WeWow on the Weekend

Hey, Bowser fams! Mindy year! And before we start the show! Oh! Hey, Reg! What's that? A new pigeon dropping? Isn't that the postcard you send out to members of the world organization of Wowsers every quarter? Can I see it? What? You need to see if I'm a member of the WOW first? But Reg, come on! It's me, Mindy! Huh? You're not seeing a Mindy on the list? Okay, uh, try a Mandy. I think Thomas Finkirling signed me up. Yes! Can I get my pigeon dropping now? What? I gotta wait for it in the mail? But it's right there! Okay, fine. Guess I'll go wait out by the mailbox. In the meantime, to get the next quarterly mailing from Reggie, runups, you can sign your Wowser up to be a member of the World Organization of Wowsers by Monday March 16th. It's so top secret I haven't even seen it yet. Now, where'd I put my mailbox? Runups, when you sign your Wowser up to be a member of the World Organization of Wowsers, you also get birthday cards in the mail from me and Guy Ross, access to over a thousand online activities inspired by our podcast, and a welcome kit from me and Guy Ross, including our autographs and a special t-shirt. Plus, you get to help support all the work that goes into powering the WOW at TinkerCast. Runups, visit TinkerCast.com, slash membership to sign up today. That's TinkerCast.com slash membership. That's it! And now, let's get back to the show. Thanks. Thanks. It's really, really big. Full of planets and stars and asteroids and stuff like that. Where some people, but not that many, have boldly gone before. This is... We're out of the week! It's nice! We're out of space weekend. We're out of space weekend. We're out of space weekend. Cause we're out of space for the Earth. We're out of space weekend. Cause we're out of space for the Earth. We're out of space for the Earth. We'll be in space. Hello and welcome to WOW on the weekend in space! I'm Astrodennis and this is my co-host, Ruggie the Giant Space Pigeon. This is the show where we hang out in the space meant and talk about whatever we want. And today, I want to talk about how they don't actually sell space suits at the mall. I know! Okay, for those of you who missed the Astrodennis episode, we played WOW in the world spaced out Penpal Part 1, in which GuyRaz and Mindy go to the mall and buy space suits. And I don't know what mall they went to, but the one near me didn't have oxygen tanks or jump suits or helmets that look like gum bomb machines. And now my first segment is Rowan. Rowan! Well the first segment was going to be me showing off my new space suit. And now what am I going to do? Ruggie, you're right! We could make our own space suits! You're a genius! Oh, how hard could it be? What we have to do is make a highly engineered multi-million dollar suit that can withstand the cold unrelenting void of space. It's easy! Plus, you know what this means! That's right, Ruggie! It's a crafter know! Pancakes are for eating and rivers are for rafting And Broadway is for my one-man show, but afternoons are for crafting! Okay, today's crafternoon is making our own space suits. First, we need the suit part of the space suit. Let's see, what can we use that would be totally impenetrable by freezing cold temperatures and flying space debris? Oh, how about my onesie pajammy jams with the feedies? Yeah, they're just in the dryer. Let me grab them. Found them! Okay, Reggie, do you want race cars or lightning bolts? What? No! That's the one I wanted! Okay, fine, you have this one. And I'll take this one. Just slip it on here. Yes, Reggie, I'm putting it on over my clothes. Space is chilly! I need layers! There! Okay, now we need oxygen. Uh, oxygen, oxygen. That's a good point. There's a lot of oxygen down here in the space, but what are we going to put it in so we can take it out or space? Um, oh, how about a cardboard box? We have lots of those. We can just stuff them full of oxygen and bring them to space. Okay, here's the box right here. There we go. Let's see what's in it. Hi, Dennis! Oh, baby Dennis, you scared me! Oh, hey, are you wearing a space suit? Yeah, baby Dennis is ready for blast off. What? Where'd you get that? At the mall? What mall? Baby Dennis will never tell! Oh, whatever. We're making our own spacesuits now, baby Dennis. And I need this