Egg Drop: The Science Behind Cracking Eggs (8/25/25)

Summary

Wow in the World: Egg Drop – The Science Behind Cracking Eggs

Podcast: Wow in the World
Hosts: Mindy Thomas, Guy Raz
Episode Air Date: August 25, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this lively, kid-friendly episode, Mindy and Guy explore the science of why eggs crack, inspired by the classic "egg drop" challenge. Centered around Grandma G Force's attempt to keep her "egg baby" unbroken after gentleness training, the crew dives into MIT research about how eggs react to being dropped and what this reveals about physics, engineering, and even human safety. As always, the show blends facts, laughs, and memorable moments, leaving listeners shouting "WOW!"

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Stage – Gentleness Training and the Egg Baby (02:09 – 09:09)

• Relaxing the House for Grandma G Force:
  Mindy and Guy describe transforming Grandma G Force’s chaotic “diaper house” into a calming, gentle environment to promote her post-gentleness training.

  • “We replaced all our flashing strobe lights with warm, soft, energy-saving bulbs.” – Guy Raz (02:45)
  • “We created this comfy little Zen corner…a place to calm down.” – Guy Raz (03:23)

• The Reason for Gentleness Training:
  Grandma G Force was sent to gentleness school for driving a Zamboni recklessly and causing chaos.

  • “She said the construction was in her way.” – Guy Raz (04:11)
  • “A judge ordered her to go to gentleness training to help her handle problems a little more gently.” – Guy Raz (04:22)

• Introducing the Egg Baby:
  Grandma G Force comes home with an egg swaddled in a pancake-blanket—her “egg baby” assigned from gentleness school.

  • “Not just any old egg, Garage. This here is Egbert Benedict Cumberhatch III.” – Grandma G Force (07:54)
  • It's clarified that the egg is a test: “She was probably given this egg baby as a test. A test to see how long she could go [without breaking it].” – Guy Raz (08:45)
  • She must keep it intact for a week, or redo gentleness training.

2. The Egg Drop Debate: Head or Side? (09:09 – 14:43)

• Classic School Egg Drop Experiments:
  Guy and Dennis recall their own school experiments, discussing dropping eggs wrapped in various materials to prevent them from cracking.

  • "Because it was an experiment to help us learn about physics...gravity and force and impact." – Guy Raz (11:50)

• MIT Study Overview:
  Mindy introduces a real MIT study testing how eggs crack when dropped in different orientations.

  • “They wondered whether an egg is less likely to break if it lands standing up on its head or lying down on its side when it falls.” – Mindy Thomas (12:47)
  • The researchers used a special device, placing eggs both on their sides and standing up: “Researchers gathered 200 eggs and crushed them…to see the exact amount of force.” – Guy Raz (14:11)

• Results Revealed:
  "It didn’t matter whether the eggs were laying down…or sitting straight up. The amount of force needed to crack their shells was all the same.” – Mindy Thomas (14:58)

  • Both Team Head and Team Side are "both right and both wrong." (15:12)

3. What Happens When You Drop an Egg? (14:43 – 18:13)

• Tiny Drops vs. Big Drops:
  Egg survival rates differ depending on the height dropped:

  • From teeny drops (about 8 millimeters), some eggs survived, but not all. “Some of the eggs dropped from the teeny tiny heights did break.” – Mindy Thomas (16:08)
  • From higher drops, all eggs broke, regardless of orientation. “All of them.” – Mindy Thomas (17:00)

• Solving the Mystery:
  Researchers reviewed footage in slow motion and found surviving eggs had typically landed on their side, which allowed the shell to flex and absorb impact.

