Mystery Sounds from the natural world

Summary

Brains On! Science Podcast for Kids

Episode: Mystery Sounds from the Natural World
Date: November 11, 2025
Host: Molly Bloom
Co-Host: Rahema (Dallas, TX)
Guest: Thomas Rex Beverly (Adventure Field Recordist)

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Episode Overview

This lively episode of Brains On! is a “Mystery Sound Extravaganza” focused entirely on intriguing and mysterious sounds from the natural world. Listeners are invited to test their ears alongside host Molly Bloom, kid co-host Rahema, and adventure field recordist Thomas Rex Beverly. Together, they guess and reveal the source of unique recordings from across the globe, learn field recording tricks, and discover the stories behind the wildest sounds in nature.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction to Mystery Sounds

[00:17 – 02:56]

• Molly Bloom sets up the “mystery sound” format and introduces co-host Rahema, who previously met the Brains On! crew at a live Dallas show.
• Rahema shares her favorite part of the live show (scientists falling from the ceiling!) and gushes about meeting the podcast hosts.

Notable Quote:
“My favorite part of the entire experience was definitely being able to meet you and Mark and Sandon, which… that was a lot of fun, honestly.”
— Rahema, [03:11]

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2. Meet the Field Recordist: Thomas Rex Beverly

[04:14 – 05:05]

• Tom describes his job and adventures, likening field recording to nature photography, but with microphones for sounds of everything from animals to thunderstorms and glaciers.

Notable Quote:
“So I record nature sounds. It's kind of like being a nature photographer... but I go out with microphones, and I record their sounds.”
— Tom, [04:41]

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3. First Mystery Sound: The Not-So-Texan Deer

Sound Begins: [06:09]

• Tom's clip from Texas puzzles both hosts, who suspect a bird due to the “bugling” noise.
• Reveal: It’s a sika deer (native to Asia) making strange, bird-like sounds, now found in Texas after escape from ranches.

Notable Quote:
“It is actually a deer called a sika deer. So they make these bird-like, bugling sorts of sounds.”
— Tom, [06:40]

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4. Listener Mystery Sound: Yellowstone Geyser

Sound Begins: [07:49]

• Rahema and Tom both suspect something watery or a boat motor.
• Reveal: Listener Dylan from Idaho shares it’s a “spasmodic geyser near Old Faithful” in Yellowstone.

Notable Quote:
“The sound you just heard is a spasmodic geyser near Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park.”
— Dylan (listener), [10:04]

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5. Glacier Cracking in the Arctic

Sound Begins: [11:13]

• Recording was made in Iceland, under a glacier lake.
• Both Molly and Rahema guess a glacier—Rahema nails it!

Notable Quotes:
“So it is a glacier. You nailed it with that.”
— Tom, [11:50]

“If you're above the ice, you don't actually hear much at all. But then if you put the hydrophones under the ice, you hear all of this fabulous ice sound.”
— Tom, [11:54]

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6. Recording in the Wild: Tips & Animal Curiosity

[12:44 – 13:48]

• Tom shares essentials for fieldwork (duct tape!) and amusing animal encounters, including a grizzly bear trying to eat his microphone.

Notable Quote:
“I had a grizzly bear in Alaska come up and try to eat one of my microphones for a while.”
— Tom, [13:07]

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7. Favorite Local Sounds

[15:32 – 16:10]

• Rahema describes peaceful days at a Japanese garden with bird songs, water, and music.
• Tom recalls West Texas storms and hail pounding on a tin roof, giving tips on listening to thunder and nature’s symphony.

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8. California Redwood Falls & Raven Rumbles

Sound Begins: [17:06]

• Recording from California, only found in CA and Oregon.
• The hosts mistakenly guess frogs, storms, or alarms.
• Reveal: The thunderous sound is a giant redwood tree falling; the croak is a raven!

Notable Quotes:
“That was the sound of a gigantic redwood tree falling in the distance and going, boom.”
— Tom, [19:09]

“So that's a tree that's, like, about at least as tall as... a football field... They're pretty gigantic trees that have been growing for over a thousand years sometimes.”
— Tom, [19:33]

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9. How to Tune into Nature’s Soundscape

[20:05 – 21:21]

• Tom shares a practical listening exercise: focus on sounds from right inside your body, then expand your hearing outward—steps away, meters, hundreds of meters, to distant miles.

