Loading summary
A
Hey, Wowzer fams. Mindy here. And before we start the show, guess what? You can join me every Friday for two what's in a People who Wow Edition. In this Getting to Know youw game show, I'll be visited by some of the world's most fascinating people to get the wows and the what's of their lives. From cartoonist and graphic novelist Raina Telgemeier of the Smile series, to everyday extraordinary kids just like you. And that's not all. With this new season of two what's in a wow? There are now two ways to wow. What am I talking about? Well, first, you can listen to episodes right here in our wow. In the World podcast feed. Or, and this is a big oar. Yeah, you're right, Reg. That doesn't have the same ring to it. Okay, now where was I? Oh, yeah. As always, you can listen to new episodes in your favorite podcast player, or you can watch these episodes with your eyeballs on YouTube. I know. I should comb my hair or something. We are so excited for you to listen and watch our new season of two what's in a People who Wow Edition starting this Friday. So make sure you're subscribed to our podcast feed and our WowTube channel on YouTube so you don't miss out. That's two what's in a People who Wow Edition coming this Friday. And now a quick ad break and then we'll get on with the show. Hey, Grown ups. Mindy here. And do I have a wow for you. What if I told you that the best kids math program is actually inspired by comic books and it's about monsters? It's called Beast Academy. And the little monsters, like Grog, do the kind of math that gets kids curious enough to stop and think and figure things out for themselves. For example, Krog asked his Beast Academy math club, if our school has more than 366 kids in it, is it guaranteed that two of them will have exactly the same birthday? He proved that the answer is yes through problem solving. Wow, that's Beast Academy. Where kids build problem solving skills through interesting problems and puzzles. It's from the folks at Art of Problem Solving, the same people who train math champions, grown ups. Head to beastacademy.com and use code BEASTWOW for 10% off the online program. Oh, and tell Grog Mindy says hi. Who's that walking through the woods? Wyatt's Yoshi, here to explore a world of curious creatures with you. Discovered a creature you haven't seen before. Why don't you get Yoshi to see what it tastes like? Hmm. Soapy. No wonder this creature blows giant bubbles so big they can carry you. You jump from one bubble to another and reach new areas. There are plenty more surprises to discover too. Bowser Jr. What are you doing out here? You can jump into adventure with Yoshi and The Mysterious Book. May 21, only on Nintendo Switch 2. Game Rated E for everyone.
B
We wow on the weekend? We wow on the weekend? We wow on the weekend? Cause this is what we do on the weekend. Talking, laughing, me and Reggie singing, laughing. And then we. Oh wait, no, I said laughing twice. Whatever. We wow on the weekend. Yeah, we wow on the weekend. Wah wah. Me wow on the weekend? Cause this is what we do on the weekend. Hello and welcome to Wee Wow on the Weekend. I'm your host, Dennis, and that's my co host, Reggie the Giant Pigeon. This is the show where we talk and laugh and do stuff and answer questions from our fans and listen to Tinkercast podcasts. And today we're gonna. What's that, Reggie? It's a special day today. Really? Well, what day is it? Tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me. Mother's Day. The day we celebrate mothers and grandmothers and guardians and other special grownups in our lives. Well, this is terrible. Thank odds, Reggie. I forgot to do something special for my mother. She's probably upstairs wondering why, oh, why I haven't made her breakfast or given her a gift or even remembered what day it is. I gotta figure something out quick. Oh, that's a great idea, Reggie. I'll make mother a card. And so you know what that means. That's right. It means our first. This segment is Crafternoo. Pancakes are for eating and rivers are for rafting. And Broadway is for my one man show. But afternoons are for crafting. Crafternoon. Today on Crafternoon we're making Mother's Day cards. I've got a big box of art supplies here in case I ever run into an art mergency like the one I'm having right now. Lets see, we've got paper and markers and scissors and glitter and all kinds of stuff. Do you want to make a card for Mama the giant pigeon, Reggie? Let's do it. Here we go. So Reggie, what's your favorite thing to do with your mom? What? We play basketball together. Oh, Bird skitball. How do you play that? And then you have to get the ball in the other team's hoop. Oh, Coop. You get the ball in the other team's Poop. Got it. Got it. Well, my favorite thing to do with my mother is when we have our mother. Dennis. Spa days. Yeah. We do a 19 step skincare routine and put cucumber slices on our eyes. Oh, I don't know why we put cucumber slices on our eyes. It's just a spa thing. Yes, Reggie, it has to be cucumber slices. No, not lemon slices. Never lemon slices. Or jalapeno. That would be bad. Yeah. How's your card coming along? Wow. You made a pop up card of Mama and Reggie Pigeon. That's so cool. And mine's going well, too. See, I wrote I love you, mother in macaroni. What do you mean? Why is it dripping? It's macaroni. Well, I didn't have dry macaroni, so I typed some leftover cooked macaroni and cheese I had sitting on my desk. Well, whatever. Now if mother's hungry after she reads the card, she can have a snack. Exactly. It's the perfect card. Great job, Dennis. Okay, let's move on. Next up is a little segment I like to call Inside Tinkercast Studios.
