It's time for the....Mystery Sound Extravaganza!

Summary

Podcast Summary: Brains On! – "It's time for the... Mystery Sound Extravaganza!"

Date: March 10, 2026
Host: Molly Bloom
Kid Co-Host: Juniper from Philadelphia

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Episode Overview

This episode of Brains On! is all about one of the show’s fan-favorite features: the Mystery Sound! The conversation brims with curiosity and fun as Molly and Juniper challenge each other, and listeners, to identify a series of quirky, tricky, and sometimes silly sounds sent in by kids from around the globe. Along the way, they explore why certain sounds are easier or harder to guess, share personal stories connected to a few noises, and sprinkle in tons of laughs and science tidbits.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Why Mystery Sounds are Fun (03:39–05:41)

• Molly and Juniper discuss the universal appeal of guessing mystery sounds.
• Juniper shares that she finds kitchen sounds easiest (04:03), citing her mom’s cooking and baking as her “sound training.”
• Unusual, less-familiar household noises are the trickiest for Juniper to identify.
• They ponder personal “favorite sounds”: Juniper is torn between goats (relating to her Capricorn zodiac sign) and the ocean.

Notable Quote:
"I feel like I identify with goats...it’s like really goofy and how they act is really goofy. Kind of like cats. Ish."
—Juniper (05:06)

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The Mystery Sound Game Begins

1. Snow Shovel and Ice (06:14–07:14)

• Sound: Scraping noise
• Juniper's Guess: "Someone shoveling out the ice."
• Reveal: Isla from Scotland confirms it’s a snow shovel cracking through layers of snow and ice.
• Both hosts discuss snowy winters, shoveling as a team, and the satisfaction of guessing sounds linked to recent experiences.

2. Cat Scratching Post (08:12–09:38)

• Sound: Scratchy, thumping noise
• Juniper's Guess: "Ping pong table...having a bad fight with the ping pong table."
• Reveal: Layla from Los Angeles reveals it’s her cat Oscar scratching a llama-shaped scratching post.
• Molly jokes: "It’s kind of like someone fighting with a ping pong table except the cat is scratching a llama shaped scratching post."

3. Shaking Jello (10:01–11:32)

• Sound: Wobbly, sloshing sound
• Juniper's Process: Thinks of “slapping water” in the bathtub, then boiling or bubbling food.
• Hint: It's a food sound; something that makes noise without cooking.
• Reveal: Thor from Seattle says it’s him shaking jello in a glass bowl.
• Juniper admits jello isn’t her favorite due to taste and texture.

4. Hula Hoop with Beads (12:03–13:28)

• Sound: Rattling, circling noise
• Juniper's Guess: Shaking rice in a metal bowl, then with clues, deduces hula hoop beads.
• Reveal: Eleanor from Dallas confirms it’s hula hooping.
• Chat about hula hoop prowess; Juniper’s grandpa is a juggler who provides hula hoops.

5. Blood Pressure Cuff (14:51–20:12)

• Sound: Pressurized inflation and release
• Juniper & Molly's Guess: "Mini jackhammer at the dentist."
• Reveal: Pharmacist James Hull from Canada explains it’s a blood pressure cuff inflating.
• Juniper recalls visiting a fire station and learning to take blood pressure with Girl Scouts.

6. Scooping Dry Ice (20:58–22:38)

• Sound: Bubbling, crackling
• Juniper's Guess: Pouring hydrogen or scooping dry ice, sticks to “dry ice” on replay.
• Reveal: Alanafeh and mom Erin Banda, a scientist, confirm it’s dry ice.
• Erin explains dry ice uses in her genetics lab and drops a science fact:
  "Did you know that you share 60% of your DNA with a banana?" (21:38)

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Listener & Host Swap Mystery Sounds

Juniper’s Mystery Sound for Molly (23:20–27:03)

• Sound: Metallic slapping and springing
• Host’s Guess: Some kind of kitchen tool with a spring.
• Reveal: Juniper explains it’s the family kitchen’s magnetic knife strip—removing and replacing a knife.
• Molly: "That’s so good. Okay, so I was kind of close. Wow."

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Finale: Rapid-Fire Mystery Sounds

1. Butter Bubbling in a Pan (27:39–28:50)

   • Sizzling noise; Juniper guesses carrots frying, but it’s butter bubbling.