Notable Quote:
“Trying to focus on those different levels because you can actually hear very far away. It can be kind of fun to do that because a lot of people don't even notice the sounds that are going on around.”
— Tom, [21:03]

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10. Epic Humpback Whale Party in Hawaii

Sound Begins: [23:44]

• Tom’s mysterious “noisy” recording from Hawaii.
• Rahema accurately guesses whale sounds, and Tom reveals it was a whole pod of humpbacks singing and socializing—possibly even “saying their names.”

Notable Quotes:
“That's probably anywhere from 20 to 50 whales in this one bay. And they all just hang out and sing to each other and make lots of fun sounds.”
— Tom, [24:44]

“They make one sound that's especially fun. It's kind of like, 'Hello, my name is Tom.' And whale, they go...whoop!”
— Tom, [25:12]

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11. A Final Listener Mystery: Crunching Ice

Sound Begins: [26:17]

• Both Tom and Rahema venture wood or pine cones, but listener Vera shares it was the sound of cracking ice on a path.

Notable Quote:
“My mystery sound is me cracking ice on a pathway.”
— Vera (listener), [27:18]

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• Rahema on sound-guessing skills:
  “I like to consider myself really good at guessing the mystery sound, but I only really get it right, like, 60% of the time.” [03:44]
• Tom on animal curiosity:
  “A grizzly bear in Alaska come up and try to eat one of my microphones for a while... sniffing and licking it...for about 30 minutes.” [13:07]
• Molly on relaxation:
  “Sometimes all you have to do is sit quietly for a minute and there they are.” [27:51]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:11] – Rahema’s favorite show memory
• [04:41] – Tom explains field recording
• [06:09] – Mystery sound: Sika deer
• [10:04] – Listener reveals geyser sound
• [11:13] – Mystery sound: Glacier cracking
• [13:07] – Grizzly bear vs. microphone story
• [17:06] – Mystery sound: Redwood tree & raven
• [20:12] – Tom’s levels-of-listening exercise
• [23:44] – Mystery sound: Whales in Hawaii
• [27:18] – Listener sound: Cracking ice

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Overall Tone & Takeaways

This episode is playful, curious, and full of wonder at the hidden stories in nature’s soundscape. The hosts and guest encourage listeners to stretch their ears, question assumptions, and appreciate even the subtlest background noises. There’s humor, awe, and lots of encouragement for young scientists to keep observing and asking questions.

“Mystery sounds are truly everywhere. Sometimes all you have to do is sit quietly for a minute and there they are.”
— Molly Bloom, [27:51]

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Further Resources

• Learn more about Thomas Rex Beverly’s field recordings: ThomasRexBeverly.com
• Send your own mystery sounds and questions to Brains On!
• Stay tuned after the episode for Tom’s full humpback whale recording.

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Transcript

[A]

Lemonade.

[B]

You're listening to the Brains on Universe. You're listening to Brains on, where we're serious about being curious.

[A]

Holy macaroni, do we have a big episode for you today. You know it. You love it. It's the be Mystery Sound. Oh, yeah. We're gonna hear a bu of intriguing, curious, and downright mysterious sounds. Your job will be to guess what they are. This mystery sound extravaganza is going to take us all over the world, thanks to our super special guest, Thomas Rex. Beverly.

[C]

I had a grizzly bear in Alaska come up and try to eat one of my microphones for a while. So you hear him sniffing and licking it and playing around with it for about 30 minutes, which was kind of fun.

[A]

I. I hope your ears are ready, because they're about to get a workout. Hello. Elevator to the studio, please. Which one? Since you've gone independent and moved into the new Brains on Universe headquarters, every floor has a studio and you keep building more. Always good to be prepared. Sanon said he's been fixing up the Smarty Pass floor. Let's check that out. Smarty Pass floor. Floor. Going up. Elevator. You were one of our founding Smarty Pass members, right? That is correct, Molly. Ad free episodes, discounts on merch and live shows, and my favorite hangouts with you, Mark and Sandon. But you hang out with us all the time. Like right now. This is work, Molly. It's different. Anyhow, it's easier than ever to become a member. Go to brainson.org to get the ad free feed and all sorts of cool bonus stuff. Smartypass Studio. Molig, great timing. What do you think of the new bubblegum themed Smarty Pass floor? It's pretty pink and sticky. I know, right? Bubblegum on the floors, walls and ceilings. You're always just a couple of chops away to your next bubble. Oh, okay. But I don't think all that gum is going to be good for the studio equipment. Fair point. I'll clean it up with my mouth elevator. Let's just go to the main studio. Thank you. You're listening to Brainzon, part of the Brainzon Universe. I'm your host, Molly Bloom, and I'm here with Rahema from Dallas, Texas. Hi, Rahem. Hello.