A
Ahem.
B
Inside Tinkercast Studios. This is the part where we revisit an episode of one of my favorite Tinkercast shows. And today we're listening to wow in the World, Season 9, Episode 5 called Yay for Octomoms. Oh, hey, we're in this one, Reggie, remember? Yeah. This is the one where we had a fun beach day and then got to go on an undersea adventure. An undersea adventure. Magic beneath the waves. Yeah. Okay, here we go. And play
A
Wee. Wow. We'll be right back, grown ups. This message is for you yellow grownups.
B
Jett Anderson here from Tinkercast. I got a question for you. How does your household manage to keep track of everything? I mean, really? I want to know. Because after a day of producing another episode of wow in the World and keeping track of all the crazy characters, the voices, I then have to keep track of all the crazy characters at home. That is why I can't wait to get a Skylight calendar. It's an all in one digital smart calendar that syncs with Google Calendar, Outlook, and more. And it gives you and your kids the perfect customized view of everyone's events, chores, and to dos so that nothing slips through the cracks. Families are better when they're working together. Right now, Skylight is offering our listeners $30 off their 15 inch calendars by going to myskylight.com wowintheworld go to myskylight.com wowIntheWor for $30 off your 15 inch calendar. That's my S K Y L I g h t.com wowintheworld that's it.
A
Now back to the show.
C
Ah, what a lovely day for a beach trip. The sun is out, my 70 SPF sunscreen is on, and Mindy is nowhere to be seen. Where is she? We set to meet here at 10 o'.
B
Clock. Okay, Reggie, hand me that bucket and shovel, please. No, Reggie, not that bucket and shovel. The other one. The one that looks like a goldfish? No, the other one that looks like a goldfish. Red taste. All right, G Force, you're safe.
A
You sure you're ready for this, old man? Oh yeah, dude.
B
I was born ready.
A
Well, watch out, Fingerling. Cause here comes the smack attack. I told you to watch out.
C
Well, I'm sure Mindy will show up soon. In the meantime, I think it's about time I got started on my book. A History of Elbow Patches and their Uses. I don't know if there's such a thing as the perfect beach read, but I think this one comes pretty close. Let's see here. Chapter one. Elbow Patches and the Pharaohs. Wow.
B
Oh, no.
C
What in the. Mindy.
B
Oh, cool. The wow machine just appeared in midair. My sandcastle. Fine. Our sandcastle. Whatever.
C
I'm soaked. My.
A
I made it.
B
Mindy. Guy Razzie.
C
Mindy, what are you doing in the wow machine? You completely soaked my book.
A
Ooh, sorry, Guy Raz. I'm still trying to get the hang of those water landings.
C
I can see that.
A
But now that I'm here, we can get going.
C
Get going? Get going where?
A
To the nursery. Guy Raz, why'd you think I asked you to meet me at the beach?
C
I thought we were having a nice relaxing day on the beach.
A
You mean just sitting around in the sun doing nothing?
B
Yeah, I was building a sandcastle. Reggie, you are not lead architect.
A
Yeah, like I said, sitting around doing nothing.
C
Well, why did you bring us all to the beach then, Mindy?
A
Oh, I brought you to the beach for science.
C
For science? Yeah. I'm not getting it, Mindy.
A
You don't have to get it, Guy Raz. All you have to do is trust me completely and get into the wow machine. But. Now, come on, Guy Raz. Anything for science.
C
Anything for science.
A
Yay. Who else is it?
B
Me. Me, me, me, me. I want to come.
A
Okay, Reggie and Dennis are in. Come on, get in the wow Machine.
B
Hooray. Wow Machine. Wow Machine. Wow Machine.
A
Thomas Fingerling. Grandma. G Force. You wanna Come. Well, I gotta stay back and teach Fingerling a lesson in volleyball.
B
What? You couldn't teach me a lesson if you. Chuck.