2. Patting Baby’s Mouth (29:26–30:48)

   • Blabbering noise; Juniper envisions someone making goofy noises, which is correct. Cora from Skokie shares her dad patting her brother’s mouth to create "blah blah blah" sounds.

3. Closing the Garage Door (31:24–32:43)

   • Mechanical clunking; Juniper is close with “car lift,” but it’s a garage door.

4. Hockey Practice (33:13–34:25)

   • Swooshing and scraping; Juniper hears roller or ice skating, later a cheering crowd. Ashwin from D.C. reveals it’s hockey practice with sticks and pucks.
   • Molly awards Juniper “full credit” for her insightful sports-related guesses.

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Memorable Moments & Quotes

• Molly (on mystery sounds):
  "Mystery sounds are everywhere. You just have to keep your ears open." (35:06)

• Molly (on Juniper’s skills):
  “Those two you got right were like, hard and you got them like, so specifically right. I am so impressed.” (21:49)

• Molly (on kitchen skills):
  "Carrot with butter. Okay, I’m hungry. Let’s hear the next mystery sound." (29:01)

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Notable Segments & Timestamps

• Guessing favorite sounds: 04:42–05:29
• Mystery Sound 1 (Snow Shovel): 06:14–07:14
• Mystery Sound 2 (Cat Scratching Post): 08:12–09:38
• Mystery Sound 3 (Jello): 10:01–11:32
• Mystery Sound 4 (Hula Hoop): 12:03–13:28
• Mystery Sound 5 (Blood Pressure Cuff): 14:51–20:12
• Mystery Sound 6 (Dry Ice): 20:58–22:38
• Kid-hosts Swap (Magnetic Knife Strip): 23:20–27:03
• Butter bubbling: 27:39–28:50
• Patting baby’s mouth: 29:26–30:48
• Garage door: 31:24–32:43
• Hockey practice: 33:13–34:25

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Closing Notes

• The episode ends with reminders for listeners to send their own mystery sounds, drawings, and questions to brainson.org/contact.
• Juniper and Molly thank the Brains On community and give a shoutout to listeners appearing in the Brains On Honor Roll (35:42–37:36).
• A lighthearted, curious, and playful tone is maintained throughout, making science funny, relatable, and repeat-listenable for all ages.

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Takeaways

Brains On! nails the balance between scientific curiosity and fun. The Mystery Sound Extravaganza highlights everyday science through play and perception, reminding us to keep our ears open and our questions coming!

Transcript

[Molly Bloom]

Friends, we are so super duper excited to tell you that we just added a bunch more Cities to our 2026 live show tour. Get ready for singing, dancing, magic tricks, game shows, mystery sounds, and scientists falling from the sky in a totally safe way. We promise. Plus, there's a chance for you to attend special meet and greet parties in every city. So come on. This spring, we're coming to Milwaukee, St. Paul, Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale, Chattanooga, Durham, San Francisco, San Francisco, Portland, Buffalo, Toronto, and Ann Arbor. We're basically gonna be everywhere. Look behind you. Are we there? No. Well, we probably will be soon. Head over to brainson.org events for tickets and make sure you grab passes to our meet and greet party. You get to ask us questions, take pictures with us, and I'll even do some close up magic. That's brainson.org events. Can't wait to see you.

[Various Mystery Sound Contributors]

Brains On Universe.

[Juniper]

You're listening to Brains On. We're serious about being curious.

[Molly Bloom]

Everyone loves a mystery.

[Juniper]

I know I do.

[Molly Bloom]

Like who stole the cookies from the cookie jar?

[Juniper]

Who indeed, Molly.

[Molly Bloom]

Or where's that smell coming from? Ugh.

[Juniper]

Someone microwaved fish.

[Molly Bloom]

Or what's this sound? Mystery sound.

[Juniper]

Oh, yes. I know what it's time for.

[Molly Bloom]

It's time for a mystery sound extravaganza. Stay tuned.

[Bob]

Hello, Brains on listeners. It's me, Bob. Brains On Universe is now its own independent media company. And since I love filing, counting my popsicle stick collection, and thinking about decimal points, Molly asked me to be the CFO of Brains On Universe. At first I thought CFO stood for craft food orders. Like I would be in charge of order ordering honey from local beekeepers and cheese from local cheese keepers. But it turns out it stands for Chief Financial Officer, which means I make sure Brains On Universe has enough money to keep going. I've been looking at the numbers and wow, CFO should stand for counting fans. Overjoyedly is overjoyingly a word. When I look at all the people who've signed up for smartypass, it makes me feel overjoyed. When you sign up for SmartyPass, you're choosing to support the Brains On Universe. And that's an amazing thing to do. You can join [e-mail] Counting fans makes me overjoyed, optimistic, obviously delighted. Can't wait to count you too,

[Molly Bloom]

Brainzon. You're listening to Brains on, part of the Brainz on Universe. I'm Molly Bloom and my co host today is Juniper from Philadelphia. Hi, Juniper.

