Hello, wowsers! It's me, Dennis! And before we start the show, did you hear about March Gladness? Reggie, no! Not basketball tournament stuff! March Gladness tournament stuff! Yeah, exactly! March Gladness is where I think of all the things that made me the Gladness this month, and then I put them head to head in a tournament-style bracket. Oh, so you do know what I'm talking about? Well, then as you know, the winner of my March Gladness tournament was my new haircut! Do you love it? What do you mean? Don't worry, it'll grow back! Whatever! Wowser fams, you too can fill out your very own March Gladness bracket by going to tickercast.com slash march. There, you can print your very own free March Gladness bracket, then fill it out to see what made you the Gladness this month. Put your favorite things head to head in a tournament of Gladness. One more time, that's tickercast.com slash march. Now, let's get on with the show! For everyone's second favorite game show after leaving the store with everything but the one item you actually need, it's Two What's at the Wow! With your hosts, Mindy and Guy, Wow! Two What's, Two What's, Two What's, Two What's, Two What's, Two What's, Two What's, Two What's, Hello and welcome back to Two What's in a Wow! The scientific game show that separates the wows from the what's, and the category for today is light! Mindy, why don't you refresh our contestants on how the game works? You know it, wowsers, in each of our three rounds today, Guy, Roz and I will present you with three scientific statements about light. But, and this is a big but. Only one of those statements will be a true wow. The other two, just a couple of made up, what? In each round, if you guess correctly, well congratulations, you win a point. But if you guess incorrectly, you must stop, drop and do a ridiculous physical challenge. Alright, everyone ready to start the game? Great, then let's do it. Here goes round one. Which of the following statements is a true scientific wow? Is it A, the speed of violet light travels faster than any other color? Or is it B, some squirrels glow pink under UV lights? Or is it C, Dennis has a permanent light bulb floating above his head because B always has good ideas. When you think you have the correct answer, flap your invisible wings. Hey Reggie, cue the thinking music. And time is up. Let's now reveal the winning wow. And do just that, joining us by phone, it's Maddie from North Carolina. Maddie, tell us what's the winning wow. Hi, my name is Maddie and I, what I want in the world is that flying squirrels can glow pink under UV light. Winner, winner, pink for dinner! Thank you, Maddie. Contestants, if you guess the answer, B, that some squirrels glow pink under UV lights? Well, congratulations, you found the winning wow. Flying squirrels are one of the only mammals known to fluoresce, which is the ability to absorb light in one color and radiate it in another. Fascinating. And that's not all. One of the other mammals happens to be Guy Raz, who once ate too many microcarats and had an orange glow for about a week. Bim-Bee! Now, if you did not get that answer correct, you must stop, drop and pretend like you are riding a bicycle upside down. Alright, time for round two. Which of the following statements is a true scientific wow? Is it A, the distance light travels in a year is 5.88 trillion miles? Or is it B, you would need the energy of approximately 1 billion hamsters to light a house for two hours? Or is it C, the brightest city in the world is New York City? When you think you have the correct answer, sing your lowest note. Odd thinking music, please. And time is up. To reveal the winning answer, it's Ahad. Ahad, tell us, what's the winning wow? Hi, Mini and Guy Raz, my world is in light here, it's 5.88 trillion miles long. Isn't that bonkers? Winner, winner, light years for dinner! Thank you, Ahad. Contestants, if you guessed the answer A, that the distance light travels in a year is 5.88 trillion miles? Well, congratulations, you found the winning wow. Yep, you heard that number right, light travels almost 6 trillion miles in a year. So when scientists say that the closest galaxy to our Milky Way galaxy is about 25,000 light years away, imagine how far that distance is. It's astronomical, literally. Now, if you did not get that answer correct, you must stop, drop and do your best impersonation of a whoopee cushion. And now for the final round, round 3. Which of the following statements is a true scientific wow? Is it A, the sunlight you see in your window was actually the sun from 8 minutes ago? Or is it B, Gairaz's reading light is so bright that it once caught his encyclopedia on fire? Or is it C, sunlight isn't just food for plants, sunlight also helps directly feed a type of bear called a sun bear? When you think you have the correct answer, give yourself a pat on the elbow. Uh, thinking music, please. Music Time is up and now to reveal that winning