Episode Transcript
Transcripts are displayed as originally observed. Some content, including advertisements may have changed.
Use Ctrl + F to search
0:00
Disney invites you to the Thanksgiving
0:02
movie event for the whole family. Now
0:04
you've certainly got my attention.
0:06
It's wondrous. I've got a good feeling
0:08
about it! And
0:09
magical. Boom. Did we just blow
0:12
your mind? An epic, enchanting story
0:14
you don't want to miss. It was joy
0:16
and hope and wonder. Wishes really
0:18
do come true.
0:19
Puss fall! Disney's
0:22
Wish. Rated PG. Parental guidance suggested.
0:25
See it early this Saturday in theaters everywhere
0:27
November 22nd. Tickets available now.
0:30
Pack your bags. We're hitting
0:32
the road in our newest Brains On! universe
0:34
field trip, the Snacktacular Road Trip.
0:37
It's a mini-movie where you can watch Joy
0:39
Dohlo and me go on the trip of a lifetime.
0:42
We try some sandwiches shaped by history, learn
0:45
a snacktastic fact about beaver butts, and
0:47
so much more. The shows are on November
0:50
30th and December 1st and 2nd, but
0:52
seats are limited. So get your tickets
0:54
today at brainson.org slash
0:56
field trips.
1:01
From the brains behind Brains On,
1:03
it's Smash Boom Best.
1:06
The show for people with big opinions.
1:10
Hi, I'm Molly Bloom and this is Smash Boom
1:12
Best.
1:13
The show where we take two things, smash
1:15
them together, and ask you to decide
1:17
which one is best. Today's debate
1:19
is a poisonous, blood-sucking battle between
1:22
two dangerous creatures. One hides
1:24
out in a decorative shell. The other buzzes
1:26
round like a carousel. It's
1:29
Cone Snails vs. Tsetse Flies. We've
1:32
got Radiolab co-host and science
1:35
historian, Luddip Nasser, ready to
1:37
give it his all for the stealthy, seriously
1:39
poisonous cone snail.
1:41
Hero in a half shell. Cone snail
1:43
power. And
1:46
Radiolab co-host and award-winning science
1:49
reporter, Lulu Miller, here to defend the humdinger
1:51
of bloodsuckers, Tsetse Flies.
1:54
Only the most tsetse-rific
1:56
aviator in the sky. Excellent.
1:59
And here to judge it all is Elise
2:02
from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She has
2:04
a huge sweet tooth, double jointed
2:06
thumbs, and once broke her ankle in
2:08
the ocean. Hi, Elise. Hey,
2:11
how you doing, Molly?
2:12
Good. I'm so glad to have you back. So,
2:15
Elise, last time you were here, we
2:18
heard about your turtle.
2:19
Turtolito. Can we can we get a little
2:21
turtolito update? Oh, yeah.
2:24
He is shedding like crazy, guys.
2:26
I mean, it's been a while. Like
2:28
he was itty bitty when I first talked about
2:30
him. He's huge now. OK, I've never
2:32
seen a turtle shed before. So like, what
2:34
does that look like when a turtle sheds? Oh, it's
2:36
like so cool. It's like kind of like a snake.
2:39
If you ever see the snake shed, kind of
2:41
like that. But like if you see that in the water, it's
2:43
kind of like gross. But it's like, oh, my God,
2:45
you're shedding. And like his his shell
2:48
is this weird thing with turtles, like their shell
2:50
breaks off.
2:51
Whoa. Like,
2:53
oh, wow. Like you guys are like growing
2:55
really like there. Teenagers like I am. So
2:57
it's like we're both moody. We both
3:00
need our food. All
3:02
the things. Well, well, at least
3:04
side with team Cone Snail or team
3:07
TeeTee Flies. Only time will tell. Elise,
3:09
are you ready to judge today's debate? I
3:12
am. Let's go. Before we dive in,
3:14
let's review the rules of the game. Every
3:16
debate consists of four rounds of argumentation.
3:19
The declaration of greatness, the micro,
3:21
the sneak attack and the final
3:23
six. After each round, our judge,
3:25
Elise, will award points for the team that impresses
3:27
her the most. But she'll keep her decisions
3:30
kept secret until the end of the debate.