[B]

I'm so excited to be here.

[A]

Oh, my gosh, we are so excited you're here because I got to meet you not too long ago in person when we had a live show in Dallas. So, without giving too much away, what was your favorite part of the show?

[B]

That's an unfair Question. But I think over. My favorite part of the show was probably when there were scientists from the past falling from the ceiling. Don't ask. But my favorite part of the entire experience was definitely being able to meet you and Mark and Sandon, which. That was a lot of fun, Honestly.

[A]

That was my highlight too, meeting you. It was so fun. So today's a mystery sound episode. Mystery sound extravaganza. So how are you when it comes to guessing the mystery sound?

[B]

I like to consider myself really good at guessing the mystery sound, but I only really get it right, like, 60% of the time. So not the best of the best.

[A]

I think that's pretty good. I find mystery sounds very hard myself. I almost never get them right. So today we're putting an outdoor spin on today's mystery sound extravaganza. Everything you're gonna hear comes from the natural world. And joining us with sounds from all over the world is Thomas Rex Beverly.

[B]

He is an adventure field recordist. He travels the globe to find some of the most interesting sounds in nature.

[A]

His trips also involve some tough physical activities too. Like he might have to scuba dive or backpack or ski just to track down sounds that he's never heard before. Hi, Tom. Welcome.

[C]

Hi. Glad to be here.

[B]

Before we get into the sounds, can you tell us a little bit about what you do? It sounds really exciting.

[C]

Yeah. So I record nature sounds. It's kind of like being a nature photographer. So if you're a Nat Geo photographer that went out and photographed elephants or other animals, but I go out with microphones, and I record their sounds. So that might be large animals, elephants, wolves, whales. Sometimes it might be glaciers, sometimes it might be weather, big storms, thunder, that sort of thing.

[A]

Well, here at Brainzound, we appreciate you, Tom, and we appreciate a finely tuned ear. And it sounds like we have the best here today. So, Rahema, it's time for the first Mystery cell. So, Tom, you recorded what we're about to hear. Without giving too much away, would you mind telling us where in the world it's from?

[C]

So this was recorded in Texas in November, but it's not really supposed to be in Texas, so it's not the best hint.

[A]

Okay. And you and Rahema are both in Texas right now, so.

[B]

Yay.

[A]

See if that helps at all. Here is the sound.

[B]

I think that it's some kind of bird. At the beginning, it was like. So at first I thought that it would be, like, a small bird, but then it started getting kind of, like, groany, like, and I feel like only a bigger Bird would be able to make a sound like that. So I think that it might be some kind of bigger bird.

[A]

I think it's a bird, too. I think you're totally right. Tom. What is it? Are we right?

[C]

So it is not a bird. It is an animal, though. It is actually a deer called a sika deer. So they make these bird like, bugling sorts of sounds. The one thing you might have heard in the US Is an elk. They make these trumpeting, bugling sort of sounds. And this one basically sounds like a baby elk, and it makes these sounds in the fall when it's usually a male deer that's trying to find a mate. And it makes all these spooky sounds.

[B]

Wow. A deer. Oh, my gosh.

[C]

Sika deer are actually from Asia. They're not supposed to be in Texas, but people brought them over and had them on their ranches, and they escaped. And so now you can hear these spooky sounds, especially around Halloween out in the hill country around San Antonio. They're quite beautiful. They echo through the hills.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

I would have never guessed a deer for that sound.

[A]

Seriously, that's amazing. Okay, that was a tough one. But, Tom, we're going to ask you to join Rahema as a guesser on this next one. So here is a sound. Are you ready for one that our listener sent to us?

[B]

I'm ready, so ready.

[A]

Okay, here it is. Okay. What are you hearing? What are you cluing in on? Let's start with Tom. What do you think?

