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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.
Dennis
Wow.
Guy Raz
Now let's get back to the show.
Narrator/Announcer
Hey, grown ups. If you're planning on taking a family trip to Orlando this summer to be transported to magical universes, well, you should know there's one portal you don't want to miss. Your portal to the original universe. Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, where they have flying dragons too. It's about science where no spells are required. Walk beneath a towering Falcon 9 booster, touch a real moon rock, and come face to face with space shuttle Atlantis. Plus, take a Behind the Gates bus tour for an exclusive look at NASA's legendary launch sites and the future of space exploration. Visitors also have the chance to meet an astronaut. Talk about a core memory in the making. And get this. Our friends at Kennedy Space center have offered our listeners $7 off admission. Just use code WOW at checkout. With missions to Mars, rocket launches and deep space exploration, no trip to Orlando is complete without landing at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Discover something real.
Dennis
Ah, ah, ah, ah. 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. Whatever. We wow on the weekend. Yeah. We wow on the weekend. Laugh, clap. We wow on the Weekend. Cause this is what we do on the weekend. Hello and welcome to We Wow. On the Weekend. I'm your host, Dennis. And that's Reggie, my co host and a giant pigeon. Reggie, look. Mother made me pancakes with my name spelled out in chocolate chips. Yeah, they're Dennis cakes. Ah, Reggie. No, these are my Dennis cakes. Besides, you can't have chocolate chips. Those are bad for birds. Here, Mother made your own Reggie cakes. Yeah, they're blueberries. Okay, let's move on to the Q and A segment. The Q and A segment. Alright, let's just get the old answering machine pulled up here. Okay, here we go. Hi, you've reached Dennis from WEW on the Weekend. That's me. Do you have a question? Well, I do too. Lots of them. And who's gonna answer all my questions? You? Probably not, but I guess I can answer yours. Leave me a message.
Mindy Thomas
Hey Dennis, So how do scents get concentrated into containers like perfumes and body sprays?
Dennis
Oh wow, that's a great question. Because Reggie, think about it. Perfumes smell huge, but their bottles are teeny tiny. How'd they get that huge smell in that tiny bottle? Now, I obviously have no idea how they do it, but I have come across some wild perfumes. Yeah, like one time I tried a perfume that smelled like pizza. Yes, exactly like pizza. I could smell the cheese and the sauce and everything. How'd they get a whole pizza into a tiny bottle? And another time I smelled another one that smelled like D. No, there was no dirt in the bottle, Reggie. My thoughts exactly. Perfumes are a mystery. Next question.
Mindy Thomas
Hi Dennis. My name's Matt and I was wondering, what does baby Dennis think of skydiving?
Dennis
Wow, great question, Matt. What does baby Dennis, my ventriloquist dummy that looks just like me, think of skydiving? Well, let's ask him. There we go. Hi baby Dennis. Hi, big Dennis. Hi, Reggie. Reggie, say hi to baby Dennis. Tee hee. Okay, Baby Dennis, my friend Matt has a question for you. Matt wants to know what you think of skydiving. Oh wow. I can dive into the sky like Reggie. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Skydiving is where you dive out of the sky from a plane. What? Yeah, you fly up in the sky in an airplane and you jump out of it with a parachute. Ah, no thank you. You don't want to skydive. That sounds like sky falling. Yeah, I guess baby Dennis does not like to skyfall. Next question.
Mindy Thomas
Hi Dennis. I was wondering, do you want to hear a riddle?
Dennis
Oh boy, do I. Maybe Dennis loves riddles.
Mindy Thomas
Okay, the riddle is, I am an ocean with no water. I am a forest with no trees. I am a desert with no sand. What am I?
Dennis
Oh, it's. It's. It's. It's. Oh, I know it's. Oh, wait, nevermind. Reggie, don't interrupt me. I'm thinking. It's a forest with no trees. It's. It's gotta be a map. What? Baby Dennis thinks it's a map. Nuh. A desert with no sand. Yeah. Maps have desert and no sand. That can't be right. Reggie, play the answer.
Mindy Thomas
Hey, map.