3:32
Listeners, we want you to judge to mark
3:35
down your points as you listen. At the end of
3:37
the show, head to our website, Smash Boom
3:39
dot org and vote for whichever team
3:41
you think won. OK, Lottis,
3:44
Lulu and Elise, are you ready to get
3:47
this debate started? Oh, yeah. Here
3:49
we go.
3:49
Let's ask our girl.
3:51
Unlike
3:53
you, I don't need help from
3:57
the Internet. Oh, Alright,
4:02
it's time for the Declaration
4:05
of Graydon.
4:05
In this
4:07
round, our debaters will present an awesome
4:09
argument in favor of their side. Then
4:11
they'll have 30 seconds to rebut their opponent's
4:14
statements. We've flipped a coin, and a lot of you're
4:16
up first. Tell us what makes cone snails
4:19
so smashing.
4:21
Stealth.
4:22
Power. Sophistication.
4:25
Underneath that delicate shell is
4:28
an international mollusk
4:30
of mystery.
4:32
The name Snail. Cone snail.
4:35
Code name? Agent 007.
4:41
You're probably thinking, that's your stealth
4:44
assassin of the sea, but never
4:46
underestimate a cone snail, my friends.
4:49
Oi, pipe down, pal. I'm fishing here.
4:51
Sorry. Sorry.
4:52
Sorry. You've
4:57
got the fish now. Target
5:00
acquired. And...
5:04
Whoa. That cone
5:06
snail just shot our
5:08
cone from its spot right at that
5:10
sea. All's up. But our
5:12
food is no longer
5:13
okay. It delivers a dose of deadly
5:16
venom that can paralyze a thing like that in
5:18
the future. The venom forces the
5:20
fish's muscles to clench and the cone snail
5:22
gobbles it up like a fish taco.
5:26
Come to papa. I
5:28
don't need to swim quickly or be the
5:30
biggest predator around because my body
5:32
is a perfectly evolved poison making machine. I
5:36
even make two different kinds of venom, one
5:38
to hunt prey and one to fend off any predators foolish
5:42
enough to try to eat me. That's
5:43
how to hunt with style. Quite so.
5:45
Unlike sexy
5:48
flies who just suck away messily
5:50
at their victims. No class
5:52
at all. Ew.
5:55
Yeah. And speaking of class,
5:58
your shell is looking very... sophisticated
6:00
today. So pearly. So
6:03
spirally.
6:04
Why, thank you. Just a few hundred
6:06
years ago, collectors fought to get their hands
6:08
on rare cone snail shells. They were
6:10
worth more than some famous artworks at the
6:12
time. And with good reason, our
6:15
delicate, spirally shells are
6:17
da-da-da-dazzling.
6:19
I can't
6:21
believe how many fabulous works of art
6:23
are being exhibited in this show, darling.
6:26
I know, darling. Oh,
6:28
look over there. It stays on. And
6:30
a Rembrandt. And oh, oh, is
6:32
that a, a,
6:34
a cone snail shell?
6:39
Stunning. Breathtaking.
6:41
The delicate colors. The elegant
6:43
shapes. Louvre-ra, schmoovre.
6:46
Now
6:47
this is art. For
6:49
me, the coolest thing about cone snails
6:52
is their venom.
6:53
A complicated concoction of hundreds
6:56
of different ingredients. Scientists are
6:58
studying a bunch of these to figure out what
7:00
they do. And they've already used
7:02
that research to develop a powerful
7:04
painkiller called zaconotide
7:07
that could help a lot of people. Studies
7:09
show that it's a thousand times stronger
7:11
than a different dangerous painkiller called
7:14
morphine. And unlike morphine, zaconotide
7:17
isn't addictive, which is huge.
7:21
And that medicine comes from just one
7:23
of hundreds of ingredients in my venom.
7:26
There's so much more to learn, so
7:28
much potential for new medicines to help fight diseases
7:31
like cancer, Alzheimer's, diabetes,
7:33
and so many more.
7:34
I'm practically a living pharmacy
7:37
and I'm willing to share. Otherwise I'd be
7:40
shellfish. Yeah.
7:43
And ceti fly
7:44
bites cause disease in humans
7:46
like African sleeping sickness, which can
7:49
be fatal. Cone snails,
7:51
on the other hand, are incredible
7:53
hunters whose venom has the potential
7:55
to help humanity. So who do you want on your
7:58
side? A germy, bitey.