[C]

Yeah, it's tricky. I would say maybe a little bit of a kind of wet sort of motor sound in the distance. Maybe something dragging, not sure.

[A]

Rahema, what do you think?

[B]

I agree with Tom that it's something spinning in water. So I think it might be like a boat motor, maybe. But I also heard flapping, so it could have been somebody who is recording, like, a flock of waterfowl on a boat. So we're hearing both, like, the flapping and the rotor spinning.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

So that's my guess.

[A]

Some very keen listening happening here today. So we're gonna have the answer right after a quick break.

[B]

Hear you later. You're listening to Brains on. I'm Rehema.

[A]

I'm Molly.

[C]

And I'm Tom.

[A]

And Tom has brought us some of the absolute coolest mystery sounds from his expeditions around the world. But before we can hear his next selection, let's see how good he and Rahema were at guessing a mystery sound for my Brain Zone listener. So you guys heard some flapping? You heard maybe some motor you heard something wet, you heard something dragging. We're not sure what it is. Do you want to stick with those guesses?

[B]

I think I'm gonna stick with my guess.

[A]

What do you think, Tom?

[C]

Yeah, I'll stick with mine.

[A]

All right, here is the answer.

[B]

Hello, I'm Dylan. I live in Victor, Idaho. The sound you just heard is a spasmodic geyser near Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park. I knew I heard water.

[A]

Wow, that was a tricky one. Tom, have you been there before? Did you know that, like, have you seen that geyser before?

[C]

I have not seen that geyser. I've been pretty close to there, but never recorded in Yellowstone.

[A]

All right, so we're going to hear another sound from Tom. Here it is. Whoa. That is a cool sound. Okay, Tom, before we guess, wow, without giving it away, where did you record that?

[C]

So that is up in the far north in the Arctic would be your hint for that one, but it's, it's. It's kind of tricky too.

[A]

Okay, so Rahema, what do you think?

[B]

Okay, he said up north, and at first I heard something crumbling, so I think it might be ice. I think it sounds kind of weird, but I think it might be ice. Like a glacier crumbling.

[A]

I love that guess. So smart. I don't think I can do better than that. So let's hear Tom. What is the answer?

[C]

So it is a glacier. You nailed it with that.

[A]

Oh, my gosh.

[C]

So imagine you're in Iceland in the winter. You have a big glacier, and at the bottom of the glacier there's a lake, but the top of the lake is frozen. And so I went out on the frozen lake and they used these big drills to drill holes in the ice. And you put an underwater microphone called a hydrophone through the ice, and then what you're actually hearing is the cracking and breaking and moving of the glacier. And sometimes they're like, pew. Sometimes they're crack, crack. Make all these cracking sounds. If you're above the ice, you don't actually hear much at all. But then if you put the hydrophones under the ice, you hear all of this fabulous ice sound. So it's a fun way to listen to the glaciers. Y.

[A]

Incredible work. So amazing.

[B]

What's one thing you never forget to pack on your expeditions?

[C]

I think I bring a lot of tape with me, like duct tape and electrical tape because sometimes animal will destroy my microphones or the weather breaks something. So you can fix a lot of things with some duct tape.

[B]

Do animals ever get upset that there's a bunch of microphones and equipment in their habitats.

[C]

Sometimes a lot of what I do is leave microphones out by themselves for 24 hours. So I'll go set them up. I'll let that record for a long period of time by itself so that I get the animals behaving naturally, because they wouldn't act normal if I was sitting there with the microphone. And so oftentimes they'll come up very close and investigate the microphones. I had a grizzly bear in Alaska come up and try to eat one of my microphones for a while. You hear him sniffing and licking it and playing around with it for about 30 minutes, which was kind of fun. Generally, I tend to like going places where there's less wildlife trying to mess with your sounds.

[A]

Well, we're gonna have another sound from your travels in just a bit, so stick around. Hey, friends, we've got an episode coming up all about skunks. They're famous for their strong smell and that stink is a defense mechanism. It's a way for skunks to scare away animals that might hurt them.

[B]

That's a pretty clever way to scare off your enemies.

[A]

Totally. So if you could design a unique way to scare off animal enemies, what would it be? What about you, Rahema? What would your odd animal defense be?

[B]

Hmm, Well, I think I would start off with like a really big suit because in the animal world, dominance is everything. So if I appear to be in a higher social class than the animal, then fighting would be out of the question.

