And now it's time for Who Smarted? Psssss. Hey, Smarty pants! I could use your help. Right now I'm in a fancy store called Silky Silkery looking to buy a new silk scarf for my grandma's 76th birthday. The problem is, I'm not sure what color to get. I've narrowed it down to pruny purple or ravishing red. Which one would you pick, Smarty pants? I think they both quite lovely. I don't think you could go wrong either way. Of course you'd say that Silky. It's your shop. Hmm. Which do you think would go better with meat cake? Meat cake. It's my grandmother's favorite food. She's constantly making and saying, meat cake. Oh, well in that case pruny purple. Perfect. Wrap it up. I gotta say Silky, you've got such a beautiful shop. All those lovely silk scarves and silk stockings and silk spoons? I don't suppose those are dishwasher safe. No, you want a hand wash silk. Right. Well, it sure looks like business is booming. Absolutely. The worms are working over time to keep up with the demand. Ha ha, good one Silky. Like you've got a bunch of worms in the back, sewing scarves for you. Ha ha! How would they even do that? They don't have hands. Oh no, they don't have hands. But they do have salivary glands that produce all the silk you see around you. Salivary glands? Salivary glands? As in saliva? Smarty pants is Silky saying what I think they're saying. You got it. Silky is basically worm spit. I'm sorry. I must have misheard you. For a second I thought you said that silk is basically worm spit. That's exactly what I said. Because that's what silk basically is worm spit. Anyway, here's your grandma's silk scarf. YEEH! Uh, hang on a sec. I need to wrap my head around this. Not the scarf. The crazy fact you just told me. Smarty pants. If silk is really worm spit, how does it go from something so gross to something so luxurious? And where do these silk worms live? And just how much worm spit are they? Well, spitting to make so much silk. Great questions trusty. I'll just throw a back in 15 minutes sign on the shop door and we could take a little journey to learn about all things silk. Uh, will there be lots of creepy crawly worms? Thousands. Oh boy. I guess it's time for my wormy whiff of silky science and history on... Hello smart egg. Who's smart egg? Who smart is a new? Isn't me? Is it science? Or history? Listen up. Everyone! We've got smart egg. Lots of fun on who smart egg. Uh, where are we silky? Why we're in China. The stock room in the back of my silk shop is actually a portal. Surprise! Anyway, the reason we're here is because China has been the hub of the world silk production for a very long time. Hey smarty pants, how long would you say China has been producing silk? Is it a, 600 years? B, 1000 years. Or C, 5000 years. If you guessed 5000 years, you're right. Wow, that's a long time silky. It sure is, but Cereculture, which is the fancy way of saying silk farming, has indeed been happening here for just over 5000 years. Silk farming, you say? So I take at the animal being farmed in this case is the silkworm. Yes! And no. We call them silkworms, but strictly speaking, they are not worms. Smarty pants, can you guess what they are? Are they A, moths? B, butterflies? Or C, the larvae of moths? The answer is C, they're the larvae of moths. Silk moths? This just gets crazier and crazier. I know. The domestic silk moth is called the bombix mory. And when these moths lay their eggs, a larva is produced, which is basically like a little catapilla. This little catapilla is what we call the silkworm. And they are responsible for making all of the world's natural silk. Wow. I see. So if the bombix mory is the domestic silk moth, does that mean there's also a wild silk moth? Wow, great deduction trusty, and you're right. There is a wild silk moth called bombix mandarinna. However, the bombix mandarinna is not as good as producing silk as the bombix mory. I see. And why is that? Well, the domestic silk moth has been selectively bred by humans for thousands of years. As a result, they are very good at producing silk. However, these domestic silk moths can't fly, which means, without the aid of humans, they would likely not survive. Gotcha. Wow. Who knew? But wait, I get that domestic silk moths were specially bred by humans to produce silk. But how does that work exactly? I don't know about you, smarty pants, but I'm picturing a gigantic room filled with thousands of little creepy crawlies spinning out strands of silk. I know it sounds crazy, but you're not wrong. Wow. Are you saying what I pictured is real? I'm saying why just picture it when you can see it right this way. Ta-da! Oh boy. I can't look. Come on, trusty. Open your eyes. Here we go. Oh, this isn't nearly as gross as I thought it would be. I don't see piles and piles of silkworms. I mostly see piles and piles of leaves. That's right. Now, look closely. Wow. The silkworms are eating all the leaves. They sure are. This is a very important step. The larvae need to eat and grow before they can produce silk, and they're very picky eaters. Hmm. Sure, false, smarty pants. The silkworm eats only one type of leaf. The answer is true. The domestic silkworm only eats mulberry leaves, and they eat a lot. After the silkworm larvae hatch from their eggs, they eat mulberry leaves and don't stop pretty much for an entire month, sometimes longer. Sounds like me with pizza. Except I've done that for years. As you're saying, after they've eaten a month's worth of mulberry leaves and fatten themselves up, they begin to molt. Hey, smarty pants. Do you know what molting means? Is it A, a form of melting? B, when an animal or insect sheds the outer part of its body, or C, when a larva starts to grow wings. If you said B, you're correct. Yep. Multting is shedding, and after the larvae have morted four times, their salivary glands kick into high gear, and they start producing strands of silk for two to three days straight. So in other words, they eat nonstop, and then spit nonstop. Yep. Their saliva is initially liquid, but as soon as it comes into contact with the air, it turns to a silk fiber. That's really gross. But also super cool. The coolest. Using this silk, they spin a cocoon around themselves until they're totally enveloped in a ball of silk fibers. Wow. Smarty pants. True or false? Silkworms always spin their silk in a figure eight formation. The answer is... True. These little guys are meticulous. Step over here, trusty. Take a look at this. Huh. It looks like a pile of tiny soft silky fur balls. Those are the silk cocoons that are eventually threaded onto spools and sold to make silk fabric. Oh, like