9:59
Which you will learn about shortly. Wait,
10:02
could I just rebut the rebuttal of the rebuttal
10:04
of the rebuttal? Because I went ahead
10:06
of time and looked up the numbers
10:09
knowing that Lulu would bring this up. As
10:11
far as we know, cone snails have
10:13
killed ever 36 human beings.
10:18
Seatsy flies, the number of people that die
10:20
from sleeping sickness, the
10:23
number's in the thousands every year. So
10:26
really the scales here we're talking about, if
10:28
you're talking about human damage to us,
10:30
damage to people, Seatsy flies are serial killers.
10:33
Way to
10:36
put the boom
10:36
and smash boom then, guys. Alright,
10:41
let's hear more. Right now, it's your
10:44
turn, Lulu. Tell us why Seatsy flies
10:46
are cops.
10:49
It's a bird. It's a plane.
10:51
No, it's Super Mom.
10:55
The most magnificent, caring
10:57
mother, it's Super Mom. Watch
11:00
her fly. Her
11:02
big, bulging eyes give her supervision.
11:05
Her antennae give her
11:07
super-smelling powers. And
11:10
don't forget her straw-like mouth. Perfect
11:14
for super slurping. Wait,
11:16
bulgy eyes and tenor,
11:19
straw-like mouth?
11:21
Hold up. Is Super Mom
11:23
a
11:24
bug?
11:25
Indeed, this Super Mom is a Seatsy
11:28
fly. You
11:30
will find Seatsys across Africa in forests,
11:33
rivers, and streams. They might only be
11:35
the size of a grain of rice, but they really
11:37
pack a punch.
11:38
Okay, so what
11:40
makes this fly so super? Well,
11:43
first of all, Seatsy flies are extraordinary
11:45
moms. So most insects
11:48
lay tons and tons, sometimes hundreds
11:50
of eggs out in the world and leave them alone
11:52
to hatch. But Seatsy flies are
11:55
not like most insects. Instead, much
11:57
like mammals, Seatsy flies get pregnant. and
12:00
give birth to one baby at a time.
12:04
Like they grow a baby in their belly?
12:06
Well,
12:08
not in their belly. The baby grows
12:10
a little closer to their backside, meaning
12:14
the baby bump is on the booty.
12:15
Booty
12:17
baby bump. But it doesn't stop
12:19
there. Tzitzi flies also make milk,
12:22
actual milk that the baby drinks. Bug
12:24
milk?
12:25
Awesome! I didn't even
12:27
know bugs could make milk.
12:29
Only a very few can, making
12:32
the Tzitzi fly mathematically
12:34
exceptional. And the momma Tzitzi
12:37
fly will carry their little baby until
12:39
it is almost full grown, like
12:41
the equivalent of giving birth to
12:43
a high schooler.
12:50
And Tzitzi flies aren't just super moms.
12:52
They are super strong. So
12:55
remember how their mouths are shaped like straws? Well,
12:58
their mouth parts are also really
13:01
sharp. We're talking sharp enough to cut
13:03
through crocodile skin.
13:07
And they use these super sharp straws
13:09
to pierce through that thick skin and
13:11
drink
13:12
blood. That's their go-to meal.
13:15
I know it might seem a little gross or kind
13:17
of scary, but you cannot deny that that's
13:19
impressive. Right, friendly vampire? Exactly!
13:22
Tzitzis
13:24
can drink up to three times their
13:26
own weight in blood. One,
13:29
two, three times.
13:31
That would be like if I, a human,
13:33
drink over 1,000 milk drinks.
13:35
An exceptional
13:39
amount of dairy.
13:40
Do you think a cone snail could
13:43
drink three times its weight
13:45
in blood?
13:46
No way! It was explode
13:49
out of that shell! Kaboom!
13:52
Good thing cone snails live in the cold. And it was a lot of water
13:54
because that was a sick
13:55
burn. Give
13:57
me five!
13:59
Nice.
13:59
Back to the Tzitzis. Now
14:02
it's true, they do spread some serious
14:04
diseases to humans and animals, but
14:07
modern medicine has helped cut cases way
14:09
down in the last few years. And
14:11
if we focused only on what Tzitzis flies
14:14
do to us, we'd miss what incredible
14:16
caregivers they are to their own babies, and
14:19
in an unexpected way, to the planet.
14:22
That's right. They are planet
14:25
protectors. Tzitzis
14:26
flies have a fierce
14:28
reputation, which is fair. But it's
14:31
this exact reputation that has kept humans
14:33
out of wildlife areas where Tzitzis live.