[Juniper]

Hi, Molly.

[Molly Bloom]

Today is a mystery sound extravaganza. So I hope your Ears are ready to solve lots of mysteries. So, Juniper, I'm wondering, do you like guessing the mystery sound?

[Juniper]

Yeah, I really do. I think it's really fun to guess what other people like have at home and what they're using for it.

[Molly Bloom]

Totally. Which ones do you find easiest to guess?

[Juniper]

Probably the ones that come from like, your kitchen because I feel my mom really likes to cook and like bake, so I really recognize those sounds.

[Molly Bloom]

So those are familiar in your life. What about the trickiest ones to guess?

[Juniper]

Those would probably be like the ones that are really unusual in the household that isn't really common.

[Molly Bloom]

Yes. Like for me recently that was rolling a hard boiled egg around in a metal bowl.

[Juniper]

Yeah.

[Molly Bloom]

And I was like, I've never done that before. So what would you say is your favorite sound in the world?

[Juniper]

This is really a hard question. It's either goats or the ocean.

[Molly Bloom]

Oh, I like both of those sounds so much. Do you know goats personally?

[Juniper]

No, but I'm a Capricorn so I feel like I identify with goats.

[Molly Bloom]

Gotcha. Because Capricorn, the symbol is a goat. Yeah. What do you like about goats and like the sound they make particularly?

[Juniper]

I've just feel it's like really goofy and how they act is really goofy. Kind of like cats. Ish.

[Molly Bloom]

Yeah. Can you do an impression of a goat? Oh, that was very good. Very, very nice.

[Juniper]

Thank you.

[Molly Bloom]

What would a goat ocean sound like?

[Juniper]

Maybe like the waves are like and then the goat are like all the time.

[Molly Bloom]

Honestly, I'm just picturing like goats on a surfboard for some reason.

[Juniper]

Oh, yeah, that's a good idea too.

[Molly Bloom]

Well, let's get to it. Juniper, do you feel like you're ready for some mystery sounds?

[Juniper]

Yeah.

[Molly Bloom]

Awesome. We're going to start with, with this one.

[Juniper]

What do you think? I know this noise like I know it by heart, but I don't know what it's called.

[Molly Bloom]

Okay. Where are you picturing it?

[Juniper]

I don't where I live for some reason. What happened? Ooh, like there was a big snow a couple of weeks ago, so maybe like someone shoveling out the ice.

[Molly Bloom]

Omg, Juniper.

[Juniper]

What?

[Molly Bloom]

That is a really good guess.

[Juniper]

Okay.

[Molly Bloom]

And here's the answer.

[Various Mystery Sound Contributors]

Hi, my name's Isla from Scotland, Aberdeen. And that was the sound of me putting a snow shovel and ice. Basically there's three layers, snow, then ice and more snow. When the snow shovel goes in the ice, it makes a sound of it and it cracks the ice and when you push it forward, that makes that the sound.

[Molly Bloom]

Incredible work. Like 100% correct.

[Juniper]

I'm really surprised that I got that right because I pretty much never get them right.

[Molly Bloom]

I'm so impressed. So yeah, I mean you guys in the northeast particularly have had a lot of snow lately. So it makes sense that it's kind of fresh. In your mind, are you the person who has to shovel in your family?

[Juniper]

Me and my dad tend to shovel. Like we shoveled out our car and then we also shoveled out our car again cuz it snowed recently.

[Molly Bloom]

So that's why you got it. Cuz it's. There's a lot. When you shovel, you hear that sound. A lot. A lot, a lot. Well, excellent work. All right, here is the next mystery sound. What do you think?

[Juniper]

What did you hear what I think? Yeah, I did. It sounds absolutely insane. All I could think of in that was like a ping pong table. So I'm gonna say ping pong table.

[Molly Bloom]

Okay. Very nice. Very nice. I picked this out and I honestly forgot what it is. So let's hear it again. Let's hear it again. What do you think?