my scarf for grandma meat cake. Who wants meat cake? But wait, what about the silkworm? Is it still inside there? It is for now, but sadly, this is the end of the road for most of the silkworms. If they were left alone in there, the silkworms would eventually dig their way out and grow wings, completing their life cycle as moths. But? But when they dig their way out, they ruin the delicate silk fibers they've created. So the next part of the silk manufacturing process is to dunk all these cocoons into boiling water. To soften the silk and remove the silkworm while keeping the silk fibers intact. That doesn't sound good for the silkworm. It's not. But the silkworms aren't usually thrown away. In some parts of Asia, they're considered a delicacy. So once they're removed from the cocoon, they're boiled again and used in different kinds of dishes. Hungry, trusty? Uh, not right now. Maybe later? Terrific. I know a place nearby that makes a mean silkworm casserole. Wow, let me abruptly change the subject. What are these big cool looking vats over here? Those are filled with colorful dyes, and that's the next step in the silk manufacturing process. After the silk cocoons are softened in the boiling water, each one is carefully unrolled into one very long thread that spun onto a real impreparation to be dyed. Wow, those threads are really, really long. Smarney pants, how many feet of silk thread do you think come from one cocoon? Is it a 200 to 300 feet or 60 to 90 meters? B, 500 to 800 feet or 150 to 240 meters? Or C, 1000 to 3000 feet or 300 to 900 meters? Believe it or not, it's 1000 to 3000 feet or 300 to 900 meters. That's as tall as some skyscrapers. I told you these silkworms work hard. After the threads are dyed, the individual threads are woven together to make the silk stronger, firmer and uniform. Then these bigger silk strands are coiled up into roundish bundles called skeins, and sold to manufacturers that make clothing, bedding, and other silk items. And that's pretty much how silk is made from start to finish trusty. But wait, I have another question. I've heard of this thing called the silk road that was a road going all the way from Asia to Europe. Is that true? And what's it got to do with silk? A lot actually. Great. We'll find out all about the silk road after this quick break and a word from our sponsors. Spring is here, and if you're a homeschool family trying to finish the year strong, I want to tell you about IXL. It's the award-winning online learning platform that fits seamlessly into your homeschool routine, covering math, language arts, science, and social studies from pre-K through 12th grade. What I love most about IXL is how it adapts to each child's pace. Whether your kid needs to reinforce foundational skills before an assessment or push ahead into new material. IXL meets them exactly where they are, with no pressure and real encouragement built right in. Kids earn rewards, see their own progress, and actually feel good about learning. And for parents, the real-time progress tracking is a game-changer. You always know exactly where your child stands. Plus, it makes learning fun, and you know I love that. Over 15 million students use IXL, and it's proven to improve achievement in all 50 states. So make an impact on your child's learning. Who smarted listeners get an exclusive 20% off at IXL.com slash smarted? That's IXL.com slash smarted for your 20% off. Now back to who smarted? You sure you don't want to try any of this sort-aid silkworm street snack? Yeah, I'm good, thanks. Changing the subject without a segue. What is the deal with the silk road? Was that a real thing or just a name they gave something? Um, both. You see, the silk road is a real thing. It was a trade route used for silk in other goods, but it wasn't just one road. There were actually three main routes across land, and one maritime route that crossed the Indian Ocean. Gotcha. And how long were these silk routes? And how did the whole thing work? Well, the route was active from the second century right up to the 15th century. That's a long time. It was a long time, and it was a long route. It stretched over 4,000 miles, or 6400 kilometers, and went all the way from China to Rome, Greece, Turkey and Egypt. You see, at the time silk wasn't available in Europe, so it had to travel from China to Europe, where the royalty and novelty went crazy for it. As a result, the silk trade became very profitable. Too bad the worms never got a cut of the profits. I'm just saying. Yes, but thanks to those silkworms, not only did the Asians receive a lot of money, the silk trade also brought back lots of things they didn't have easy access to, stuff like horses and camels and glassware. I see. And how long would it take someone to go from one end of the silk road to the other? Well, very few people made the entire trip. Instead, there were lots of stops along the way, where merchants engaged in something called a relay trade. It's where goods change hands a few times before making it to their final destination. Oh, kind of like passing a baton in a relay race. Exactly. The other cool thing about the silk road is that because the route was so long and crossed so many different countries, ends were set up where people met and exchanged ideas and philosophies and brought new religions to other places. Not to mention, tea, spices and gunpowder. You could say the silk road helped shape the history of the world. Wow. And to think it all started from a road made for trading silk. Yep, silk is pretty remarkable. Anyway, let's head back to the store so you can get your scarf for your grandma. Trusty? Trusty? Where did you go? Sorry, I found a guy who makes a silkworm pizza. I couldn't resist. A big shout out to Asli in Tech Gear Doug Turkey, who says she loves the smartiness. Oh, thanks for smarty with us, Asli. And we also want to give a big shout out to Mrs. Holden's class in Calispell, Montana, where they love who smarted. Because it's cool, hilarious, and gives them interesting facts. Not to mention, they just love dancing to the theme song every day. Well, that's just music to our ears. Dancing pants? I mean, smarty pants? This episode, Silkworms, was written by Phil, Silk pajamas Jeremy, and voiced by Silky Mike Providdi and Jerry Colbert. Technical direction and sound design by Josh Hahn. Our associate producer is Max Shafan Kamaski. The theme song is by Brian, Silkworm Suarez, with lyrics written and performed by Adam Spitz Davis. Who smarted was created and produced by Adam Textaivis and Jerry Colbert. This has been an atomic entertainment production.
