And now it's time for Who's Smarted? Psst, hey, Smarty Pants, trusty narrator here. Kind of a silly question, but how much do you like going on rides, like the ones at an amusement park or a carnival? How about riding a boogie board at a water park or in the ocean? Me too, it's so much fun! Well, what if I told you we're going on a wild ride today, but I can guarantee you've never been on before? How can I be so sure? Because today we'll be taking a trip inside a farm animal. Oh, I get it. The crickets is everyone's confused collective silence as you wonder. Did I hear trusty correctly? Oh, you definitely did. Or you may be wondering, why a farm animal? What farm animal? Trusty, how is this even possible? A narrator and an army of Smarty Pants can fit inside your standard farm animal? Well, last question first. Thanks to my shrink app and the magic of podcasting, we can easily fit tiny versions of ourselves into a farm animal. Next, which farm animal? There's so many to choose from. But the one we're choosing sounds like this. Hmm. Yep, a cow. We're going to shrink ourselves down and take a ride downtown into Cowtown. Ah, now you're asking, why? Excellent question. There's a very specific and scientific reason we're headed inside of a cow. And it has to do with something only cows and a small handful of animals have inside their bodies that all the other animals don't. Any guesses? It's something called a ruminant stomach. And if you got that right, Smarty Pants, you should probably be hosting this show and I should be in the car or my bed listening. Anyway, rather than me trying to explain what a ruminant stomach is, I asked my farmer friend, Philomena, to help us out on our journey. Howdy, trusty. I'm honored to have you and all the Smarty Pants here at my family's dairy farm today. You never did tell me exactly what you were thinking of doing though. Just that it involved a cow. Right. Well, first of all, thanks for having us. I couldn't think of a better place for us to learn the ins and outs, but mostly ins, of a cow's unique digestive system. Oh, you mean it's ruminant stomach? Exactly. And I thought it would be fun to shrink ourselves down and travel inside a cow to find out things like how many compartments does a cow's stomach have? What's the purpose of each one? What role does saliva play in a cow's digestive process? And of course, the most important question of all, how much pee, poo, and farts does a cow release in a day? Great questions. I can answer them. Oh, wait. Did you say shrink ourselves down and go inside a cow? Who's smart, Ed? Who's smarted? Who's smart? Is it you? Is it me? Is it science or history? Listen up, everyone. We've been smarting. Lots of fun. But who's smart, Ed? All right, smarty pants. Before we shrink ourselves down and go downtown into Countown, let's first plan our route through this cow's tummy. And that means knowing how many compartments a cow's stomach actually has. What do you think, smarty pants? Is it one, two, three, or four compartments? The answer is four. Fun fact. Cows and a few other mammals lack sheep, goats, and giraffes. Can't digest their food whole. They need to chew their food multiple times, which means they literally have to bring it back up again from their stomach in order to break it down further to absorb the nutrients and gain energy. I'm sorry, wait. Are you saying that cows chew food, swallow it, it goes into their stomach, and then they regurgitate it, a.k.a. throw it up, and then chew it more and swallow it again? That's what I'm saying. Gross. Gross. But fascinating. But gross. Wait, is that what's going to happen to us? Yep. Gross. But fascinating. But gross. Once we're inside, I'll explain what each of the four stomach compartments is called and what its function is as we move through the cow's digestive tract. Move or move? What? That was a little cow humor. Never mind. Let's get shrinking on one, two, and... Hey, who could that be driving up? This is Chet Nickerson reporting live from Philomena's family farm where trusty narrator and farmer Phil are about to make history as the first people to shrink themselves down and enter a cow's digestive tract. Wow, how did you find out about this, Chet? Ah, a reporter never gives up his sources. All right, fine. The cow told me. Right. Okay, we've got our cow and our tractor that will also shrink down and use to travel through the cow. Looks like we're all set. This is it. The big moment. You know, Chet, you could just report on our trip or you could shrink down too and come with us on our journey. Ah, yes. I will truly get the inside scoop. I'm in. Okay, Smarty Pants, on the count of three, we're gonna get small. One, two, three. Hmm, to this reporter's eyes, it seems to be very green inside this cow. No, no, we're not inside yet. We're nestled in some grass waiting for it to... Hold on tight, everyone. We've just been eaten. Indeed we have. And now we're riding the rapids on the Salava River. Trustee, do you know how much Salava a cow's salivary glands produce every day? I can't say I do. Smarty Pants, what do you think? Is it 10 quarts, 30 quarts, or 50 quarts? Believe it or not, a cow's salivary glands can produce over 50 quarts, or 47.3 liters of Salava every day to aid in the digestive process. How you doing, Chet? Great. I can't believe I'm actually reporting live from the inside of a cow. When you work in this business as long as I have, anything is possible. Okay, everyone. First up is the esophagus. If I remember correctly, the esophagus is like a long playground slide inside a tunnel. That's