  • “When the falling eggs hit the hard surface, the ones that landed on their sides would bend a little bit…to soften the impact.” – Guy Raz (18:10)
  • “But when the eggs landed on their pointy or round ends…the shell…was much more stiff…more likely to crack.” – Mindy Thomas (18:32)

4. What Does This Teach Us? (19:10 – 20:31)

• Eggs and Humans: Be Less Rigid!
  Just like eggs, humans should stay flexible in a fall:

  • “The more stiff and rigid it is, the more likely it is to break.” – Mindy Thomas (19:42)
  • “For us humans, if we find ourselves falling, it’s best to let our knees and elbows and bendy parts bend to better absorb the impact.” – Guy Raz (19:55)

• Grandma G Force’s Takeaway (Comic Relief):

  • “The best way to keep an egg baby from cracking its guts out is to land it on its side. Well, more often than not anyway.” – Grandma G Force (20:13, 20:26)
  • [Jokingly] “Who's ready to throw baby Egbert off the ro…roof? Okay, fine, we'll just throw Fingerling off the roof.” – Grandma G Force (20:31)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Gentleness Training:

  • “Can anyone tell me why Grandma GeForce had to go to gentleness training in the first place?” – Thomas (03:53)

• On Egg Orientation Debate:

  • “You gotta put it to sleep on its side when you drop it else or it'll open up and all its guts are gonna spill out.” – Grandma G Force (09:52)

• Connecting Egg Drops to Human Safety:

  • “Whereas the more flexible something is, the less likely it is to break.” – Mindy Thomas (19:50)
  • “Being too stiff and rigid could cause some serious bone breakage or poppage.” – Guy Raz (20:06)

• Humor Highlights:

  • “He's under my butt.” – Grandma G Force, revealing she was babysitting Eggbert in a very unconventional way (13:27)
  • “Please do not break my baby Eggbert. Else or I'll throw your TV into a river.” – Grandma G Force (16:29)
  • Fingerling recounts falling out a window: “Except for when all my bones crunched up and popped out of my body.” (19:14)

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Timestamps for Notable Segments

• Egg Baby Introduction: 07:54 – Grandma G Force introduces Egbert, her “egg baby.”
• MIT Study on Egg Breakage: 12:47 – Mindy introduces the study.
• Key Experimental Finding: 14:58 – Result: Orientation doesn’t matter for force to crack; 17:15 – Side landings have better survival at small heights.
• Link to Human Safety: 19:42 – Discussion about flex vs. stiffness in humans.
• Final Comic Wrap-Up: 20:31 – Grandma G Force proposes tossing Egbert and Fingerling off the roof.

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Conclusion

This episode cleverly connects a familiar science experiment to the surprising research around how eggs break, using a blend of character-driven humor and scientific curiosity. Listeners learn not just about egg drop physics and material properties but also get a practical lesson on how flexibility helps absorb the shock of impact in both eggs and people. As always, the episode closes with a parade of fun “Wow in the World” facts sent in by kid listeners, inspiring everyone to keep being curious and gentle—just, perhaps, not with egg babies!

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Transcript

[Guy Raz]

Grown Ups Wondery subscribers can listen to wow in the World early and ad free right now. Join Wondery in the Wondery app or Wondery Kids plus on Apple Podcasts.

[Mindy Thomas]

Hey, Wowzer fans, Mindy and Guy here. And before we start the show, we have some very exciting news to share that involves you.

[Guy Raz]

That's right, wowzers. Over the years, over 12,000 of you have called our wow in the World hotline. Sharing your wow facts with us every day.

[Mindy Thomas]

That's a lot of wows. And guess what? We are getting super close to achieving the Guinness World Record for the most submissions to a fact hotline.

[Guy Raz]

And that's where we need your help, wowzers. If you haven't called in to share your wow yet, we need over 4,000 of you to call us with your wow.

[Mindy Thomas]

It could be a big wow or a small wow. Every wow, Every fact counts.

[Guy Raz]

And if you have called in, congratulations. Already a part of our world record attempt.

[Mindy Thomas]

But you can still help us get closer to our goal by telling your classmates, friends and pigeons to call in with their wows and facts too.

