WeWow Earth Week - Day 5 (4/18/25)

Summary

Wow in the World: WeWow Earth Week - Day 5 (April 18, 2025)

Hosts: Mindy Thomas and Guy Raz
Produced by: Tinkercast | Wondery
Release Date: April 18, 2025

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Introduction to WeWow Earth Week

On Day 5 of WeWow Earth Week, hosts Dennis and Reggie kick off the day with their segment, emphasizing the importance of environmental conservation. They introduce their theme with enthusiasm, highlighting the beauty and diversity of Earth’s ecosystems.

Dennis: "Wow. Earth. The whole earth on Wee. Wow. Earth." [03:09]

Treasure or Trash: Upcycling Fun

To engage listeners, Dennis and Reggie play a game called “Treasure or Trash”, where they evaluate household items to determine their potential for upcycling. This interactive segment underscores the podcast’s commitment to sustainability and creative reuse.

Reggie: "Ahem. I'm going to show you a thing I found down in the basement here, and you're going to tell me if it's treasure or trash." [04:30]

Notable Moments:

• Plastic Deli Container: Reggie identifies it as treasure, citing its potential for reuse after cleaning.
  Reggie: "Because you can clean it and put something else in there." [05:00]

• Glass Jar: Again deemed treasure for its aesthetic and functional potential as a vase.
  Reggie: "Because it's glass, it has additional beauty to it." [06:00]

• Used Tissue: Unanimously classified as trash due to hygiene concerns.
  Reggie: "Yeah, this is trash. Definitely trash." [07:00]

Transition to Main Episode: A Diaper Home for GeForce

Following the game, Dennis and Reggie segue into an episode of Wow in the World titled “A Diaper Home for GeForce” from Season 8, Episode 24. This episode explores an innovative approach to recycling by constructing a house entirely out of old diapers.

Dennis: "In this episode, we build Granny G a new house out of old diapers." [04:50]

The Science of Diaper Concrete

Mindy Thomas and Guy Raz delve into the scientific underpinnings of using dirty diapers as a substitute for sand in concrete. They discuss a groundbreaking study by engineers from Japan's University of Kitaki Yushu, which investigates the feasibility of replacing sand—a critically endangered resource—with materials found in used diapers.

Mindy: "I just read a new scientific study about diaper houses in the journal Science Reports. This is serious science business." [12:02]

Guy Raz: "The key ingredient is sand." [14:04]

Key Insights:

• Sand Shortage: Sand is the second most used natural resource globally, essential for concrete and glass production. The depletion of sand reserves poses a significant threat to construction industries worldwide.
  Mindy: "Actually, Dennis, sand is the second most used natural resource in the whole world behind water." [14:15]

• Potential of Diapers: The study hypothesizes that the absorbent materials in dirty diapers could replace sand in concrete mixtures, offering a sustainable alternative while addressing waste management issues.

Guy Raz: "These engineers wondered if the materials found in dirty diapers could replace some of the sand typically used to make concrete." [14:45]

Experiment: Building a Diaper Concrete House

Mindy and Guy Raz lead Dennis and Reggie through a hands-on experiment to construct a miniature house using diaper concrete. This segment combines educational content with entertainment, demonstrating the practical application of scientific principles.

Mindy: "What if we all teamed up to build Grandma G Force a house made out of diapers?" [11:42]

Notable Quotes:

• Reggie on Experimenting: "I do not know what ratio means." [20:56]
• Mindy Clarifying Ratios: "A ratio just means the different amounts of each ingredient used compared to the others." [21:00]

Process Highlights:

1. Gathering Materials: The team collects necessary ingredients—cement, gravel, sand, water, and dirty diapers. Reggie humorously repurposes household items, adding a playful dynamic to the experiment.

2. Cleaning Diapers: Ensuring hygiene, Dennis is tasked with cleaning the diapers, emphasizing the importance of safety in construction.

3. Mixing Concrete: The team discusses the correct ratios required for optimal concrete strength, referencing the scientists' method of testing multiple mixtures.

   Guy Raz: "If they use too much water compared to the amount of diapers, it might be too liquidy or thin and make the concrete too weak." [21:20]

4. Forming and Drying: They attempt to shape the concrete into bricks and assemble the house, facing humorous setbacks due to impatience and lack of proper drying time.