right. Here we go! The esophagus is a canal that connects the throat to the stomach, and in this case... Question. Why is everything headed upstream in the opposite direction that we're going? Well, like I said earlier, cows are herbivored ruminants, and their esophagus is bi-directional. Um, herbivore meaning they eat plant-based foods. But what's that other word mean? It means they need to regurgitate or bring their food back up in order to re-chew it. So that's why things around us are moving in both directions. I see. As a reporter, I try to remain impartial to every story. But that's pretty gross. But fascinating. But gross? That's what I said. Okay, it feels like we're coming to the end of the line. Yes! First stop coming up on this four-chamber stomach ride is the Rumin. It's pretty cavernous in here! Echo! Echo! Echo! Oh boy, looks like we're about to get tossed around a bit. That's not the only thing that might get tossed. Ugh! The Rumin is pretty much a giant storage tank. It's the largest of the four compartments of a cow's stomach. Smartypants, how many gallons of food do you think could fit in a cow's Rumin? Is it A. 5 gallons of food? B. 10 gallons of food? Or C. 25 gallons or more? If you said C. 25 gallons or more, you're right! Farmer Phil, what are those ball-shaped objects rolling around? That's what we call could. They're large pieces of plant matter that can't be digested just yet. You can't really see them, but there are millions of tiny microorganisms all around us, breaking down the nutrients from the food as the could is forming balls. Hold on, we're off to the next stop. The Reticulum. According to this reporter, I'd say the walls look like honeycombs. What happens in here, Phil? The Reticulum pretty much captures large objects, filtering out things like pebbles, nails, wire, and other sharp objects that might have accidentally been eaten while grazing. It's important these things don't get digested, as they might puncture the cow's stomach lining, which could cause serious infection, or worse. You know, I once accidentally swallowed a penny when I was a kid. At first, my parents couldn't make heads or tails why I didn't feel well. Oh, chat. Hey, I noticed things just got a lot tighter. Much smaller than the Reticulum, where we just came from. Indeed. This pouch-like compartment can only accommodate about five gallons, or 4.7 liters of material. Is it just me, or did this cow just swallow a bass drum? That's actually the cow's heart, Chit. It's just on the other side of that wall. Hang on, we're starting to move again. Yup, now we're moving on to the third chamber called the O-Masum. Dare I ask, what happens in here? Also, how do we get out of here? We're about to find out right after this quick break. 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's 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's smarted. As we continue to make our way through the four chambers of a cow's stomach, we've just entered the third chamber called the omasum. Huh, kinda looks like a librarian here. Excellent observation, Chet. The omasum is made up of layers of tissue that resemble pages in a book. Its main function is to absorb water and other substances that are passing through the digestive tract. Hold on, folks. The last of the four stomach compartments is coming up, and it's called the abomasum. Whoa, what was that? Smartypants. Any guesses what that noise was? If you set a belch, or burp, you're right. Holy cow, that really shook this place. Oh yeah, digestion produces nearly 50 quarts, or 47 liters of gas, per hour in the rumen. Carbon dioxide and methane be into two main gases. Sounds like me on Taco Tuesday. This last chamber, the abomasum, is what's commonly known as the true stomach. It's the only compartment made up of layered glands. The glands release hydrochloric acid and digestive enzymes, which further break down the food material that's passing through. Sort of like what happens in humans. Yes, trustee. This compartment is the only one that closely resembles our own one-chamber stomach. Wow, and there you have it. We do? Yes, we do! And I still haven't heard how we're getting out of here. The rest of this ride becomes similar to exiting a human, as we navigate the small and large intestines before exiting out the anus. Ah, speaking of, how much poop does a cow produce each day after all of this non-stop eating and digestion? Quite a bit, Chit. About eight gallons. That's 30 liters a urine, and approximately 100 pounds of poop. Not counting us! Trustee, I see daylight ahead. Activating reverse shrinking in three, two, one. We made it! Yes! Great stuff, Farmer Phil. We all learned a lot. My pleasure, trustee. What a ride. What's wrong with Bessie? Um, has anyone seen my microphone? Chit! Ah, there it is. Uh, Farmer Phil, may I borrow your hose? A double dose of shout out to Bennett and Hudson in the Woodlands, Texas. I hear every night is a who's smart at night at your house. We love that. And the family conversations that come from the episodes, that's the smartest thing I've heard all day. This episode, Cow Stomachs, was written by Farmer Dave Davis and voiced by Heather Simsey, Adam Text Davis and Jerry Colbert. Technical direction and sound design by Josh Hahn. Who's Smarted is recorded and mixed at the Relic Room Studios. Our associate producer is Max Kamaski. The theme song is by Brian Suarez, with lyrics written and performed by Adam Text Davis. Who's Smarted was created and produced by Adam Text Davis and Jerry Colbert. This has been Atomic Entertainment Production.