14:36
In fact, when you look at a map of some of the most
14:38
protected places in Africa, it's
14:40
also where some of the biggest Tzitzi populations
14:42
are. Some people think that maybe
14:45
if Tzitzis hadn't been in these areas, humans
14:47
would have taken over, possibly destroying the wildlife
14:49
and the environment in the process. Think about
14:52
it. The majestic elephants, the beautiful
14:54
forests, the national parks, all
14:56
of them might not be here without the Tzitzi
14:59
fly. In local
15:01
Kenyan languages, the Tzitzi
15:03
fly is literally
15:04
called a guardian. So
15:07
give it up for Tzitzis, some of the best
15:09
caretakers, not just of their own young,
15:12
but of our entire
15:16
planet. Wow,
15:25
a moving declaration of greatness
15:27
there for the super-powered Tzitzi
15:29
fly. Elise, what stood out to you
15:32
about Lulu's declaration of greatness? She's
15:35
talking about how they were really great moms. I thought that
15:37
was a really great start,
15:39
and how they could produce milk, which I never
15:42
knew, which is a really, really cool fact. And
15:45
also how they had sharp mouths
15:47
to get through the skin to get
15:49
through blood, which is yuck,
15:52
but that is kind of cool. And
15:55
last off, I thought that the planet protectors
15:57
part was really, really interesting. and
16:00
how the T.T.s haven't been protectors,
16:03
then
16:03
some people might not even be here today. Excellent
16:06
work, Elise. What if it's time
16:08
for your rebuttal? Tell us why
16:10
T.T. flies are weak-weak, guys.
16:13
You've got 30 seconds, and
16:16
your time starts
16:18
now! Lulu is championing these
16:20
flies as planet protectors, but why are
16:22
they protecting those parts of the planet? How
16:25
are they doing it? They're doing it by killing humans!
16:28
There are better, pacifist ways to protect
16:30
the environment. Their bites are painful. Lulu
16:32
is amazed at how much of our blood they drink.
16:35
That's our blood! They
16:37
are drinking our blood and
16:39
giving us diseases, and then she's
16:42
amazed at the milk. Ask
16:44
Lulu if she's ever drank the milk and what
16:46
it tasted like. They
16:48
are drinking our blood. We are not drinking their milk.
16:51
Okay, well, I have not drank N.C.T.
16:54
milk, but I have drank other insect milk, and
16:56
it's true it doesn't taste currently at this particular
16:58
moment, what I would call great. But
17:01
scientists are working on the taste,
17:03
and many believe that it is a far
17:05
more agriculturally sustainable,
17:08
environmentally sustainable way to produce milk than
17:10
the gassy methane-producing
17:13
cows that currently produce milk and
17:15
contribute to global warming. So
17:17
get your yuck in check, and when you
17:19
look
17:19
behind your yucks, you might see an aw
17:21
shucks! Oh, wow!
17:23
I will buy that argument when Lulu
17:25
eats a bowl of cereal with C.T. 5 milk. You
17:28
line it up, I'll knock it
17:28
down. Ooh!
17:31
These trommets are really great, guys. I'm loving
17:33
this. Loving this. Okay,
17:36
Elise, it is time to award
17:38
one point. Please give one point
17:41
to the Declaration of Greatness, you like this. And
17:43
one point to the rebuttal that
17:45
won you over, and I guess also the rebuttal to the rebuttal to
17:47
the rebuttal, you get to decide what
17:49
makes a winning argument. Did one team's
17:51
jokes really slap? Was another team's scientific
17:54
communication skills superior? Award
17:56
your points, but don't tell us who they're
17:58
going
17:58
to. Have you made your decision?
18:01
I think I have.
18:02
Wonderful. Lulu and Lutef, how
18:05
are you two feeling so far?
18:06
Feeling fly as always.
18:08
Yeah, that fly is in my soup, but
18:11
I'm feeling great.
18:12
Well, go sharpen your harpoons and draw some
18:14
more blood samples. And we'll be right
18:16
back with more Smash Boom!
18:20
You're listening to State of DuBait,
18:22
home to raging rhetoric and awe-inspiring
18:25
argumentation. I'm Todd
18:27
Dingley-Dangley-Douglas and I'm here with
18:30
Taylor Lucy Goosy Lincoln!
