Hey, Wowzer fans! Mindy and Guy Raz here, and before we start the show, it's almost summertime, and you know what that means! It's almost time for my annual summer rewatch of the 26-hour-long docuseries on the history of whales? Sure, Kyron. I was actually thinking about summer road trips. That's right. Wowzers, if your family has some summer road trips coming up,
Stop to find some wow. We've teamed up with our friends at Geocaching HQ, the Aspen Institute, and the Nature Conservancy to create Planet Wow, an epic geocaching eco-adventure that shares the wows of places on our Earth. Earth and encourages curious kids like you to become the next generation of climate crusaders. We've sent out Planet Wow trading cards to members of our World Organization of Wowzers to plant in a geocache near the...
And you can check and see if one of those cards are in a geocache near you at tinkercast.com slash planetwow. There you can also find the location of our official Planet Wow geocaches. And if there aren't any trading cards nearby your route, print yours at home and plant them in a geocache along the ride. We have printable cards available on our website. TinkerCast.com slash PlanetWow. We can't wait to hear what you find on your eco-adventures this summer.
Leave us a video or audio message about places in your world that wow you for a chance to be featured on an upcoming episode of Wow in the World. That's it, and now let's get back to the show. Brush if you love your teeth and don't want no cavity spitting out. Chao. Oh, that must be the What do you think about that to do? Yep, bop bop Um...
Alright, let's see what we have here. The latest issue of Micro House Monthly. Let's see here, a letter from Thomas Fingerling, a jar of mystery slime addressed to Mindy, and... What is this? It looks super Oh, hey, Mindy. Hey, Guy Raz. Did my slime arrive yet? They stopped letting me send it to my house. Yeah, it's right here.
This is the last thing I need for my slip and slime. Slip and slime? Don't you mean slip and slide? Uh, no. Hey, what do you got in your hand there? Oh, I don't know. It just arrived in the mail. I know. The paper is practically falling apart. Well, what are you waiting for, Guy Raz? Open it. Open it up. See what it is. Okay, okay. I'm gonna carefully open this envelope here. It says, Dear Guy Ross. of the Meter Convention on the 20th Your presence at this historic
of weights and measures. Whoa! This is incredible, Mindy! An invitation to the meter convention! Whoa! Cool! You have no idea what this is, do you? No, not a clue. Well, it's the meeting that 17 countries held back in 1875 where they all agreed to use the metric system to measure and weigh stuff. Oh, yeah, the metric system. That's what they use in Canada. Exactly, but not just Canada. The metric system is how 95% of the world measures stuff. Yeah, so instead of feet and...
They use centimeters and meters. You're getting this invitation. to this metric meeting 150 Is this too late? Why? Well, that's the mystery, Mindy. I have no idea. Well, there's only one way to solve it. Yeah? What's that? We gotta go to that meter party. You mean to the meter convention? Yeah, it would be rude not to, Guy Raz. Plus, we need to figure out who sent that invitation to you. I don't know, Mindy. Come on. What's the use of having a wow machine if you can't use it to... French fries!
C'est vrai ! Let's solve this. That's the Spirit Guy Raz! I got the wow machine idling in your driveway. You do? Yeah, I was gonna use it to take a quick trip out to the moon, but... I don't know. This sounds more fun. Okay, let's go. Yes! Let me just quickly lock the door here. All right, good to go. Follow me, Guy Raz. Right behind you, Mindy. Opening the hatch. Okay, Guy Raz, hop on in. Okay.
Alright, let's get ready to go. You got those time and space coordinates for me? Yep, let me just check the invitation here. Paris, France. Paris, France. May 20th, 1875. Exactly 150 years ago. Alright, let's see here. May 20th. eight, seven, five. All right, you all strapped in, Guy Raz? Strapped in with what? Oh, yeah. I took out the seatbelts last week. What? Well, hold on to something, because here we go. Safe and sound! Do we make it, Mindy? Only one way to find out. Open up the hatch here.
Bonjour, parents! Bonjour! Huh, Mindy, I didn't know you spoke French. No, I don't. In fact, here, stick this in your ear. Baby, what is this? It's my latest and greatest invention, Guy Raz. It'll translate everything said here back and forth into English. Why does it feel like a wet marshmallow? That's because it's half wet marshmallow. There we go.
Oh, that's actually quite comfortable. It does feel a little sticky, though. That means it's working. Come on, we're going to be late for the party. Let me just lock up the wow machine here. Okay, now. We just need to find out where this convention is happening, Mindy. Do you think it could be at the French Academy of Sciences? Maybe. Why? Because there's a big old sign on that building over there that says measurements meeting this way. After that, it says the French Academy of Sciences.
Must be Edmund D out! Opening the door. Whoa, this is kind of a big party, Mindy. Yeah. Ooh, look, they have Gimme gimme gimme gimme! Ah, gross! Ugh, I forgot. I can't stand coffee. Right, all right. Settle down, everyone. It's time to get this little convention underway. Okay. Welcome to the first meeting of the Measurements. of 1780. 1780? Mindy, I thought we were meant to be headed back to 1875. Hey!
