WeWow The Great Indoors - Day 5: Into the Outdoors

Summary

Wow in the World: WeWow The Great Indoors – Day 5: Into the Outdoors

Podcast: Wow in the World by Tinkercast
Episode Air Date: January 2, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode of Wow in the World fuses comedy, imagination, and science as the team explores the lengths animals go to avoid predators—specifically focusing on the wild, dramatic, and rather gross defense mechanisms of the dice snake from Snake Island (Golemgrad) in Macedonia. Through a theatrical workshop, the cast brings to life both hilarious and informative moments about animal survival, with a special emphasis on “playing dead.”

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. A Cozy Start Indoors and Reluctant Outdoor Adventure

• Setting: The episode opens with Dennis building a pillow fort to stay warm during winter (02:07).
• Motivation: Dennis is lured outside by a bribe of smiley-face French toast (02:54).
• Highlight: Dennis abandons comfort and braves the cold to avoid chores—a relatable kid moment that sets up contrasting the comfort of indoors with challenges of the outdoors.

"With no coat, no gloves, not even shoes, Dennis the fool launches himself into the winter air." — Stan Pellegrino (03:43)

2. Actors' Workshop: The Science of ‘Playing Dead’

• The Scene: The group attends an acting class with Madame Pompoo, who specializes in the dramatic art of playing dead, inspired by the animal kingdom (05:15).
• Notable Reactions: Guy Raz is nervous about his theatrical abilities; Mindy reminds him the class is non-refundable (05:25).
• Purpose: The acting lesson is a fun setup to introduce the real-life survival techniques of animals.

3. Introducing the Dice Snake and Its Dramatic Defense

• Guessing Game: The group tries to guess which animal’s “playing dead” talent will be their inspiration (06:55–09:11).
  • Popular animal guesses: Virginia opossum, lemon shark, guinea pig.
  • The answer: The dice snake (Natrix tessellata), a nonvenomous reptile specializing in dramatic fake deaths.
• Scientific Context: Mindy explains she recently read about dice snake research in Biology Letters (09:33).

"This reptile has no arms and no legs... and no tail." — Madame Pompoo (08:39)
"My friends and fellow thespians, today we will be learning the fine art of faking one's own death by none other than the dramatic dice snake." — Madame Pompoo (09:11)

4. Snake Island: Setting the Scene for Survival

• Performance: In a play, Dennis acts as a friendly dice snake, while Grandmother Jaforce is cast as the predatory falcon (13:08–15:16).
  • Comical props: Lawn rakes as talons (15:09).
• Research Reference: Mindy and Guy Raz explain the setting—Snake Island, home to many nonvenomous dice snakes and their hungry bird predators.

"There are so many snakes on the island of Golemgrad that many people refer to it simply as Snake Island." — Madame Pompoo (14:23)

5. Demonstrating the Defense Mechanisms

• Theatrics and Science Meet:
  • Dennis’s dice snake first acts limp, mouth agape, tongue out (17:40).
  • The ultimate defense: Bleeding from the mouth and, most disgustingly, smothering itself in feces (18:07–19:05).

"And then the dice snake soils itself." — Madame Pompoo (19:00)
"She said the dice snake poops all over itself." — Mindy Thomas (19:10)

• Laughter Ensues: The group reacts in grossed-out disbelief; Dennis hesitantly tries to “act” this part out.

6. The Real Science: How and Why the Dice Snake Does It

• Field Study Recap: Mindy walks through a recent study:
  • Researchers gently captured and observed 263 dice snakes on Golemgrad.
  • Snakes were not harmed—scientists mimicked bird predation to study defense responses (20:18).
• Findings:
  • Many snakes pooped and smeared it on themselves; some bled from their mouths.
  • Snakes who “went all out” with blood and feces played dead for two seconds less, suggesting predators are repulsed more quickly (21:35–21:57).
  • Juvenile snakes rarely performed these defenses, making them more vulnerable (22:09).