18:32
How are you today, pal? Oh, not bad.
18:35
We're having some toasty summer weather, but
18:37
I'm ready to beat the heat. I've got a
18:39
blow-up, jumbo-sized kiddie pool, an
18:41
economy-sized tub of sunscreen, and
18:43
a freezer full of ice pops. You
18:45
should come over! Oh, that sounds so
18:48
nice. Count me in. But
18:51
I have to do some chores first. Then
18:53
I will be there with my pineapple-print
18:55
swim trunks at a cooler of snacks.
18:58
OMG, that reminds me, Todd. I
19:00
have to show you this video I saw last night.
19:03
It's so full of fallacies. You gotta
19:05
fallacy it to believe it.
19:08
Hey, nice one. Fallacies
19:10
are holes in arguments that don't stand up to
19:12
scrutiny. Plus, they make it easier
19:15
to defeat your side in a debate.
19:17
This one is called a false equivalency.
19:20
That's when you argue two things are totally
19:22
the same, but they really only have one
19:25
thing in common. Here's
19:26
the tape. Hey, kiddo.
19:30
You know, you
19:32
really need to clean your room. It's like an overgrown
19:35
jungle in here. I can't even walk across
19:37
the floor. Oh, sweet. I'm
19:39
a jungle guy now. Like Tarzan.
19:42
Gotta get some vines so I can swing
19:45
from my desk to the bed. Problem
19:48
solved.
19:49
I meant you should pick up your laundry
19:52
and all of these toys from the floor.
19:54
Tarzan never had to clean his
19:56
room. If my room is a jungle
19:58
like a Tarzan room.
20:00
Then I shouldn't have to clean it either.
20:02
We should leave the environment as it is.
20:05
That's
20:05
very eco-minded of you, sweetie, but
20:08
I need to vacuum. You can start by
20:09
putting your books back on the shelf where they belong.
20:12
But mom, you said it was a jungle in here.
20:15
Why does the monkeys and jaguars want something
20:17
to read?
20:18
I'm not sure they
20:20
can read, and while you
20:22
might be my silly little monkey, I don't
20:25
think there are any
20:26
jaguars in the room, dear.
20:28
But there could be, cause
20:29
it's a jungle. Ahh.
20:34
Ha! That's good entertainment, Tay.
20:37
But not a good argument. That kid got
20:39
stuck on a false equivalency fallacy. He
20:41
sure
20:41
did. He was trying to argue that his
20:44
room was just like a jungle because both
20:46
are a bit on the wild side. But
20:48
that's only one thing they have in
20:50
common.
20:51
A jungle and a messy room
20:53
might both be difficult to walk through, but
20:55
the similarities end there. And I'd
20:57
never do any vacuuming in
20:59
a jungle. You know what they say. What do they say?
21:03
Nature can't stand a vacuum.
21:06
Har har. Okay,
21:08
I'm gonna go do my cleaning, but I'll come over
21:11
later for pool time. Save me some popsicles.
21:13
And we'll be back
21:14
soon with more The
21:17
Outtubate.
21:23
And we invite you to the Thanksgiving movie of that
21:25
for the whole family. Now you've certainly got
21:28
my attention. It's wondrous. I've
21:30
got a good feeling about you! And
21:32
magical. Oh, did we just blow
21:34
your mind? An epic, exchanging
21:36
story you don't want to miss. It was joy
21:39
and hope and wonder. Wishes really
21:41
do come true. I was wrong! Disney's
21:44
wish. We did PGE.
21:46
Original guidance suggested. See it
21:48
early this Saturday. Impede is everywhere November
21:50
22nd. Tickets available now.
21:59
with your kids about whether to learn or have
22:02
fun, with IXL you can do both.
22:04
With videos and learning games where math, language
22:07
arts, science, and social studies come to life, you
22:09
can think of IXL as an interactive
22:11
learning playground. As your kid uses
22:14
the program, IXL adapts to their
22:16
needs to recommend more practice topics,
22:18
build missing foundation, and tailor
22:20
new challenges when they're ready. Kids
22:23
also get crystal clear explanations when
22:25
they stumble and cheers of encouragement when
22:27
they succeed. One subscription gets
22:29
you everything, all subjects, all
22:31
grade levels, and a range of top topics
22:34
across the curriculum. As many
22:36
students wrap up their fall school terms, this
22:39
is the best time to get IXL so that your
22:41
kids have access to the extra help they deserve.