   Mindy: "They had to test six different ratio mixtures before they found the right mixture." [21:39]

Challenges Encountered

The experiment faces several comedic obstacles:

• Structural Integrity: The lack of proper drying leads to a collapsing structure.

  Guy Raz: "The concrete hasn't even hardened yet. It has absolutely no structural integrity." [22:18]

• Resource Mismanagement: Reggie’s playful interference results in the misplacement of tools, adding to the chaos.

  Reggie: "Whatever." [25:02]

• Realization of Limitations: The team acknowledges the practical challenges of implementing diaper concrete without thorough testing and appropriate ratios.

  Mindy: "But what they found was that diaper concrete didn't contain any more microbes or bacteria than regular concrete." [23:07]

Conclusion and Key Takeaways

Despite the humorous mishaps, the podcast underscores the potential of innovative recycling methods in addressing resource shortages. The diaper concrete study illustrates how unconventional materials can contribute to sustainable construction practices, making housing more accessible and environmentally friendly.

Guy Raz: "Since dirty diapers are free and easy to find, diaper concrete could be a much cheaper alternative to regular concrete." [24:54]

Mindy: "Which means that homes built with diaper concrete would be more accessible to more people in more parts of the world." [24:54]

Final Thoughts:

• Innovation in Sustainability: Exploring alternative materials like dirty diapers can revolutionize construction, reduce waste, and conserve precious resources.

• Community Collaboration: The experiment highlights the importance of teamwork and scientific inquiry in developing sustainable solutions.

• Educational Value: By blending science with entertainment, Wow in the World effectively educates its young audience and their families on critical environmental issues and innovative technologies.

Closing Remarks

The episode wraps up with a reminder to listeners about the importance of continued exploration and experimentation in environmental conservation. Mindy, Guy, Dennis, and Reggie encourage the community to think creatively about recycling and sustainability.

Mindy: "Thanks again for thinking, tinkering, experimenting and exploring with me this week." [27:37]

Reggie: "Wow in the World was made by Tinkercast and sent to you by Wondery." [29:18]

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• Dennis: "Wow. Earth. The whole earth on Wee. Wow. Earth." [03:09]
• Reggie: "I do not know what ratio means." [20:56]
• Mindy: "It's not ridiculous, Guy Raz. It's science." [12:02]
• Guy Raz: "The key ingredient is sand." [14:04]
• Mindy: "Which means that homes built with diaper concrete would be more accessible to more people in more parts of the world." [24:54]

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Join the Adventure:
Stay tuned for more episodes every Monday, Fridays, and weekends. Dive into the wonders of science, technology, and innovation with Wow in the World!

Transcript

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[Sneaks Movie Promoter]

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[Dennis]

Earth Wake on Wee. Wow. We need to help the earth cause it's super cool. Wow. Conservation and recycling too. Earth has plants and lakes and trees and pigeons and frogs and chimpanzees and lakes and lemurs and honeybees and snails and rocks and sugar peas and dogs and cats and fish and mangoes and dandelions and grapes. Reggie, why'd you turn off the drum machine? I'm Almost finished. A 5, 6, 7, 8. Earth.

[Reggie]

We. We.

[Dennis]

Wow. Earth. The whole earth on Wee. Wow. Earth. Wee. Wee. Wow. Hello, and welcome to another day of Wee Wow. Earthquake. I'm your host, Dennis, and here's my co host, Reggie. This is the week where we do earth stuff and listen to earthy episodes of wow in the world. And today I thought we'd round out the week with a little game I like to call Treasure or Trash. Ahem. Treasure or Trash? Treasure or trash? What's it gonna be? Treasure or trash? Okay, Reggie, ready to play Treasure or Trash? What do you mean, what is it? I told you, it's a game. Yeah, it's based off that saying, you know, one person's treasure is another person's trash or however it goes. Yes, you're right. It's also like upcycling. But we can't call the game upcycling because I already sang the theme song for Treasure or Trash. Quit stalling, Reggie. Let's play. Ahem. I'm going to show you a thing I found down in the basement here, and you're going to tell me if it's treasure or trash. Okay, let's try it with this pile of stuff mother doesn't want anymore. Let's see, what do we got here? Okay, how about this, Reggie? It's a used plastic deli container. Is it treasure or trash? Ooh, you think it's treasure. Tell the audience why you think it's treasure. Oh, because you can clean it and put something else in there. Judges, I'm the judges. Judges say that is correct. Nice job. Reggie, what would you put in this container? Worms. Gross, Reggie. Well, I'd rather put my favorite snack in there. Dennis mix. Dennis mix is like trail mix, but instead of peanuts and raisins, it's hummus and mini pizza bagels. Okay, next item. See what we got here. Aha. Here we have a glass jar that used to have some pasta sauce in it or something. Okay, Reggie, treasure or trash? Ooh, you think it's treasure. Again, let's see what the judges say. That's right, Reggie. It's treasure. Because it's glass, it has additional beauty to it. Now, what would you do with this beautiful glass jar? Oh, a vase for flowers. Aw, Reggie, that's a great idea. Okay, let's do one more. Let's see, what do we got? And here we have used tissue. Ew. Yeah, this is trash. Definitely trash. I think we're done with this game. How's about we move on and listen to an episode of wow in the World? Hooray. Let's see. Let's do this one. This one's from season eight, episode 24, called A Diaper Home for GeForce. In this episode, we build Granny G a new house out of old diapers. Oh, you're right, Reggie. We turned trash into treasure. It was upcycling. Let's play the episode. Okay, here we go. And play.