[Guy Raz]

So what in the wow are you waiting for? Give us a call at 1-888-7-WOW wow to be a part of our Guinness World record attempt. That's 1-888-7-WOW WOW. Now let's get back to the show.

[Fingerling]

Proceeded.

[Dennis]

3, 2, 1. Adventure of Magnificent proportion. I don't know what you've been told we're in a golden age so many discoveries that are jumping off the page While in the world W in the world W in the world W in the world W in the world W in the world W.

[Guy Raz]

All right, just gonna turn these lamps on here.

[Mindy Thomas]

Ooh, yeah, that looks good.

[Guy Raz]

And that should do it. Okay, Mindy, I think we've got the mood all set to welcome Grandma G Force back home from her week of gentleness training.

[Mindy Thomas]

Wow. Her diaper house has never felt this calm.

[Thomas]

Yeah, even her cat landlord Colonel Toots Thunderbird. Grandpa agrees. Don't you, Colonel Toots?

[Dennis]

Tee hee.

[Mindy Thomas]

Okay, so let's see now. What all did we do to make it feel so nice and calm in here? It's usually pretty chaotic.

[Guy Raz]

Well, for one, we replaced all of our flashing strobe lights with warm, soft, energy saving light bulbs.

[Thomas]

Ah, I liked the strobe lights.

[Guy Raz]

And then we painted the diaper walls a relaxing neutral color.

[Mindy Thomas]

Ooh, is that beige or gray?

[Thomas]

Actually, it's called Greige. I picked it.

[Guy Raz]

And we also added some nature, you know, green plants and flowers.

[Mindy Thomas]

Wow, they smelled good.

[Guy Raz]

And speaking of Smells. We also cleaned out Colonel Toots litter box and put out a couple of essential oil diffusers.

[Mindy Thomas]

Ooh, lavender.

[Guy Raz]

We also hung some chimes. And we created this comfy little Zen corner with a cozy floor cushion. Perfect for her to sit in when she needs a place to calm down.

[Mindy Thomas]

So we made her a timeout corner.

[Guy Raz]

Yeah, I guess you could call it that.

[Mindy Thomas]

Well, I'd say we thought of everything. Guy Raz. It's gonna be impossible for Grandma G Force to be anything but gentle when she comes home to her relaxing diaper house.

[Thomas]

Can anyone tell me why Grandma GeForce had to go to gentleness training in the first place?

[Mindy Thomas]

Oh, yeah.

[Guy Raz]

Well, if I'm not mistaken, I think it had something to do with getting in trouble for taking a Zamboni out of the ice arena and driving it.

[Mindy Thomas]

Through a construction site.

[Thomas]

Uh huh.

[Guy Raz]

She said the construction was in her way.

[Mindy Thomas]

Yeah, and she also drove the Zamboni over a bunch of road signs while yelling, don't tell me what to do.

[Thomas]

Aha.

[Guy Raz]

So a judge ordered her to go to gentleness training to help her handle problems a little more gently.

[Mindy Thomas]

So in order to set her up for success, we decided to make her home a place where it's easier for her to feel calm and gentle.

[Thomas]

All right, well, I hope it works. I can see Grandma G Force and Thomas fingerling through the window right now.

[Mindy Thomas]

Let me see. Careful now, Fingerling.

[Grandma G Force]

Easy does it.

[Fingerling]

I know, I know, I got it.

[Mindy Thomas]

Wow, look how calm she looks. So light on her feet. She's barely even stomping on the pavement.

[Guy Raz]

It's almost like she doesn't want to hurt it or something.

[Dennis]

Gentle.

[Mindy Thomas]

So graceful. Like an old wrestling hot pepper Smackin Ballerina.

[Grandma G Force]

Now Fingerling, when we get to my dapper house, you're gonna give em a bath and I'm gonna sing them a song.

[Fingerling]

Oh, I wanna sing them a song.

[Dennis]

No.

[Fingerling]

Okay, fine.

[Guy Raz]

Wait. It looks like she's holding something.

[Dennis]

What is that?

