Hey, Wowzerfams! Mindy and Guy Raz here, and before we start the show, summer break is almost here! And if you're looking for an adventure that the whole family will love, we've teamed up with our friends at Atlas Obscure... Trips designed for families to explore wows of our world! That's right!
The Wow in the World family tour starts at the end of June, and there's still a few more spots left. So why not join your fellow Wowzer fans on an exploration of the ancient Mayan temples and the pyramids of Tulum in Mexico? If you're looking for some wows this winter, your family can discover the pyramids of Giza and ride camels in Egypt. All of our Wow in the World family tours come with an adventure toolkit, t-shirts, a journal, and posters. And the best part, girl?
The planning is already taken care of. Ah, but I love... planning Mindy, spending hours online, searching for the best locations, the best... I know you do, Guy Raz, but a lot of busy grown-ups don't really have that kind of time these days. So our friends at Atlas Obscura have planned experiences that will wow your family each day of your trip. And we've put together some...
some audio surprises and daily missions for you too. Grownups, if you want to learn more about the Wow in the World family tours, visit Tinkercast.com slash trips. That's Tinkercast.com slash trips. That's it. Now, back to the show. Hello? Get on me! Careful with that magnet, Reg! Hey, get on!
What are you doing right now? Well, I'm kind of busy trimming my petunias right now, Mindy. Okay, great. So you're free. I think you could pop over for like two seconds. I could really use a hand putting together my latest invention. You need me to come over right now? Okay, I'll be right there. Okay, great! We're in the laboratory of bad ideas out back. See you soon! Bye!
Well, my little petunias, it looks like your trim is going to have to wait until later this afternoon. You'll be good now, okay? I'm off to Mindy's house. What is that sound? Uh... Hello? Mindy? Mindy, is that you? Where are you? I'm down here in the underground lair of the Laboratory of Bad Ideas. You have an underground lair? Nice. Come on down! Take the elevator! It's coming up to you now! Uh, Mindy, are you sure this is safe? Yes, of course I'm not sure this is safe, Guy Raz! Okay... Wait...
Well, here goes nothing! Hi there, and welcome to Mindy's underground laboratory of bad ideas. The invention you're about to see uses very strong magnets. So before entering the lab, please remove all metal objects and place them in the bin in front of you. What in the... Metal objects include... Giant spoons! Suits of armor!
Frying pans. Belt buckles that say Queen of Mean. I'm looking at you, Grandma G-Force. And anything else that may interfere with the nuclear fusion machine. Nuclear fusion machine? That's what I said. Wait, isn't this a... Pre-recorded message? No! It's just me! Whoa, Mindy! This place is massive! Yeah! Tell me about it. Took Reggie and I a whole afternoon to dig this place out. You did this in one afternoon? Well, yeah. Like I said, we needed some extra space for my newest invention.
And what is it, Mindy? What is this mega-sized invention? Kairaz, behold, my latest and greatest invention is... Reggie, drumroll! Thousand! The world's first automatic dog petter. The first what? It pets your dog when your arms get too tired. And that required an entire underground lair? I mean, how big is this invention? Well, it's not the invention itself that's big, Guy Raz. It's the power source.
for the invention. Wait, is this why you were talking about a nuclear fusion machine in the elevator? Yeah, that's what Reggie and I have been trying to put together all day. And it hasn't been going so well. Just hold on here. Nuclear fusion? I mean, isn't that when a bunch of small atoms smash together to create a bigger atom? Yeah, and when that happens, it creates this... Bonker Ball's amount of energy
energy that I will be using to power the Ped-O-Matic. But, Mindy, world-famous scientists have been trying to crack this for almost 100 years. Uh-huh. And you're trying to do it in one afternoon? Well, yeah. How hard could it be to get a bunch of tiny atoms to smash into each other? Well, pretty hard, Mindy. I mean, this stuff is super complicated. I don't even understand how nuclear fusion works. Well, I can fix that guy, Roz.
See, there's an all-natural nuclear fusion machine just 95 million miles away from here. So why don't we just... and I'll show you how the whole thing works. Wait a minute. 95 million miles from here? Mindy, are you talking? The sun? Yes! Guy Ross, the sun's energy, all that light and heat that is all powered by nuclear fuel!