[Mindy]

Wee. Wow will be right back.

[Dennis]

Grown ups.

[Mindy]

This message is for you. That's it. Now back to the show.

[Dennis]

What in the world?

[Reggie]

Hey, quit throwing my stuff out the window.

[Guy Raz]

Colonel Too Thunder Pa. What in the.

[Reggie]

You're kicking me out of my own house? Well, I knew I should have never let you be my landlord and my roommate. And you're also bad at being a cat.

[Guy Raz]

What is going on?

[Reggie]

Well, you can't throw me out. Cause I'm leaving. And I'm taking all my belongings with me. And the tub too. Come on, wagon. We go live with Mandy.

[Guy Raz]

Hey, Grandma G Force, is everything okay? Yeah, well, it's just that I heard you yelling at your cat down there.

[Reggie]

And Colonel Toots Thunderpaw is my landlord.

[Guy Raz]

Oh, right, your landlord. That means that he owns the house.

[Reggie]

Yeah.

[Guy Raz]

And you pay him rent money to live there as his tenant.

[Reggie]

No.

[Guy Raz]

What? You don't pay rent? Don't you need to pay rent to live there?

[Reggie]

I don't know. You tell me. Here's the contract.

[Guy Raz]

Okay, let's see here. Wait, Grandma G Force. I can't read this. It's all a cat scratch.

[Reggie]

Tell that to my lawyer. He's also a cat.

[Guy Raz]

Okay.

[Mindy]

Hey, Guy Ross. Hey, Grandma G Force.

[Guy Raz]

Hey, Mindy.

[Reggie]

Hey, Mandy. Hey, pigeon.

[Mindy]

What's going on over here? Grandma GeForce, why do you have all your stuff in this little red wagon?

[Guy Raz]

That's what I'm trying to figure out.

[Reggie]

I'm moving in with you, Mandy.

[Mindy]

Wait, really?

[Dennis]

Yeah.

[Mindy]

Grandma GeForce.

[Dennis]

This is a dream come true.

[Reggie]

That's weird.

[Mindy]

We can have slumber parties every night and bake cookies together, grandma and granddaughter style. And you can tell me all the funny stories about me from when I was a baby. And you can even have the top bunk if you want it. Unless, of course, you want the bottom bunk. Then you can have that one.

[Reggie]

What? I changed my mind. I'm gonna go Live with you? Garage.

[Guy Raz]

Aww, what? Me? Oh no, no no, no no no no.

[Mindy]

Grandma G Force. What's wrong with living in your own house? Why can't you just live there?

[Dennis]

Hey guy. Hey Mindy. Hey Reggie. Hey Granny G. Hey, Dennis.

[Reggie]

Hello boy.

[Dennis]

What's going on at your house, Grandma GeForce?

[Reggie]

I don't know. I don't live there no more. I guess I just live in this wagon now.

[Dennis]

Oh, that makes sense.

[Guy Raz]

It does?

[Dennis]

Yeah. I just walked past your house and Colonel Toots Thunderpaw's turning it into a baby farm.

[Guy Raz]

A what?

[Dennis]

A baby farm. An indoor outdoor farm for babies to spend the day.

[Guy Raz]

Uh, you mean a daycare center, Dennis?

[Dennis]

Yeah, that's what I said, a baby farm. Look, you can see the babies piling in from here.