[Mindy Thomas]

Something wrapped in a tiny blanket and.

[Thomas]

Tucked away in a tiny basket.

[Grandma G Force]

You're jostling them. Fingerling noise.

[Guy Raz]

It looks like they're walking up to the house now.

[Dennis]

Yay.

[Guy Raz]

Wait, why is Grandma GeForce knocking at her own door?

[Dennis]

I'll get it.

[Mindy Thomas]

Opening the door.

[Dennis]

Surprise.

[Fingerling]

What in the world wide web?

[Guy Raz]

Dennis, no, this is not a surprise party.

[Mindy Thomas]

Grandma G Force, welcome home From Gentleness Training 1.

[Guy Raz]

Uh, what?

[Grandma G Force]

I said line. Fingerling line.

[Fingerling]

Right. Let me check the gentleness training manual here. Uh, the line is thank you. It is so lovely to see you.

[Grandma G Force]

I do not want to say that.

[Mindy Thomas]

So how was gentleness training? Grandma G Force, tell us everything.

[Thomas]

Yeah, did you learn how to not lay the smackdown on innocent Dennises by running them over with your shopping cart when you're mad at the sun for shining?

[Guy Raz]

Or how not to stomp on people's flower gardens when the tulips look too cheerful?

[Mindy Thomas]

Or how to not splash people walking through the mall when you're diving for coins in the fountain and stuffing them into your wrestling unitard, even though security keeps asking you to please stop doing that because you're stealing people's wishes.

[Grandma G Force]

No, no and no. But what I did learn at gentleness school was how to not break a baby.

[Fingerling]

Okay, gently show em the baby, G Force.

[Dennis]

Baby?

[Mindy Thomas]

What baby?

[Thomas]

Is there a bab in the basket you're holding?

[Dennis]

Oh, I love babies. Let me see, let me see. Let me.

[Grandma G Force]

Gentle. He's sleeping, even though his little googly eyes won't shut.

[Guy Raz]

What?

[Fingerling]

Here, let's just gently remove the little baby blanket a bit so then you can take a look.

[Guy Raz]

Wait, the baby blanket is a pancake?

[Grandma G Force]

Hush, boy. We're gonna wake him up.

[Fingerling]

There he is. Aw, look at him.

[Dennis]

Oh, he is.

[Grandma G Force]

He's so cute, I could just scramble.

[Mindy Thomas]

I mean, snuggle him up.

[Grandma G Force]

Do not do that.

[Thomas]

And he's got your shell, Granny G.

[Grandma G Force]

Why, yes, he does.

[Guy Raz]

I'm sorry, is that an egg?

[Grandma G Force]

Not just any old egg. Garage. This here is Egbert Benedict Cumberhatch iii.

[Fingerling]

He's a wealthy baby.

[Mindy Thomas]

Ah, pro.

[Thomas]

Yeah, that sounds rich.

[Mindy Thomas]

Old money.

[Thomas]

Regal.

[Guy Raz]

Huh.

[Grandma G Force]

He was born weighing 1.75 ounces and exactly five and a half centimeters long. I adopted him at gentleness school.

[Thomas]

Why?

[Dennis]

Aw.

[Mindy Thomas]

But also, why?

[Grandma G Force]

I don't know. I was forced to do it.

[Guy Raz]

Wait a minute. I think I know the answer to this.

[Mindy Thomas]

You do?

[Guy Raz]

I do. This egg baby must have been given to Grandma G Force as a test to see how gentle she can be.

[Thomas]

I don't get it.

[Mindy Thomas]

Yeah, me neither.

[Guy Raz]

Well, eggs are very fragile, right? And the only thing protecting what's inside from the rest of the world is a thin shell. And to know if Grandma G Force's gentleness training actually worked or not. She was probably given this egg baby as a test. A test to see how long she could go.

[Grandma G Force]

And that judge down at the court says I gotta keep this egg alive for a whole week or else I gotta go back and learn how to be gentle all over again.