And you want to fly us out there to see up close how it all works? Yeah. Didn't you say you wanted to know how it works? Well, don't you have to put together this machine, this invention of yours? Yeah, we can do it. Hey, Red! Take ten. We're going to take a quick trip out to the sun. All right, Guy Raz, you in? Well, do I have much of a choice? Nope. All right, let's see how nuclear fusion works. Follow me. All right. Opening the hatch. Okay, Guy Raz, hop on in. Okay.
Alright, buckle your seat valve. Okay. Next stop. Center. The sun! Whoa, whoa, whoa! Mindy, uh, the sun! The center of the sun? As in the center of the sun? Yeah, where else did you think we were going? Well, I thought we were just going to look at it from a distance. Okay, well, Kairos, I think we all know that you should never just look at the sun without proper eye protection. And second of all...
We are never going to learn how nuclear fusion works if we don't go to where the nuclear fusion is happening. And I suppose the nuclear fusion is happening at the center of the sun? Exactly. You need the right conditions to make nuclear fusion happen. A lot of heat and a lot of pressure. And I'm assuming you get both of those things at the center of the sun? Uh-huh. In fact, the center of the sun is the hottest place in the whole solar system.
And exactly how hot is that? Oh, I don't know. Just about 27 million degrees Fahrenheit. What? Yeah, but it's only like 15 million degrees Celsius. That's the same temperature, Mindy. How are we going to survive? Hey, Roz, we're barely going to feel it. I've got this entire wow machine smothered in sunscreen. What? And I'm 99.99% sure that it will survive. Oh, no. Although it was only SPF 50. Alright, let's see here. Oh, I almost
I gotta engage the shrink wand, too. The shrink wand? Yeah, not only do we need to go to the center of the sun guy, Roz, but we also have to sh... down to the atomic level. Wait. We're gonna be the same size as Adam's? Yep! building blocks that make up everything around We're gonna be sick. He's so cute and tiny! But why do we need to shrink down so small? Because, Guy Raz, nuclear fusion occurs when two atoms get smooshed together to create one new atom.
Uh-huh. So we're gonna shrink down and smush these atoms together ourselves? You're picking up what I'm putting. Chiroz, shrink wand, activate! Here we go! Oopsie! I'm going to adjust the settings here. There we go. Got our voices unshrunk, but our bodies are still tiny. Now, you ready for our trip to the center of the sun? My guesses I'll ever be. Here we go! We made it, Kairos! The center of the sun! And we're roughly the size of an atom? Let me check. We're only about 0.1 nanometers tall.
Which is about how big exactly? Well, we're so small that you could fit about 10 million of us just on the head of a pin. Whoa. All right, now put this suit on, Guy Raz. We've got some atoms to fuse. What? Your sunsuit! Here, put your sunsuit on. We're heading outside. Heading outside? Mindy, it's millions of degrees out there. Don't worry, Guy Raz. These sunsuits should be able to handle it. I made them myself out of old oven mitts. Here, catch them! This thing! Yeah, just put it on! I...
Okay, ready. And now for my helmet. Whoa! Can you hear me, Guy Raz? Reading you loud and clear, Mindy. All right, let's take these sunsuits out for a test run and hope they work. Wait, you don't know if they work? Well, no, I've never been to the sunsuits. Well, should we test them first? Sorry, Garaz. But they're made out of oven mitts. Yeah, so hold your breath. Mindy, I really don't think we should... Okay, guys, we're going to open the hatch in three, two... Mindy!
Phew! I didn't think that was really gonna work! Wow, it really feels like we're in space out here, Mindy. Remember, Gairaz, we're currently about the size of an athlete. Whoa, what was that? It's an atom, Gyros. Look, here comes another one. Try to grab it. I see an ant's coming towards me. I got it, Mindy. I got it. Get it. Go, Guy Raz. Let me see that thing.
Looks like you caught yourself a hydrogen atom! It's the most common type of atom in the whole universe! And it's also what the sun uses for fuel, right? Yeah! Now, in order to make some nuclear fusion energy, we need three more of those puppies. So, you think you can catch them? Well, okay, I'll try. Oh, oh, look, here comes another one, Guy Raz. I got it. Ooh, nice catch. Mindy, behind you, there's two more coming. Oh, oh, oh.