"Almost half of these snakes pooped on themselves and then smeared it all over their bodies. And then about 28 of the 263 snakes started spewing blood from their mouths." — Mindy Thomas (21:15–21:26) "This two second difference suggests that the predators find these committed snakes too dead and too disgusting to eat." — Mindy Thomas (21:57)

7. Hilarious Ending: Theatrical Chaos and Alternate Endings

• Cast Debrief: The workshop erupts into disagreement on whether the falcon should win or if the dice snake and falcon should open a bookstore together (22:47–23:01).
• Meta-Humor: Dennis insists on a “rom-com ending”; chaos ensues as characters break out of script with playful banter.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• The Reluctant Snake:

  "Because I’m Dennis the dice snake." — Dennis (11:32)

• Snake Defense Tactics:

  "She said the dice snake poops all over itself." — Mindy Thomas (19:10)

• Science Explained:

  "Almost half of these snakes pooped on themselves and then smeared it all over their bodies." — Mindy Thomas (21:16)

• Children’s Bookstore Ending:

  "I want a happy rom-com ending where the dice snake and the falcon fall in love and open a cute little bookstore together." — Dennis (22:52)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Topic | Timestamp (MM:SS) | |------------------------------------------------|------------------------| | Dennis’s pillow fort & winter reluctance | 02:07 – 03:53 | | Smiley face French toast bribe | 02:54 – 03:15 | | Beginning of the acting workshop | 05:15 – 06:31 | | What animal “plays dead” best? | 06:55 – 09:11 | | Scientific intro to the dice snake | 09:33 – 13:08 | | Onstage performance: predator vs. dice snake | 13:08 – 19:00 | | Details of defense: bleeding & pooping | 18:07 – 21:15 | | Mindy explains research study results | 20:18 – 21:57 | | Juvenile vs. adult dice snake behaviors | 22:09 – 22:33 | | Theatrical ending chaos | 22:47 – 23:49 |

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Conclusion & Takeaways

This episode deftly weaves humor with scientific discovery, revealing not only the incredible, dramatic ways that dice snakes protect themselves, but underscoring how wild, gross, and effective such adaptations can be. Listeners learn about real research and animal survival, all through playful dramatization, interactive banter, and a tone that keeps both kids and adults giggling and engaged.

Final Wow:
The dice snake’s commitment to survival—through limp acting, gag-worthy blood and feces displays—proves that sometimes the best defense is a truly over-the-top performance!

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“Thanks for joining us for this edition of WeWow on the weekend... Be sure to check out episodes of Wow in the World every Monday and remember who Wows.” — Mindy Thomas (24:08)

Transcript

[Mindy Thomas]

Hey, wowser fams. Mindy here. And before we start the show, Happy New Year. Thank you for helping to make our 2025 so full of WOW. This year, we celebrated our 10th season of WOW in the world with our 250th episode. Special guests, a new book, new toys, out into the world, live events, listening parties. Oh, my, so many things. Whether you shared our podcast with a friend or teacher, joined our wow. Membership, called our wow Hotline, wrote a review on Apple or Spotify, watched us on WowTube or just tuned into an episode, this year would not have been possible without your support. So thank you for wowing with us in 2025. And here's to even more in 2026. That's it. And now let's get back to the show.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

Happy New Year.

[Stan Pellegrino]

Nature. Lush rainforests teeming with life. Ocean depths filled with mystery. Barren tundras where something happens, probably. The natural world is fascinating. With so much to uncover this week, we will be exploring none of that. Instead, we will venture inside the dwelling of nosy neighbor Dennis.

[Dennis]

Oh, it's so cozy wozy in here.

[Stan Pellegrino]

We'll snoop on Earth's greatest snooper in hopes of learning more about him and perhaps more about ourselves. I'm Stan Pellegrino, and this is Weewow, the great Indoors.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

La la la la la pillow fort.

[Dennis]

La la la la la pillow fort.

[Stan Pellegrino]

On the coldest of winter days, extra covering is advisable. Today, Dennis plans to stay warm in a nest he's building out of blankets and pillows.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

This is gonna be so cozy.

[Stan Pellegrino]

An entire fortress of comfort and snugglies.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

La la la la la pillow for yeah.

[Dennis]

La la la la la pillow you.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

To take out the trash, please.

[Thomas J. Fingerling III, Esquire]

Oh, no.

[Stan Pellegrino]

The trash. The worst of the winter chores.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

Oh, no.

[Dennis]

Gotta hide. Gotta hide.

[Stan Pellegrino]

Ever the Dennis not wanting to face the harsh outdoor temperatures, he hides from his mother.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

She'll never find me here.

[Stan Pellegrino]

But mother is cunning.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

Dennis, if you take out the trash, I'll make you smiley face French toast. Smiley face French toast. Coming, mother.