22:44
Listeners can get an exclusive 20% off
22:46
IXL membership when they sign up today
22:48
at ixl.com slash
22:50
universe. Visit ixl.com
22:53
slash universe to get the most effective learning
22:55
program out there at the best price.
22:58
Today's episode is supported by Tiz
23:00
the Grinch Holiday Talk Show. Do you
23:03
love the holidays? Because
23:05
if so, oh boy, do we not have the
23:07
perfect show for you. From Wondery
23:09
and Dr. Seuss comes a holiday podcast
23:11
for the whole family that's about as enjoyable
23:14
as icicles in your hot cocoa. It's
23:17
Tiz the Grinch Holiday
23:18
Talk Show.
23:20
We all know he hates the Christmas
23:22
season, but can you listen along and
23:24
find out the reason? Each week, one
23:26
of your favorite celebrities will try to get
23:28
the Grinch's heart
23:29
to grow three whole sizes.
23:31
Well, all I can say is good luck
23:34
with that. Listen
23:36
for your favorite celebrity, join the hilariously
23:39
gross guessing game, Name That Sound,
23:42
and get ready for the holidays with a bunch of
23:44
big green-bellied laughs for the whole
23:46
family. Follow Tiz the Grinch
23:48
Holiday Talk Show on the Wondery app or
23:50
wherever you get your podcasts. You can
23:52
listen to Tiz the Grinch Holiday Talk Show
23:55
early and ad-free right now by
23:57
joining Wondery Plus.
23:59
Smash Boom. Smash. Smash.
24:03
Smash. Smash. You're listening
24:05
to Smash Boom Best. I'm
24:06
your host Molly Bloom. And I'm your judge, Louise.
24:10
And we love getting debate suggestions from our
24:12
listeners. Take a listen to this daring
24:14
debate idea from Sienna.
24:16
My name is Sienna and my best idea
24:18
is to go
24:19
for Shadyoda. What
24:21
are you this debate is? We'll
24:25
check back in at the end of this episode
24:27
to see which side Sienna thinks should win. And
24:29
now it's back to our debate. Coenstales
24:32
versus Titsi Flies. That's
24:35
right and it's time for round two. The...
24:38
MicroRound.
24:41
For the MicroRound challenge, each
24:44
team has prepared a creative response to
24:46
a prompt they received in advance. For
24:48
Lutef and Lulu, the prompt was
24:51
Life Coach. For this
24:53
assignment, we asked Lulu and Lutef to pretend to be
24:55
their animal and dole out advice.
24:58
We want to know how to live our lives better and
25:00
we're pretty sure Coenstales and Titsi
25:03
Flies have the answers. Lutef went first last
25:05
time so Lulu, you're up. Let
25:07
your Titsi Advice Fly.
25:10
Hey there, it's me, Kai,
25:12
Titsi Tisly,
25:13
here with another installment of Living
25:15
the Fly Life.
25:17
Today's lesson, accidents don't just happen,
25:19
they keep you floppin'. What the
25:22
buzz am I talking about? Give
25:24
me two minutes and I will explain. So,
25:28
as tiny as I look, I am known for my strength.
25:31
I can fill up with three times my body weight and
25:33
another creature's blood. That's like a human
25:35
drinking almost an entire bathtub full
25:37
of milk.
25:38
But here's the thing, to actually
25:41
fly away, I need to lighten my load and
25:43
get rid of some of that liquid so I
25:45
go to the bathroom. I pee my pants. I
25:48
mean, I don't wear pants so I pee my hoist. That's
25:51
right, I take a little sip of blood from the animal and
25:53
then I have a little accident on them. Is
25:56
this my time feeling embarrassed about it? No,
25:58
because I know accidents are the key to life.
27:59
winner, winner, sushi dinner. Nowadays,
28:03
I catch, eat, and serve
28:05
the fastest fish in the sea. So
28:09
yeah, I've got some super slick superpowers,
28:11
but we all do. What are yours? How
28:14
can you dazzle the people that doubt you? By
28:17
playing the ukulele? By being really
28:19
good at fractions? By recreating
28:21
the Taj Mahal out of toothpicks?
28:24
There are a million ways, more than there
28:26
are fish in the sea. And the best part?
28:29
One day, you're going to turn to the people who
28:31
teased you and say, hey, hold
28:34
my fish bones.