All right, Mindy, we have four hydrogen atoms. Now what do we do? Now we... Smush them together. Smush them? I mean, the technical term is fuse them together, but I just like to say smush. Okay, so we're going to fuse these four hydrogen atoms together. Yeah, which is something that atoms... usually like to do but we're able to do it here because we are at the center of which again is very very A lot of pressure. Got it. Okay, so on the count of three, Gyron. You take your two hydrogen atoms...
Take my two hydrogen atoms and we'll smoosh them together. And I suppose in the process create nuclear fusion? There's only one way to find out. You ready, Guy Raz? I'm ready. On three. Okay. Three. Hey Rozzy! I'm over here! What was that? That was the energy from the nuclear fusion! Hold on, I'll come over to you. Swim, swim, swim, swim, swim in through the sun. through the sun and... There we go. That was some explosion, Mindy. What happened? Oh, I'll show you what happened, Kyroz. This.
WHAT IS THAT?! different than the other hydrogen atoms we had before. That's because is a different atom, Guy Raz. Say hello to helium. Helium? Wait a minute, Mindy. Is that what our four hydrogen atoms fused into? Yep. And when that It created a huge amount of energy. Wow. Imagine what we could do if we were able to harness that kind of energy. I mean, we could power in time. is unclean. for years yeah or power my dog for like a good 15 minutes. Like I said, it requires a ton of energy.
Speaking of Yeah, shouldn't we head back up? Reggie's break might be over by now. Oh, you're right. I don't even know if he knew we were going to the... All right. Come on, guys. Come on, follow me! How, Mindy? Just pretend like you're swimming! Follow my lead. Swim, swim, swim, swim, swimming through the sun. I'm swimming through the sun. Bendy, wait up! It's taking a well machine. Made it! Are you alright there, buddy? I think so. Okay, now let's just close the house.
Take off our helmet. And head back to Reggie and that nuclear fusion machine. Okay, seatbelts on. All right, plugging in the coordinates. And here we go. Made it! Earth, Sweet Earth! Wow! Back to our original sizes too! Whoa, Mindy, look! The nuclear fusion machine! It's all in one piece! Reggie! Oh! Did you finish constructing the nuclear fusion machine while we were away?
You little go-getter, you! What does this mean, Mindy? It means that we can take this pedomatic dog petting machine out for a test run. Come on, follow me to the control room, Guy Raz. Okay, lead the way, Mindy. You too, Reg. What, what, what, what, what, what? Opening the door? Okay. Okay, Roz, you sit here. Okay. And Reggie, you sit here. What's going on here, Mindy? Well, inside that machine are a bunch of hydrogen atoms. Just like they're worth the...
Correct. Now, remember the two things that we needed to make those atoms fuse together? A lot of heat and a lot of pressure. Exactly. So Guy Raz, your job is to bring up the heat inside the machine using this little knob here. Got it. And Reggie, your job is to build the pressure by cranking up this little knob. And hopefully, fingers crossed, With enough heat and enough pressure, we can get those hydrogen atoms to fuse together and make some energy.
So we're basically creating a sort of mini star right here in our own underground lair? Exactoritos! Wow! Are you two ready to make some nuclear fusion here on Earth? Yeah, I guess so. All right then, Gairaz. Yes, Mindy? Pump up the heat. Okay, increasing the heat. Reggie, pump up the pressure. Building! Building! Keep it up! Keep it up! Oh my goodness! Mindy, I don't know how much more this machine can take in. It feels like the whole thing is starting to fall apart. You know, don't stop.
No! We're almost there! Did we do it? You tell me, Gyros. What do you see over there? Uh, a glove attached to a rotating bicycle wheel? Well, yes, but what you're really seeing is my Ped-O-Matic 3000. It's working, Guy Raz, and powered by 100% clean fusion energy. Wow, that's amazing! Way to go, Mindy! You did it! You crap! Use an energy! Well, I couldn't have done it without my friends! This is incredible, Mindy. With this sort of technology, we might finally be able to...
on from fossil fuels as an energy source. I mean, imagine in time Cities powered by clean, renewable fusion energy. Now, who wants to be the first to try the Ped-O-Matic? What? Come on, who doesn't like a good pat on the head? Reggie, I'm looking at you. Cami? Reggie, come back! Wow in the World will be right back. Grown-ups, this message is for you.
