Hey, wowser fams! Mindy here, 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 W-O-W first? Oh, Reg, come on! It's me, Mindy! Huh? You're not seeing a Mindy on the list? Okay, uh, try Mindy. I think Thomas Fingerling 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, grownups, 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? Grownups, 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 Raz, access to over a thousand online activities inspired by our podcast, and a welcome kit from me and Guy Raz, 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. Grownups, 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. Oh, my amending. The final way here, sir. Okay, a little to the left. Nope, nope, nope. That's too far. Back a little to the right, Tommy. How's that? Is it straight? Yeah, but now it looks too good. Put it back to the left. Oh, good thinking. We need to hurry. Mindy and Grandma G-Force are gonna be home any minute now. Oh, is this the part where we go hide? Yep, and then we'll jump out and yell, Surprise! Happy birthday! For the fifth time, Dennis, this is not a surprise birthday party. It's a welcome home celebration. Mindy and Grandma G-Force have been in Italy spelunking in the Trippi Siano Abyss in Milan for the last two weeks, and they're finally coming home today. Uh, Guy Raz? Yes, Dennis? What's the truffle cheese abyss? You mean the Trippi Siano Abyss? Yeah, the Trippi Chimney Abyss. Dennis, the Trippi Siano Abyss is one of the deepest underground caves in the world. Oh, is it deeper than my belly button? Or deeper than my belly button? Dennis? Or is it deeper than Reggie's belly button even? Oh, right. Reggie doesn't have a belly button. Watch, that bird's got no belly button. Where does he keep his jelly beans? Would you all please just listen? The Trippi Siano Abyss is as deep as the Eiffel Tower is tall. Dennis! There's an underground cave deeper than the length of the Eiffel Tower? Yeah, we gotta stop measuring things with towers. You know what? That is so true. What I am trying to say is that Mindy and Grandma G-Force basically took a journey to the center of the earth and back end. And they deserve a warm welcome home. Well, why didn't you just say so? Guy Ross, they are gonna get a warm welcome home. Just look at the sign we made. It's a beautiful sign, Feller. Uh, whatcha say? It says, welcome home. Welcome home? What? Well, we ran out of the right letters. Yeah, all the good letters were taken. You ran out of the right letters? You were literally painting them onto the sign? And the sign should read, welcome home, not welcome home. Oh. Who I am. Who I am. Shh! Everybody quiet! You hear that noise? Oh, I hear it. What is it? Mindy and Grandma G-Force are home. Klai says everyone. Okay, on the count of three, I want all of us to yell welcome home. Got it? Got it. Welcome home on the count of three. Let me just see here. One, two, three. Welcome home! Come on, E. Reggie, Dennis! Mindy, Grandma G-Force, we missed you so much. Aw, missed you too, buddy. And I missed you so much, Mindy, that I moved into your house. What? What? Well, G-Force, I see you came back to haunt me. You're never getting rid of me, fangirling. Now come here. Ah, G-Force, let me go. Did you just put him in a headlock? Oh, it's her way of hugging. I see. So, Mindy, how was the trip to Italy? Did you get to the bottom of the Trebisiano Abyss? And was there a gift shop? Oh, it was beyond bonker balls. Here, check out these pictures we took from our trip. Whoa! Come on! Would you look at that abyss. It's so abysmal. How'd you get down in there? We had to attach one end of a rope and a harness to our bodies and then the other to the top of this well-like opening. And then, seeing this picture, we had to repel or climb down to 340 meters or 1,115 feet. What? It was so deep. Yep, and it was dark and it was dank, just like I like it. Neat. Huh? So, Mindy, did you bring me a souvenir? Dennis. Well, funny you should mention a Dennis because... Yes, we did. You did? We did. Hooray! Souvenir! Gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme! Now, settle down and help me get this thing out of my pocket here. Wow! What could it be? A fridge magnet? No way! A key ring? No way! A tea towel! Oh, that'd be sweet. Come on, Grandma