[A]

Smart.

[B]

Throw in some cymbals, a slime gun, and maybe a nose plug and I think I'm covered.

[A]

Wow, that is very well thought out. I can't wait to see your suit. It's gonna be amazing. So listeners, please share your ideas for wild animal defense mechanisms. Record a voice memo and then go to brainson.org to send it to us. And while you're there, you can also send us your drawings and questions and keep listening. Foreign. We're back with our mystery sound extravaganza. Our pal Thomas Rex Beverly has come with a treasure trove of mystery sounds from his sound adventure trips. And our co host Rahema has flexed her listening skills to the max. So you all are both from Texas. What are some of your favorite sounds in the area? Rahema, why don't you start?

[B]

Well, I remember that there was one time when my family went to a Japanese garden. It's basically a giant walk through meadow that has like flower trees and a bunch of koi ponds and there were butterflies everywhere and the sounds of the birds was so relaxing. And I think that in one of them that we went to, there was also music playing. So that plus the sounds of the birds and the water and the rustling leaves and the wind was so relaxing.

[A]

That sounds amazing. And Tom, what about you? Do you do much recording of sounds close to home?

[C]

Yeah, I've done a bunch of recording out in West Texas near kind of Big Bend national park out there. And yeah, I love listening to the summer thunderstorms, the big booming, echoing thunder, and then sometimes you'll get hailstorms. My parents had a house out there with the metal roof. So you get these. The hail kind of pinging off the roof and the big echoing thunder that's bouncing around in the. In the mountain valley. So I've always loved storms and been a little bit of a storm chaser. So I like. I like their sounds.

[A]

Wow. So, Tom, where is our audio journey going to go next?

[C]

We're gonna head out to California to special thing that only grows in California and Oregon.

[A]

Putting the mystery in mystery sound. But that's a helpful clue. Okay, Rahema, are you ready?

[B]

So ready.

[A]

All right, let's hear it.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

I don't know. What do you think?

[C]

So the sounds at the end give you a little hint, and then the thing at the beginning is what you're trying to guess.

[A]

Oh, okay. What do you think, Grandma?

[B]

I have two guesses. So my first guess is at first I hear a storm, and then with that weird sound at the end, I'm thinking that it's either like a storm alarm, like one of those tornado alarms, but either that or I think it might be some kind of frog.

[A]

Yes, I was thinking frog too. There's so many bizarre frog sounds. Wait, Tom said it was something that grows, so didn't he say there's something that only grows in Oregon and California? So is it like a plant? Is it a plant talking to me?

[B]

Personally, I don't think so. I don't think a plant can talk.

[A]

Maybe that what we thought was a storm at the beginning was like rustling of leaves or something or maybe.

[B]

But I did hear some kind of like booming in the background, so. And it seemed too big to be wind.

[A]

Yeah, I think you're right.

[B]

Anyway, that's. That's a thought.

[A]

We have a lot of thoughts. We're not sure. Yeah, Tom, please help us. What was that?

[C]

Yeah, so the sounds at the end are animals. The thing that you thought was maybe some sort of alarm or maybe a frog that's actually a raven going, they make these croaking sort of sounds. So that's a big, big black bird called a raven. Super smart birds.

[B]

And was that first part a storm?

[C]

It sounds a lot like a storm, but it is something that grows. So one of the things I managed to record is this big booming sound in a forest. So that was the sound of a gigantic redwood tree falling in the distance and going, boom.

[A]

Oh, wow.

[C]

So that's a tree that's, like, about at least as tall as if you've seen a football field. So imagine the length of a football field standing up, so 300 to 400ft. And they're pretty gigantic trees that have been growing for over a thousand years sometimes. And, yeah, sometimes they fall in a windstorm or sometimes they just fall over and they make a gigantic booming sound, kind of like thunder. So it's not something you would hear very often.

[B]

Booming trees and ranting ravens. Spooky.

[A]

All right, so do you have any tips, Tom, in how to, like, tune into the sounds of nature in a place like this?