28:37
Yes, don't let the haters keep
28:39
you down. Excellent, excellent advice.
28:42
Elise, what did you like about Lutthff and Lulu's
28:44
micarounds? I'll start out with Lulu.
28:46
I like this notion that accidents
28:49
do happen, and don't let
28:51
those accidents define you. I
28:53
really felt that was powerful and how that
28:55
connected to a little fly. Now,
28:58
with the snails, I also
29:00
like this notion of kind of showing
29:04
all sides of the snails feelings,
29:07
how they feel too small or too slow
29:09
if they can't do anything right. And
29:12
I guess that has to do with peer pressure and everybody
29:14
pressuring you. But also
29:16
this sense of they have all these senses
29:18
that make them smart and how
29:21
they can move slow, but they also are
29:23
thinking really fast and all of that and how
29:25
they're pretty smart. So I thought that this
29:27
is a really good argument. This one was a hard
29:30
one to grade. Mm-hmm, I do
29:32
not envy you having to make this
29:34
decision, but it's time to award
29:36
a point. Again, the criteria are
29:38
up to you. Did someone inspire you to
29:41
live your best life? Was their coaching
29:43
successful? Did they slip some facts in there?
29:45
Did they make you laugh, make you think? Whatever
29:48
the criteria are, they're up to you. Did
29:51
you award a point? Yes, I have.
29:54
Fantastic. Then it's time for our third
29:57
round, the super stealthy.
29:58
Ha ha, move fast.
29:59
sneak attack. Your sneak attack
30:02
is called,
30:03
What's That Word?
30:05
Lutice and Lulu. We're going to provide
30:07
you with three keywords
30:09
related to your topic in secret
30:12
and it's going to be your job to get
30:14
Elise to guess what they are without
30:17
using the words themselves. You're going
30:19
to have 30 seconds to get her
30:21
to guess all three. You can always
30:23
pass as well if we're having trouble and
30:26
move on to the next word. Does that make
30:28
sense? So Lulu
30:31
went first last time so Lutice,
30:32
you're up first. You've
30:34
got 30 seconds on
30:36
the clock and your time
30:39
starts
30:40
now. This is a person who maybe
30:42
would shoot an animal with
30:45
a gun. Yep, opposite
30:47
of big. Another
30:49
word for that.
30:51
Tiny. Yep and
30:54
last thing, this is something you go to a
30:56
museum to see, like painting or a sculpture.
30:58
You
31:01
got it. Bingo.
31:03
Nice.
31:04
Sam. All right, you got all
31:06
three in 23 seconds. Oh
31:09
yeah. Very nicely
31:11
done. Let's see if Lulu
31:13
can beat that. Lulu,
31:16
we've got 30 seconds on the clock. I'm
31:19
ready. Your time starts now.
31:21
A vampire wants
31:23
to suck your
31:25
blood.
31:26
When you leave Santa
31:28
some cookies, make sure you also leave him
31:30
a nice tall glass of milk and
31:33
Saturn, Earth and Jupiter are all
31:36
these. Wait a minute. Yes.
31:38
Oh, nicely done. That was 17 seconds.
31:43
So six seconds quicker
31:46
than Lulu. We got that winner
31:48
zzzzzz on. All
31:53
right, Elise, it's time to award that fourth
31:56
point. Okay, I've
31:58
got it.
31:59
It's time for our final round. The
32:04
final six. In this
32:06
round, each team will have just six words
32:08
to sum up the glory of their side. Alright
32:11
Lulu, let's hear your six words
32:14
for the flip-flap fabulous CC fly. Okay,
32:16
here we go.
32:18
Booty baby bumps bodyguards
32:21
of Earth. Ooh! I
32:25
love it. I love alliteration. Delightful.
32:28
Okay.
32:28
It's your turn. Give us your
32:31
coolest six-word collection for
32:33
cone snails.
32:33
Using ninja assassin
32:36
powers to heal.
32:38
Mmm, very good.
32:42
Oh man Elise, it's time to award
32:44
your final point for this final six.
32:47
It's a tough decision and it's up to you.
32:51
Have you awarded your final point?
32:53
Yes, I have.
32:55
Wonderful. Tally up those points.
32:58
Are you ready to crown one team the Smash Boom best?
33:01
I am. Alright, drum
33:03
roll please. And the winner is...