[Juniper]

Well, I still think ping pong table, but like someone's having a really bad fight with the ping pong table and the ping pong table is winning.

[Molly Bloom]

Excellent, excellent guess. Okay, let's hear the answer.

[Various Mystery Sound Contributors]

Hi, my name is Layla. I'm from Los Angeles. And that was the sound of my cat scratching his scratching post. Oscar is a black cat and has a white belly. He has a brother named Felix who is brown. The cat scratching post looks like a llama.

[Molly Bloom]

Okay, well, all right. A cat scratching post.

[Juniper]

I was close. Yeah.

[Molly Bloom]

It's like kind of like someone fighting with a ping pong table except the cat is scratching a llama shaped scratching post. Thank you for that sound. Layla. You got us. Okay, here is the next mystery sound.

[Juniper]

Okay, I know this.

[Molly Bloom]

Yeah. What do you think?

[Juniper]

I think it's like when I was little enough to get in my bathtub, I slapped the water.

[Molly Bloom]

Oh, yes.

[Juniper]

And it would make something like that noise. Like.

[Molly Bloom]

Totally, totally.

[Juniper]

So maybe that.

[Molly Bloom]

Excellent guess. I'm going to give you a hint because I do know what this one is. This is a food related sound. So let's hear it again.

[Juniper]

Well, now it sounds like something's like boiling. Ish.

[Molly Bloom]

Oh yeah. Like the bubbles popping.

[Juniper]

Yeah, like if you put like if you like boil carrots or whatever, you know, like it makes that weird bubbly noise or like ramen.

[Molly Bloom]

Totally. Is there a food that would make that sound on its own? Not while it's being cooked. Like it just. That's what sound the Food makes.

[Juniper]

I didn't know food makes sounds.

[Molly Bloom]

My food's always talking to me. It's just not it. Take a bite. Geez.

[Juniper]

Whoever sent this has the, like, really one of the best mystery sounds.

[Molly Bloom]

It's a really good one. You ready for the answer?

[Juniper]

Yeah.

[Molly Bloom]

Okay, here it is.

[Various Mystery Sound Contributors]

My name's Thor. I live in Seattle, Washington, and that was the sound of me shaking my jello in a glass bowl.

[Juniper]

Wow. I don't really like jello, so maybe that's why I stuck.

[Molly Bloom]

That's why. Yeah. It is a very particular texture, and if that is not your thing, then it's really not your thing. And I feel like that sound is pretty indicative of that texture, so I apologize if that was unpleasant to you.

[Juniper]

It's fine. I just don't like the taste in the text.

[Molly Bloom]

Very fair. All right, we have another mystery sound. Do you want to hear it?

[Juniper]

Yes.

[Molly Bloom]

Okay, here it is.

[Juniper]

It kind of sounds like someone taking, like, 5,000 grains of rice, putting them in a bowl in, like, a metal bowl and then shaking them around.

[Molly Bloom]

Okay. Yes. So rice is a really good guess. It's not a kitchen sound. It's a sound that you'd probably do outside while you're doing this. You would hear it while you're doing this particular activity. It's a solo activity. Let's hear it again.

[Juniper]

I haven't been outside in so long, I forget what the outside sounds like. If it's a game with a ball. Right.

[Molly Bloom]

It's not something with a ball. It is something that involves wiggling, kind of moving in a rhythmic way, and it's pretty good. Exercise involves your hips.

[Juniper]

Oh, wait. Hula hoop. Is it that, you know, like, you know, they have those little beads in it sometimes?

[Molly Bloom]

Mm. Here's the answer.

[Various Mystery Sound Contributors]

Hi, my name is Eleanor, and I'm from Dallas, Texas, and that was the sound of me hula hooping.

[Molly Bloom]

Very nice. Yes. We haven't been outside in a while here in the northern part of the country, but yes. Hula hooping. Yeah. Has those little, like, things that sound like rice or sand inside.

[Juniper]

Yeah.

[Molly Bloom]

A little rhythmic. Are you good at the hula hoop?

[Juniper]

I was, and then I stopped hula hooping because we don't have hula hoops at home because my grandpa's a juggler, so we use his hula hoops.

[Molly Bloom]

Your grandpa's a juggler?

[Juniper]

Yeah.

[Molly Bloom]

Wow. Okay. May I cordially request a mystery sound related to juggling at some point in the future?

[Juniper]

Okay.