Dennis
Ha ha. Big Dennis. Oh, whatever. Thanks for your calls, everyone. Yeah, thanks for your calls, everyone. If you've got a question for me or call and leave us a message. The number is 1-8887-WOW. Wow. I just might answer your question on We Wow on the weekend. Okay, bye baby Dennis. Bye. Okay, now it's time for a little segment I like to call Inside Tinkercast Studios. Inside Tinkercast Studios. This is the part where we revisit an episode of one of my favorite Tinkercast shows. And this weekend, we're revisiting episodes from the very first season of wow. In the World. Let's see, today's episode is called Sharing Caring Chimpanzees. In this episode, Mindy and Guy talk about how humans learn to cooperate. Yeah, just like us, Reggie. You and me cooperate all the time. Okay, fine. Let's do an example. Reggie, can you please hand me that piece of paper over there? No, Reggie, not that one. The other one. The one with my notes on it. Reggie, no, that's not a piece of paper. That's a dirty napkin. I know I said I'd throw the napkin away yesterday, but I forgot. Reggie, would you cooperate, please? You know what? This is a bad example. Let's just play the episode. Okay, Here we go. And play.
Mindy Thomas
Wee. Wow. Will be right back. Grown ups, this message is for you. That's it. Now back to the show.
Dennis
What in the world?
Mindy Thomas
But mom, it's not gonna be forever dangerous. Mom, they're my relatives. And actually, as a human, they are yours too. They are closest relatives here on Earth. I'm not making this up, Lonely mom. They know how to give hugs and kisses just like a real family. We have, I promise you, we have a lot in common. I mean, we both like the outdoors. We both like bananas, and. And we both don't have tails. Oh, I gotta call you back. Guy Raz just walked in. No, he's not wearing the flamingo suit. We don't talk about it anymore. I know you thought it was adorable. I gotta go. I love you.
Dennis
Bye, Mom.
Guy Raz
Uh, hey, Mindy, what are you doing over there?
Mindy Thomas
Hey, Guy Raz. I was just on the phone with my mom, trying to convince her why it's a good idea for me to move to Gombe national park in Tanzania to live with a bunch of wild chimpanzees. Uh, can you believe she thinks that's crazy?
Guy Raz
Okay, you know, Tanzania's pretty far away. I mean, all the way in East Africa. And besides, there is no way your carrier pigeon Reggie is gonna make it that far without getting lost. Mindy.
Mindy Thomas
I know it's far, Guy Raz, but the more I learn about chimpanzees, the more I just really want one for a best friend. Uh, I mean, I just feel like we have a lot in common.
Guy Raz
Well, that's true, Mindy. I mean, as you know, chimps are our closest relatives on planet Planet Earth. But I'm not sure it's such a good idea to live with them. I mean, for one thing, you really love to talk, and I don't think you speak chimpanzee.
Mindy Thomas
Guy Raz, chimps can learn to speak sign language. I'll just have them teach me.
Guy Raz
I'm not really sure that's how it works. Besides, you'll be living in the middle of the Gombe National Park. No humans to play with, no one to join you in a game of Apples to Apples or Twister. Don't you think you might get bored?
Mindy Thomas
Bored? Guy Raz, chimps know how to organize and make up their own awesome games. They do it all the time.
Guy Raz
Okay, well, what about personal hygiene? I mean, you know, they don't have hairbrushes in the wild, Mindy.
Mindy Thomas
Guy Raz, chimps take grooming very seriously. In fact, they even use grooming as sort of a way to show friendship. So as far as personal hygiene and grooming goes, I'll just let them show how much they love me by picking the bugs and dirt out of my hair. Ugh.
Guy Raz
Okay.
Mindy Thomas
And I hear it's very calming, which is good for someone like me who freaks out all the time.
Guy Raz
Mindy, what even brought this on? I mean, I know that chimps and humans share a lot of the same characteristics, but we're still a very different species from them.
Mindy Thomas
Well, that's the thing, Guy Raz. It turns out that we're even more alike than we ever thought before.
Guy Raz
Really? More than we ever thought before?
Mindy Thomas
Yeah. So for a long time, scientists have been looking for clues as to how humans learn to cooperate, you know, working together instead of just looking out for number one.
Guy Raz
Well, I think it's safe to say that most of us humans learned how to cooperate from our parents and our teachers.
Mindy Thomas
Yeah, but how did our parents and teachers learn to cooperate? In other words, how did our earliest ancestors learn to cooperate?
