: You stop dead in your tracks, paralyzed by fear, when this frog opens her mouth wide and – snap.

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD COOING)

THOMAS: She pulled you in with her long, sticky tongue.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As Thomas Fingerling) Ahh, heavens.

THOMAS: Now exhale.

(SOUNDBITE OF BREATHING)

THOMAS: And before you can even digest the idea that you are inside of her big, toothless frog mouth, she takes one big gulp and she swallows you alive.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) Ahh. Mindy, no. I want out of this meditative self-scare.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As Thomas Fingerling) Calm down, fella (ph). It’s not even that scary. Why, look at Mr. Razzie over there.

RAZ: I am swallowed alive. I am inside of a frog. I am still in the present.

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD COOING)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) Oh, fine. What happens next, Mindy?

THOMAS: You realize that you must get your tiny beetle body out of this frog. You ask yourself, what would a bombardier beetle do?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As Thomas Fingerling) What would a bombardier beetle do?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) What would a bombardier beetle do?

RAZ: What would a bombardier beetle do?

THOMAS: A bombardier beetle would surely let out a toot so powerful…

(SOUNDBITE OF FLATULENCE)

THOMAS: …It would force the amphibian to barf you up.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) Ah, what?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As Thomas Fingerling) Ooh, now I’m listening.

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD COOING)

THOMAS: But you, you are not a tooting bombardier beetle.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) I’m not?

THOMAS: You are a Japanese water beetle who goes by the scientific name Regimbartia attenuata. And you, you like to do things the hard way.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As Thomas Fingerling) You know, that is so like me.

RAZ: Just stay in the present. Stay in the present.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) No, Guy, remember – you’re not in a present; you’re in a frog.

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD COOING)

RAZ: Ugh.

THOMAS: Using your tiny beetle legs to brace you, you begin to crawl and swim your way through the frog’s digestive tract. And as you work your way through its guts, its powerful and corrosive stomach juices threaten to break you down.

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD COOING)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) Eww (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As Thomas Fingerling) Now, that is just disgusting.

THOMAS: But you keep on going, squeezing your way through the frog’s intestines.

RAZ: I think I can. I think I can. I think I can.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As Thomas Fingerling) Attaboy (ph), Razzie.

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD COOING)

THOMAS: At this point, you realize you’ve gone as far as you can ride down the digestive slide, and there is only one way out.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) Oh, look, everyone – a way out.

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD COOING)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) What is it, like a secret door on the side of the frog or something?

RAZ: Uh (laughter).

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As Thomas Fingerling) Well, I don’t think it’s on the side of the frog, if you know what I mean.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) No, I actually don’t know what you mean.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As Grandma G-Force) Well, looks like somebody’s going to make an exit out the old poop chute.

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD COOING)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) Oh, no.

THOMAS: You find what appears to be an opening of sorts, but it’s closed tightly shut.

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD COOING)

THOMAS: You knock three times.

RAZ: Knock, knock, knock.

(SOUNDBITE OF FLATULENCE)

THOMAS: Suddenly, the opening releases, and you come spilling out into the world in a flood of fresh frog feces.

(SOUNDBITE OF FLATULENCE)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) Eww.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As Grandma G-Force) Hold it.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As Thomas Fingerling) That is really gross.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As Grandma G-Force) What did I say?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) So disgusting.

RAZ: Mindy, what kind of guided meditation was that?

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD COOING)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As Grandma G-Force) A defecation meditation.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As Thomas Fingerling) If you’ll excuse me, I need to go wash out my mind’s eye.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) Yuck. Me too.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As Thomas Fingerling) You got any soap?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) Well, let’s see. I’ve got hand soap, bar soap, body soap, soap on a rope…

THOMAS: Great job, everyone. Now give yourselves a round of applause.

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD COOING)

RAZ: Mindy, where in the world did you get the idea for that horrifying guided meditation?

THOMAS: Oh, well, I got the idea from science.

RAZ: Science?

THOMAS: Yeah, specifically this bonker-balls new study that I just read from Kobe University in Japan. It was led by this biologist named Shinji Sugiura.