[Molly Bloom]

That's really cool. I used to be good at hula hooping. When I was a kid and then I recently tried over the summer. Turns out I can't hula hoop at all. I cannot remember how to do it.

[Juniper]

I can do like three and I used to be able to do like 18 in a row.

[Molly Bloom]

It looks so satisfying. That's one of my goals, is to get better at the hula hoop. Our next sound comes from a parent of a brainzound listener. One with a cool job that involves helping lots of people stay healthy. So here is that sound. Whoa, that was noisy. So helping people stay healthy, what do you think?

[Juniper]

Is it like one of those, like. I don't remember what they're called, but they're kind of like mini jackhammers that they put into your teeth to get cavities out or something like that.

[Molly Bloom]

That's literally what I was thinking. I don't know the answer to this one either. And I was definitely thinking like a drill. Yeah, like a drill at the dentist office.

[Juniper]

Yeah.

[Molly Bloom]

We're gonna have the answer right after this quick break. We are working on an episode about baseballs. Baseball has some really great cheers for fans in the stands. Like G, double O, D E, Y E. Good eye, good eye, good eye. But you know what needs some cheers? Science. We want to hear your cheers and chants for science. Juniper, what is your cheer or chant for science?

[Juniper]

My cheer for science is S C I E N C E. Science.

[Molly Bloom]

Yes. I love spelling and cheers. It's one of my favorite things. I approve. So listeners, please send your cheers or chants to [e-mail] contact while you're there.

[Juniper]

You can also send us questions, ideas and mystery sounds.

[Molly Bloom]

That's brainzone on.org contact and keep listening. Today's episode is sponsored by Every Plate. Every Plate is the go to dinner solution for busy families juggling work, school and activities. I don't know about you, but I find meal planning very challenging. I think part of it is that you have to do it every week. There's always meals to serve. So you know what's made things much easier? It's everyplate. It's an affordable meal kit that simplifies weeknight cooking for parents who don't have time for mealtime battles. It's perfect for those of us who are balancing school, pickup, sports, practice, homework, and everything in between. There are 35 plus weekly choices that you can tailor to your family's preferences. There's something for everyone, even the picky eaters. It's cheaper than the grocery store, half the price of takeout, and with upfront everyday low pricing. There are no hidden fees or surprises. Try everyplate and get $2.99 per meal on your first box plus 10% off for a month. Go to everyplate.com podcast and use code Brainson299 to claim your offer. That's code [e-mail] podcast to get $2.99 per meal on your first box plus 10% off For a month. Ditch the dinner time dilemmas with every plate. Today's episode is sponsored by Bombas. It's the time of the year we think about what am I gonna do differently this year? Maybe I'm gonna read more, maybe I'm gonna work out more, maybe I'm gonna learn a new skill. But really at the top of my list is number one to get comfy. And that's where Bombas comes in. They're bringing serious comfort to all my everyday go to's. The all new Bombas sports socks are engineered with sport specific comfort for running, golf, hiking, skiing, snowboarding and all sport. This year I'm going to walk my dog more. Longer walks, better walks and these socks are going to help me stay comfy while I do it. And for all my other resolutions like going to the bookstore and picking out more books to read, I'm going to wear my new squishy Saturday suede socks, slip on shoes which are super comfortable for being on the go. Head over to bombas.com family26 and use code family26 for 20 off your first purchase. That's B-O-M-B-A-S.com family26 code family26 at checkout. We are back and we're trying to figure out what this sound is. Okay, what do you think?

[Juniper]

I think I'm on the lines of the taking care of people thing. Like the mini jackhammer thing. Majiggy. But at the end I did hear kind of like water falling. So maybe that was just an accident or maybe that was part of the noise.

[Molly Bloom]

It's hard to say. Yeah, I heard that flapping this time too. Like maybe. Well, maybe it is the drill for the dentist and the dentist took it out of the mouth and then that was the person being like blah blah blah, like get it out of my nose maybe, maybe.

[Juniper]

I think I'm going to stick with the jackhammer thing of a Jean. Okay.

[Molly Bloom]

Yeah, me too. Let's see if we're right. My name is James Hull. I'm a pharmacist in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. What you just heard was A blood pressure cuff inflating blood pressure. Cuffs are used to measure blood pressure. Keeping a healthy blood pressure helps reduce the chance of cardiovascular disease, like heart attacks and strokes. Okay. Have you ever gotten your blood pressure checked?