[Mindy]

Oh wow, that's a lot of babies.

[Reggie]

Why turning my house into a baby farm? Why that good for nothing landlord cat threw me out and now I don't got no home.

[Mindy]

No place to call home.

[Thomas Fingerling]

Well, you really did it this time, G Force.

[Guy Raz]

Oh, hey, Thomas Fingerling.

[Dennis]

Hi Tommy.

[Mindy]

Thomas Fingerling.

[Reggie]

Not now, Fingerling.

[Thomas Fingerling]

If I were that cat, I'd have kicked you out a long time ago.

[Mindy]

Thomas Fingerling.

[Thomas Fingerling]

You never paid your rent, you never flushed your toilet, you never mowed your grass. You had a hundred raccoons living in there and eating all the hot dogs.

[Mindy]

Wait, what?

[Guy Raz]

Is that true?

[Dennis]

Oh yeah, I seen it.

[Thomas Fingerling]

And now your house is a baby factory.

[Dennis]

A baby farm.

[Guy Raz]

A daycare center.

[Reggie]

Them babies don't even need a house. They're living in their luxury diapers. That what you want, Colonel Toots? Thunderpaw? Me living in a diaper? Wait, what?

[Mindy]

That's it.

[Dennis]

What?

[Thomas Fingerling]

Spit it out.

[Mindy]

What you just said, Grandma G Force. It gave me an idea for your housing crisis situation.

[Guy Raz]

Go on, Mindy.

[Mindy]

What if we all teamed up to build Grandma G Force a house made out of diapers?

[Guy Raz]

Mindy, that's ridiculous.

[Mindy]

It's not ridiculous, Guy Raz. It's science. No, no, really, hear me out. I just read a new scientific study about diaper houses in the journal Science Reports. This is serious science business.

[Dennis]

Everyone Mende, this is not the time for science. We have got to find a home for Grandma J. Farce.

[Thomas Fingerling]

Cause she ain't living in my house.

[Reggie]

I wasn't asking Fingerling.

[Thomas Fingerling]

I wasn't inviting G Force.

[Reggie]

Why I oughta.

[Guy Raz]

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Mindy, was this the study that was conducted by that team of engineers from Japan's University of Kitaki Yushu?

[Mindy]

That's the one, Guy Raz the one.

[Guy Raz]

That led to the building of a sustainable house made out of diapers.

[Mindy]

You know it. And if professional engineers can build a house out of diapers, then we can too. Who's with me?

[Dennis]

Oh, me, me, me, me, me, me.

[Thomas Fingerling]

Well, I'll be. A house made out of doo doo.

[Dennis]

No, Tommy, they wouldn't use dirty doo doo diapers. They were probably fresh, clean, new new diapers.

[Mindy]

Oh, no, they were used dirty doo doo diapers. All right.

[Thomas Fingerling]

What?

[Dennis]

Ew.

[Mindy]

But they were cleaned before being used to build the house.

[Thomas Fingerling]

Oh, rude.

[Dennis]

Oh, that's good.

[Guy Raz]

Yeah, I remember reading something about this. These engineers in this study had a hypothesis or an educated guess that dirty diapers, which are usually made out of some combination of wood pulp, cotton absorption materials, and synthetic or human made fibers, could be used in place of sand in the creation of concrete.

[Mindy]

And concrete is that hard, gray material that's used to build things like sidewalks and buildings like homes.

[Guy Raz]

But one of the key, key ingredients in creating concrete is actually pretty expensive and in worldwide shortage right now.

[Dennis]

A rare key ingredient. What is it, Guy Raz?

[Guy Raz]

Well, the key ingredient is sand.

[Dennis]

Huh. The world is running out of sand.

[Thomas Fingerling]

Well, no, my beach vacation.

[Mindy]

Actually, Dennis, sand is the second most used natural resource in the whole world behind water.

[Dennis]

Huh.

[Guy Raz]

And it's used in pretty much every construction project in the world.

[Mindy]

And not just in concrete, but in the formation of glass, too.

[Thomas Fingerling]

Wow.

[Guy Raz]

And believe it or not, if humans don't start to conserve it, there won't be enough sand to go around.

[Thomas Fingerling]

So what does all this have to do with G Force's diaper house?

[Mindy]

So glad you asked, Thomas Fingerling. So these researchers wondered if the materials found in dirty diapers could replace some of the sand typically used to make concrete.