RAZ: Wait a minute. I’ve read about him. He’s been studying the strange behaviors of insects and predators for years.

THOMAS: Yeah. And he’s seen a lot of weird stuff in his day.

RAZ: Yeah, like bugs who, when eaten by a frog, make the frog vomit so they can avoid being swallowed and escape alive.

THOMAS: Yeah. And the bombardier beetle is a pretty good example of that. After a frog gobbles it up, it toots out this hot chemical spray…

(SOUNDBITE OF FLATULENCE)

THOMAS: …That is so gross and so foul, it makes the frog puke all over the place, allowing the beetle to escape the frog and live to tell the tale.

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD COOING)

RAZ: Oh, right. You mentioned that in your…

THOMAS: Defecation meditation?

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD COOING)

THOMAS: Anyhoo, this study was about a completely different beetle, a Japanese water beetle who goes by the super long scientific name Regimbartia attenuata.

RAZ: Whoa. That’s a mouthful, even for a frog.

THOMAS: Yeah, I thought about calling Regimbartia Regi (ph) for short, but…

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD COOING)

THOMAS: So anyhoo, Dr. Sugiura had been noticing these beetles and frogs hanging out together around the lily pad fields in Japan. So he brought one beetle and one frog back to his lab so he could study how they interacted with each other.

RAZ: And was he surprised when the frog ate the beetle?

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD COOING)

THOMAS: Well, he was surprised that when the frog ate the beetle, it didn’t spit it right back out. Live beetles are not exactly known for their flavor.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As Grandma G-Force) I taste like chicken.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As Thomas Fingerling) G-Force, ain’t nobody want to know that.

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD COOING)

RAZ: But according to that disgusting, gross mindset exercise you just put me through, the frog must have swallowed the beetle, giving it a journey through its intestines.

THOMAS: You know it. And just a couple of hours later, the beetle – having taken a little ride down the frog’s digestive slide – shot right out of the frog’s cloaca covered in poop.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) Ugh.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As Grandma G-Force) You mean it shot out of its butt?

THOMAS: Well, not just a butt. The cloaca is kind of a one-stop shop that frogs and other animals use for pooping, peeing, laying eggs.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As Thomas Fingerling) Ooh, now, that sounds like a handy little multitool. Where can I get one?

RAZ: What?

THOMAS: Sorry, Mr. Fingerling. Cloacas are not for most mammals.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As Thomas Fingerling) Rats.

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD COOING)

THOMAS: Oh. Reggie would like everyone to know that he has a cloaca.

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD COOING)

THOMAS: In fact, all birds do.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) Sheesh (ph), Reggie. No need to brag about it.

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD COOING)

RAZ: Ahem. Excuse me. Can we get back to the study, please? Mindy, you were saying that after the beetle worked its way through the frog’s digestive tract, it shot out of the same hole that the frog uses to defecate?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As Grandma G-Force) What’d he say?

RAZ: Well, defecate is a more polite way of saying, um, poop.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As Thomas Fingerling) Wow.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) Oh, no, Guy. Not you, too.

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD COOING)

RAZ: Ugh.

THOMAS: Yeah. What goes in must come out. And when you’re this particular beetle, you’re using the back door. And that is not even the most amazing part.

RAZ: It’s not?

THOMAS: Nope. What Dr. Sugiura discovered was truly bonker-balls. When the frog pooped out the beetle…

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As Grandma G-Force) Yes?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As Thomas Fingerling) Yes?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) Yes?

RAZ: Yes?

THOMAS: …The beetle was still alive.

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD COOING)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As Grandma G-Force) What?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As Thomas Fingerling) What?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) What?

(CROSSTALK)

RAZ: Shh.

THOMAS: Ahem. That’s right. The frog eats the beetle. The beetle emerges from the frog’s behind in a pile of poop and survives, like that death-defying journey never even happened.

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD COOING)

RAZ: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on a second. That’s impossible. I mean, first of all, how would a beetle survive being chewed up by a frog?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As Thomas Fingerling) Yeah.

THOMAS: Oh, well, that’s easy. See – these pond frogs don’t have teeth. So they just have to gobble and swallow their prey whole.