[Juniper]

Um, yeah, I think so. We actually, I went on a trip last night and we were able to. We got to go to a fire station near us. Oh, cool. With my friends at Girl Scouts. And we got to take the blood pressure on our arms. Some of us.

[Molly Bloom]

Very cool. I guess when I think of blood pressure, I think about, like, the old kind of timey, old fashioned ones where they're like. And they're pumping it up by hand. But yeah, there's all those, like, cool machines now that do it. All right, Juniper, we have another mystery sound from a parent who also happens to be a scientist. Ooh, here's that sound.

[Juniper]

Now, I really like watching, like, spooky shows. So to me it kind of sounds like someone pouring, like, hydrogen or like dry ice in something.

[Molly Bloom]

Oh, yeah, Excellent guess. We're going to play it again, see what you think.

[Juniper]

Yeah, I think I'm going to stick with the dry ice.

[Molly Bloom]

Excellent choice. Here is the answer.

[Various Mystery Sound Contributors]

Hi, my name is Alanafeh and that was the sound of my mom scooping out dry ice.

[Molly Bloom]

Seriously, Juniper, that's incredible.

[Juniper]

I literally never get these right time. So it's like, it's the magic of the studio.

[Molly Bloom]

I mean, those two you got right were like, hard and you got them like, so specifically right. I am so impressed. Yes. So that was the sound of dry ice. Here's Al Anafe's parent, Erin Banda, to explain more. Hi, I'm Alinafeh's mom. I work in a lab that studies what happens to our cells when they have the wrong number of chromosomes. We use dry ice to keep things like cells, DNA, RNA and protein cold for our experiments. My favorite part about working in a lab is that it's kind of like always working on a mystery. Nobody knows the answers, but we're trying to figure them out. Here's a fun fact. Did you know that you share 60% of your DNA with a banana? That's pretty cool. Because I love bananas.

[Juniper]

I'm anti banana on every level.

[Molly Bloom]

Okay. My dad is anti banana. Like, very much so. To the point, like, growing up, we couldn't like, say, banana around.

[Juniper]

Oh.

[Molly Bloom]

I mean, do you feel that? Do you feel that strongly against bananas?

[Juniper]

No, no, no. I mean, I can hear the word banana. It's just. They're just. Not my banana. Not my banana.

[Molly Bloom]

I understand, I understand. Well, so now we know dry ice is used for science and also spooky TV shows. Very cool. All right, so, Juniper, I've gotten to pick these mystery sounds today, which is super fun. And I understand, though, that you have brought a mystery sound for me. And I'm so excited. Can I hear it?

[Juniper]

Yes.

[Various Mystery Sound Contributors]

Okay.

[Molly Bloom]

Whoa. Okay, this is hard. Okay, I'm gonna say what I heard. Maybe something will emerge. I heard like a slapping sound and also like a springy sound, and it happened a bunch of times. You said you like kitchen sounds. Maybe you're chopping something with a spring loaded chopper. This is. This is a really tricky one. I think I need a little time to mull it over. So why don't we check out what's in the mailbag, and then when we come back, maybe I'll have a better guitar. Hello. This is the mailbag where we look at the awesome stuff that you have sent to us. All right, so let's see what we have today in a mail bag. That's my little mailbag song. Okay. Okay. Incredible. Okay, this is a drawing from Celine from Houston, Texas. It is Celine and I having a picnic together. The sky is blue. There are fluffy white clouds. Celine really captured my curly hair and my glasses. We're on two lovely green hills, and there's a picnic basket and two apples, one for each of us. Celine has an awesome red shirt and pink pants. Very stylish. Thank you for this amazing drawing. All right, here's another amazing drawing. It says this is Kalia's drawing interpretation of the worm quest from the episode what's up with Worms? Kalia's from Medford, Oregon. This is a really great picture. It is. Okay, so there's a worm, there's a couple worms. Very cool. There's challenges. There's trees, there's clouds, there's us. It is a very dramatic and exciting drawing. Thank you for making it. Okay, there's one more drawing I gotta talk about. Okay. This is from Eleanor, who lives in Berlin, Germany. And Eleanor writes, this is a picture of a person sneezing. And oh, boy, is it ever. There's incredible action lines around the person's head. This person's eyes are squeezed tight as they sneeze. And there's all. All sorts of green germs coming out of this person's nose. It's very dramatic. There's even a red germ who looks angry. Incredible work, Eleanor. You really captured a sneeze. If you have drawings you'd like to send to us or really anything you got Questions. You have maybe a song you wrote. You have a joke to share. We want to hear it. So go to brainson.org contact and that's it for today's mailbag. Okay, we are back. And I'm guessing this mystery sound that Juniper brought in for me. I guessed a spring loaded chopper. Is that at all close?