Guy Raz
Yeah, that's a good question. I mean, when you think about it, cooperation is sort of the bedrock, the foundation, the basis of our human civilization. It's why we Homo sapiens were able to spread all around the world.
Mindy Thomas
Yeah, I mean, pretty much everything in our lives is dependent on cooperation. Like how our cities and countries work and how we make and follow all of our rules and laws. And even big inventions like computers and spaceships and waffle tacos, they all require cooperation because without it, life as we know it would be very different.
Guy Raz
Wow. Imagine that kind of world.
Dennis
Okay.
Guy Raz
Wow. Mindy, sometimes your imagination is so loud, even I can hear it myself.
Mindy Thomas
Sorry.
Guy Raz
Well, I know that chimps also cooperate with each other, but what does that have to do with why we humans cooperate?
Mindy Thomas
Well, remember how I said that scientists have been looking for clues to explain how we learned cooperation?
Guy Raz
Yeah.
Mindy Thomas
Well, it looks like chimpanzees might just hold the clue.
Guy Raz
Well, if they're holding the clue, can't scientists just, you know, tickle it out of them? Get it tickle it out of them?
Mindy Thomas
Guy Raz, they're not literally holding the clue.
Guy Raz
Well, but. Did you like my joke?
Mindy Thomas
Oh, boy. Here's the deal. So while scientists have known for a long time that chimps could cooperate, they weren't sure about their motive for cooperating.
Guy Raz
You mean they thought it was possible that chimps only help other chimps if they get something out of it?
Mindy Thomas
Exactly. Which would be selfish, right?
Guy Raz
I'll say.
Mindy Thomas
So now the question is, could chimps be altruistic? Could they be willing to help other chimps even if there was nothing in it for them?
Guy Raz
So could the chimps be kind and caring and altruistic?
Mindy Thomas
Yeah, like the time you tripped over my roller skates at the bottom of the stairs and scraped your knee and I offered to perform surgery on you, but you said, no, thanks. Just give me a band aid and stop leaving your roller skates all over the place and I gave you a band aid and didn't even ask for a prize in return.
Guy Raz
I don't know if I'd call that altruistic. I seem to remember that for months after that, you'd go around telling people that you saved my life and introduce yourself at Parties as Guy Raz's personal hero.
Mindy Thomas
Hi, I'm Mindy, Guy Raz's personal hero. Now, I don't want to make a big deal out of it, but I did totally save his life from a freak roller skate accident.
Guy Raz
Oh, goodness.
Mindy Thomas
Yeah, it was really scary. Kind of touch and go there for a while, but. But in the end, I really pulled through. Ooh, I guess I did. Okay. So bad example, but you get it, right? I mean, altruism is doing something nice or helpful for someone else without getting anything in return.
Guy Raz
Or even bragging to everyone about the nice thing you did.
Mindy Thomas
Yeah, sure. So these scientists wondered that if chimps could be altruistic, then maybe this could be a clue as to how humans evolved to be altruistic too.
Guy Raz
Well, how did they go about trying to find.
Mindy Thomas
Okay, so there were two big experiments. The first one was conducted by Martin Schmelz and Sebastian Gruneisen at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany.
Guy Raz
And what was the experiment?
Mindy Thomas
Okay, so pay close attention because this can get a little tricky. Okay, so the first thing they did was create a little chimpanzee sharing game.
Guy Raz
That sounds like fun. What was the game?
Mindy Thomas
Well, they took two chimps from the Leipzig zoo and put them in two rooms next to each other with a window dividing them in between.
Guy Raz
Okay, I'm imagining it.
Mindy Thomas
And the first chimp, a girl chimp named Ty, had four choices of ropes to pull.
Guy Raz
Okay.
Mindy Thomas
Then they had a bunch of partner chimps play one at a time. And these were boy chimps.
Guy Raz
Interesting.
Mindy Thomas
So the boy chimps knew that Ty had four choices of ropes. If she pulled the first rope, a banana would drop down and Ty would get to eat it all by herself.
Guy Raz
Bet she liked that.
Mindy Thomas
But if she pulled the second rope, the boy chimp would get the treat all to himself.
Guy Raz
This is getting really interesting.
Mindy Thomas
And then if Ty pulled the third rope, she and the boy chimp would get a banana. And can you guess what happened? If she pull the fourth rope, a.
