WeWow on the Weekend

Hey WowsR fams, Mindy here, and before we start the show, guess what? You can join me every Friday for two What's in a Wow people who wow edition. In this Getting to Know You game show, I'll be visited by some of the world's most fascinating people to get the wows and the what's of their lives. From cartoonist and graphic novelist Rana Telgemeier of the Smile series to everyday extraordinary kids just like you. And that's not all. With this new season of Two What's in a Wow, there are now two ways to wow. What am I talking about? Well first, you can listen to episodes right here in our Wow and the World podcast feed. Or… and this is a big Or. Yeah, you're right Reg. That doesn't have the same ring to it. Okay, now where was I? Oh, yeah. As always, you can listen to new episodes in your favorite podcast player or you can watch these episodes with your eyeballs on YouTube. I know, I should comb my hair or something. We are so excited for you to listen and watch our new season of Two What's in a Wow, People Who Wow Edition, starting this Friday. So make sure you're subscribed to our podcast feed and our Wow Tube channel on YouTube so you don't miss out. That's Two What's in a Wow, People Who Wow Edition coming this Friday. And now a quick ad break and then we'll get on with the show. Talking, laughing, me and Reggie singing, laughing and then we… Oh wait, no I said laughing twice. Ah, whatever. We Wow on the weekend, we wow on the weekend, we wow on the weekend, cause this is what we do on the weekend. Hello and welcome to We Wow on the weekend. I'm your host, Dennis. And that's my co-host, Reggie the Giant Pigeon. This is the show where we chit chat and answer questions from our fans and listen to TinkerCast podcasts. Hey Reggie, check it out. Yeah, I got a new library card. Isn't it cool? It's all new and Shane has my picture on it. Well now, library cards don't usually have pictures on them. I take this one on myself. And then I bedazzle the whole card. Sparkle, sparkle. Oh yeah, I guess all the rhinestones could make it hard for the librarian to scan my card when I check out books. Um, well that'll be a problem for future Dennis. Thanks, future Dennis. In the meantime, let's hear from our devoted listeners with a Q&A segment. The Q&A segment. Alright, let's just get the old answering machine pulled up here. Okay, here we go. Hi, you've reached Dennis from We Wow on the weekend. That's me. Do you have a question? Well I do too. Lots of them. And who's going to answer all my questions? You? Probably not. But I guess I can answer yours. Leave me a message. Hi Dennis. Hi Reggie. My name is Izzy and I am 11 years old. Hi Izzy. My question, why do we have fingernails? Oh, good question Izzy. Why do we have fingernails? Well, we have fingernails because sometimes we get itchy and it's too hard to scratch ourselves with our toenails. Next question. Hi, this is Jordan and my dog. Hi Jordan and Miles. And Miles would like to let you know that his biggest dream in the world is to what? Elephant. To touch an elephant and he wants to know if you've ever touched an elephant and what you know about them. Have I ever touched an elephant? Good question Miles. And yes, I've touched two elephants. I did Reggie. First, there was Evie the elephant. She was from the local zoo in Wow in the World Season 7 Episode 7 titled Elephant in the Room. Mindy borrowed Evie from the zoo to study her trunk. Yeah, Mindy studied Evie's trunk and using soft robotics, she invented a thing called like the Super Suction Sniffer Storage Sprayers Snorkel something 2000. Right, and I got to touch Evie because she needed a push to fit through the door of Mindy's laboratory. And also she picked me up with her trunk and squeezed me and tossed me around. And then there was Stampy the elephant. I don't know where that elephant came from. And Wow in the World Season 8 Episode 23 titled My Elephant Got Loose Mindy just said an elephant free in the neighborhood because she thought it would be happier in the wild but then Stampy came into my yard and stamped on all my flowers and scuffed my shoe. Yeah, Stampy was a little rascal. Oh right, a big rascal and we needed to get Stampy to move out of the neighborhood. Well, it turns out elephants are afraid of bees. Yeah, bees. And Mindy and Guy played bee buzzing noises through a big speaker and got Stampy to move to someplace safer. I know, who would have thought that big ol' elephants would be afraid of little old bees. There you have it Miles, I've touched two elephants. Oh yeah, you're right, maybe they touched me. Um, next question. Hi Dennis, my name is Paul. Hi Paul. And my question is, when is the sun going to explode? Bye. The sun's going to explode!? Ahhhhhhh!!! Turn it, turn it, turn it, turn it. Benji, why are you so calm!? Didn't you hear Paul!? The sun's going to explode!? Wait, what!? Oh, the sun won't actually explode!? But it will eventually run out of hydrogen fuel!? Ahhhh!!! The sun's going to run out of hydrogen fuel!? Oh, the sun