wow, please welcome by phone Theo from North Carolina. Hey Theo, tell us what's the winning wow? Hi, I'm Menti and Gairaz. Did you know that the sun that you see at the window was out the sun 8 minutes ago? Winner, winner, sunlight for dinner! Thank you Theo, contestants, if you guess the answer A, that the sunlight you see in your window was actually the sun from 8 minutes ago? Well congratulations, you found the winning wow. The light from the sun has to travel about 93 million miles to get to Earth. Talk about a commute. Right, and because of this distance, it takes sunlight about 8 minutes to get to Earth, meaning that the sunlight we see on Earth is from the sun about 8 minutes ago. So even the sun is fashionably late. Wow, stars really are just like us. So Gairaz, your encyclopedia book did not catch on fire from your reading light? Well, it didn't catch fire, but it did smolder a bit. Now, if you did not get that answer correct, you must stop, drop and yodel your grown-ups' grocery list. And now, it's time to thank our sponsors. Today's show is brought to you by Crater Joe's, the moon's first grocery store. From moon cheese to Mars bars, Crater Joe's is your one stop shop for all you'll need in space. Alright, let's take a quick break and hear some other important messages for grown-ups. To What's in a Wow, we'll be right back. Grown-ups, this message is for you. That's it! Now back to the show! Welcome back to To What's in a Wow! The scientific game show that separates the wows from the wows! Oh, Gairaz, that sound can mean only one thing. It's time for today's Bunker Balls Bonus Round. And the question for this round is... In our Wow in the World episode titled Shark Tale, scientists discovered that the Thresher Shark's tail has the super power to what? Is it A, tie up in knots? Or is it B, poke its own eyes out? Or is it C, whip its tail over its head? And the answer is... C! The Thresher Shark has the unique ability to whip its super flexible tail over its head, stunning entire schools of fish, and then gobbling them up in a single goal. Congratulations to all of our winning wowsers on today's show. Mindy, what's today's prize? Gairaz, today's winning wowsers will all receive their very own smile polish. What? Today, I'm giving everyone in the audience a free sample of my new line of toothpaste. You know, smile polish. Uh, huh. Hey, Reg, here's a prize cannon. Wait! Open wide, wowsers! Here, taste it, Gairaz, I'll squirt it onto your teeth. What? I'm just gonna... Oh, pp, pp, pp, pp. Huh. Well, actually, this tastes pretty good. Is that a hint of bubble gum? You know it. This flavor is called bubble gum that I found on the street. Well, that's about all the time we have for today, but if you want to keep the fun going, then become a member of the World Organization of Wowsers and unlock hundreds of activities. And for any teachers in our listening audience, consider joining Tinker Class, our free, brand new learning platform that helps get kids wild about science. Just visit tinkercast.com slash membership. That's tinkercast.com slash membership. And be sure to come back on Monday for a brand new episode of Wow in the World this weekend for some wee wow in the weekend with Dennis. And again on Friday for a new episode of Two What's in a Wow. Until then, keep on wailing. Two What's, Two What's, Two What's, Two What's, Two What's, Two What's, Two What's, Two What's, and a Wow. Two What's in a Wow is executive produced by Meredith Halpern-Ranzer, Mindy Thomas, and me, Guy Razz. Our writers are Ruth Morrison and Anna Zagorski with collaboration from our head writer, Kenny Curtis. Sound production and design is by Marion Lazana with help from Jed Anderson and Tyler Thole. Special thanks to Rebecca Caban, Dr. Natasha Crandall, Lizzie Freilich, Kristen Yang, Tweemac, Erica Medina, Henry Moskel, Jody Nussbaum, Ali Paxima, Linda Rothenberg, Steph Sosa, Joanna Weber, Anna Zagorski, and all of the other Tinkerers at TinkerCast HQ. Our theme song was written and composed by the pop-ups. For more on their three-time Grammy-nominated All Ages music, find them at thepopups.com. And to keep the Wow rolling after you finish this episode, you can visit us at tinkercast.com. There you can become a member of the World Organization of Wowzers to get year-round mailings and weekly activities. Shop our Wow Shop, get tickets for upcoming events, find our best-selling books, and learn all about the other amazing podcasts from TinkerCast. Grownups, you can follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at Wow in the World, and our email address is hello at tinkercast.com. Finally, if you're a kid with a big Wow to share, it could be used on an upcoming episode of Two What's in a Wow. Call us at 1-888-7-WOW-WOW. Thanks again for listening and playing along. Meet us back here next Friday or every Monday for Wow in the World. Wow in the World Wow in the World was made by TinkerCast and set to you by Wunderry.