G-Force. We gotta show them what we brought back from the cave. Now, everybody stand back. I don't know if it's gonna bite. If it's gonna bite? Come on out, little fella. Time to show you off. Isn't he a cutie? What in the baby dragon is that thing? A subterranean salamander? It's an old sweet old! Dennis, for the last time it's home sweet. No. Actually, Dennis is right, Guy-Roz. Huh? This little buddy is a real live oom. Wow! Wait, you brought an oom back in your pocket? What? Don't act so surprised, Garaud. It's unbecoming. Oh, she filled her pocket with water so the oom could breathe. What? Bangirlang, go fetch me a pail of water. Okay, don't. So cute. But, Mindy, what exactly is an oom? Allow me to explain. See, the oom, once thought to be a mythical baby dragon, is a very, very hard to find subterranean salamander who lives deep, deep down in cool, dark places like the Turbiciano Abyss or Cave in Italy. And until recently, scientists believed that these ooms would never see the light of day. Is that why he's so ghostly, Pail? And why he ain't got no eyes? Or a nose. Or a mouth. Uh, wait, no, there's a little tiny mouth. Hi, little mouth. Oh, yeah, so interesting thing about ooms, they actually do not have any facial features, unless you count some gills. In fact, when baby ooms are born, their eyes are quickly covered in skin, which leaves them completely blind for the rest of their long, long lives. And this little oom has just celebrated his 100th birthday. Didn't you? They don't talk much. He doesn't talk, and he doesn't listen either. In fact, underground in the cave, he navigates by sensing vibrations, waking up certain chemical clues in the water, and using Earth's magnetic fields to help orient himself. Let me get a closer look at this little oom. Go ahead and drop him in this pail of water here, Grandma G-Force. Okay. Cannonball! Huh, okay, so he's got a body that looks sort of like a snake, but with skinny little legs, and he's about the length of a banana. Ooh, you think it tastes like a banana too? What? Uh, nothing. Mindy, are you sure he's okay? Yeah, why? Well, he seems to be floating towards the surface of the water. Grandma G-Force, how long did you have him in your pocket? Relax, garage. He just needs to be burped. Burped? Ah, like a little baby. A little baby dragon. It's true. That oom, which is a fully aquatic animal, that means it lives in the water. When it accidentally gets a gulp of air? When you pull it out of your pocket. That air stays inside of its body, and when it gets back in the water, it causes the oom to float up to the surface, and it can't swim until it swells. Let it out. Burp! Grandma G-Force, did you really just burp that oom? Yeah, I did, and I'll do it again. Watch this. Okay, so she's turning the oom on his back. Here, here, boy. And now she's massaging his tummy to help him burp out the air, causing him to float. I'm just gonna tickle your tummy until you burp it out. Burp! Yay! Oh, it's burping. Okay, do me next. My tummy's gassy. No. This is incredible. How do you know all of this? Well, I learned about it from a recent scientific study that I read in the Journal Ecology. Burp! No, no, hear me out, everyone. This is fascinating. Go on, Mindy. Okay, so this zoology professor named Raul Menenti from the University of Milan in Italy made it his life's mission to find a real live oom in the wild. What do you mean? Is it like hard? Hard doesn't even begin to cover it, Dennis. Oh. Over centuries, only a few ooms have ever been spotted above ground. And scientists believe that in those cases, it was only because they were flooded out of their usual underground habitats. Well, I'd imagine they wouldn't want to come up. I mean, look at this little fella. No eyes, no nose. Can't stop burping. Scientists believe that ooms were so well equipped to live underground that there would be no way for them to survive on the surface. I imagine that on the surface, without a whole lot to protect themselves, they'd probably make a nice meal for hungry predators. Exactly. But deep underground, these ooms rule the waters. So how exactly does one go about finding one of these elusive ooms? Well, for years, Dr. Mordin, and his team would repel or use ropes to climb deep, deep, deep into underground caves. But in 2020, they