[Mindy Thomas]

Well, I would just like to say that little Egbert here is the cutest little egg I have ever seen. Can he do any tricks?

[Grandma G Force]

Here, let me pick him up and then drop them on the table there so you can watch them. Rol.

[Dennis]

No. No.

[Grandma G Force]

Why not? You don't want him to see him roll over.

[Fingerling]

Gee, Forrest, you can't drop sweet baby Eggbert on the table. You gotta hold them upright and support the neck.

[Grandma G Force]

How? Don't you not know nothing about egg baby's fingerling? You gotta put it to sleep on its side when you drop it else or it'll open up and all its guts are gonna spill out all over the place.

[Fingerling]

No, everyone knows that an eg on the top of its head and its little bottom there. So if you're gonna drop it on the table, that's the only way you want to do it. Straight up and down a vertical drop of the baby.

[Dennis]

False.

[Grandma G Force]

You do not know nothing about dropping that baby's fingerling. How about is I drop you on your headlang?

[Mindy Thomas]

Okay, okay. No one in this diaper house is dropping anyone or anything thing on its head. We're keeping our hands to ourselves and focusing on not breaking Grandma G. Force's egg baby. Okay?

[Grandma G Force]

Yes, Mindy. Quit yelling. You're gonna wake up the baby.

[Fingerling]

Yeah, keep the volume down.

[Guy Raz]

It seems to me like the gentleness training is beginning to wear off.

[Thomas]

Yes, Mindy? I have a question.

[Fingerling]

Quiet. What did I say about volume?

[Thomas]

Oh, sorry. Mindy, I have a question.

[Mindy Thomas]

Yes, Dennis?

[Thomas]

When I was a young schoolboy teacher had us drop eggs out of the window. And whose ever eggs survived got rewarded by getting to take the egg home and hide it under their bed pillow until eight months later when mother finds it because it's rotting and smells like a dead rat.

[Mindy Thomas]

Okay, that is not a question, Dennis.

[Guy Raz]

But that does actually remind me of something. Yeah, yeah. When I was in school, we used to experiment with dropping eggs by wrapping them in like cotton balls and wads of tape and bubble wrap, even a banana peel.

[Thomas]

Why?

[Guy Raz]

Well, because it was an experiment to help us learn about physics. You know, things like gravity and force and impact and how things fall.

[Grandma G Force]

Ah.

[Guy Raz]

And also engineering by designing ways to protect the eggs from breaking when they fell. And experimenting like this helped us to learn.

[Fingerling]

Or we could learn by just dropping Eggbert here on his little e. What?

[Grandma G Force]

And watch his little guts spill out all over the everywheres? The rules are you always drop a baby on its side. Everybody already knowed that. Come here, Egbert.

[Dennis]

Wait. What?

[Mindy Thomas]

This just reminded me of a new study I just read in the scientific journal Physics Communications.

[Grandma G Force]

You should not be reading people's journals. Mindy, that is private.

[Mindy Thomas]

No, no, hear me out.

[Dennis]

You.

[Mindy Thomas]

These researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology or MIT had a big wonder. They wondered whether an egg is less likely to break if it lands standing up on its head or lying down on its side when it falls.

[Fingerling]

Really? What were the results?

[Mindy Thomas]

Well, I could tell you. Yes, but I'd rather show you.

[Guy Raz]

Mindy, you're not going to.

[Mindy Thomas]

Now, where's little Egbert?

[Thomas]

Let's see.

[Dennis]

Uh.

[Guy Raz]

Where'd he go?

[Dennis]

Oh, no. He's missing.

[Mindy Thomas]

Huh, that's strange. He was just here.

[Fingerling]

Gee force. Where's the egg?

[Grandma G Force]

He's under my butt.

[Dennis]

What?

[Guy Raz]

You're sitting on the egg.

[Thomas]

Oh, I get it. Like a babysitter.

[Fingerling]

Gee force, get off the egg. You're not a chicken.