[C]

So I usually do a little exercise where I start by trying to listen to a sound that's, like, in your body. So that would be maybe holding your breath. Sometimes you can hear your stomach gurgling or the sound of your own heartbeat. If you hold your breath, then moving out a little bit, maybe that's a few feet away. Maybe that's the sound of your foot on the ground moving some leaves. Maybe it's the sound of something really close to you. Then you jump out a little further, maybe 50ft. Then you start to hear those ravens or those birds or a little bit of wind. Then you jump out 500ft. Then you can hear everything in your environment. Maybe that's the car driving by your street in the city. And then you can jump back even further. So trying to listen out a few miles. So that's sometimes like the airplane that's flying over really high that you can actually hear if you focus on it. It's a distant train. It's the distant redwood tree booming. So just trying to focus on those different levels because you can actually hear very far away. It can be kind of fun to do that because a lot of people don't even notice the sounds that are going on around.

[A]

Well, we've got one more sound from Tom, but first, let's see what's new in our mailbag. We love getting your mail, whether it's a letter with a stamp or an email with a. Whatever emails are sent with. Drop us a drawing, ask us for life advice. Or send us your idea for a new room at our headquarters. Just go to brainson.org now let's see what this one is. Oh, it's a message from a teacher. Let's hear it.

[D]

Hi, my name is Carla Morin. I'm a third grade teacher in Canton, Michigan. I love to use the Brains on podcast with my science classes. I match up episodes with science units like life cycles and traits. For the traits unit, one of my favorite episodes is Meet Sandy, the left handed mutant snail. It's something that kids can relate to being right or left handed. As a science teacher, I like that it features school kids as scientists. My students love the voices of the snail and the sound effects and the fact that it also talks about mutants. As a science teacher, I love all the questions that Brainzon asks and it gets kids to think about science and be interested in science. Aw.

[A]

A plus to you for sharing us with your class. We're sending you a free subscription to Smarty Pass. Of course, if you're a teacher, tell us how you use Brainson. Go to brainson.org to get in touch. Okay. Later, mailbag. You know you can hear all our shows. Brains on Smash, Boom, Best and Forever Go with zero ad Breaks. It's easy. Join smartypass and you get that. Plus hangouts with our crew, bonus content and more. Plus, you're supporting smart stuff for smart people. A real mitzvah. Go to brainzon.org to join SmartyPass today. Thank you so much, Brainzan. So, Tom, you have taken Rahema and me on a real journey. The Arctic, California, Texas. So do you have one more sound to share?

[C]

Yes.

[A]

Okay, let's hear it. That was noisy. Okay, Tom, before. Before we guess where did you record that?

[C]

So that was in Hawaii.

[A]

Oh, okay. Rahema, what do you think?

[B]

All right, so when I first heard the sound, I was thinking either seals or whales. But if there's anywhere that seals do not live, it's Hawaii. So I'm going to guess that those were whale sounds.

[A]

I like that idea a lot. It sounded. I guess it's like a whale party. There sounded like so many of them. Okay, Tom, are we close? What was it?

[C]

Yeah, it's definitely a whale party. There's a whole bunch of humpback whales that go there in what is their winter. So these humpbacks, they live in Alaska part of the year and they go up and they eat krill and salmon up there. And then when it gets cold in Alaska, they swim all the way to Hawaii. And that's where they do their singing and they give birth to their babies. And, yeah, that's probably anywhere from 20 to 50 whales in this one bay. And they all just hang out and sing to each other and make lots of fun sounds. So they. They make one sound that's especially fun. It's kind of like, hello, my name is Tom. And whale, they go. They make these little. Little whoop sounds. And so that's kind of like them. Some of the researchers think that that is kind of like them saying their name. So you. If sometimes when you're listening, you can hear one off to the left and you'll go, boop. And the other one off the right will go, boo. A little bit different sound, like, oh, that's my name.

[A]

I love that.

[C]

So you can hear them talking to each other. So, yeah, it's quite amazing to hear.

[A]

Well, Tommy's sounds have been so cool. And listeners, we have a very special treat. After today's credits and honor roll, we are going to play Tom's whale recording in full.

[C]

Yay.

[B]

So if you want to relax and pretend you're floating in the ocean, stick around until the end.

[A]

So, Tom, before we go, we have one more sound for you to guess. You ready? Yep. Okay, here it is. Okay, Tom, what do you think?

[C]

Sounds maybe like someone typing really fast on the keyboard or a cat kind of jumping around on some sort of keys, or maybe pine cones kind of getting scraped around the little petals, kind of plucking? Yeah, something like that.