box. I'm just going to unceremoniously dump you on the floor here. Go! Teehee! Okay, now we just got to fill this box with oxygen. I don't know, Reggie, just grab oxygen and stuff it in there. Eee! Okay, I think it's full. Quick, tape up the box. A box of oxygen. What's the gen? Um, baby Dennis doesn't think that will work, baby Dennis. Well, find that Mr. Smarty dummy. Tell me where the secret space mall is. No, yes! The mall is inside big Dennis all along. Okay, you're no help. Teehee! Reggie, how are we doing? What's next for our space suit? Broom! Broom! All right, how do we get the oxygen out of the box and into our lungs? Broom! Okay, I got it. We use... We use silly straws. Yeah, we just poke the straws in like a juice box and sip the oxygen through the straws. Broom! Like this. Broom! Broom! Broom! That's good oxygen. Broom! Okay, last thing. Helmets. I think bike helmets will do, don't you? Here, here's one for you. And I'll put this one on. There we go. Broom! Ta-da! Perfect space suits. Broom! Baby Dennis does not take those w- Ah, I said. Perfect space suits. Ah! Okay. Oh, boy. Now that me and Reggie are all suited up, let's move on to a little segment I like to call. Inside, think of Castudios. In space. Broom! Inside, think of Castudios. In space. This is the part where we revisit an episode of one of my favorite. Tinker cast shows. And today, we're listening to season two, episode 13 called Spaced Out Penpal Part 2. A ride for space! Now we'll finally find out how Mindy and Guy Ross get to space. And me and Guy Rossy's penpal? Exactly. Everyone ready? Baby Dennis is ready. Now you're not baby Dennis. You need to close your helmet. All right. Baby Dennis is ready now. Okay, here we go. And play. Wow, and the world will be right back. Grown-ups, this message is for you. Hey, grown-ups. Spring is right around the corner. And as schedules fill up with activities and travel, let IXL help you stay on top of your child's learning. IXL is an award-winning, online learning platform that fits seamlessly into homeschooling. It offers interactive practice in math, language arts, science, and social studies for grades pre-K through 12th. IXL offers personalized learning for every child and gives parents clear insight into their progress. At Tinker Cast, making learning fun is our bread and butter. So we love that IXL has games, awards, and celebrations to keep students motivated and happy. Make an impact on your child's learning. Get IXL now. And wow, and the world listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at IXL.com slash wow. Visit IXL.com slash wow to get the most effective learning program out there at the best price. That's it. Back to you. IXL is a great job. I'm going to be a great teacher. I'm going to be a great teacher. I'm going to be a great teacher. I'm going to be a great teacher. That's it. Back to the show. Rally the world. Previously on Wow in the World. Well, I was just about to deliver this letter to my penpal. What you have other friends besides me and Reggie? This penpal happens to be on the International Space Station. Well, if you're going to deliver your snail mail to the International Space Station, GuyRos, then I'm going with you. I think you're going to need something a little more substantial to protect you from the elements. I never thought I'd say this many, but I think I might need a new suit. A space suit. A motor pickle. Okay, we good to go. Good to go. Now let's go deliver that letter to your penpal on the International Space Station. And now, this... Mindy. Yeah? It says here that there's a thrilling conclusion. Just read the cue cards, Jen. No, no, no, no, I will. I will. I will. It just seems really dramatic and I wanted to make sure we were going to deliver the thrilling conclusion at the end. Oh no, no, no, no, no, no. And now the thrilling conclusion of Wow in the World. Okay, I'll guess you'd up in our brand new space suits. Which are surprisingly comfy. I know, right? Comfy and stylish. Hey, why is everybody in this mall staring at us like we're from another planet? Hey, take a picture of the last longer. Nope, don't really take a picture. Oh, anyhow, you got that letter for your penpal, GuyRos? Check it. Okay, well then guess all we need now is a way up to the International