RAZ: OK. OK, well, how could the beetle possibly survive the frog’s corrosive stomach acids?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As Thomas Fingerling) Yeah.

RAZ: I mean, the whole purpose of these digestive juices is to tear apart and break down anything that the frog eats.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As Thomas Fingerling) Yeah. What about that?

THOMAS: Well, Dr. Sugiura had the same question. And he thinks that the exoskeleton or protective outer shell of the beetle is probably strong enough to withstand being digested by a frog. But he’ll need to do more research before he can say for sure.

RAZ: OK. But how was it able to breathe that whole time it was swimming through the frog’s digestive tubes?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As Thomas Fingerling) Ah, yeah.

RAZ: I mean, I know it’s a water beetle, but still.

THOMAS: Well, Dr. Sugiura suspects that since this aquatic beetle can trap air under its wing cases to breathe underwater, well, it could probably do the same to breathe inside of a frog.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As Thomas Fingerling) Well, that checks out. No further questions, your honor.

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD COOING)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As Grandma G-Force) Now, get to the part where the bug starts knocking on the back door, if you know what I mean.

THOMAS: Oh, yeah. So once the beetle reaches the end of the, you know, tunnel, it’s got to find a way back out. But the problem is there’s an obstacle in its way, and that obstacle is a little ring of muscle holding that cloaca hole closed, sort of like a drawstring on a bag synching it shut.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As Thomas Fingerling) Or like the drawstring on my hoodie. There, now I’m cool.

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD COOING)

RAZ: So wait a minute, Mindy – are you saying that the beetle has to get that muscle to loosen up before it can escape from the frog’s behind?

THOMAS: You know it. And after some poking and prodding and maybe a little knocking…

(SOUNDBITE OF FLATULENCE)

THOMAS: …The muscle loosens, the cloaca opens and out pops the beetle in a flood of fresh frog poop.

(SOUNDBITE OF FLATULENCE)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As Grandma G-Force) Eww.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As Thomas Fingerling) Ugh.

RAZ: Ugh.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) Oh, that’s nasty.

RAZ: And what about the beetle? What happens after it’s pooped out alive?

THOMAS: Well, from what Dr. Sugiura could tell, the beetle just goes on to live like it never even happened. It pulls itself out of the poop and goes back to swimming around and living its little beetle life.

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD COOING)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) Mindy.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As Thomas Fingerling) Come on, lady. I just washed my mind’s eye.

THOMAS: Anything for science.

RAZ: So, Mindy, are we sure that this wasn’t just a one-time thing? I mean, scientists have to conduct their experiments more than once to make sure that their findings are consistent.

THOMAS: Oh, yeah. After this, Dr. Sugiura went on to conduct this experiment five more times, including some different beetle species and different insect-eating frogs.

RAZ: And what did he find?

THOMAS: Well, he found that over 90% – or most of the time – the Regimbartia beetle made it out alive and went on to live happily ever after. But the other beetles weren’t so lucky.

RAZ: So besides the protective exoskeleton or shell on the Regimbartia beetle, were there any other clues to how it was able to survive?

THOMAS: Oh, yeah. And those clues lie in the legs.

RAZ: The legs?

THOMAS: Yep. When the Regimbartia beetle had full use of its legs, it managed to pop out the other end between six minutes and six hours after it was followed by a frog.

RAZ: OK.

THOMAS: But when Dr. Sugiura made it difficult for the beetle to use its legs by covering them with wax, well, the digestion took days, and the beetle did not make it out alive.

(SOUNDBITE OF FROG CROAKING)

RAZ: Huh.

THOMAS: So by conducting this experiment, he was able to determine…

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) What?

RAZ: He was able to determine that the beetle was using its legs to crawl through the frog’s intestines.

THOMAS: Exact-oritos (ph). That beetle was plotting its escape route from the very beginning.

RAZ: But I guess it’s kind of hard to know for sure without seeing inside the frog’s intestines.

THOMAS: Yeah. Sometimes even scientists have to use their imaginations.

RAZ: Hey, speaking of imagination, Mindy – do you mind if I lead us all through a little mindful, guided meditation?