Looks like the wow machine might have overshot it a little. Well, if the meter convention was in 1875... Where are we? Today, gentlemen and lady, we will be solving one of the biggest problems of our time. How in the world are we meant to measure stuff? Seriously, I was at the market the other day and asked for a pound of fish pulls out a jar of- I ask him, what is that? He says, it's a pound. I say, it looks like a jar of gra-
He says that's what a pound is, the weight of 7,000 grains. I had the exact same problem. I went to get some fabric for my curtains the other day, and when I... a yard of burlap. The dude likes He measured my chest. I asked him, what are you doing? And he said that a yard was officially the distance around a man's chest. And I said, so if I had a bigger chest, I'd... GET THIS!
I don't make the rules. Well, luckily, we do make the rules. I've gathered you all here today, the greatest minds in France. To come up with a new way of measuring things. One that is based in reality. Unmoving. not simply the Of someone's body or how much... 7,000 grains way! Whoa, Mindy, we must have overshot the official signing in of the metric system and landed in the meeting where they invented it. Yeah, sure looks that way. All right.
Now if I could just get my assistant to bring out the char- Good for us, Assistant! Thank you, Clarence. Let's get a little brainstorm going, shall we? Come on. No bad ideas now. Just yell them out. What if we measured everything by the length of a standard cat? Like, ooh, that's only about 40 cats from here to there.
Okay, are you listening to me at all? I said, no bad ideas, and then the first thing you do is yell out a bad idea. He has a point. I have an idea. Well, is it a good one? I think so. Okay. Let's hear it. What if we use The Earth. The Earth? And the Earth. All right, settle down, settle down. You, explain yourself, buddy. Well, we were talking about needing something consistent. Something...
How about our planet? That's a lot more consistent than the size of a man's chest. Okay, not bad, not bad. Use the planet. But how are they going to measure the planet? I have a question. Yes, you. What's your question? How are you going to measure the planet? Hey, that's what I said. I was kind of thinking that maybe we'd figure out how far it is from the North Pole to the equator. And then, like, we split that distance.
million different smaller parts. Huh. Okay. Ten million smaller. Yeah. That could work. Hold on. I have an What's that? I have a name for it. For what? For... these smaller units of measurement. Okay. What is it? We shall co- The meter! The meter? Yes, after the Greek word metron. The Greek word for measurement? The Greek word for measurement? That's so...
Sick! I love it! All in favor of the meter! Uh, yeah, uh, excuse me! Excuse me! Uh, yes, m'lady? Mindy, what are you doing? One sec- yes the real question here is how exactly are you going to measure from the North Pole to the equator? I don't know if you've ever tried to walk that before, but it's like a super duper long way. Hmm, that is a good question. Anyone got any ideas? I do. Oh, no, not this guy again. No, no, no, this is a good idea this time, I prom-
Okay, let's hear it. Well, I was just thinking, maybe we could measure the distance between two spots that are closer together like... I don't know, Dunkirk here in France. Barcelona in Spain and then just expand from there. distance between the North Pole and the equator. How are they gonna do that? Yeah! How exactly would we measure- with math. Why, with math, of course. Trigonometry. That's actually Not a bad idea. Sorry, excuse me again. You're going to...
The length of two countries? Yeah, how long is that going to take? Oh, it shouldn't take that long, right? Let's see here. Ah, see? Should only take about...
Seven years? I can measure that faster with my tape measure in that amount of time. I think that's the problem, and they don't have... measures that's what they're trying to invent oh yeah that's right and if you're making something that's going to be used by everyone you want to make sure that it's super precise and the only way to make sure that it's super precise Okay, okay. I'll see you all back here in like seven years and we can figure out all the math. And make that meter!
How does that sound? This is going to change the world! Come on, Mindy. Let's get out of here and get to the party that we were actually invited to. Oh, good idea, Guy Raz. With all this commotion, I almost forgot that we had a mystery to solve. What? Well, we still have to figure out who sent you that invitation. Oh, yeah, that's right. Okay, follow me, Guy Raz. Uh, excuse me. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry.
I can't believe it's going to take those guys seven years to make all those calculations. And then a bunch more time to get everyone on board with this new way of measuring thing. What do you mean? Well, look at this invitation, Mindy. The one for the convention? Yeah, the meter convention. It's for the year 1875. That's 95 years from now. Wait a minute. So you mean that those guys go out...
make the measurements, invent the meter, and then it takes them almost another hundred years to convince everyone that it's a good idea? That's right. Good thing we got a wow meter. Speaking of which... Ha! Happen, Guy Raz. We got a party to get to. That's right. Next stop, the Meter Camp. 1875. Okay, tell me that date again, Guy Raz. Gotta punch in the coordinates. Okay, May 20, 1875. Okay, May 20, 1875. Bye. And here we go! Another great landing!
Did we make it? Are we in the right time period this time? Oh, here, let me just check. Uh, yeah, definitely in the right time. Now let's just see if we hit the right place. Oh, yeah, this seems like the place, all right. Whoa, Mindy, you actually landed the wow machine in the building itself this time. Yeah, and I... Totally did that on purpose, too. Come on, Guy Raz. Looks like the party is through here. Okay. Okay.