A
I'm sorry, you were saying?
B
What?
A
Fingerling?
B
Nothing.
A
Okay, well, try not to get too violent while we're away. Don't hurt each other or anything. No promises. All right. Come on, Guy Raz, hop on in.
C
All right.
A
Okay, everybody got their seatbelts on?
C
Yep.
B
Yes.
A
Great. Now let me just switch the wow. Machine into submarine mode here.
C
Wow.
B
Oh, no.
C
Mindy, there's a massive leak in the center of the wow. Machine.
A
Don't worry, Guy Raz. Let me just get out my gum here. Chewing, chewing, chewing, chewing.
C
Mindy.
B
Oh, wow.
A
There, that should hold. It should hold it. Now, where was I? Oh, yeah. Everyone hold on to your butts. We're going down.
B
Ooh.
C
So, Mindy, can you remind me again about where we're heading?
A
We are heading to the nursery, Guy Raz.
B
Oh, right, a nursery. You mean like for babies?
A
Yep. But not the kind of babies you're thinking of, Dennis.
B
Oh, really? What kind of babies am I thinking of?
A
Uh, baby Dennis babies. Small, pudgy, two arms, two legs.
B
Those are the babies I was thinking of.
A
Yeah. Well, these babies in the nursery that we're going to have eight arms suckers and live at the bottom of the ocean.
B
What?
A
Because the babies in this nursery are octopus babies.
C
Octopus babies?
A
Yeah, it's known as a brooding ground, and it's where mama octopuses go to give birth.
C
Really?
A
Yeah. And there are baby octopuses as far as the eye can see. Scientists estimate that there could be as many as 20,000. 20,000 octopuses down there?
B
20,000? Uh huh. Oh, wow.
C
But what makes this spot on the ocean floor such a hot spot for octomoms?
A
Well, Guy Raz, it all has to do with the temperature.
C
The temperature?
A
Yeah, and we should be getting to just the right depth. Now for me to show you what I mean, let me just roll down the window here.
B
Huh?
C
Wait,
B
I'm getting all wet. Mindy, you're wetting the ocean. Close that window.
A
Ah, just hold on one second. Just gotta grab the thermometer off the outside of the room as she hear it.
B
Well, hurry up.
C
We're all getting soaked There.
B
Got it
A
a little wet in here. Let me just drain the cockpit real quick and.
B
Cool. Great.
A
Now where was I?
C
You were telling us about the water temperature.
A
Oh, right, yeah. So if we take a look at this here thermometer, we can see that the water is. Can anyone tell me the temperature of the water?
B
Uh, I don't know. I only know how to read Canadian temperatures.
A
What?
B
Canadian temperatures? You know, Celsius.
A
Oh, got it.
B
Um, can you read the thermometer, Guy Raz?
C
All right, let's see here.
B
Huh.
C
52 degrees Fahrenheit, which is 11 degrees
B
Celsius in Canadian temperatures.
A
That's right, Dennis.
B
Hehe.
C
I don't understand, Mindy. What's the significance of this water being 52 degrees Fahrenheit?
A
Well, if we rewind this thermometer here.
C
What in the.
A
We can see that the temperature is dropping.
C
Oh, yeah, look at that. The temperature now reads 35 degrees, which
B
is 1.5 degrees Canadian.
A
Exact Oritos. The surrounding water is much colder, but down here it's pretty nice and warm.
C
I don't understand, Mindy. I would have thought that the lower down you go, the. The further away you get from the sun, the colder it would get.
A
Well, normally that would be the case, Guy Raz. But this place is special. You see, this part of the ocean floor is heated by underwater volcanoes.
B
Ah.
C
And that hot magma from the volcano running underneath here heats the surrounding water on the seafloor.
B
Ooh.
A
You're picking up what I'm putting down, Guy Raz.
C
And presumably these octomoms like warmer waters for giving birth.
A
You tell me. The octo nursery should be right over this ridge.
B
Whoa.
C
Oh, yeah, Mindy, there's thousands of them.
B
They look like fleshy little soccer balls with long arms and suckers.
C
I have never seen so many octopuses before.
A
I think this might be the most octopuses anyone has ever seen.
C
What do you mean?
A
Well, when scientists first discovered this brooding ground back in 2018, it was the largest group of octopuses ever recorded.
C
Wow. So why are so many of them here?
A
Well, because the warm water helps to shorten the octopuses gestation. Guess station time.
B
Guess station time. I don't know what time it is at the station.
A
Oh boy.