[Grandma G Force]

I do not know why chickens is the only ones that gets to sit on the egg.

[Mindy Thomas]

Okay, Grandma G Force, please. Pass me the egg, baby.

[Grandma G Force]

Fine.

[Dennis]

Ugh.

[Grandma G Force]

But don't break it, or else I gotta go back to gentleness school.

[Mindy Thomas]

Here you go, little eggbird. Thank you. So, as I was saying, the researchers at MIT wanted to find out if a falling egg is less likely to break when it lands on its top or bottom. Or on its.

[Guy Raz]

Wait a minute, Mindy, I think I read this, too. Is this the one where the researchers gathered 200 eggs and then crushed some of them in a device that allowed them to see the exact amount of force they needed to crack their shells?

[Dennis]

Yes, that's the one.

[Mindy Thomas]

And to study this, when they put the eggs in the device, they put some on their sides and some standing straight up.

[Fingerling]

What a tragic loss of so many innocent egg babies.

[Mindy Thomas]

Oh, it's okay. After the experiment, the researchers fed the broken egg babies.

[Guy Raz]

True story.

[Grandma G Force]

Okay, let's redo the experiment. Give me a little leg, Burt. Here, I'll put him in a headlock.

[Thomas]

What?

[Grandma G Force]

For science.

[Mindy Thomas]

Well, we don't need to perform that part of the experiment, Grandma. G Force.

[Grandma G Force]

We don't?

[Mindy Thomas]

No. The researchers discovered that it didn't matter whether the eggs were laying down on their sides or sitting straight up. The amount of force needed to crack their shells was all the same.

[Fingerling]

So me and G Force were both right?

[Guy Raz]

Well, I guess you could say both right. And you were also both wrong.

[Grandma G Force]

I do not know how to feel about that.

[Mindy Thomas]

So the next step of this experiment was to drop the eggs.

[Guy Raz]

And they dropped some of the eggs from teeny, tiny heights, like, only 8 millimeters or so.

[Mindy Thomas]

Okay, are you ready, Egbert? I'm just gonna drop you from a teeny, tiny height.

[Fingerling]

Oh, careful now. Mandy.

[Mindy Thomas]

Ready? One, two, three, and drop.

[Fingerling]

Hooray.

[Grandma G Force]

Okay, now give them here fingerling. Where's little pancake blankie?

[Fingerling]

Here you are, Egbert. Let's get you all wrapped up like a little breakfast baby.

[Thomas]

So, Mindy, did all the eggs that were dropped from the teeny tiny height survive? Is the trick just not to drop them too far?

[Mindy Thomas]

Actually, Dennis, some of the eggs dropped from the teeny tiny heights did break.

[Dennis]

What?

[Grandma G Force]

You could have broke my baby Eggbert. Why, I oughta.

[Fingerling]

Now, G force, be gentle.

[Grandma G Force]

Well, okay.

[Dennis]

Line.

[Fingerling]

Uh, the line is please do not break my egg. Thank you.

[Grandma G Force]

Please do not break my baby Eggbert. Else or I'll throw your TV into a river.

[Guy Raz]

Actually, Grandma GeForce. Mindy knew exactly what she wasn't gonna break Baby Egbert.

[Grandma G Force]

Whatever.

[Thomas]

How did Mindy know she wasn't gonna break Baby Egbert? What happened next in the science experiment?

[Mindy Thomas]

Well, next, the researchers dropped more eggs, but this time from much higher heights.

[Thomas]

And some survived?

[Guy Raz]

Well, not exactly.

[Dennis]

Ah.

[Thomas]

How many broke?

[Mindy Thomas]

Well, all of them.

[Grandma G Force]

Whoa.

[Fingerling]

Heavens.

[Thomas]

They all broke no matter which way they landed?

[Mindy Thomas]

Exactly. It didn't matter whether the eggs landed on their sides or on their pointy tops or bo high of a height, all the eggs broke.