THOMAS: Oh, yeah, sure. But do you think you’re going to be able to corral everyone else?

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD COOING)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As Grandma G-Force) …You get pooped out by a frog, Fingerling.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As Thomas Fingerling) No, you get pooped out by a frog.

(CROSSTALK)

RAZ: Just breathe in.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As Grandma G-Force) No, you get pooped out by a frog.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As Thomas Fingerling) La-la-la, I’m not listening. I can’t heart you.

RAZ: And breathe out – ahh.

(CROSSTALK)

RAZ: And let your breath drown out the noise.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) Actually, you know what? I think I need another depresso.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As Grandma G-Force) No, you get pooped out by a frog.

 

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “THE GOLDEN AGE (WOW IN THE WORLD PODCAST THEME SONG)”)

THE POP UPS: (Singing) Wow in the world.

(SOUNDBITE OF DIALING PHONE)

THOMAS: Hi. Thanks for calling WOW IN THE WORLD. After the beep, get ready to record.

(SOUNDBITE OF BEEP)

MILES: Hi, Mindy and Guy Raz. My name is Miles (ph) from Raleigh, N.C. My wow in the world is that if you could fold a piece of paper in half 42 times, its thickness would reach the moon. Bye, Mindy and Guy Raz. I love your show.

(SOUNDBITE OF BEEP)

AYAND: Hi. My name is Ayand (ph). I live in Westfield, N.J. My wow is – did you know bamboos (ph) are made of water? Bye.

(SOUNDBITE OF BEEP)

CORA: Hi. My name’s Cora (ph). I live in Parkville, Md. My wow in the world is that doctors use snake venom for medicine. Bye. And also say hi to Reggie for me.

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD COOING)

GWENNIE: Hi. My name is Gwennie (ph). And I live in Austin, Texas. And did you know that the Statue of Liberty is actually copper because after – and after it was up there for a long time, it turned green. Say hi to Reggie…

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD COOING)

GWENNIE: …Grandma G-Force.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As Grandma G-Force) Boo-yeah (ph).

(SOUNDBITE OF BEEP)

ZELDA: Hi, Mindy and Guy Raz. It’s Zelda (ph) from Brooklyn, N.Y. And my wow in the world is that cold water is heavier than warm water. Love your podcast. Oh, and don’t forget to say hi to Grandma G-Force, Thomas Fingerling, Dennis and Reggie for me.

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD COOING)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) Hi.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As Thomas Fingerling) What?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As Grandma G-Force) Oh.

ZELDA: Bye.

(SOUNDBITE OF BEEP)

TIERNAN: Hi, Mindy and Guy Raz. My name is Tiernan (ph). My wow in the world is that chocolate actually grows on trees. It isn’t just made in a factory. The bean that it comes from is called a cacao bean. And the little beans inside of it help make it. Love your show. Bye.

(SOUNDBITE OF BEEP)

KIERAN: Hi, Mindy and Guy Raz. My name is Kieran (ph). And I live in Dublin, Calif. My wow in the world is that elephants make their own sunscreen. First, they suck dirt with their trunk and then spray it all over their bodies so they don’t get burned. Then they wash it off in the water.

(SOUNDBITE OF BEEP)

NICHOLAS: Hi, Mindy and Guy Raz. My name is Nicholas (ph). And I live in Port St. Lucie, Fla. My wow in the world is that when you rub your feet on a carpet or welcome mat, you build up static electricity. Say hi to Reggie and Dennis.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) Hi there.

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD COOING)

NICHOLAS: Bye.

(SOUNDBITE OF BEEP)

XAVIER: Hi, Mindy and Guy Raz. My name is Xavier (ph). And I live in Grand Rapids, Mich. And my wow on the world is that tardigrades can survive extremely hot temperatures, freezing cold temperatures, bottom of the sea pressures and even in space. Bye, Mindy and Guy Raz. Say hi to Dennis for me…

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) Hello.

XAVIER: …The best guy in the…

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) What in the world? What happened?

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD COOING)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) You got cut off. What were you going to say? What were you going to say?

(SOUNDBITE OF BEEP)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #4: End of messages.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Dennis) Eh, nuts.