[Dennis]

Huh. And the diaper concrete could be used to build a whole diaper house.

[Guy Raz]

Exactly, Dennis.

[Dennis]

A diaper house.

[Reggie]

Well, what are y'all waiting for? Somebody build me a diaper house.

[Thomas Fingerling]

Okey doke.

[Guy Raz]

Anything for science.

[Dennis]

Hooray.

[Mindy]

Okay, okay. So for the diaper house in this study, the engineers needed water.

[Dennis]

Ooh. I'll go get the hose.

[Mindy]

Cement.

[Guy Raz]

I've got a bag of cement in my garage.

[Mindy]

Gravel. A little bit of sand.

[Reggie]

Well. Ooh. I stole Colonel Toot's thunderpaw's litter box on my way out.

[Mindy]

Oh, okay. I guess that'll do.

[Reggie]

Yes, it will.

[Dennis]

Okay, I got the hose.

[Guy Raz]

And here's a bag of cement.

[Mindy]

Great. Now the only ingredient we still need is the dirty diapers.

[Thomas Fingerling]

Don't worry, Mandy. I got you right here.

[Dennis]

Oh, wow.

[Mindy]

Thomas Fingerling, where did you get a whole pile of dirty diapers?

[Thomas Fingerling]

From a pile of babies.

[Dennis]

Huh? A pile of babies?

[Thomas Fingerling]

Yeah, from the baby farm.

[Guy Raz]

Oh, right.

[Reggie]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Dennis]

Oh, boy. Looks like we got everything we need. Now. What?

[Guy Raz]

Well, after collecting the materials, including a whole lot of diapers check, the engineers.

[Mindy]

Got to work in order to use these dirty diapers in the concrete they first needed to be cleaned. Now, who would like to clean the dirty diapers?

[Dennis]

Not I said, the dentist.

[Mindy]

Dentist.

[Reggie]

Just throw them in the dishwasher like everything else.

[Guy Raz]

Wait, you put everything in the dishwasher?

[Reggie]

Everything. I'll put you in the dishwasher, too. Garage.

[Guy Raz]

No, thank you.

[Mindy]

Okay, Dennis, I am putting you in charge of cleaning the dirty diapers.

[Dennis]

Uh, no. Why can't Tommy do it?

[Mindy]

Because Thomas Fingerling already collected the diapers.

[Dennis]

Okay, fine. Come on, Reggie. Reggie, you are not busy.

[Mindy]

Uh, here, Dennis, take this little scraper I found in Grandma G Force's wagon to clean out the big stuff.

[Dennis]

Oh, thank you.

[Guy Raz]

That's my spatula.

[Dennis]

Well, now it's my poo remover.

[Mindy]

Now, once each diaper was cleaned, the engineers then had to rip them to shreds.

[Reggie]

I want that job.

[Mindy]

Oh, okay, great.

[Reggie]

I just got my teeth sharpened.

[Thomas Fingerling]

G Force.

[Guy Raz]

What?

[Mindy]

No, not with your teeth, Grandma G Force. Here, use this shredding tool.

[Guy Raz]

Okay, that's my fork.

[Reggie]

Well, now it's my diaper mangler.

[Guy Raz]

Please stop stealing my kitchen utensils.

[Reggie]

Oh, yeah, this diaper mangler works real good.

[Mindy]

Now, once the diapers were cleaned and shredded, it was time to mix the cement. Grandma GeForce, do you have a large mixing bowl in your wagon of personal belongings there?

[Reggie]

No.

[Guy Raz]

Well, do you have anything that we could use to mix the cement?

[Reggie]

Well, let's see here. How about this tub?

[Guy Raz]

What? You took the bathtub out of the house?

[Reggie]

And the bath water, too.

[Dennis]

Oh, wow.

[Mindy]

Okay, well, I guess we are going to mix our diaper concrete in this bathtub.

[Guy Raz]

Okay, well, what do we do first, Mindy?

[Mindy]

Well, first, we need the water already in the tub.

[Dennis]

Ah, but I wanted to spray the hose.

[Mindy]

Sorry, Dennis, but I think we have enough water in the tub.

[Dennis]

Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, Janice. Sorry.

[Mindy]

Okay, the next thing we need is the cement.

[Guy Raz]

Got it right here, Mindy.

[Mindy]

Thank you, Guy Raz. And next, the gravel and the sand.