B
Fine, I'll guess five o'. Clock.
C
No, no, no, not guess station time, Dennis. Gestation time. It means the amount of time that it takes for the octopus baby to hatch out of its egg.
A
Exactly. And these scientists found that these higher water temperatures were able to cut down the octopus gestation time by as much as four times.
C
Whoa. That's so much faster.
B
No wonder all these octomoms come here.
C
And so I'm guessing that a shorter gestation time means that their eggs have a higher chance of hatching and being healthy too.
A
Exactly. But do you know why?
C
No, why?
A
Well, it's because of a strange Behavior that the octomoms do when they're waiting for their eggs to hatch.
C
Well, what is it? What's the behavior, Mindy?
B
Oh, is it reading?
A
Reading?
B
Yeah, like reading a book.
A
How is reading a strange behavior, Dennis?
B
Well, have you ever seen an octopus mom read before? Hmm.
C
I guess I haven't.
B
That's right.
A
No, it's not reading. The strange behavior is starving.
C
Starving?
A
Yeah. For the entire time that these octopuses are waiting for their eggs to hatch, they won't eat anything. They just sit around and watch over their eggs, protecting them from predators.
C
I know that moms are always sacrificing, but that's wild. No food for the entire time their eggs are gestating.
A
Yeah, which is usually around four years, but it can be up to eight years.
C
Eight years with no food?
B
What? I can't go eight minutes without food? Speaking of which, get this here.
A
And Dennis, is that a sandwich?
B
No, it's a hoagie.
A
Oh, okay.
C
How can these octopuses go eight years without food?
A
Well, they can't.
C
What do you mean?
A
Well, most of these octomoms don't make it through this breeding process. They make the ultimate sacrifice for their babies.
B
They die.
A
Yeah. And they use their bodies to protect their eggs from predators.
C
That's pretty gruesome, Mindy.
A
I know, right?
C
And so I'm guessing the shorter they're able to make their gestation period, the longer they're able to stay alive to protect their eggs.
A
You got it.
B
Huh.
C
Now it makes sense why there are so many octopuses here. Warm water means less time for your eggs to hatch. And less time for your eggs to hatch means more chances for your octo babies to survive.
A
Exactly.
B
Oh. Oh. Everyone, look over there.
A
What is it, Dennis? That octo egg is octo hatching.
C
Where?
B
Just there.
C
Oh, wow. Mindy, see if you can get a bit closer.
A
You got it, Captain. Turning, turning, turning, turning.
B
Oh.
A
Oh.
C
Just there. Mindy.
A
Easy, easy. And stop. Activating octopus translator.
C
Octopus translator.
B
Look, it's happening. It's happening. Oh, sorry, sorry, sorry. So cute. Yay for octopox. Wow, that was so cool. What a great episode. Starring me, right, Reggie? Oh, why do I only know Canadian temperatures? Well, because when I was a young Dennis, I once went on a Snoop Scout camping trip, and I got lost, right? And then I ended up spending five cold months in Saskatoon, wandering the wilderness, reading temperatures in Celsius. Ah. Well, I eventually got directions home from a friendly moose. In fact, it was a mommy moose with her little mooselings. Yeah, just like all those octomoms taking care of all their baby octo eggs. Reggie, that reminds me, we should do something special for Mother's Day. Alright? We already did. Um, well, we need to wrap up the show so I can go give mother her card. Thanks to all you listeners out there for tuning in to Wee Wow on the weekend. If you have a question for me, call and leave me a message at 1-888-7-WOW-WOW. That's 1-8887-WOW-WOW. I just might answer your question on Wee Wow on the weekend. Okay, let's go. Mother's gonna be so excited. And we need to hurry up because my card is starting to smell. Oh, Mother.
C
Before we get into the credits for today's episode, we want to give some special shout outs and say a huge thank you to some of the wowzers whose families are powering the WOW this year.
A
We broke the names up into two batches and here is our first batch of names. We are so grateful for your support.
C
Owen and Aubrey from California. Saman and Ryan from California. Orlean and Esther from New York. Ella from Singapore. Lacey elementary from North Carolina.
A
Teddy, Silas and Emmett from Arizona. Jason from Texas. Eli and Nolan from Texas. Luke and Noel from North Carolina.
C
Ilan from California. Emmett and Adler from Kansas. John, Katie, Ethan and Amelia from Pennsylvania. Nejla and Yakub from Kuwait. Evelyn, Ramona and Tabitha from Nevada.