won't run out of hydrogen fuel for like 5 billion years. Okay, I think 5 billion years is just about enough time to get a space suit and a spaceship and a whole bunch of astronaut ice cream and then I'll figure it out from there. Boy, you and Paul really had me freaked out there for no reason. Yeah, I think that's about all the questions I can handle right now. Thanks for all your calls everyone. If you've got a question for me, call and leave me a message. The number is 1-888-7-WOWOW. That's 1-888-7-WOWOW. I just might answer your question on WeWow on the weekend. Okay, that takes care of that. Alright, next up is a little segment I like to call, Inside TinkerCast Studios. This is the part where we revisit an episode of one of my favorite TinkerCast shows. And today we're listening to Wow in the World Season 3, episode 13 called, Hey Baby Island, How'd you get here? When underwater volcanoes grow up. Oh, I think I'm in this one. Yeah, it's the one where Mindy woke up the whole neighborhood in the middle of the night. But it's cool because we got to chit-chatting and we got to go to the beach. And it's cool because we got to chit-chatting and I think we really connected, you know? Yeah, I'm a super duper good listener. People just talk and talk and talk and all I do is listen. And I make them feel heard and understood. Oh, right, right, right, right, right, the episode. Okay, here we go. And play. WeWow will be right back. Grownups, this message is for you. That's it. Now back to the show. Wow in the world. Hey, Geraz! Geraz, it's me, Mindy. Open the door. I'm here. Geraz, Gerazzy! Hi, Mindy. Hey, Dennis. Mindy, it's far in the morning. What are you doing up so early? I'm just getting ready for my morning walk with Mr. Sleepy Pants in here. Geraz, I'm outside. Mindy, Mr. Sleepy Pants moved out of that house five years ago. Lots of people have lived there before Geraz. Back in the 50s, it was Lazy Susan. Then after her was Mr. and Mrs. Party Pooper. They were cool, but they also owned a lot of scaredy cats. Dennis, what are you even doing awake? It's the middle of the night. Well, you're making a racket and I'm an insufferable busybody. Good morning, Geraz! Good morning, good morning. And it's time to wake up early. Good morning. Good morning, take your time. What on earth are you doing? It's the middle of the night. Um, actually, it's four hours past the middle of the night. What? It's four a.m. Hi, guy. Hey, since we're all awake, who wants to play Yachtsy? Dennis! Dennis? Mindy? What on earth is going on here? It's time for our new weekly neighborhood walk. Remember, I was saying how I needed to get more exercise after I won that napping hot dog eating contest? Yeah? And then you were like, hey, we should go on one long walk around the neighborhood once a week. Uh-huh. And then you said, come over to my house and knock on the door tomorrow at four o'clock. And judging by the time on this watch I'm not wearing right now, it's four o'clock. Oh, Mindy, I meant four o'clock in the afternoon. I assumed you would have figured that out by yourself. Well, you know what happens when you assume. What? You get confusing logistical mixups like this. Well, what? You've woken me up, so I suppose if we start now, we might be able to make it back for sunrise. Well, you know I love a good sunrise. One time I took the wow machine to go back and forth in time just to watch the same sunrise 12 times in a row. You know, if you're not careful, a bird's gonna fly in your mouth. Let me just get into my walkout gear and we can get going. Just wait here for a minute. Okey-doke, I'll be waiting right here. Here. Well, Mindy, looks like it's just you and me. A science mind at Sassafras and a professional neighborhood snoop. What? Exactly. What adventures lie in store for us? Will we solve scientific mysteries or will we go eavesdropping in the backyard? Personally, I say eavesdropping. I think audiences will really respond to it. I'm ready. Right on time. Also, I really think it'll help flesh out our characters as we go into the six and seven seasons. Where are you going? You know, Mindy, once you're actually out of bed and you've got the cold morning air on your face, it's actually quite nice being out at this time of day. It's so peaceful. I know. No people, no cars, no babies running you over with the rollerblades. Just peace and quiet. Ooh, it's ready. Mindy, what in the world was that? Oh, that was my phone. Who's trying to contact you at four in the morning? Oh, that wasn't someone trying to contact me. Then why did your phone just balk like a chicken? That was just my phone letting me know that my app is finished downloading. Your app? Yeah, it's this new app called Nice Breakers. Nice Breakers? It's kind of like Ice Breakers, you know, like the kind of questions that you ask people to get to know them a little bit better. But Mindy, we've known each other for years. Do you really think we need Ice Breaker questions? And okay, here we go. Gairaz, if you could take one item to a deserted