Guy Raz
Pinata full of smashed bananas would explode all over the lab.
Mindy Thomas
Nope. But that's what I'm planning for your surprise party.
Guy Raz
My one.
Mindy Thomas
Oh, I didn't say anything. Anyhoo, if she pulled the fourth rope, she would pass her turn to the boy chimp, who would then get to choose a rope to pull himself.
Guy Raz
So did Ty always pull the first rope and get the banana all for herself and only herself?
Mindy Thomas
Well, that's what you would think. But there was a twist.
Guy Raz
A twist.
Mindy Thomas
And the twist was that Ty was encouraged by the scientists conducting the experiment to always pull the fourth rope and give the boy chimp the choice.
Guy Raz
So did the boy chimps know that the scientists were encouraging Ty to give them the rope?
Mindy Thomas
Nope. As far as they knew, Ty was just being nice and giving her turn to them.
Guy Raz
But Mindy, that meant that if she gave up her turn, the boy chimps could simply pull the first rope and keep all the bananas to themselves.
Mindy Thomas
Well, they could, but the scientists began to notice that the boy chimps understood that Tai was doing something nice for them.
Guy Raz
So did that mean that the boy chimps were nice back to Ty?
Mindy Thomas
Yes. So in most cases, without even being encouraged, the boy chimps would pull the ropes that gave both them and Ty a banana.
Guy Raz
What a bunch of pals.
Mindy Thomas
I know, right? And there's more.
Dennis
What?
Mindy Thomas
After Ty passed on her turn, the boy chimps had only two choices. They could pull the first rope and get four treats just for themselves, or pull the second rope and get three treats. Three for themselves and three for Tai.
Guy Raz
And what rope did they pull?
Mindy Thomas
Well, almost half the time, the boy chimps pulled the second rope. Meaning that they would get one less banana for themselves, but enough to share with their friends. Yep. Those boy chimps were totally thinking of their friend Ty.
Guy Raz
Mindy, would you like my last banana?
Mindy Thomas
Well, it does look appealing. You get it. You get it.
Guy Raz
Let's just move on to the second experiment.
Mindy Thomas
Okay. So in the second experiment, Kevin Langergraber, a scientist from Arizona State University, studied why chimps go on patrol missions.
Guy Raz
Patrol missions?
Mindy Thomas
Yeah. So in the wild, chimps live in big groups, just like we do.
Guy Raz
Like in towns or cities or neighborhoods.
Mindy Thomas
Exactly. And just like in our towns and cities, chimps basically take on the jobs of community helpers. So one may volunteer to be the group's police officer or security guard and.
Guy Raz
Then go on a patrol in the wild. Keeping their eyes out for bad guys.
Mindy Thomas
Yeah. And they walk around the very edge of the group territory and look out for rival chimps who might want to attack the group or steal their food.
Guy Raz
Well, that sounds like a pretty risky job. I mean, if predators came along, or hunters, those patrol chimps would be the first to get hurt or even killed.
Mindy Thomas
I know. Crazy, right? So this scientist, Kevin Langergraper, wondered if these patrol chimps would only volunteer if there was something else in it for them.
Guy Raz
In it for them? Like if they were only protecting their own family members.
Mindy Thomas
Yeah, and this is kind of what the scientists expected.
Guy Raz
But?
Mindy Thomas
But it turns out that after 20 years of studying almost 4,000 chimps, in Uganda, the researchers discovered that more than 25%, or one in every four patrol chimps had no relatives in the group they were protecting.
Guy Raz
So they were protecting other chimps, even if it meant sacrificing their own safety?
Mindy Thomas
Yep. The scientists call this idea group augmentation, which is just a fancy way of saying that chimps know that if they have to sacrifice themselves to protect the whole group, then everyone else in the group is better off, too.
Dennis
Huh.
Mindy Thomas
And that also means that the group has a better chance of growing and surviving because they'll be able to make more baby chimps.
Guy Raz
So does any of this help us to better understand how humans learned to cooperate and be altruistic?
Mindy Thomas
Well, we're still learning exactly how we became a species where millions of us live and work together. But these studies do help us understand the basic ideas behind cooperation and, of course, putting others before ourselves.
Guy Raz
And so what does it mean for people who still find it, you know, kind of hard to share or play fair or to be nice?