Space Station so we can deliver this cosmic communication of yours. Well, I thought we might be able to take those jet packs that you've got. Oh, right. My jet packs. I guess I should have said something earlier. They're in the shop. What? Yeah, I'm getting these sweet flamed e-cals, airbrushed down the sides of them. They're going to look awesome, but it's going to take a little more time. Aww. Wait a minute. Yeah? I think I know someone who could help. Oh. You're the best cone, GuyRos. Okay. Hello, SpaceX? Yeah, it's me, Mindy. Yeah, no, I'm calling in my favor. Because you owe me for the thing, remember? Yeah, the rocket. You got one ready today? Great. You there soon. I scored us a sweet ride. Okay. A little company called SpaceX owes me a favor. They build rockets. That's right. Reusable rockets. So you have heard of them. I will harm SpaceX. There's a private space company that plans to send people like us into space as early as this year. You got it. But let me tell you, GuyRos, these reusable rockets SpaceX is developing are great. And no idea how expensive and wasteful space travel can be. It's really important to have space travel. And the space travel is expensive and wasteful space travel can be. It's really true. I mean, the space shuttle program had a budget of around $1.5 billion for every launch. And that was with a crew of three. So that's about $500 million per person. What? You can buy like a million $500 tacos for that much money. And the main reason why space travel is so expensive is because traditional rockets are a one-use machine. Meaning that once the rocket has launched the astronauts into space, it just falls back down to Earth and usually lands in the ocean or something and never gets used again. So it's like filling your car up with gas and then once it runs out, you just throw the whole car in the trash? Exactly. But what companies like SpaceX are trying to do is to make a rocket that can be refueled and reused many, many times. And that would make space travel much more affordable. So people like us could just go to space whenever we want? Well, I don't know about people like us, Mindy, but some scientists are saying that within 10 years, it might cost as little as $10,000 a person to travel into space. Which means that some people might be able to go. Wow. Only that's still a lot of money. True. I mean, compared to $500 million, that's like a trip on a budget airline. Wow. Space line? Well. And I bet it's a lot easier than becoming an actual astronaut. That's true. Speaking of real astronauts, Mindy, we should really get going. My pen pal is gonna get really angsty if we don't get there soon. Oh, right. Come on, let's kick it. So where exactly is the SpaceX launch pad anyway, Mindy? Oh, it's in Cape Canaveral. Cape Canaveral in Florida? We're never gonna make it there on time. Don't you worry, you little head about a guy-Ros. Regil take us. Regil! Oh, he's over there. He's all the way down on the food court standing in line at the sea-check. Regil! Mindy, Mindy, Mindy, don't scream. You'll draw attention to us. Let's just walk down and get him like normal people. Oh, yeah. Like normal people. Normal people wearing space suits at the mall. Yeah. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. You can't just fly away from us like that, Red. You gotta tell us where you're going. Ugh. Ugh. Oh, what, this whole thing? Oh, well, it's just an extra vehicular mobility suit. Ugh. Well, that's very flattering, Regil. I have to say, you don't look so bad yourself. Hmm. Did you get a feather cut? Or, yes. Mindy. Oh, right. Sorry. So, Redgie, we need a quick trip to Florida. You think he could fly us there? Mm-hmm. But we're inside the mall. I mean, how is Redgie gonna fly us out of here? Look, there's a set of automatic doors right over there by the cinnamon. Oh, okay. I hope you know what you're doing. Of course I don't know what I'm doing, Gairaz. What? Hop on the Redgie here. Hold on tight. Okay. Because here, we... Yeah! Woohoo! Oh, yeah! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Look, Mindy. There it is. Cape Canaveral. Let's live right there, right there, Redgie. Hey, thanks for the ride, Redgie. Ladies and gentlemen, one minute to launch. One minute to launch. Come on! We gotta run! Run! Run! Run! I need quickly, Mindy. Quick, quick. We don't want to miss the takeoff. Man, this is just making it hard to run. Okay, Gairaz. Up the stairs as fast as we can. We can board the rocket at the top. Wait, look, Mindy, an elevator hurry. Good call, Gairaz. Okay, pressing the up button a million times, even though you already just did. Mindy! Oh, quick. 30 seconds too long. We're gonna miss it. Excuse me. Sorry, pardon me. Excuse me. Excuse me. Sorry, excuse me. Sorry, ma'am. This is a restricted area. Oh, it's okay. SpaceX said we could hitch a ride. Move along. Wow, that worked. Come on, Gairaz. Let's drive in. I hope this doesn't get us into trouble. What have any of my ideas ever gotten us into trouble? Well, for one, there was at one time when you got us into trouble by... Not to change the subject, but why is this rocket capsule filled with food and medicine? Well, that's what these reusable rockets are being used for at the moment, Mindy. What? Re-supply missions. They're gonna bring new supplies to the astronauts that are on board the International Space Station. Outside, it must be like 6,400 pounds of this stuff from here. Mindy, we want some of this behind right at Bay's jerky. Mindy, this food is for the astronauts. Oops. By the way, you mentioned there are 6,400 pounds of stuff in here. That's a pretty specific guess. Hmm, yeah, it's a weird talent I have. Shoot, I was once the three-time reigning champ of the Nebraska State Fair's Guests, the Jelly Beans, and the Jock competition. Ah, well, you happen to be exactly right, Mindy. There's about 6,400 pounds or 2,900 kilograms worth of supplies in here. 6,400 pounds. That's like, that's like, heavy as seven grand pianos. Right, and this rocket will supply the station with all kinds of things like, let's see, what have we got here? We're finding it. We have some medicine. There's some stuff for all the experiments they're doing up there on the space station. There's lots of food, including ice cream. Come to Mama. Easy, easy, easy, Mindy. Ah, vanilla? Nobody wants vanilla? Well, what were you expecting? I don't know. Something exciting, like cosmic cranberry or something. Launch intense. Nine, eight. Ignition sequence start to turn five. Oh, boy. Oh, here we go, Guy Ross. Two, one. One. Oh, Guy Ross, check it out. All of the food is floating around the cabin. Whoa. Does this mean we're in zero gravity right now? Well, I mean, I would think we were still close enough to the Earth to feel its gravitational pull. But, you know, Mindy, I think we might be experiencing microgravity, which is actually what the astronauts onboard the International Space Station experience as well. Oh, yeah. Astronauts are doing experiments in microgravity all the time. So that must be what some of this stuff is for, right? Oh, I thought there was a beaker floating past your head. Oh, quick, get in my armpit for cover. How is the close one? Yeah, well, imagine what it would be like if it was a thorny rose flying at you. A rose? Yep. So one of the coolest experiments I've ever heard conducted was when these astronauts tried growing a rose in microgravity. Why would they do that? Well, they wanted to see how it would react and even how it would smell. Smell? Uh-huh. So it turns out a plant smell is already affected by things like temperature and humidity and even what time of day they pollinate. So these astronaut scientists wanted to find out how gravity might affect the way a plant smells. So did they have an expert sniffer onboard? What? No, they couldn't get the funding, but they did have something else. So when you smell a rose? Yeah. What you're actually smelling are the oils in the rose and the rose makes those oils to attract insects to it like a secret-learing potion. Of course, so that the insects move from rose to rose and spread the pollen. Exactly. So scientists were able to see how these oils changed in microgravity? Yeah. So using a tiny measuring device, smaller than a pinhead, scientists were able to collect microscopic drops of oil off the flowers petals and then when they got back down to earth, they carefully studied how they changed. So what did they find? So they found that these flowers actually make less oil in microgravity than they do back down on earth. Interesting. But, and