[Juniper]

Okay, so we have. It's a knife. We have. Oh, okay. So we have like this metal slip in our kitchen on the side of our fridge. And I took the knife off and I kept putting it back on and taking it off and putting it back on.

[Molly Bloom]

So it's like a magnet. Yeah. Oh, that's so good. Okay, so I was kind of close. Wow. Excellent mystery sounds.

[Juniper]

Thank you.

[Molly Bloom]

Very good. Okay, Juniper, I have a few more sounds for you before we go. Are your ears open and ready? Yes. Here is the next mystery sound. What's your guess?

[Juniper]

Okay, so in the background I heard sizzling, but then at the same time, I heard, like the corks on the top of wine bottles popping. Oh. So I don't know what would make that noise.

[Molly Bloom]

I would say the sizzling part is the key part of this sound, and it is a kitchen sound. Oh, it is. Do I hear it again? Yeah. All right. Any other thoughts?

[Juniper]

I don't know. Something on a skillet that's like, you know, like when there's those, like totally. Those noises.

[Molly Bloom]

Yeah. Why don't you take a guess? What do you think is in. What do you think is being sizzled in the skillet?

[Juniper]

Maybe like a carrot.

[Molly Bloom]

Carrot. I love it. I feel like you have carrots on your brain.

[Juniper]

I do have carrots on the brain.

[Molly Bloom]

I love carrots. They're really good. All right, should we see if it's a carrot sizzling?

[Juniper]

Yes.

[Molly Bloom]

All right, here it is.

[Various Mystery Sound Contributors]

Hi, my name is shepherd, and that was a salad of butter bubbling in a pan.

[Molly Bloom]

Oh, butter num. Yes. Key to cooking. Butter oil, fat. So you could eventually put a carrot in there.

[Juniper]

Yeah.

[Molly Bloom]

And it would be delicious. Carrot with butter. Okay, I'm hungry. Let's hear the next mystery sound. Okay. This one makes me laugh.

[Juniper]

I think this might be my favorite sound of the day. Uh huh.

[Molly Bloom]

I think so too. What do you think it is?

[Juniper]

I think it's someone either putting their mouth in front of the fan and going, or they're just going in front of the microphone and going,

[Molly Bloom]

I love it. I think we should hear it again, just, you know, because it's fun. Incredible. Any new thoughts?

[Juniper]

Maybe. This one keeps popping up in my brain. It's Like a baby is in front of a dog and the dog is just staring it down. Like it's really mad at the baby. Forgot in its face.

[Molly Bloom]

I really like that. I love a story. Like a mystery sound that tells a story. Here is the answer.

[Various Mystery Sound Contributors]

Hi, my name is Cora and I'm from Skokie, Illinois. And the sound you just heard was my dad patting my little brother's mouth.

[Molly Bloom]

Okay, excellent work. It was a baby, so that's a little baby. And the dad's patting the mouth while the baby goes, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Hilarious. I love that. Makes me so happy. Thank you for sending that sound. All right, we got a couple more. Here is the second to last mystery sound. What do you think?

[Juniper]

When I first heard of that, I thought of that thing. It lifts up like big boxes of something, like big boxes of paper, and it makes that weird clunk noise.

[Molly Bloom]

Very nice. I'm gonna give you a hint. Something's being lifted up, and it's something that you might hear at your home near a car or in somewhere where you put your car. I think I'm gonna stop there before I get away.

[Juniper]

Well, now that you gave me those hints, it's either like a tow truck or it's like one of those car lifts, like in the parking lot where they lift up your car.

[Molly Bloom]

Do you want to hear it again?

[Juniper]

Yeah.

[Molly Bloom]

Here we go.

[Juniper]

Yeah, I think I'm gonna stick with the car lift answer.

[Molly Bloom]

Okay, here is the answer.

[Various Mystery Sound Contributors]

Hi, my name's Maddie. And my name's Edith, and we are from Wano Creek, California. And the sound you just heard was us closing our garage door.

[Molly Bloom]

A garage door?

[Juniper]

Cause that weird mechanical sound like.

[Molly Bloom]

Yeah.

[Juniper]

Yeah.