[Thomas]

Well, that's not fair. How come some of the eggs dropped from the teeny tiny height survived?

[Mindy Thomas]

Well, that's a great question, Dennis.

[Thomas]

Thank you.

[Guy Raz]

The researchers wondered the same thing. So they went back and looked at video footage of all the eggs that survived the teeny tiny drop.

[Mindy Thomas]

And when they played back the video in slow motion, they discovered that the surviving eggs mostly shared one very important thing in common.

[Thomas]

They all liked the same movies.

[Dennis]

What? No.

[Grandma G Force]

Oh.

[Mindy Thomas]

What they discovered was that almost all of the surviving eggs.

[Dennis]

Yes.

[Mindy Thomas]

Were eggs that had fallen.

[Dennis]

Yes.

[Mindy Thomas]

Were eggs that had fallen on their sides.

[Dennis]

Boo.

[Grandma G Force]

Yeah, I was right. I'm the best at dropping eggs and taking names.

[Fingerling]

Well, Mandy and Mr. Razzie, you better have yourselves a good explanation for this.

[Guy Raz]

Actually do. Or the researchers who study this do at least. See, what they found when they took a slow close up look at the eggs as they fell was that when the falling eggs hit the hard surface, the ones that landed on their sides would bend a little bit, even squish a bit, in order to absorb or soften the impact.

[Mindy Thomas]

But when the eggs landed on their pointy or round ends, the shell at those points was much more stiff, less likely to bend and squish, and more likely to crack.

[Grandma G Force]

You know, that reminds me of that time Fingerling and me fell out the Window?

[Guy Raz]

You did.

[Fingerling]

It was a low window at a drive through restaurant.

[Grandma G Force]

Oh, Fingerling over here landed stiff as.

[Fingerling]

A board and G force went all floppy.

[Grandma G Force]

That's right, I did all floppy, just scanning guts.

[Mindy Thomas]

And what happened? Did one of you handle the fall better than the other?

[Fingerling]

Well, it wasn't so bad, except for when all my bones crunched up and popped out of my body.

[Guy Raz]

What?

[Grandma G Force]

But not me. Not old floppy, boneless G force. I just bounced a little and went right back to fall out of that window again.

[Fingerling]

Oh, that's right, you did.

[Guy Raz]

Well, what you describe with your bodies is the same thing that these scientists discovered with their egg drop experiment.

[Mindy Thomas]

When something or someone falls, the more stiff and rigid it is, the more likely it is to break.

[Guy Raz]

Whereas the more flexible something is, the less likely it is to break.

[Mindy Thomas]

In other words, for us humans, if we find ourselves falling, it's best to let our knees and elbows and bendy parts bend to better absorb the impact of the.

[Guy Raz]

Because being too stiff and rigid could cause some serious bone breakage or poppage.

[Grandma G Force]

Well, okay, that settles it. The best way to keep an egg baby from cracking its guts out is to land it on its side.

[Mindy Thomas]

Well, more often than not anyway.

[Guy Raz]

And only from very short distances.

[Grandma G Force]

Well, that's wonderful. Who's ready to throw baby eggbird off the ro. Okay, fine. We'll just throw fingerling off the roof.

[Fingerling]

Only if you put me back together again.

[Guy Raz]

Okay, Mindy, better go start your ice cream truck.

[Mindy Thomas]

Somebody's going back to gentleness training.

[Dennis]

Who? Wow in the World. We'll be right back. Grown ups.

[Mindy Thomas]

This message is for you.

[Dennis]

That's it, Back to the show. Wow in the World.

[Mindy Thomas]

Hi, thanks for calling wow in the World. After the beep, get ready to record.