33:08
TC Fly! Wow!
33:12
I really wanted the snail to win. I'm not
33:14
even gonna lie. Wow, even worse.
33:15
That
33:18
title was weak.
33:19
Oh man. I
33:24
was expecting something better, snail.
33:26
Wow. So you picked
33:28
a thing that bites us, pees
33:30
on us, drinks our blood, and sometimes
33:33
kills us.
33:34
I didn't want to do it because I didn't
33:36
like the TC Fly, but that title
33:38
was a little bit better than the snail.
33:40
You just
33:42
weren't up to your usual shallariousness,
33:46
not to. I
33:48
mean he's usually pretty shallarious.
33:49
I'm gonna call in the SWAT team
33:51
here. Ow!
33:53
It
33:56
all came down to the final six. Was it tied to that point?
33:59
Oh, it was tied to... to two. Oh
34:02
my goodness. A close
34:04
as debate as it could possibly be.
34:07
Excellent work both of you. An excellent judging, Elise.
34:09
Thank you. Well, Latif Nasser,
34:11
you truly were, you
34:13
know, I know I was a little salty the whole way through,
34:15
but you were hilarious as usual.
34:19
And I learned so much. I learned about the fact that
34:21
these tiny little humble flow things are
34:23
actually powerful assassins who might truly
34:26
hold a key to human health in a serious way.
34:28
So it was as always a pleasure
34:30
to hear you expound upon the world. And I
34:32
learned so much.
34:33
Thank you, Lulu Miller. I appreciate
34:36
your appreciation of even
34:39
something
34:40
that on the surface hurts
34:43
us so bad. And for
34:45
you to be able to see them as
34:48
super moms. Yeah, there's something
34:50
beautiful in that. And I would like to invite
34:52
you cordially, and Elise, you're
34:55
welcome to, to have
34:57
a bowl of cereal and
35:59
Our visitors are Shayla Farzan and Sandin
36:01
Totten. And we had production help from
36:04
Anna Goldfield, Mark Sanchez
36:06
and Nico Gonzalez Whistler.
36:08
Our executive producer is Beth Perlman and APM
36:10
Studios is in charge, our Chandra Cavati,
36:13
Alex Jappert and Joanne Griffith. Our announcer
36:15
is Marlee Foyer worker Otto and we want to give a
36:17
special thanks to Austin Cross and Taylor Koffman.
36:20
Is there anyone you'd like to give a shout out to today?
36:22
To Toto Olivera
36:24
who's the scientist who is learning
36:27
about cone snails and who got
36:29
this award called the Golden Goose Award which is how I
36:32
got interested in all this and I just
36:34
want to thank all the scientists who are up there studying
36:37
cone snails. Thank
36:38
you scientists. How about you Lulu, any
36:40
special shout outs? Yes, to Dr. Paul
36:42
Meredji who did a lot of the work
36:44
on the CC fly. He's out in Kenya and he taught
36:47
me all about this and to Dr. Sammy Ramsey
36:49
who helped me learn about bug snails and
36:51
then of course lots of the nice and
36:54
huge thanks to a kettyposter
36:55
key.
36:56
Very true. For keeping us in check. Excellent
36:59
and how about you at least any special thanks or shout outs
37:01
today? I would like to give a shout
37:03
out to all the kids who are coming home
37:05
from school and are tired
37:08
and who do work for podcasts
37:11
who are very tired after the school day.
37:15
In pushing through. We appreciate
37:17
those kids, especially one in particular
37:19
today, very very much.
37:22
Before we go let's check in and see who Sienna
37:24
Tink should win her Groot versus Baby Yoda
37:26
debate. I think Groot
37:30
would win because he's super cute
37:32
and very funny.
37:34
If you're between the ages of 13 and 18 and
37:37
you'd like to be a judge like Elise or
37:39
if you're any age and you have an idea
37:41
for a knock down drag out debate head
37:43
to Smashboom.org slash contact
37:45
and drop us a line. That's it for this
37:47
season of Smash Boom Best. We'll be
37:49
back February 1st with a whole new
37:51
season of debate battles. Bye!
38:04
soon else.
38:24
Is
38:30
there a CC fly in the studio with you? Is
38:32
that what's doing this?
38:33
Are you dodging a cone snail? I don't think I'm
38:35
good now.
Podchaser is the ultimate destination for podcast data, search, and discovery. Learn More