[Stan Pellegrino]

Oh, smiley face French toast. Dennis favorite meal. Now motivated by food, Dennis takes action.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

Fire up the griddle. Mother, I'm almost done.

[Stan Pellegrino]

But in his scramble for a reward, Dennis forgets to prepare for his journey out of doors.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

Ah, it's cold. It's cold.

[Stan Pellegrino]

What will he do? The winter wind bites at Dennis skin. But the promise of smiley face French toasts tugs at him.

[Dennis]

Okay, I can do this.

[Stan Pellegrino]

With no coat, no gloves, not even shoes, Dennis the fool launches himself into the winter air.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

Here I Go. Cold, cold, cold, cold.

[Stan Pellegrino]

It's a rare journey into the out of doors for Adenis. A fascinating look at this creature away from his natural habitat.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

Oh, that's so cool. Hatsoko. Okay, trash in the bin.

[Stan Pellegrino]

But the journey is short and ever the endorsement is soon back in his warm smiley face French toast environment.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

Mother, I'm back. Oh, it smells good in here.

[Stan Pellegrino]

This has been Wee Wow, the Great Indoors. Thank you for watching. Please stay tuned for a presentation of WOW in the World Season 9, Episode 24 Playing Dead followed by WOW. TVs 17 Hour Pledge Drive. I'm Stan Pellegrino wishing you a warm week indoors. So long.

[Mindy Thomas]

Wee wow will be right back. Grown ups, this message is for you. That's it. Now back to the show.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

What in the world?

[Madame Pompoo]

Welcome friends and family, fellow thespians to the actors workshop.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

Thank you.

[Guy Raz]

You know, Mindy, I'm a little nervous about this class. I don't know that acting is really my thing.

[Mindy Thomas]

The registration is non refundable, so can't you just, I don't know, act like it's your thing? Guy Raz.

[Madame Pompoo]

My name is Madame Tomtou. You may have seen seen me in several off off off Broadway community theater productions such as An Audience Member is Born, romeo and Juliet 2, Tokyo Drift and Limitless. The unauthorized and unlicensed musical based on the hit sci fi film starring Bradley Cooper. No, I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that.

[Thomas J. Fingerling III, Esquire]

GeForce says we're real big fans.

[Grandmother Jaforce]

I do not want to be here.

[Guy Raz]

Here we go, Grandma GeForce.

[Mindy Thomas]

Act polite.

[Madame Pompoo]

Well, I think you'll be very happy you're here because in today's class we will be exploring the fine art of playing dead.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

And. Oh no.

[Madame Pompoo]

I'm dying.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

Oh no.

[Thomas J. Fingerling III, Esquire]

Wow.

[Grandmother Jaforce]

Laying dead, huh? Okay, now I'm listening.

[Madame Pompoo]

And seen and seen and seen.

[Mindy Thomas]

Thank you. Thank you. She's so talented.

[Guy Raz]

Uh huh.

[Madame Pompoo]

My unique approach to playing dead, or as I like to call it, my phony dramatic exit, is inspired by the animal kingdom.

[Thomas J. Fingerling III, Esquire]

Ooh, which animal?

[Mindy Thomas]

Oh, I think I know. Is it the Virginia possum? It fakes its own death to avoid predators.

[Madame Pompoo]

Um, no. No. While the Virginia possum is one of the most famous fraudulent bucket kickers, I am not playing opossum today.

[Guy Raz]

Oh, I think I know. Could it be the lemon shark? It's known for floating on its back and going limp in order to fool the other sea creatures into thinking it's dead.

[Grandmother Jaforce]

Wrong again.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

Huh?

[Madame Pompoo]

While a master in the art of fake tr inspired by the lemon shark.

[Stan Pellegrino]

I am not Oh, I know isn't the guinea pig.

[Thomas J. Fingerling III, Esquire]

They fake their own deaths all the time.

[Madame Pompoo]

That's a good guess, but actually, the guinea pig.

[Thomas J. Fingerling III, Esquire]

Here, I'll show you. Oh, come here, little fella. Time to come out and fake your own death.

[Guy Raz]

Thomas Fingerling, you have a guinea pig in your pocket.

[Thomas J. Fingerling III, Esquire]

No, I got three guinea pigs in my pocket.

[Mindy Thomas]

Oh, good heaven, he's holding them for me.

[Guy Raz]

What in the.

[Madame Pompoo]

No, no, no. While guinea pigs are known to fake their own deaths by rolling over onto their backs and stiffening up when threatened, I am not mimicking their version of pretend dying.