[Caller]

Hello, Mindy. I'm Guy Ross. My name is Victor. I'm seven years old. I live in France, and my wow in the world is there are earthquakes every day, but they are so small that we can't even feel them. Hi, my name is Kylie and I'm six years old. I live in Silver Spring, Maryland. And my wow in the world is that giant clams have hundreds of little tiny pinhole eyes around the edge of their shell. The eyes can detect shadows and light for danger. Bye bye. Hi, my name is Killian and I'm from Raleigh, North Carolina. My biggest wow is that deserts don't have to be hot. In fact, the largest desert in the world is Antarctica. Hi, Mindy and Guy Ra. My name is Lily and I am from Allentown, Pennsylvania. In my land of is Gravity. Did you know that gravity is why the planets are round. Hi, my name is Parker and I'm from Santa Barbara, California and I'm 8 years old and my wow in the world is that a shrimp's heart is located in its head. Bye. Say hi to Reggie for me. Hi Guy Raz and Mindy. My name is sienna and I'm 10 years old and I'm from Davis, California. My super cool scientific fact is that snails can sleep for entire years.

[Mindy Thomas]

That's a long nap.

[Caller]

Bye Guy Raz and Mindy. I love your show. Hi Mindy and Guy Raz.

[Mindy Thomas]

Hey Dennis, Hi there.

[Caller]

My name is Sahana and I am 7 years old and I live in Fairfax Station, Virginia. My wow is that if you could drive straight up it would take about an hour to drive to space. I love your show.

[Guy Raz]

End of Messages.

[Mindy Thomas]

Grown Ups if you like wow in the World, you can listen early and ad free right now on Wondery.

[Guy Raz]

Join Wondery in the Wondery app or on Wondery Kids plus on Apple Podcasts prime members can listen ad free on Amazon Music.

[Mindy Thomas]

And before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short [e-mail] survey. Thanks for listening to this episode of wow in the World. If you're a kid with a a big wow to share with us, call our wow hotline at 1-888-7-WOW wow for a chance to be featured at the end of the show or an upcoming episode of 2 what's in a wow?

[Guy Raz]

And while you're at it, why don't you head over to Apple Podcasts and tell us what wows you about our show by leaving a review. You just might hear your reviewsie read by Dennis on WEWOW on the weekend.

[Mindy Thomas]

Oh and don't forget to Visit [e-mail] and become a member of the World of Wowzers. With that you'll get year round mailings, weekly activities, birthday cards and more.

[Guy Raz]

On Tinkercast.com, you can also shop our wow Shop, get tickets for upcoming live events, find our books and learn about all the other amazing podcasts from Tinkercast.

[Mindy Thomas]

Once again, that's Tinkercast.com wow in the.

[Guy Raz]

World is written by Mindy Thomas and Tom Van Kalkin with contributions from me, Guy Raz.

[Mindy Thomas]

Original sound design and music editing is done by Tyler Thole with help from our senior production director Jed Anderson. You can also hear Jed Anderson in the voices of Dennis, Thomas, Fingerling, Reggie and many of the other silly characters you hear on our show.

[Guy Raz]

Jessica Boddy keeps our facts straight as our fact checker and Meredith Halpern Ranzer powers the wow at Tinkercast.

[Mindy Thomas]

Our theme song was composed and performed by three time Grammy nominees the Pop Ups. Find them at thepopups.com Special thanks to.

[Guy Raz]

Our team including Kit Ballinger, Rebecca Caban, Dr. Natasha Crandall, Kenny Curtis, Kristin Yang, Thuy Mak, Erica Medina, Henry Moskal, Jodi Nussbaum, Ali Paxsima, Linda Rothenberg, Steph Sosa, Anna Zagorski and all of the other tinkerers at Tinkercast hq.

[Mindy Thomas]

Grown Ups. You can follow wow in the World on Facebook, instagram and twitter owintheworld and our email address is hellotinkercast.com thanks for listening.

[Guy Raz]

Find episodes of wow in the World every Monday, two what's in a wow Every Friday and we wow on the weekends with Dennis every Saturday and Sunday right here in the wow in the World podcast feed. Until then, keep on wowing.

[Dennis]

Wow in the World was made by Tinkercast and sent to you by Wondery.