were just minding their own business on the surface when they spotted something unusual. Unusual? Something ghostly pale. Ghostly pale? Something without eyes. No eyes? Something that was not in the ooms. Something burping. What is it, Mindy? Yeah, Mandy, we're trying to riddle us. It was an oom! Oh, come on, you knew where this story was going. Yeah, I guess. An oom on the surface? An oom swimming in spring water on the surface of the Earth and in broad daylight. What in the world, right, right? Dr. Monentina's team had never seen anything like it. Oh, goodness! An underground oom now in plain sight above ground? Yeah, somebody do something. Quickly, the team sprung into action. They began monitoring or snooping on 69 springs in the area. Oh, good idea. And much to their shock and surprise, they spotted ooms at a whopping 15 of these springs. And there were no recent floods to help explain it. Oh, no! So what were they doing up there, Mindy? Good question, Gairaz. And that was exactly the question that Dr. Monentina's team had, too. What in the world were these ooms doing swimming on the surface of the Earth? Yeah, I demand answers. And to find the answer, they used some interesting research techniques that would give them clues. Like what, Mindy? Well, for one, they would make the ooms work. I'm gonna make you burp up that truth, little oom. What in the... They discovered that when they scooped the ooms out of the water to steady them, if the ooms had swallowed air, they would automatically float to the surface once they were placed back in the water. Just like we witnessed with this little oom here. Exactly. And sometimes they would just burp up whatever air they swallowed. But other times... Yes! Other times, they would burp up and barf out Earthworms. Oh, that's nasty! Wait a minute, Mindy. Earthworms don't live in the deep dark caves where ooms do. They live in Earth. Ah, a keen observation, Gairaz. And you are correct. Having Earthworms in their bellies suggested that these ooms were risking their lives by coming to the surface to hunt for food that they couldn't get deep down in their caves. Ah, it's sort of like how I travel 25 miles to get heirloom wheat berries from one certain market because I can't find it anywhere else. Exactly, just like that. And what was even more bonker balls was the fact that these ooms were chubby little buddies. The other ooms, the ones that were previously found underground, were all super skinny. Huh, so what you're saying is that just when scientists thought they knew everything there was to know about this specific species of cave salamander, new research suggests that what we believe to be true for hundreds of years suddenly isn't true. Or at least there's a lot more to the story. Fascinating! You never know what scientists are going to discover next. I know! So much scientific mystery still left to uncover and it could be happening right under our own two feet. So what's next for a little oomski here? Oomski? Yeah, that's what I named him. Oomski. Is he just going to live in this here bucket of water or what? Huh, yeah, I guess I didn't really think this through. Uh, you know, Grandma G. Forrest, he did seem pretty happy living underwater in that cave where we found him. Yeah, so what? I was happier down there too. So maybe it's time we take him back home to his natural habitat? No, he's going to live with me, finders, keepers. Karras has a point, Grandma G. Forrest, when it comes to finding anything in nature, especially living things, it's best to just take pictures and leave the things where we found him. Well, come on, G. Forrest, time to take little oomski here back to where he belongs. No, he's my pet souvenir. I'm giving him back. Grandma G. Forrest? Oh, fine. You're going in my pocket, little oomski. Time to take you back home. Yay! I'm ready for Grandma G. Forrest. Hey, Reg, think you could fly us to the Trebisiano Cave in Italy? Thanks, Reggie. Come on, everyone. Hop on, Reggie's back. Okay, time to get this oom back home. And here we go! There's no place I go! There's no place I go! There's no place I go! Loud in 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 TinkerCast, making learning fun is our bread and butter, so we love that IXL has games, awards, and celebrations to