Podcast Summary: "Two Whats?! And A Wow! - The Long Run"

Podcast: Wow in the World
Episode Date: December 12, 2025
Hosts: Mindy Thomas & Guy Raz
Theme: Fun facts and game show all about “long” things in science, nature, and pop culture

Episode Overview

This episode of "Two Whats?! And A Wow!" centers on a playful competition testing knowledge of the world’s “longest” wonders. Hosts Mindy Thomas and Guy Raz present three rounds of delightfully tricky questions, with only one “Wow” (true fact) among two “Whats” (fakes) in each. Each round brings silly banter, quirky challenges, and lots of kid participation, making science fascinating and hilarious for the whole family.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. How the Game Works

• Each round presents three statements about "long" things.
• Kids (and listeners!) guess which is the true “Wow.”
• Winners get virtual prizes; losers perform a silly challenge.

[02:23] Mindy Thomas: "In each of our three rounds today, Guy Raz and I will present you with three scientific statements about things that are really, really long. But. And this is a big but. Only one of those statements will be a true wow. The other two, just a couple of made up whats."

2. Round One: The World’s Longest Boardwalk

• A: Dubai, UAE has the world’s longest boardwalk.
• B: The world’s longest corn dog (15 ft) was sold at Coney Island in 1819.
• C: Atlantic City, New Jersey, is home to the world’s longest (and first) boardwalk.

Winning Wow:

• [04:27] Nathan (contestant): "My wow is that Atlantic City – that’s right near where I live – has the world's longest and first boardwalk."
• The Atlantic City boardwalk was built in 1870 to keep sand out of hotels.
• Additional fact: The “biggest” corn dog currently is a 30-ft fiberglass sculpture in Oregon — not edible!

Memorable banter:
[04:36] Mindy Thomas: “Winner, winner. Corn dogs for dinner. Man, I really want a corn dog right now.”
[05:39] Guy Raz: “And no, you cannot eat it.”

3. Round Two: The Longest Giraffe Body Part

• A: A giraffe’s tongue can be 20 inches long.
• B: Baby giraffes love corn dogs.
• C: Giraffe’s legs are 3 or 4 feet longer than their necks.

Winning Wow:

• [06:51] Cadence and Cece (contestants): "Our wow in the world is that giraffe tongue can be 20 inches long."
• Giraffes' tongues are unusually long and purplish due to melanin, which protects against sunburn.
• They spend up to 12 hours a day using their tongues to pull leaves off trees.

Fun fact:
[07:23] Guy Raz: "Their tongues have an unusual color because they contain melanin, which is a pigment that protects them from ultraviolet rays. Giraffes spend up to 12 hours a day in the African sun using their tongues to pull leaves off of trees..."

Physical challenge for incorrect guesses:
[07:44] Mindy Thomas: "Now, if you did not get that answer correct, you must stop, drop, and go get me a corndog."

4. Round Three: The Longest Ever Video Game Session

• A: The longest baseball game in history was 20 innings.
• B: A chess match cannot last longer than two hours.
• C: People have played Fortnite for longer than humans have existed on the planet.

Winning Wow:

• [10:06] Grady (contestant): "My wow in the world is that people have played Fortnite longer than humans have existed. That's so wow."
• People have spent a collective 3.8 billion days (10.4 million years) playing Fortnite, almost twice as long as humans have existed.

Clarifications:

• Longest baseball game: 33 innings.
• Longest chess match: Over 20 hours.

Memorable line:
[10:20] Guy Raz: "Wowzers. If you guessed c the people have played Fortnite for longer than humans have existed on the planet. Congratulations. You found the winning wow."

5. Wacky Prizes & Science Learning

• [11:13] Mindy Thomas: "That sound also means that it's time for today's winning wowzers prize. Today, all of our winning wowzers will be receiving their very own tape measure. Want to know for sure how long something is? Use a tape measure. It's like a ruler, but it's way longer and it's all bendy and flexible."
• Winners receive (in their imagination) a tape measure for measuring all sorts of “long” things in their world.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• [02:23] Mindy Thomas: “Only one of those statements will be a true wow. The other two, just a couple of made up whats.”
• [04:36] Mindy Thomas: “Winner, winner. Corn dogs for dinner. Man, I really want a corn dog right now.”
• [07:44] Mindy Thomas: “Now, if you did not get that answer correct, you must stop, drop, and go get me a corndog.”
• [10:16] Mindy Thomas: “Winner, winner. Llamas and bananas for dinner.”
• [11:39] Announcer: “Yeah.”
• [11:40] Mindy Thomas: “And then it's going to be lunch time. All right, Reg, ready to go with that prize cannon? Fire away.”
• [12:30] Guy Raz: “Until then, keep on wowing.”
• [11:31] Guy Raz: “And if anyone is wondering, the longest baseball game actually went 33 innings and the longest chess match took more than 20 hours."

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:46] Show starts: “Two Whats?! And A Wow!” intro
• [02:23] Game rules and explanation
• [03:17] Round 1: Boardwalks, corn dogs, and the correct answer
• [05:02] Historical backstory of Atlantic City boardwalk
• [06:12] Round 2: Giraffe tongues and fun with melanin
• [07:50] Silly challenge for wrong guesses
• [09:00] Round 3: Gaming longer than humanity
• [11:13] Prize segment: Tape measures
• [12:22] Signoff and announcements

Tone & Style

Just as vibrant and zany as usual, with Mindy’s playful puns and Guy’s friendly straight-man delivery. The episode leans into silly humor (“corn dogs for dinner!”), hands-on learning, and interactive imagination, all while keeping the energy kid-centric and scientifically factual.

Conclusion

This "Two Whats?! And A Wow!" episode delivers plenty of “Wows” about extraordinarily “long” things in the world—including record-breaking boardwalks, wild animal adaptations, and mind-boggling video game stats. Mindy and Guy make learning feel like a game, peppering in facts (and jokes about corndogs) while helping kids see science as full of surprises.

Final words:
[12:30] Guy Raz: “Until then, keep on wowing.”

Great for kids, families, and anyone who loves science with a big side of fun!