[Thomas J. Fingerling III, Esquire]

Ah, rats. Well, back in my pocket, little rats. I mean pigs.

[Madame Pompoo]

My playing dead method comes from a non venomous fish loving reptile found on the island of Golemgrad in Macedonia.

[Mindy Thomas]

Oh, wait, I think I know this one.

[Madame Pompoo]

This reptile has no arms and no legs.

[Grandmother Jaforce]

Big whoop.

[Madame Pompoo]

And no tail.

[Grandmother Jaforce]

No tail? Even I got one of them, Grandma.

[Guy Raz]

G Force.

[Mindy Thomas]

Shh.

[Madame Pompoo]

Now, can anyone guess what this animal might be?

[Thomas J. Fingerling III, Esquire]

Ooh, me. I know.

[Madame Pompoo]

Yes, yes.

[Guy Raz]

You there.

[Madame Pompoo]

What's your name?

[Thomas J. Fingerling III, Esquire]

I'm Thomas J. Fingerling iii, Esquire.

[Grandmother Jaforce]

You liar.

[Thomas J. Fingerling III, Esquire]

I'm gonna guess the animal is some sort of lizard that got in the saber toothed tortoise.

[Stan Pellegrino]

No.

[Thomas J. Fingerling III, Esquire]

Darn it.

[Madame Pompoo]

My friends and fellow thespians, today we will be learning the fine art of faking one's own death by none other than the dramatic dice snake.

[Thomas J. Fingerling III, Esquire]

Whoa. Yeah, that was gonna be my next guess.

[Grandmother Jaforce]

Dice snake was my nickname in high school.

[Mindy Thomas]

Wait, I know this snake.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

You do?

[Mindy Thomas]

I do. Well, not personally, but I just read about it in the science journal Biology Letters.

[Madame Pompoo]

Interesting.

[Mindy Thomas]

Go on. Okay, so in this journal, I read a fascinating new scientific study about how this dice snake fakes its own death in order to confuse the predatory birds who also live on this island. Yes.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

Brava.

[Guy Raz]

Wait, you mean predatory birds try to eat the dark dice snakes and the dice snakes pretend to be dead in order to fend them off?

[Mindy Thomas]

You know it.

[Guy Raz]

And are we gonna learn from an actual dice snake in this theater?

[Madame Pompoo]

Well, dice snakes are semi aquatic reptiles who spend a considerable amount of time in water.

[Thomas J. Fingerling III, Esquire]

Ooh, let's go swimming.

[Madame Pompoo]

Alas, animals are strictly prohibited from being in this community theater.

[Grandmother Jaforce]

Well, I'm an animal. Guess I better go.

[Thomas J. Fingerling III, Esquire]

G force, you're just a humanimal. Now listen to Madame Poo Poo and learn how to be dead.

[Grandmother Jaforce]

Whatever.

[Madame Pompoo]

It's Madame Pompoo.

[Thomas J. Fingerling III, Esquire]

Pardon me.

[Mindy Thomas]

Excuse me, Madame Pompoo. Yes, well, if the dice snake is not allowed in the theater, then how are we going to Learn how to act dead from it.

[Madame Pompoo]

Wonderful question. A fortnight ago, we held auditions for the most dramatic individual in town.

[Guy Raz]

Oh, boy.

[Madame Pompoo]

An individual with a flair for the theatrical arts.

[Grandmother Jaforce]

Uhoh.

[Madame Pompoo]

And without further ado, performing the dramatic death roll of the dice snake, please welcome Dennis.

[Guy Raz]

Dennis. Oh, no.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

Tada. Thank you, thank you.

[Dennis]

Bow, curtsy and dice snake.

[Grandmother Jaforce]

Get away.

[Thomas J. Fingerling III, Esquire]

You know, that's the dicenk. Looks awfully familiar.

[Grandmother Jaforce]

Why you got no arms and legs, boy?

[Dennis]

Because I'm Dennis the dice snake.

[Mindy Thomas]

Yes.

[Guy Raz]

Wait, uh, did you know this was happening, Mindy?

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

No.

[Mindy Thomas]

When I invited Dennis to come to this acting workshop, he said he'd rather be dead.

[Dennis]

No, I said I'd rather play dead.

[Madame Pompoo]

Well, now, if I could please get a volunteer to play the role of the predator.