island, what would it be and why? Oh, that's a good one, Mindy. Hmm, let me see. I suppose it would have to be my collection of essays from the London Review of Books. Hmm, tell her me surprised. Oh boy, I could read and reread those for years and years and years until someone stopped by the island to rescue me. Oh, did I ever tell you about that one article I read, Mindy, about carbon capture solutions and developing? Well, if you must know, I guess I would have to take a rattle. A rattle? Maybe a pacifier. Huh? Maybe like one of those little cribs you can travel with. A rattle? A pacifier? A crib? Mindy, why would you want to take all this baby baggage to a deserted island? Well, Gairaz, I'm thinking of a very specific island. Oh. The island I'm thinking of is a little baby island way out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean near the island country of Tonga. A little baby island? Mindy, is this an island full of babies? Yes, of course it's not an island full of babies, Gairaz. Don't be ridiculous. Oh good, because I thought you were saying... The island is a baby. What? The island is a baby. I don't think I understand, Mindy. You're going to have to explain this one to me. Well, I guess I could tell you about it. Yeah? But I'd rather show you about it. Come on, let's turn this nice breaker into a stone cold adventure maker. I thought we were going for a walk, Mindy. Well, it's kind of hard to walk to an island, Gairaz. I mean, for one, they're surrounded by water on all sides. Well... But, good news for us, I have a partly functional wow machine that can get us their lickety split. And since it can travel through time, we can just come back once we're done and I can wake you up all over again. Anything for science, right? Anything for science? Yes! Okay, you wait here and I'll run back and get the wow machine, okay? Uh, okay. Be back before you can say, hey, where did Mindy go? I thought she was right here, but now she isn't. Wow, she's faster than lightning. I'm sure she'll be back soon. Oh! Oh! Oh! Mindy, are you pulling along the wow machine with your cat? Yeah! All 47 of them! Oh, finally let them out of my adventure tool kit! Come on, guys! And what's that leaking out of the bottom? Oh, what? Oh, that's margarine. Margarine? Yeah, I ran out of butter. Huh. Okay, all right, there we go. Okay, hop in, Guy Ross. Uh, Mindy, did you move the door again? Yeah, I had to make room for the solar power toaster. The door is now, uh, where did I put that thing? Oh, oh, here it is! Here it is. Oh. 100% up-cycle door! Can you believe someone was just going to throw this thing away? Mindy, Mindy, where did you get this thing? It looks 400 years old. 421 years old! I found it on the side of a pirate ship. An abandoned pirate ship? Uh, sure! Oops, sorry, let me just grab that thing. Just a... There, good as new. Right behind you, buddy. Okay, let's see here. Just get these empty coconuts off the dashboard. Empty coconuts? Yeah, Reggie borrowed the wow machine the other day. He took a four-year vacation to Tahiti and was back in an hour. Okay. Let me see here. We're going to punch in the coordinates. The island of Hongatonga. Let's lock it in. And here we go! Oh, wow, what a ride! This never gets old, right, buddy? Right. Come on, let's go look outside from the observation deck. Wait, the wow machine has an observation deck? Yeah, it's right between the gym and the business center. What? Now if you get to the pool, you've gone too far. Huh? Come on, follow me. Okay, Gairaz, may I present to you... Hongatonga, one of the youngest, most teeny tiny baby islands in the entire world. Whoa! Can you even believe it? It's four years old today, a little toddler. Such a little cutie. Pretty soon he's going to be going off to Island Kindergarten to learn his island ABCs, make lots of little island friends. Wait a minute, Mindy. Is this what you mean when you were talking about a baby island? Yeah, isn't it cute? I mean, look at those little adorable sandbanks. I just want to eat them up. Where exactly are we anyway? Well, that's kind of a tough question to answer, because, um, well, we're kind of in the middle of nowhere. What? Technically, this island belongs to the Kingdom of Tonga. And the Kingdom of Tonga is a string of islands in the South Pacific Ocean. You know it. Tonga is made up of more than 160 islands and is 6,540 miles away from the U.S.'s West Coast. Oh yeah, I can see it on my globe right here. Your globe? I'd never leave home without it. Here it is, Tonga. Huh. It looks like these islands lie about halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand. Yeah, that looks about right. And this little baby was formed in the Kingdom of Tonga in January of 2015. Huh. So, do you want to watch? Watch what? The island being born. Born? Maybe, don't you mean formed? Yeah, that's what I said. So, do you want to watch? Uh, yeah? Well then, strapping again, we're going to use this wow machine to travel way back in time all the way to 2015. 