Wow. This is a party. Hello, everyone. Thank you for coming here today for the signing. of the meter convention. Yes, yes. Is that the same person as before? It can't be, Mindy. That was almost a hundred years ago. Now in my great-grandfather, the first president of the measurements enthusiast... first came up with the idea for the meter! Everyone thought he was out of his mind. But look at us now, pop-pop! We have 17 of the world's most...
influential countries here to agree to use your system of measurement. It's so wonderful to see all these countries represented here. Spain, Argentina, Denmark, USA! Wait, what? The USA? We're here? That's right, Mindy! actually one of the first 17 countries to agree to start using the metric system.
Though it never really caught on. So now I would like to get a representative from each country to come up here and sign this treaty. How does that sound? All right. Spain? We got someone from Spain? Great, Denmark, if you could just stand here. United States? Uh, hello, United States? Can we get someone from the United States up here, please? Get up there! What? Me? What?
That's probably why you were invited! To sign the meter treaty for the United States! Uh, I don't think... Uh, excuse me! Uh, this guy is from the USA! Indeed! Excellent! Get on up here, buddy. Come on. Don't be shy. Go on, Guy Raz. Have fun up there. You got this, buddy. Okay, let's see. Where were we? Hey, what's on this table here? Extra invitations? Don't mind if I do. Excuse me, mind if I borrow your quill there? Not at all. Thank you. Dear Guy Ross, you are cordially... That is the last.
Signature! Congratulations! Thank you all for joining us on this metric adventure! Now, let's talk about the ways in which we can all use the new meter! I want to invent a foot race called the 100 meter dash. Oh wow, that sounds fun. I love dashing. I want to measure how tall I am in meters. Great idea! Oh, hey, excuse me. Yes? Could you add this invitation to your outgoing mail?
Oh, but could you also hold off on sending it for like 150 years? What? Trust me, it'll be worth it. If you say so. Wonderful. Any more uses for the meter? Anyone? I want to measure... to grandmother's house. Ooh, good one. And then I want to know how fast I can run to grandmother's house in meters per second. Oh, yes. Well, that should do it, Mindy. The meter is born! Aww, little baby meter!
Yeah, but the only thing left that bothers me is that mysterious invitation. Who even sent it to me? Well, Gyros, I guess we'll never know. It wasn't you, was it? What? No, it wasn't me. Mindy? Hey, Roz, it wasn't me. It was probably just an old British man. or something. I know you Crossy! 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 Feud.
and features original hip-hop songs from Grammy award-winning artist Secret Agent 23's Kadoo. 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. Thanks for calling wow in the world after the beep get ready to record
My name is Paul. I live in Raleigh, North Carolina, and my wow in the world is that colossal squids have spinning hooks on their tentacles. Say hi to Reggie, Grandma GeForce, Thomas Van Gordon. Cool, cool, dude. Dennis, I know you're static, man. What? No, I'm not static, man. We just look alike and... Sound alike. Bye. Hello, my name is Everly. I'm seven years old and I live in Tucson, Arizona. My world in the world is researchers in Peru discovered 27 new animal species.
including an amphibious mouse. It has wet toes and is considered to be among the rarest in the world. I'm Steele, and I'm from Haddonfield, New Jersey. And did you know eponet sharks can walk on land? and I live in California. My wow is that not even the spiciest pepper in the world is spicy to birth. Isn't that balkerball saying to Reggie, Grandma G first? Hi, I'm Graham from Lincoln, Nebraska. My wow is that those of that gorillas can hold up to 1,763 pounds. Isn't that wow?
Hi, Wendy and Guy Ross. My name is Savannah Adams. I live in Pleasant Grove, Utah. My lie in the world is that bubble wrap was made accidentally by two inventors. They were trying to make a wallpaper that was easy to clean. Love your show. Say hi to everybody from me. Bye. Hi, my name's Arthur, and I live in Seattle, Washington. And my wow in the world is, did you know that Shakespeare is credited with coining the term in a pickle?
Also, say hi to Grandma Geofors. Oh, yeah. Dennis. Hi there. And Reggie. Also, Dennis. Yes? I know you're static, man. Bye. End of messages. 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 1-888-7WOW-WOW. And while you're at it, why don't you head over to Apple Podcasts and tell us what wows you? our show by leaving a review. You just might hear your reviews he read.
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, more. On 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.
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. This episode also features the voice talents of Lizzie Freilich. Thanks, Lizzie!
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 Podcast. Find them at thepopups.com. Special thanks to our team, including Kit Ballinger, Rebecca Caban, Dr. Natasha Crandall, Kenny Curtis, Kristen Yang, Thuy Mack, Erica Medina, Henry Moskal, Jody Nussbaum, Allie Paxima, Lynn We'll be right back.
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 Tinkercast.com. Thanks for listening. Find episodes of Wow in the world every Monday, two once in a while. on the weekends with Dennis every Saturday and Sunday right here in the Wow in the World podcast feed. Until then. Wow, the world was made by Tinkercast and sent to you by Wondery.
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.