[Grandmother Jaforce]

I'll do it.

[Madame Pompoo]

Anyone else? Anyone at all? Anyone at all?

[Grandmother Jaforce]

You're kind of low on options there, honey.

[Madame Pompoo]

Okay, then, Ms. Jaforce, would you please join me and Dennis the dice snake on stage?

[Grandmother Jaforce]

Booyah.

[Guy Raz]

Oh, boy.

[Madame Pompoo]

Now, Ms. Jaforce will be a predatory bird.

[Grandmother Jaforce]

I'm a raptor.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

Caw caw caw.

[Thomas J. Fingerling III, Esquire]

Yeah, but which raptor are you?

[Grandmother Jaforce]

Falcon.

[Madame Pompoo]

Ooh, very nice.

[Mindy Thomas]

So, guy Raz. According to this study, researchers from the university of belgrade in Serbia wanted to better understand how some dice snakes are able to dodge getting eaten by the predatory birds on the island of golemgrad.

[Guy Raz]

Birds who hunt them down and swoop into eggs. Eat them for lunch.

[Mindy Thomas]

Exact oritos. But once you learn how they do it, you might lose your appetite for lunch as well.

[Madame Pompoo]

Now, if I could have your attention, please. May I present to you grandmother jaforce in the role of the raptor.

[Grandmother Jaforce]

Falcon.

[Madame Pompoo]

Yes, in the role of the falcon, she will attempt to devour our dice snake, played by the very dramatic Dennis.

[Guy Raz]

You got this, Dennis?

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

Yes. Thank you, thank you.

[Dennis]

I am sensational.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

Reginald.

[Madame Pompoo]

Reginald, in the lighting booth. Reggie, please, dear, dim the house lights as we are about to begin our death scene. We take you now to golemgrad, an island on a lake in north macedonia. It's a small, lush green island full of mystery and wonder, where plants and animals live and thrive together in harmony.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

TRA la la.

[Dennis]

I'm a friendly, non venomous water snake living on the island of goo gad or something. Hiss, hiss, hiss.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

Me too.

[Grandmother Jaforce]

I'm a friend, Falcon.

[Dennis]

Yeah, but like, you don't see me yet.

[Grandmother Jaforce]

Okay, whatever.

[Dennis]

Slither, slither, slither. Hello, all my snakey little friends.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

Aw, we're all so happy.

[Dennis]

Hiss.

[Madame Pompoo]

That's right. In fact, there are so many snakes on the island of gollumgrad that many people refer to it simply as Snake Island.

[Dennis]

Ooh, Snake Island. I like the sound of that. Hiss, hiss, hiss.

[Madame Pompoo]

But there's a dark side to Snake Island.

[Grandmother Jaforce]

Yeah, the dark side is on me. Give me that spotlight, pigeon.

[Madame Pompoo]

Yes, an island with so many nonvenomous snakes makes for a bountiful buffet for hungry birds of prey.

[Grandmother Jaforce]

That's me. I'm a falcon. Look at my talons.

[Guy Raz]

Did she walk in here with those talons?

[Mindy Thomas]

I think they're just a couple of lawn rakes sticking out of her pant legs.

[Madame Pompoo]

Our little dice snake is completely unaware. It's just slithering happily through the lake.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

Tee hee. Look at me.

[Dennis]

I'm a cute little snakey hiss.

[Grandmother Jaforce]

I see you, snake. You're gonna be my dinner. I'm gonna put you in a hot dog bun and gobble you all up.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

Oh, no.

[Guy Raz]

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

Cut.

[Grandmother Jaforce]

Well, huh?

[Madame Pompoo]

Um, what seems to be the trouble, Mr. Garage?

[Guy Raz]

I'm sorry, but this is not scientifically accurate.

[Dennis]

Guy Raz.

[Mindy Thomas]

How dare you, Dennis, Everyone knows that snakes don't shriek.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

What?

[Dennis]

Yes, they do. Old MacDonald had a farm E, I, E, I, O and on his farm he had a dice snake E, I.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

E, I, O With a shriek.

[Dennis]

Shriek here and a shriek.

[Grandmother Jaforce]

Shriek there.

[Dennis]

Dang it.

[Madame Pompoo]

Yes, that's quite enough.

[Dennis]

Well, I believe I proved my point.

[Guy Raz]

Uh, not really.

[Madame Pompoo]

Nevertheless, yes, the show must go on. Scientifically accurate or not.