2015? That's like seven guy phones ago. I know, aren't ancient cultures so fascinating? 2015? Here we come! That was a close one. I had to dodge a royal wedding, two soccer world cups, and a Beyonce baby. Pat, we're here. Safe and sound. What was that sound? Mindy, what was that? Well, if I had to guess, I'd say it's an underwater volcano. An underwater volcano? Is there an echo in here? Mindy, Mindy, why in the world would you land us right over an active underwater volcano? Because, Gaira's, this is how most islands are formed in the fiery and watery depths of massive underwater volcanoes. Ah, now who shut the blinds? We're going to miss the best part. I can't get these things to open ever. Oh man, that sounded like a good one. Mindy, are you sure we're safe in here? Yes, of course I'm not sure we're safe in here, Gaira's. Now can you give me a hand with these blinds because we're missing the best part of the show. Oh, sure thing Mindy. Oh wait, don't you just pull this cord? I knew that. Whoa, look at that Mindy. All those bubbles and jets of water, that massive cloud of ash. This is amazing. And to think that just four years from now, there will be an island right there in that exact same spot. Wait a minute Mindy, is this a volcanic island? You know it is. You know Mindy, I've read about these sorts of islands before, but if I'm not mistaken, don't these islands only usually hang around for a few months before sinking back into the ocean? Yeah, in fact over the past 150 years, only three volcanic islands have survived more than a few months. Whoa. Whoa is right, but this island is extra special because… Because it's sort of shaped like the bat signal? Close, but no. This island is extra special because it's the only one of those three islands that have been born in the age of satellites. Which means… Which means that we have satellite photos of it growing up from a small little eruption in 2015 to the four year old we have now in 2019. Bingo! And if you played all those satellite images in a row like a flipbook, it would look a little something like this. Whoops, wrong button. Where did I put the fast forward button on this thing? Oh, here it is. A little something like this. Whoa, that's incredible Mindy. I can see the islands slowly rising up from the water and look, I can see plants starting to sprout on the black soil down there. Wow. Okay, we're coming up on 2019. Got to time this just right. Wait for it. Wait for it. Now. Ah, there we go. Back to present day. Nice landing Mindy. Thanks buddy. It's now been around four years, so does that mean that Hungatanga is here for good now? Well, according to a team of scientists from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center that recently visited the island on a research expedition, they expect that the island will be here for around another 30 years. Wow, really? Yeah, you know, in fact, I think I see one of those little researchers down there on the beach right now. What? Maybe he can tell us more about it. Here, let me just get on the megaphone. Hello down there. Oh no, it's okay little buddy. We come in peace. Ah, aliens, I knew it. Run, run for your lives. Why does this keep happening to me? Well, I guess we're going to have to investigate ourselves. Prepare for a water landing, Gairaz. Water landing? Three, two, one, zero. Ugh, wait, did I ever fix that leak? Huh? Nope, Mindy, what are we going to do? We're in the middle of the Pacific Ocean in a slowly sinking wow machine. Well, the first thing we're going to have to do is stop complaining and go with the flow. Get it? Because of the leaking water? Mindy? And the second thing to do is grab an ore and help me get to land before this wow machine becomes a wow that sunk quickly machine. Are the oars in the same place as last time? Yes, of course they're not, Gairaz. Here, I'll get them. They're right next to the tennis rackets. Do you want starboard or bow? Does it matter? Starboard it is. Catch. Catch? Mindy, this is a tennis racket. No time for semantics, Gairaz. This guy, Gairaz, rope and rope and rope and rope and rope and rope. Hey, we made it. Yay. Okay, let's get out and see what's going on on Tonga Tonga. Hmm, smell that South Pacific Polynesian air. Wow, Mindy. Take a look at this soil. It's completely black and its grains are bigger than regular sand, like small little pea sized pebbles. Yeah, I think this might be basalt. Basalt? Oh, you mean the type of rock that forms once the lava from a volcano cools down? Exactly. All of this black stuff we're standing on right now probably started its life as pipe and hot volcanic magma. And yet, look over there, Mindy. Over where? Over there. There's green vegetation growing all over this baby island. Green vegetation is my third favorite kind of vegetation. Huh? Come on, let's check it out. Run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run. Whoa, check this out, Gairaz. This is incredible, Mindy. This island is in the middle of the ocean, hundreds of miles away from most of the rest of the world. And yet, life