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Cone Snails vs. Tsetse Flies: a deadly debate

Cone Snails vs. Tsetse Flies: a deadly debate

Released Thursday, 16th November 2023
Good episode? Give it some love!
Cone Snails vs. Tsetse Flies: a deadly debate

Cone Snails vs. Tsetse Flies: a deadly debate

Cone Snails vs. Tsetse Flies: a deadly debate

Cone Snails vs. Tsetse Flies: a deadly debate

Thursday, 16th November 2023
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0:00

Disney invites you to the Thanksgiving

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movie event for the whole family. Now

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you've certainly got my attention.

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It's wondrous. I've got a good feeling

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about it! And

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your mind? An epic, enchanting story

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you don't want to miss. It was joy

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and hope and wonder. Wishes really

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do come true.

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Puss fall! Disney's

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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

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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.

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We try some sandwiches shaped by history, learn

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a snacktastic fact about beaver butts, and

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so much more. The shows are on November

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30th and December 1st and 2nd, but

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seats are limited. So get your tickets

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today at brainson.org slash

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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

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22nd. Tickets available now.

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22:58

Today's episode is supported by Tiz

23:00

the Grinch Holiday Talk Show. Do you

23:03

love the holidays? Because

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if so, oh boy, do we not have the

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perfect show for you. From Wondery

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the Grinch's heart

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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.

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