[Molly Bloom]

Yes. Excellent guessing. Yeah. Lifting up a car and lift. It probably makes a similar noise, honestly. Okay, here is the last mystery sound of the day. What do you think?

[Juniper]

When I first heard that sound, I thought two things at once, which was someone roller skating. Like someone has a microphone down where they're rollers are going. Or like their blades if they're ice skating. And it's like just like recording them going across the floor. Like that kind of noise.

[Molly Bloom]

Juniper, you're really good at this. Let's hear it again. Would you like to stick with your answer?

[Juniper]

I think I have another idea, which is like a crowd warring. That's like, ah. Like someone that's really rooting. Like a ton of people that are really rooting for this person on the sports team.

[Molly Bloom]

Nice. Okay, so you're hearing sports. You ready for the answer?

[Juniper]

Yeah.

[Molly Bloom]

Here it is.

[Various Mystery Sound Contributors]

Hello, my name is Ashwin. I live in Washington D.C. and that is the sound of my hockey team practicing with pucks and sticks. Thank you Juniper.

[Juniper]

I mean incredible. I was so close. It was.

[Molly Bloom]

I'm giving it to you because the first time you're like skates. Uh huh. Check, check, check. Sports. Yes, absolutely. Maybe not a crowd, but his team's there so 100% full credit from me. Very good work guessing today Juniper. And thank you to all of our listeners for sending in these mystery sounds. If you have a mystery sound you'd like to share, you can always send it to [e-mail] contact please upload the sound and your explanation of what it is. Thank you so much.

[Juniper]

Mystery sounds are everywhere. You just have to keep your ears open.

[Molly Bloom]

They are fun to hear and even more fun to guess what they are. That's it for this episode of Brains On. This episode was produced by me, Molly Blume, Mark Sanchez and Sandon Totten. Special thanks to Emily Nickerson and John Thomas and engineering help from Alex Cosenza. Want to give a big shout out too to Nova and Remy?

[Juniper]

Brainzon is an independent media company to keep the brainzone universe going. Join Smarty Pass. You can do that by heading to smartypass.org

[Molly Bloom]

now it's time for the brains honor roll. These are the incredible kids who keep the show going with their questions, ideas, mystery sounds, drawings and high fives. Henry from Columbia, South Carolina Keegan from Toronto Alexandra from Anchorage, Alaska Marshall and Ansley from Cincinnati Ruby from Dublin, Ireland Avery from North Carolina Griffin from Derry, New Hampshire Madeline from Duluth, Minnesota Olivia from Fort Forest Hills, New York Wolf from Beverly, Massachusetts Max and Toby from Washington, D.C. aria from Guthrie, Oklahoma Leo and Charles from Mountain View, California Nora from Daphne, Alabama Eliana and Noah from San Raymond, California Phoebe from Belton, Texas Cobe from American Fork, Utah Charlotte from Australia Zebby from Manchester, United Kingdom Francis from Philadelphia Trey from Rockwell, Texas Jay from Dayton, Ohio Audriana from Pittsburgh Amber from Brooklyn Bailey and Rory from California Wesley from Columbia, Missouri Jagger from Austin, Texas Leah from Nanjing, China Nova from Jamestown, New York Sully from Ontario Caleb from from Glen Falls, New York Elias from Austin, Texas Silas from Colorado April from Napier, New Zealand Ren from McCall, Idaho Bodie from New South Wales, Australia Bennett from San Antonio, Texas Langston from Harbor Springs, Michigan Jackson from Lenexa, Kansas Cora from Hamilton, New York Jacob and Finn from Highland Park, Illinois Maddie from Lincoln University, Pennsylvania Claire from California Octavia from Phoenix Jules from Brooklyn, New York Luca from San Anselmo, California William from Lakewood, Ohio Andrew from Shanghai Micah from Ireland Freddie from Kyle Cricklade, England Eli from Pendleton, Indiana Felix from Brooklyn, New York Peter from Los Gatos, California Camilla from New York City Clara from Sarasota, Florida Adam from Tarzana, California Camilo from Boston Tim from Georgetown, Ontario Ruby and Dalia from Calabasas, California Gideon Harper and Cyrus from Altadena, California Avery from Pickering, Ontario Theo from Durham, North Carolina Henry from Inverness, Florida Dalton from Putnam Valley, New York and Henry from the Philippines. We'll be back next week with an episode all about Flowers.

[Juniper]

Thanks for listening.