[Guy Raz]

All right, continue.

[Madame Pompoo]

Yes, thank you, garage.

[Mindy Thomas]

Now, Reginald.

[Madame Pompoo]

The raptor approaches.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

Caw, caw.

[Grandmother Jaforce]

I'm a hungry falcon and I want to eat that snake.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

Oh, no.

[Madame Pompoo]

The dice snake knows it must think fast in order to survive.

[Dennis]

Come on, dice snake. Dennis, think, think.

[Madame Pompoo]

The falcon lands and grabs the snake.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

Credit.

[Madame Pompoo]

And as the falcon goes in for the kill.

[Grandmother Jaforce]

I'm gonna eat you up, you floppy little hot dog worm.

[Madame Pompoo]

The snake of something unexpected.

[Grandmother Jaforce]

What?

[Madame Pompoo]

Something risky.

[Guy Raz]

Risky?

[Madame Pompoo]

Something utterly disgusting.

[Mindy Thomas]

What is it?

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

Tell us.

[Madame Pompoo]

First, it begins to wriggle and rise theatrically.

[Dennis]

Let me go, you mean old bird.

[Grandmother Jaforce]

Not a chance. I'm a bird of peace.

[Madame Pompoo]

Then the snake goes limp.

[Dennis]

Okay, I'm just gonna go limp and flop it.

[Guy Raz]

Bleh.

[Grandmother Jaforce]

What in the.

[Madame Pompoo]

Its mouth agape, its long tongue protruding and lolling.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

Blah, blah, blah.

[Grandmother Jaforce]

Hey, you better cut that out.

[Madame Pompoo]

But it's not enough to scare away this bird.

[Grandmother Jaforce]

You can't fool me. I ain't scared of nothing. You limp little danger noodle.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

Caw.

[Madame Pompoo]

The cunning snake then dials up the drama as it begins to bleed from its mouth.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

This is so great. Yes.

[Thomas J. Fingerling III, Esquire]

Oh, that's nasty.

[Guy Raz]

Is that real?

[Mindy Thomas]

It's fake blood, Guy Raz. It's used all the time in live theater. Phew.

[Dennis]

Actually, I had my wisdom teeth removed this morning.

[Mindy Thomas]

Oh, yeah, that's real blood, all right.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

Ha.

[Grandmother Jaforce]

You think a little blood is gonna stop me?

[Madame Pompoo]

The falcon is unfazed and undeterred. The dice snake will need to put on the performance of a lifetime.

[Guy Raz]

Aha.

[Dennis]

I know what I'll do.

[Madame Pompoo]

The dice snake readies itself, and then.

[Mindy Thomas]

Yes.

[Madame Pompoo]

And then.

[Mindy Thomas]

Yes.

[Madame Pompoo]

And then.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

Ah. Just say it.

[Madame Pompoo]

And then the dice snake soils itself.

[Dennis]

Wait, what?

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

Yes.

[Guy Raz]

Mindy, what did she say?

[Mindy Thomas]

She said the dice snake poops all over itself.

[Madame Pompoo]

That's exactly right. The dice snake soils. Smothers it with its own feces.

[Grandmother Jaforce]

That's nasty.

[Dennis]

I didn't rehearse for this.

[Thomas J. Fingerling III, Esquire]

Quit stalling and poop already.

[Guy Raz]

Yeah, please don't.

[Dennis]

Um, okay, I've got this.

[Guy Raz]

Oh, no.

[Dennis]

Anything for the state. Anything for the stage.

[Mindy Thomas]

Come on, Dennis the dicent. You can do it. I believe in you.

[Madame Pompoo]

Oh.

[Grandmother Jaforce]

Oh.

[Thomas J. Fingerling III, Esquire]

Was that it? Was that all you got?

[Dennis]

Yeah, sorry. That was it.

[Madame Pompoo]

Reginald. Reginald. Cut, please, dear. Thank you. Everyone, hold, please, while I have a brief rehearsal with my actors. Thank you.

[Grandmother Jaforce]

Okay, what is my motivation?

[Dennis]

I think the blocking should adjust.

[Guy Raz]

So, Mindy, is this really true? Do these snakes bleed from their own mouths and then poop all over themselves to ward off hungry predators?

[Mindy Thomas]

Well, that's what these researchers discovered.

[Guy Raz]

And how did they discover this?