this is a big but. What? The oils that the flower created in microgravity smelled way stronger than any they've ever created on earth. That's incredible. Yeah, and the best part is that NASA was able to capture this scent and then later when the astronauts got back to earth, that scent was turned into a perfume. Wow. A scent sent from the stars. Prepare for arrival at the International Space Station, initiating docking sequence. Oh, hold on tight, GuyRaz. Okay. Lock engaged. Yes, I think that means we're good to go. We're on the International Space Station. Wow, okay, let me just undo my seat belt here. Here goes nothing. I'm flying! GuyRaz, look at me! I'm flying! I'm flying like the wind! Easy there, Mindy. Easy and technically we're actually floating. Whatever. I'm going inside the International Space Station, GuyRaz. See you there! Mindy, Mindy, be careful. Watch out for all that. Scientific equipment. Oh. Stay there, Mindy. I'm coming to give you a hand. Hmm. Snacks. I think I'm going to live, GuyRaz. I see you found the kitchen. Hello? What was that? Oh, hi, Lulu. It's me. It's Guy. I decided to take you up on your offer to visit. Hello, GuyRaz. Welcome to the International Space Station. What in the... Wow, look at that. What an amazing view you have here, Lulu. I can see the whole planet from here. Wait a minute, GuyRaz. This is your pin-pow. A robot named Lulu who lives on the International Space Station. Could it give me a heads up? That's right. Actually, my smart fridge put me in contact with her. You know, robots need friends too. Wait a minute. Lulu, you know GuyRaz's smart fridge. Affirmative. They're actually related. Huh. But Lulu here doesn't look anything like your smart fridge, GuyRaz. She looks almost... almost human. Well, that makes sense because Lulu is what's known as a humanoid robot. A humanoid robot? Yeah, a humanoid robot is a robot that's designed to have the same sort of body shape as a human. Well, I guess that would explain the arms. Actually, they're climbing manipulators. And the hands. Tendon controllers. And those suspicious-looking eyes. Wait, are those cameras? And those are its image recognition systems. Oh, well, I got on Mitleulu. You look like a one-impressive piece of tech. Continent processing? Well, you'd expect her to be Mindy because she was designed by some of the smartest minds in robotics back down on Earth. And she was designed to perform a lot of the basic tasks here on the Space Station. Or I'm guessing some of the more dangerous tasks? Exactly. And the idea being that, say, the International Space Station needed some repair work done on, like the outside, they could send Lulu out there instead of putting a human astronaut in danger. Oh, which reminds me. You know what? What? So that's actually not the only repair work that Lulu over here can do. Oh, yeah. What do you mean? So Lulu here also happens to be a qualified surgeon. A qualified surgeon? Yeah, I looked her up online while you were talking. Mindy, wait a minute, how did you get on the internet up here? Oh, Lulu gave me the Wi-Fi password. Right. Anywho, so as I was saying, Lulu over here is a surgeon, but also an expert in telemedicine. Telemedicine? What's that? Well, it's when an actual human on Earth takes remote control of a machine or a robot like Lulu on the International Space Station, and then helps it to perform certain medical tasks, like giving shots or even surgery. So kind of like when a puppeteer takes control of a puppet? Yeah, exactly like that. Only with this kind of medical, technological puppetry, you don't even have to be in the same room as your patient. You don't even have to be in the same country as your patient. You don't even have to be on the same planet as your patient. Wow, and I guess the idea is that a surgeon down on Earth could take control of Lulu up here on the Space Station. Yeah, and by using her robotic hands and cameras, both Lulu and the doctor on Earth can work together to give medical care to the astronauts aboard the Space Station. That's incredible, a robot doctor on call. It's pretty bonker balls, isn't it? Yeah. I mean, even though the astronauts that go to the Space Station know how to do some pretty basic medical tricks, it's good to know that robots like Lulu here