[Dennis]

Wait, Missy, I thought the whole point of this was that we weren't using sand.

[Thomas Fingerling]

Yeah, you said sand was an endangered species or some such thing.

[Mindy]

Okay, I did not say that. What I said was that these engineers wondered if the materials found in dirty diapers could replace some of the sand in the concrete.

[Guy Raz]

Because even a small percentage could make a big difference. Ow.

[Reggie]

Okay, a little bit of Colonel Toots Thunder Paw's litter box sand.

[Guy Raz]

Okay, that's enough.

[Reggie]

There you go.

[Mindy]

And the final ingredient. Shredded diapers.

[Dennis]

Ooh. I get to dump the shredded diapers.

[Mindy]

And then they mix it up. Thomas Fingerling, mind handing me that paddle from Grandma GeForce's wagon over there?

[Thomas Fingerling]

Me do.

[Mindy]

Thank you.

[Guy Raz]

Hey, that's my kayak paddle.

[Reggie]

I borrowed it.

[Dennis]

Hey, Mindy.

[Mindy]

Yes, Dennis?

[Dennis]

How did you know how much of each ingredient to use?

[Guy Raz]

Actually, that's a great question, Dennis. How did you know, Mindy?

[Mindy]

Well, I didn't.

[Dennis]

You didn't?

[Mindy]

Nope. And neither did these engineers when they set out to make their dirty diaper concrete.

[Dennis]

Gasp.

[Guy Raz]

Actually, Mindy's right. According to the study, the engineers had to test six different ratio mixtures before they found the right combination of ingredients.

[Reggie]

I do not know what ratio means.

[Thomas Fingerling]

Oh, I do. I listen to the baseball game on the ratio.

[Guy Raz]

No, no, no, no. That's a radio. A ratio just means the different amounts of each ingredient used compared to the others.

[Thomas Fingerling]

Oh, right.

[Mindy]

Yeah. So if they use too much water compared to the amount of diapers, it might be too liquidy or thin and make the concrete too weak.

[Guy Raz]

And if they use too much sand and gravel, compared to the amount of cement, it might be too thick and grainy. And make the concrete crack once it dries.

[Mindy]

Exactly. So they tested out six different combinations before they found the right mixture.

[Dennis]

Hmm. How's our mixture? Does it look like the right ratios, Mindy?

[Reggie]

Well, let me taste it.

[Dennis]

What?

[Guy Raz]

No. Do not ever put concrete into your mouth.

[Thomas Fingerling]

Yeah, or into someone else's mouth.

[Reggie]

Well, how else are we gonna know if it's good?

[Mindy]

Well, to know for sure, we'll have to do what the engineers did and test it as a building material.

[Dennis]

Oh, wow.

[Reggie]

Wow.

[Guy Raz]

But before we do that, we have to form it into bricks and then wait 28 days for them to dry and harden.

[Reggie]

What? I ain't got no 28 days. I need my doo doo diaper hu.

[Mindy]

Now. Okay, okay. Well, we'll just keep moving and see what happens when we impatiently build a house out of wet diaper bricks.

[Thomas Fingerling]

Way ahead of you, Mandy.

[Dennis]

Look, I gave it a veranda.

[Reggie]

Oh, boy.

[Guy Raz]

Wait, wait. That concrete hasn't even hardened yet. It has absolutely no structural integrity. Anything you build is going to collapse.

[Reggie]

I want a moat.

[Dennis]

Oh, great idea.

[Mindy]

Okay, so back to the testing. Since these engineers were using used Diapers as a building material. They had to make sure that they were safe.

[Guy Raz]

Safe?

[Mindy]

Yeah, you know, they had to test for poop in the walls.

[Guy Raz]

Uh huh.

[Mindy]

But what they found was that diaper concrete didn't contain any more microbes or bacteria than regular concrete.

[Guy Raz]

Really?

[Reggie]

And it don't smell too bad neither.

[Dennis]

Actually, it does smell a little bad.

[Thomas Fingerling]

Oh, well, that could have been me, Tommy. Excuse me.

[Guy Raz]

The other important test of this diaper concrete was whether it would be strong enough to handle the weight of an entire house.

[Dennis]

What was that guy? Raz, these diaper bricks need to hold an entire house.

[Guy Raz]

Yeah, Dennis, a brick needs to be able to support the weight of all the other bricks and materials you stack on top.