[Mindy Thomas]

First, they gently captured 263 dice snakes.

[Guy Raz]

On the island, where, I assume they experimented by pretending to be natural predators.

[Mindy Thomas]

Exactly. The researchers carefully grabbed each snake by the middle to see if it could encourage the snake to act out its most defensive behaviors. And I should note that these researchers were very careful not to actually hurt the snakes, but to learn from them before releasing them back out into the wild.

[Guy Raz]

Okay, very important note.

[Mindy Thomas]

And as they held and gently squeezed the snakes, they noticed that the snakes began to play dead.

[Guy Raz]

So just like we saw with Dennis and his dice snake performance, they went limp and let their mouths gape open with their teeth tongues sticking out.

[Mindy Thomas]

You know it. But what they discovered was that almost half of these snakes pooped on themselves and then smeared it all over their bodies.

[Grandmother Jaforce]

Ugh.

[Mindy Thomas]

And then about 28 of the 263 snakes started spewing blood from their mouths.

[Guy Raz]

This is so gross.

[Mindy Thomas]

The researchers discovered that the fake deaths without spewing blood or poop lasted almost 40 seconds.

[Grandmother Jaforce]

Wow.

[Mindy Thomas]

But the snakes who did all of.

[Guy Raz]

Those things, the ones who really committed to the role with all the blood and the feces.

[Mindy Thomas]

Yeah. Those snakes played dead for two seconds less than the others. Huh.

[Guy Raz]

So that might mean in the wild, this fake death strategy could fool predators more quickly.

[Mindy Thomas]

Right. This two second difference suggests that the predators find these committed snakes too dead and too disgusting to eat. And they back.

[Guy Raz]

This is wild.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

I know.

[Mindy Thomas]

The researchers also discovered that this behavior was only something that the adult snakes did.

[Guy Raz]

Wow, that's interesting. They studied some juvenile or baby snakes as well.

[Mindy Thomas]

Yeah, and they discovered that the baby snakes were much less skilled in the art of dramatic survival.

[Guy Raz]

And I assume much more likely to be eaten by Hungry versus Birch.

[Mindy Thomas]

You know it.

[Dennis]

I wanna soil myself. Can't we just change the script?

[Madame Pompoo]

No, the script cannot be changed.

[Guy Raz]

Well, it looks like our very dramatic human snake is having a hissy fit on stage.

[Mindy Thomas]

Oh, boy.

[Grandmother Jaforce]

Well, I think a falcon should win.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

No, that would be a tragedy.

[Dennis]

I want a happy rom com ending where the dice snake and the falcon fall in love and open a cute little bookstore together.

[Madame Pompoo]

Miss your. Absolutely not.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

I cannot end up getting eaten.

[Dennis]

I don't taste very good.

[Grandmother Jaforce]

Well, I'm a falcon and I'll be the judge of that. Hey, pigeon, give me one of your talons.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

No, Reggie, do not turn on me.

[Dennis]

You're my best friend. Second best friend.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

Reggie.

[Madame Pompoo]

Stop, Stop, stop, stop, stop. None of this is in the script.

[Mindy Thomas]

I think more experiments are gonna be needed to answer that one guy.

[Thomas J. Fingerling III, Esquire]

Raz force. Let that snake boy go.

[Grandmother Jaforce]

Never.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

I can't work like this. I'll leave my dressing room.

[Thomas J. Fingerling III, Esquire]

Lady Boo Boo. Come back. I want to see the end of the movie.

[Dennis]

Don't worry, Tommy. The ending is me and the falcon open a cute little bookstore.

[Thomas J. Fingerling III, Esquire]

The end. Oh, that's really cute.

[Dennis]

Thanks for joining us for this edition of We Wow on the weekend. Our show is written by Ruth Morrison and Jed Anderson. The role of baby Dennis is played by Jed Anderson.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

Ah, well then who plays the role of Big Dennis?

[Dennis]

Never you mind, Teehee. Original sound design and production is done by Henry Moskal with contributions from Jed Anderson and Tyler Thal. Original music for Wewow is composed and performed by Tyler Thol. 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, Joanna Weber, 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 hanging out in the basement this weekend. Be sure to check out episodes of wow. In the World every Monday and remember who Wows.

[Co-host (possibly Guy Raz or another co-host)]

I wow. No, baby Dennis. We Wow. All right. We wow. Wow. Wow wow in the World. Wow.

[Mindy Thomas]

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