have got their back just in case things get crazy. Yeah, sure is. Speaking of having their back, we should probably start heading back ourselves. Nice eggway, guys. What's the fastest way out of here, Lulu? Reusable rocket returning to Earth in 10. What? Nine. Uh-oh. Eight. Hurry up, Sayra! We're going to miss it! Six. By Lulu, it was lovely finally meeting you! Three. Get in the rocket! Get a strap in! Quick! Got it! One. Here? We! Goodbye. Ah! Ah! I hope we don't burn up when we re-enter the atmosphere, Mindy! Well, technically, Gairos, this is the Gairos sphere! Oh! Really? Now is the time you have to correct me! Oh! Okay, now, Gairos, get ready for the reusable rocket boosters to start on. Yay! The scary part's over, you can stop screaming now. Can you believe it, Gairos? We made it! Attention, fugitives. We have you surrounded. Um, Mindy? Everything's fine. You have ten seconds to exit the rocket. Ten. Oh, no. Nine. Huh, you're getting with a countdown's wish! Six and a half. Alright, alright, I'm coming out. Oh, look at all these serious faces. It's like somebody could use a little pick me up. Hey, do you guys like ice cream? Mindy, take it easy. Ma'am, you are in serious trouble. This is no time for ice cream. Did I mention that we have 6,400 pounds of it? Oh, here's a lot of it. I know it's a lot of Dennis. Can you do it? Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay. Uh, is it vanilla? Why, yes it is. Wait, is vanilla your favorite, too? Oh, units stand down. I repeat, stand down. It's vanilla. Ah, ice cream. Is there anything you can't fix? I can't believe this still works. It's the fourth time you've got this out of a jam using ice cream. I can't believe we went through all that and forgot to give your pen-piled or letter. Uh, what? What? Oh, that is good. It's just that I know Dennis I brought a lactate. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. Yay, that was awesome. Oh, right. I can't believe Guy Ros was friends with a robot surgeon in space. What's up, big Dennis at the end? Ha, ha, ha. Yeah, I ate so many astronaut ice creams that day. Baby, Dennis won't astronaut ice cream. Okay, okay, let's wrap up the show and then go get astronaut ice cream. Yay! Thanks, tall, you listeners out there for tuning into We Wow on the Weekend. If you have a question for me, for me, call and leave me a message. At 1-888-7-Wow-Wow. That's 1-888-7-Wow-Wow. I just might answer your question on We Wow on the Weekend. Or maybe, baby, Dennis will. Uh, we'll see about that. Okay, let's go get some freeze-dried ice cream. Oh, poor. But wait, what? Freeze-dried. Baby, Dennis thought it was astronaut ice cream. Well, technically freeze-dried ice cream wasn't a popular food for the astronauts. Probably never made it to space. Oh, that is so interesting. Yeah, and I always wondered to get freeze-dried ice cream. Do they freeze it and then dry it or dry it and then freeze it? Because I think that- Thanks for joining us for this edition of We Wow on the Weekend. Our show is written by Ruth Morrison and Jed Anderson. The role of baby, Dennis, is to be a great writer. The role of baby, Dennis, is played by Jed Anderson. Oh, well, then who plays the role of big, Dennis? Ever you mind? Tee-hee. Original sound design and production is done by Henry Moskel, with contributions from Jed Anderson and Tyler Thol. Original music for We Wow is composed and performed by Tyler Thol. Special thanks to Jessica Bowdie, Rebecca Kaban, Dr. Natasha Krandel, Kenny Curtis, Lizzie Freilich, Kristen Yang, Meredith Helpen-Ranzer. Tweet Mac, Erica Medina, Henry Moskel, Jody Nussbaum, Ali Paxima, Guy Razz, Linda Rothenberg, Steph Sosa, Mindy Thomas, Joanna Weber, Anna Zagorski, and all of the other Tinkerers at TinkerCast HQ. Be sure to visit TinkerCast.com where you can become an official member of the world organization of Wozers. Learn about upcoming events. Shop our Woz shop, find our best selling books, and learn about all the other amazing podcasts from TinkerCast. Thanks again for hanging out in the basement this weekend. Be sure to check out episodes of Woz in the world every Monday. And remember, who woz? I know! Oh, baby, Dennis, we wow! Oh, right. We wow! We wow! We wow! We wow! Wow, and the world was made by TinkerCast and set to you by Wundery.