Hey, grown-ups! It's Mindy and Guy Raz from Wow in the World, and guess what? What's the good news, Mindy? Once Upon a Beat is back with brand new episodes! Oh, I love that talk. We here at Tinkercast have partnered with our friends at Wondery to bring your family new episodes of Once Upon a Beat. Once Upon a Beat remixes fairy tales.
fables as old as time, giving them a fresh spin with some rhythm and rhyme. This podcast is hosted by the amazing DJ Fuge and features original hip-hop songs from Grammy award-winning artist Secret Agent 23 Skidoo. Once Upon a Beat is where hip-hop and fairy tales meet, and you can listen to new episodes right now. Follow Once Upon a Beat on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts.
You can listen to Once Upon a Beat early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app in Apple Podcasts. That's it. Back to the show. Hi, thanks for calling WOW in the World. After the beep, get ready to record. And I live in Provo, Utah. My wow in the world is that horses can sleep standing up. Bye. My name is Emma Kate and I'm from Buena Vista, Colorado. My law in the world is that ants can carry 10 to 50 times their body weight. Bye. Love yourself.
Hi Mindy and Guy Ross. My name is Ryan and I live in Dallas, Texas. My wow in the world is that sharps can have up to 15 rods of teeth and do not get cavities. Say hi to Thomas Stingrilling for me. Hi, Grandma G-Force. Chop! Whoa! Hey, buddy. My name is Sophia. I am eight years old and I live in Agora Hills, California. My wow in the world is that 90% of snow is air. and I live in Carolina. A colossal squid has an eye as big as a whole pizza. Hi, mein Name ist Avonni. Ich bin sechs Jahre alt.
I live in Culver City and lie while in the world, yet pterodactyls aren't dinosaurs, they're flying reptiles. Say hi to Dennis and tell him the same girl in for me. Bye. I'm in the end of the world. My name is Neon and I live in Newfoundland. My bow in the world is new and nose can detect more than one trillion smells. Bye. Love your show. My name is Alana and I'm from Internal Lake in New York. My wow in the world.
is that the kernel that makes popcorn, when the moisture inside gets heated up, it turns inside out. That's what you eat when you're eating popcorn. Bye. Say hi to Reggie for me. End of messages. Grownups, if you like WoW in the World, you can listen early and ad-free right now on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Wondery Kids Plus.
On Apple Podcasts, Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. Thanks for listening to this episode of Wow in the World. If you're a kid with a big wow to share with us, call our wow hotline at 1-888-WOW.
seven wow wow for a chance to be featured at the end of the show or an upcoming episode of two what's in a wow and while you're at it why don't you head over to apple podcasts and tell us what wow is our show by leaving a review. You just might hear your reviews, he read. We Wow on the weekend. Oh, and don't forget to visit us at Tinkercast.com and become a member of the World Organization of Wowzers. With that, you'll get year-round mailings, weekly activities, birthday cards, and more.
Tinkercast.com. You can also shop our wow shop, get tickets for upcoming live events, find our books, and learn about all the other amazing podcasts from Tinkercast. Once again, that's Tinkercast.com. Wow in the World is written by Mindy Thomas and Tom Van Kalken with contributions from me, Guy Raz.
Original sound design and music editing is done by Tyler Tholl with help from our senior production director, Jed Anderson. You can also hear Jed Anderson in the voices of Dennis, Thomas Fingerling, Reggie, and many of the other silly characters you hear on our show. Jessica Bodie keeps our facts straight as our fact checker, and Meredith Halpern-Ranzer powers the wow at Tinkercast. Our theme song was composed and performed by three-time Grammy nominees, The Pop-Up. We'll be right back.
Linda Rothenberg, Steph Sosa, Anna Zagorski, and all of the other tinkerers at Tinkercast HQ. Grownups, you can follow Wow in the World on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at Wow in the World, and our email address is hello at Thanks for listening. Find episodes of Wow in the World every Monday, two what's in a wow every Friday. on the weekends with Dennis every Saturday and Sunday. in the Wow in the World podcast.
speed. Until then, The World in the World was made by Tinkercast and sent to you by Wondery.