seems to be thriving here. But how? Well, if it's anything like other islands in the Pacific, the answer probably lies in what those feathered friends are doing over there. Where? See, over there, the birds. Oh yeah, those sooty turns chilling out over on the cliff face. Right, those sooty turns that have decided to make this island their home as they fly across the Pacific. And these birds have most likely brought these plants with them. What? How? Well... Ugh, is that sooty turn becoming a poopy turn? Yup, and the seeds from many of these plants probably arrived in the bellies of these migratory birds. And once they pooped out onto the volcanic soil here, well, it began to grow into what we see here today. You mean like how those ducks were spreading duckweed from pond to pond and lake to lake all over America? Exactly. Whoa. And that's not all, Mindy. Volcanic soil, like the stuff we're standing on right now, is chock-a-block full of nutrients like phosphates and nitrates and potassium and calcium, which are all needed for plants to grow up big and strong. Well, watch where you're treading there, Guy-Roz, because there's a lot of that plant fertilizer all over this island beach. Ugh. So did you find out what the scientists from NASA learned about this island, Mindy? Well, as it turns out, this little volcanic island could teach us a lot more about other volcanic islands, and I'm not talking about just the ones found here on Earth. What do you mean? Okay, so the scientists at NASA are hoping that these satellite images can help us to understand how volcanoes and oceans work together to make islands here on Earth. Huh. And if they can do that, they can use similar satellite images that we have from Mars to understand if they were also formed with oceans millions of years ago. Wow. You know what, Mindy? It's actually quite peaceful out here. I know. The perfect spot for our morning walk. The beach, the waves, the poop and birds. What more could you ask for? Oh, I know this. Oh no, not more nice breakers. Oh yes, more nice breakers. Okay, let's see here. Oh, this is a good one. If you had to choose between getting woken up at four in the morning every day for the rest of your life, or row across the Pacific Ocean with nothing but a wooden door from a pirate ship and a tennis racket, what would you choose? Mayday, mayday. Wow, that was so cool. That's where most islands come from, underwater volcanoes? And then the volcanic rock turns into soil and the soil grows plants and the plants are fertilized by bird poop? That's so awesome. Except for the bird poop part. That part's gross. Ew. What? Bird poop is not less gross than other kinds of poop, Reggie. If anything, it's more gross. Yeah, huh. It is because one time a seagull pooped on my shoulder while I was standing in line for ice cream at the beach, and the ice cream lady said, that's good luck. No, Reggie, it was not good luck because then the seagull stole my entire ice cream cone so I had bird poop on me and no ice cream. Okay, I don't want to talk about bird poop anymore, so let's wrap this up. Thanks to all you listeners out there for tuning in to Wee Wow on the weekend. If you have a question for me, call and leave me a message at 1-888-7-WOWOW. That's 1-888-7-WOWOW. I just might answer your question on Wee Wow on the weekend. Okay, should we do the goodbye song? Here we go. That's the end of the show. I need to go and do something else besides talk about bird poop. But I'll do another show tomorrow. But for now, that's the end of the show. Bye. Before we get into the credits for today's episode, we want to give some special shoutouts and say a huge thank you to some of the wowsers whose families are powering the wow this year. We broke the names up into two batches and here is our first batch of names. We are so grateful for your support. Owen and Aubrey from California, Salman and Ryan from California, Aureline and Esther from New York, Ella from Singapore, Lacey Elementary from North Carolina, Teddy, Silas and Emmett from Arizona, Jason from Texas, Eli and Nolan from Texas, Luke and Noel from North Carolina, Ilan from California, Emmett and Adler from Kansas, John, Katie, Ethan and Amelia from Pennsylvania, Nezla and Yaqub from Kuwait, Evelyn, Ramona and Cabatha from Nevada, John R. from Wisconsin, Emery and Ila from California, Caroline from Massachusetts, Ian and Declan from Washington, Elena and Lucia from Maryland, Parker from Texas, Albert and Lulu from Brighton, England, Hayden, Hazel and Alley from Pennsylvania, Magnus from the District of Columbia, William and Alley from Virginia, Brendan, Jessica, David and Michael from Ohio, Bailey, Macy and Hank from South Carolina, James from Washington, Peter, Teddy and Leo from Minnesota, Paul from Rhode Island, Nuri from Washington, Violet and Will from California, Audrey and Ethan from Virginia, Alex H. from Tennessee, James and Madison from Utah, and Happy Birthday to Otis from Minnesota, from the bottom of our hearts and the tops of our brains. Thank you.