[Dennis]

Oh, well, I just stacked up a third story and added a spiral staircase. These bricks will hold all that, right?

[Mindy]

Uh, you might want to go a little easier there, Dennis. Remember how we didn't know how much of each ingredient to use in making.

[Guy Raz]

The concrete, and we didn't let the bricks dry and harden either.

[Thomas Fingerling]

Ah, it's fine.

[Dennis]

Tommy says it's fine.

[Reggie]

Whatever.

[Guy Raz]

Okay, Mindy, back to the story. So what did the engineers discover when they tested the strength of their diaper concrete?

[Mindy]

Well, they discovered that not only was the diaper concrete just as strong as regular concrete, but that in some cases, depending on what the concrete was used for, it could replace nearly half of the sand used in the mixture.

[Guy Raz]

Wow. And since dirty diapers are free and easy to find, diaper concrete could be a much cheaper alternative to regular concrete. Which means?

[Mindy]

Which means that homes built with diaper concrete would be more accessible to more people in more parts of the world. People who might not otherwise have enough money to buy a home of their own built with regular concrete full of sand.

[Reggie]

And little old grandmas like me who don't want to pay rent to their cat landlords.

[Guy Raz]

That's two. I guess.

[Dennis]

I'm getting tired. No one told me that diaper concrete was so heavy.

[Thomas Fingerling]

Yeah, seems almost about exactly as heavy as regular concrete.

[Guy Raz]

Because it is.

[Dennis]

How's it looking, Mindy?

[Mindy]

Uh, it's looking a little lopsided.

[Guy Raz]

Is it starting to collapse?

[Mindy]

Maybe.

[Thomas Fingerling]

Oh, no, it's okay. It's just starting to lean over on account of we never let the diaper bricks dry and harden.

[Dennis]

Oh, don't worry, Granny G. Your new house is just gonna be a little sideways.

[Reggie]

I'll make you a little sideways.

[Dennis]

What was that?

[Reggie]

I said thank you very much, boy. Now get out of my house.

[Mindy]

Great job, everyone.

[Dennis]

Hooray. We did it. We built a House of diapers.

[Guy Raz]

Uh, Mindy?

[Mindy]

Yes, Guy Razzie?

[Guy Raz]

Did you hear that?

[Mindy]

Hear what?

[Reggie]

Uh, oh.

[Guy Raz]

Uh. While the experiment seemed to work for the engineers in this study, I'm not sure it worked as well for us.

[Mindy]

What do you mean.

[Dennis]

A duranda?

[Reggie]

I do not know what a veranda means.

[Thomas Fingerling]

It means that this diaper house is collapsing. Everybody run for your lives.

[Reggie]

Uno can't run the fall with all.

[Dennis]

Your walls.

[Mindy]

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]

And before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short [e-mail] survey.

[Dennis]

Thanks for joining us for this edition of Wee Wow. Our show is written by Ruth Morrison and Jed Anderson. The role of Baby Dennis is played by Jed Anderson. Ah, well then who plays the role of Big Dennis? Never you mind. Tee hee. Original sound design and production is done by Henry Moskal and Marion Lozano with help from Jett Anderson and Tyler Thole. Original music for Wewow is composed and performed by Tyler Thole. Special thanks to Jessica Bode, Rebecca Caban, Dr. Natasha Crandall, Kenny Curtis, Lizzie Fralich, Kristin Yang, Meredith Halpin, Ranzer Thuy Mac, Erica Medina, Henry Muskill, Jody Nussbaum, Ali Paksima, Guy Raz, Linda Rothenberg, Steph Sosa, Mindy Thomas, Johanna Weber, Anna Zagorski and and all of the other tinkerers at Tinkercast HQ. Be sure to visit tinkercast.com where you can become an official member of the World Organization of Wowzers. Learn about upcoming events, shop our wow Shop, find our best selling books and learn about all the other amazing podcasts from Tinkercast. Thanks again for thinking, tinkering, experimenting and exploring with me this week. Be sure to check out episodes of wow in the world on Mondays 2 what's in a wow on Fridays and we wow on the weekend with Dennis on the weekends. And remember who wows?

[Reggie]

I wow.

[Dennis]

No, Baby Dennis. We wow. All right. We wow.

[Mindy]

Wow in the world.

[Dennis]

Wow in the world. Wow in the world. Wow in the World. Wow in the World.

[Reggie]

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