[B]

Oh, I'm not sure. Maybe like somebody like, sanding or like breaking wood or something. I don't know. Or I think that it also could be a pine cone that also kind of sounds like pine cones.

[A]

Okay, excellent guesses. Here is the answer.

[B]

Hi, I'm Vera and I live in Herndon, Virginia. My mystery sound is me cracking ice on a pathway.

[A]

Oh, so a little different than that glacier we heard earlier, but still ice. Very cool. Very cool. Ice makes really cool sounds.

[B]

Thanks so much for your time, Tom.

[A]

Yeah, thank you, Tom. We really appreciate it.

[C]

Yeah, thank you. This is a lot of fun.

[A]

Bye. Mystery sounds are truly everywhere.

[B]

Sometimes all you have to do is sit quietly for a minute and there they are.

[A]

I don't know about you, Rehema, but I can always use a little more quiet time to help me relax.

[B]

For sure.

[A]

That's it for this episode of Brains On.

[B]

This episode was written and produced by Mark Sanchez.

[A]

Mark also wrote our theme song and sound design the episode.

[B]

It was edited by Sanon Totten.

[A]

We had engineering help from Michael Zavala. And special thanks to Thomas Mungi and Jochi Kuria. If you want to find out more About Thomas Rex Beverly's sound adventures, check out his website, Thomas RexBeverly.com we'll have a link in the show notes too. Our website was built by ken [e-mail].

[B]

Brainson is an independent podcast. Our show depends on your support. Help the show grow by going to brainson.org and signing up for Smartypass.

[A]

That's our ad free feed where you get discounts on merch and live events. Plus hangs with sand and Mark and me. Subscriptions start at just $6 per month or $60 for the whole year.

[B]

$60? That's like the price of one pizza night.

[A]

Exactly. Sign up [e-mail] now it's time for the Brains Honor Roll. These are the kids who keep the show going with their questions, ideas, mystery, sounds, drawings and high fives. Amelia from New Mexico Clara from Markham, Ontario Mary and Elizabeth from Philadelphia Orion and Liam from Oakland, California Elias and Emma from Taft, California Zoe and Sammy from Pennsylvania Cooper from Birmingham, Alabama Mina from South Orange, New Jersey Elena from Houston Quinn from Kelowna, British Columbia Kears from Ottawa Amelia from Franklin, Tennessee Marlo and Beatrix from Portland, Oregon Morgan from Jacksonville, Florida Dustin from Cedra, Woolly, Washington Madhu from New Delhi, India Tilly and Oscar from Austin, Texas Adelyn from Kirksville, Missouri Peyton from Columbus, Ohio Kingsley and Landers from Carbondale, Colorado Evelyn from Mukwenago, Wisconsin Noah from Cincinnati Noah from Los Angeles Silas from Laurel, Mississippi Elowin and Maya from from Los Angeles Santiago from Greensboro, North Carolina Marco from Kingston, New York Violet and Gracie from Burbank, California Clara from Redmond, Washington James from Little Rock, Arkansas Evan from Singapore Logan from Cincinnati Lewis from Hastings, New Zealand Scarlett from Chattanooga, Tennessee Aria from Victoria Jameson from Reading, Pennsylvania Eddie from Erie, Colorado Naisha from Mumbai, India Aiden and Asha from Orlando, Florida Titus from Alexandria, Louisiana Ari from Los Angeles Malcolm and Quinton from Englewood, California Jiajia from Shenzhen, China Claire from Astoria, New York Claire from Boxborough, Massachusetts Annabella from Lisbon, Portugal Addie from Guelph, Ontario Lila and Aiden from North Reading, Massachusetts Borna from Tehran, Iran Hugh from Portland, Oregon Colin from North Canton, Ohio Evie from Langley, British Columbia Tessie from Menasqua and New Jersey Margo from Winona, Minnesota Siddharth from Miami, Florida Sumi from Champaign, Illinois Loi and Suki from Janesville, Wisconsin JJ from Perquio, Menville and Sara and Samir from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Next week's episode is all about how CDs and records get made. Tune in and you'll get to hear this. I don't understand human foods like potatoes or tomatoes or pinky toes.

[B]

Thanks for listening.

[A]

As promised, here come those whale sounds. It.