A
John R. From Wisconsin. Emory and Ila from California. Caroline from Massachusetts. Ian and Declan from Washington. Elena and Lucia from Maryland.
C
Parker from Texas. Albert and Lulu from Brighton, England. Hayden, Hazel and Allie from Pennsylvania. Magnus from the District of Columbia. William and Allie from Virginia.
A
Brendan, Jessica, David and Michael from Ohio. Bailey, Macy and Hank from South Carolina. James from Washington. Peter, Teddy and Leo from Minnesota. Paul from Rhode Island.
C
Nuri from Washington. Violet and Will from California. Audrey and Ethan from Virginia. Alex H. From Tennessee. James and Madison from Utah.
A
And happy birthday to Otis from Minnesota.
C
From the bottom of our hearts and
A
the top of our brains, thank you.
B
Thanks for joining us for this edition of wewow. Our show is written by Ruth Morrison and Jed Anderson. The role of Baby Dennis is played by Jed Anderson. Well then, who plays the role of Big Dennis? Never you mind. Tee hee. Original sound design and production is done by Tyler Thole with contributions from Jett Anderson and Henry Moskal. Original music for wewow is composed and performed by Tyler Thole. Special thanks to Jessica Bode, Rebecca Caban, Dr. Natasha Crandall, Kenny Curtis, Kristin Yang, Meredith Helpern, Ranzer, Thuy Mack, Jody Nussbaum, Ali Paxima, Guy Raz Linda Rothenberg, Steph Sosa, Mindy Thomas, Anna Zagorski, 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? I wow. No, baby Dennis. We Wow. All right. We wow. Wow. Wow wow
A
wow in the World was made by Tinkercast and sent to you by Wondery.
Podcast: Wow in the World
Host: Tinkercast (Dennis, Reggie the Giant Pigeon, Mindy Thomas, Guy Raz)
Theme: Mother’s Day Special & The Science of “Octomoms”
This installment of “WeWow on the Weekend” celebrates Mother’s Day with plenty of laughter, silly song segments, and a science deep-dive into the world of octopus mothers (“Octomoms”). Dennis and Reggie introduce the day’s topics through crafts and fun, then revisit a memorable “Wow in the World” episode all about octopus reproduction, maternal sacrifice, and the science behind octopus nurseries on the ocean floor.
Memorable Segment:
“Mother’s Day! The day we celebrate mothers and grandmothers and guardians and other special grownups in our lives. Well, this is terrible...I forgot to do something special for my mother.”
— Dennis (04:12)
Memorable Quote:
“Now if mother’s hungry after she reads the card, she can have a snack. Exactly. It’s the perfect card.”
— Dennis (06:56)
“52 degrees Fahrenheit, which is 11 degrees Celsius in Canadian temperatures.”
— Guy Raz (16:26)
Notable Quotes:
“The strange behavior is starving...For the entire time that these octopuses are waiting for their eggs to hatch, they won’t eat anything.”
— Mindy (19:44)
“I know that moms are always sacrificing, but that’s wild. No food for the entire time their eggs are gestating.”
— Guy Raz (20:02)
“Eight years with no food? … I can’t go eight minutes without food!”
— Dennis (20:16)
“Well, these babies in the nursery that we’re going to have eight arms, suckers, and live at the bottom of the ocean.”
— Mindy (14:19)
“When scientists first discovered this brooding ground back in 2018, it was the largest group of octopuses ever recorded.”
— Mindy (18:15)
“I know that moms are always sacrificing, but that’s wild. No food for the entire time their eggs are gestating.”
— Guy Raz (20:02)
“How can these octopuses go eight years without food?”
— Guy Raz (20:33)
“Now it makes sense why there are so many octopuses here. Warm water means less time for your eggs to hatch. And less time for your eggs to hatch means more chances for your octo babies to survive.”
— Guy Raz (21:10)
Dennis on reading Canadian temperatures:
“Why do I only know Canadian temperatures? … I spent five cold months in Saskatoon, wandering the wilderness, reading temperatures in Celsius. … I got directions home from a friendly moose. In fact, it was a mommy moose with her little mooselings.”
— Dennis (22:02)
This “WeWow on the Weekend” episode entertains and educates by blending hands-on creativity, humor, and a fascinating look at octopus mothers’ survival strategies as a tribute to all caregivers on Mother’s Day. The lively banter, memorable science facts, and child-friendly explanations ensure the episode is equally fun and informative for kids and adults. If you missed the episode, this summary gives you both the heart and the "wow!" of the show.