Mindy Thomas
Well, I really don't know what that means. And it's safe to say that we all have these moments. But when it comes to putting others first, it doesn't hurt to ask ourselves the question, what would a chimp do?
Guy Raz
Or more specifically, what would Ty do?
Mindy Thomas
Yeah, she's my North Star.
Guy Raz
So are you still thinking of moving to Tanzania to live with the chimpanzees?
Mindy Thomas
Well, that depends. I mean, you're basically my best human friend in civilization, so what are the chances you would be willing to altruistically put on this apron and pick bugs out of my hair?
Guy Raz
Uh, I guess. Mindy, the last time you put me in an animal costume, I ended up in the flamingo pond at the zoo. There's no way I'm getting in that ape suit.
Mindy Thomas
Yeah, that flamingo thing was bananas.
Dennis
Yay. That was so nice. Yeah, the chips shared with each other. Hey, Reggie, if we were in the experiment from the episode where you pull ropes to get bananas, what rope would you pull? The first one, Reggie. Oh, you're joking. Okay, yeah, I'd pull the third rope, too. Oh, yeah, I forgot. I don't like bananas because they taste like banana flavor, baby. Dennis likes bananas. No, you don't. You can eat foods. Okay, I think it's time to wrap this up. Thanks to all you listeners out there for tuning in to Wee Wow on the weekend. Remember, if you have a question for me, call and leave me a message at 1-888-7-WOW-WOW. That's 1-888-7- wow Wow. I just might answer your question on We Wow on the Weekend. All right, Reggie, let's go take Baby Dennis for a walk. Hooray. Can we go to the park? No. Can we go to the liberry? It's pronounced Li Ba ry. No wait. I mean Liberry. Wait. Lyberry. Why can't I say it right? Lyberry. Ah.
Mindy Thomas
Grown ups. If you like wow in the World, you can listen early and ad free right now on Wondery plus.
Guy Raz
Join Wondery plus 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 survey@wondery.com survey. Thanks for joining us for this edition of Wewow on the weekend. Our show is written by Ruth Morrison and Jed Anderson. Original sound design and production is done by Henry Moskal and Marion Lozano with help from Jed Anderson and Tyler Thole. Original music for WEWOW on the Weekend is composed and performed by Tyler Thole.
Guy Raz
Special thanks to Steph Sosa, Rebecca Caban and all of the other tinkerers at Tinkercast hq.
Mindy Thomas
There's still time to share your wee wow crafternoon challenges with us grown ups. You can upload pictures and videos of your projects to us@tinkercast.com share or call us at 1-888-7-WWOW.
Guy Raz
Our website is tinkercast.com there you can learn more about becoming an official member of the World Organization of wowzers, learn about upcoming events, shop our shop and pick up a copy of the latest edition of our number one New York Times best selling book series wow. In the Wild.
Mindy Thomas
Thanks again for thinking, tinkering, experimenting and exploring with us us this week. Meet us back here on Monday for Wow in the World. And remember who wows We Wow.
Dennis
Wow in the World was made by.
Mindy Thomas
Tinkercast and sent to you by Wondery.
Podcast: Wow in the World
Hosts: Mindy Thomas & Guy Raz
Date: August 31, 2025
Episode: WeWow on the Weekend
Main Theme:
A playful weekend episode featuring Dennis and Reggie the pigeon, answering kids’ science questions, tackling a riddle, and exploring a classic Wow in the World story on the science of cooperation—particularly how chimpanzees show altruism and sharing, and what that can teach us about humans.
Chocolate-chip "Dennis cakes" vs. blueberry "Reggie cakes": Sets the tone for Dennis’ quirky humor.
Listener Question #1: How do scents get concentrated into little bottles of perfume?
Listener Question #2: What does “Baby Dennis” think of skydiving?
Listener Riddle: “I am an ocean with no water, a forest with no trees, a desert with no sand. What am I?”
This episode of WeWow on the Weekend is a joyful mix of goofy weekend banter, interactive listener engagement, and a deep-dive into how chimps’ capacity for sharing reveals the roots of human cooperation and altruism. Mindy and Guy, in their signature playful style, encourage listeners to ask themselves, "What would a chimp do?"—celebrating the importance of kindness, sharing, and working together.