keep students motivated and engaged. Make an impact on your child's learning. Get IXL now! And Wow in 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 the show! Hi! Thanks for calling Wow in the World! After the beep, get ready to record! Hi! My name is Aiden. I'm 7 years old and I live in Naperville, Illinois. My Wow in the World is that book, which I is the size of the soccer ball. Love your show! Hi, Mindy and Guy Ross. My name is Eva. I'm from Canada, and I'm O.B.C. My Wow in the World is that some birds can do math. Reggie, can you do math? Hi! Mindy and Guy Ross. I'm Declan and I'm 7 years old from Vancouver, Canada. My Wow in the World is that the first airplane flight was only 12 seconds long. Say hi to Dennis. Hi there! Smith-Basique robots. Greetings! What is up? Baby Dennis. Bucky. Thomas, with the wing, Grammar Geforce, and the flight tax. What's up? Oh, yeah! All. Hello, Mindy and Guy Ross. My name is Penelope, and I live in Westfield, New Jersey. It's a team of there are 15,000 varieties of tomatoes in our world. Say hi to Reggie from me. Bye. Hey, my name is Socorro, and I'm 7 years old. I'm from San Diego, California. My Wow in the World is that sloths can swim faster than they can move on ground. Can you say hi to Reggie for me? Bye. Hi, Mindy, Guy Ross, and Reggie. My name is Judy, and I'm 10 years old. And my name is Tim, and I'm 7 years old. We live in Seattle, Washington, and our Wow is that crocodiles can grow as many as 3,000 years of lifetime. Wow. Bye, Mindy, Guy Ross, Reggie, Dennis, and everybody else. We love your show. Hi, Mindy, and Guy Ross. My name is Reed, and I'm 12, and I live in Batavia, New York. My Wow in the World is that it takes less than a second for light to travel all the way around the world. Say hi to Grandma G's force for me. She's obviously the best character. Oh, yeah. Bye, Mindy and Guy Ross. Love your show. Hi, Mindy. Hi, Guy Ross. I'm Jess. I'm dressed from Manila, Philippines, and my Wow in the World is that you can activate both sides of your brain by moving your eye side to side. I love your show. Say hi to Dennis and Reggie for me. Hi. Hi, Mindy and Guy Ross. I'm Eleanor. I'm 9 years old, and I'm from Atlanta, Georgia. My Wow in the World is that an elephant's trunk is strong enough to pull down a huge tree, but nimble enough to pick up a single blade of grass. Isn't that neat? Bye. Love your show so much. End of messages. Wow in the World is written by Mindy Thomas and Tom Van Kalken with help from me, Guy Ross. Original sound design and music editing is done by Tyler Tholl with help from our supervising producer, Jed Anderson. You can also hear Jed Anderson in the voices of Dennis, Thomas Fingerling, Reggie, and many of the other silly characters that you hear on our show. And Lizzie Freilich can also be heard as some of the silly characters on our show. Jessica Bode keeps our facts straight as our fact checker, and Meredith Halpern-Ranzer powers the Wow at Tinkercast. Our theme song was composed and performed by three-time Grammy nominees, The Pop-Ups. Find them at thepopups.com. Special thanks to Kit Ballinger, Rebecca Caban, Dr. Natasha Crandall, Kenny Curtis, Kristen Yang, Tui Mack, Erika Medina, Henry Moskel, Jody Nussbaum, Ali Paxima, Linda Rothenberg, Steph Sosa, Joanna Weber, Anna Zagorski, and all of the other Tinkerers at Tinkercast HQ. And to keep the Wow rolling after you finish this episode, visit us at tinkercast.com. There you can become a member of the World Organization of Wousers to get year-round mailings and weekly activities. Shop our Wow Shop, get tickets for upcoming events, find our best-selling books, and learn about some of the other amazing podcasts from Tinkercast. Grownups, you can follow Wow and the World on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at Wow in the World, and our email address is hello at tinkercast.com. And if you're a kid with a big Wow to share with us, call us at 1-888-7-WOW-WOW for a chance to be featured at the end of our show or an upcoming episode of Two What's in a Wow. Thanks again for listening. We're here every Monday, or you can check out Two What's in a Wow every Friday right here in the Wow and the World podcast feed. And don't forget, We Wow on the weekend with Dennis Saturday and Sunday. Keep on wow-ing!
