Show What You Know (Episode 4: The Living World)

Announcer (00:06):
It’s time for Show What You Know the podcast from Encyclopaedia Britannica, where kids get to test their knowledge and match their wits to win cool prizes! And now, all the way from Great Britain, here is the editor of the Britannica All New Kids' Encyclopedia and the host of Show What You Know, Christopher Lloyd.

Christopher Lloyd (00:25):
Hello everyone! And welcome to Show What You Know. My name is Christopher Lloyd, and, like many of you out there, I am a firm believer that the real world is far more amazing than anything you can make up.

Today’s topic is the living world, and if you don’t think that’s an amazing subject, then maybe you’ve never seen a spider that can walk on water, or fish that glow in the dark. So don’t go anywhere, because the incredible story of the living world is just about to begin!

Now, before we get started we're going to take a moment to review the ground rules. Each of our three contestants has received a chapter about the living world from the Britannica All New Kids’ Encyclopedia: What We Know & What We Don’t. They’ve each had 24 hours to study the chapter and prepare for the quiz. So now let's meet our three contestants and see what they've learned.

Announcer (01:25):
Contestant number one.

Lillian (01:28):
Hi. My name is Lillian. I'm nine years old, and I live in Morristown, New Jersey

Announcer (01:33):
Contestant number two.

Julia (01:35):
Hi, I'm Julia. I'm nine years ol,d and I'm from Newton, Massachusetts.

Announcer (01:42):
Contestant number three.

Zoey (01:43):
Hi, my name is Zoe. I'm nine years old, and I live in Joliet, Illinois.

Christopher Lloyd (01:49):
Are you guys ready to play Show What You Know?

Contestants (01:53):
Yes!

Christopher Lloyd (01:53):
Okay. Our first quiz is called True or False. I'm going to give you all a series of statements and you have to tell me which ones are true and which ones are false. The first contestant to hit the buzzer and give the right answer gets one point. If you get the wrong answer, you lose one point. All right, here we go.

More than 99.9% of species that have ever lived are now extinct. Julia! You were first on the buzzer. That was really quick. Tell me was that true or false?

Julia (02:34):
That was true.

Christopher Lloyd (02:35):
Excellent! That's incredible to imagine, but you're absolutely right. You get one point. Okay. Here's the second question.

All deserts are hot. Zoe. That was quick on the buzzer. Tell me, is that true or false?

Zoe (02:50):
False. Antarctica is a polar desert.

Christopher Lloyd (02:53):
Oh, very good indeed. Antarctica is not hot - at least it's not supposed to be hot. So that's absolutely right, well done Zoe, you get a point!

Here's question number three. There are fossils of seashells near the top of Mount Everest. Julia, that was fast. Excellent, tell me: was that true or false?

Julia (03:12):
That is true.

Christopher Lloyd (03:14):
That is amazing. You can find fossils at the top of mountains cause they used to be on the sea floor, and mountains are the sea floor pushed up high into the sky, incredible as it seems. Very good. You get one point.

Here's our last question: Most of the Earth's water is fresh water. And first on the buzzer was Lillian. Congratulations, Lillian, is that true or false?

Lillian (03:38):
False.

Christopher Lloyd (03:38):
Very good. Of course. Most of the world's water isn't fresh water, it's sea water. Very good. You get one point. So at the end of our first round, we have Zoe on one point, Lillian on one point, and Julia, just in the lead with two points! We're getting off to a fantastic start. Let's give some hearty cheering for the contestants. [chirping sound effect] No, I said hearty cheering, not hearty chirping! [cheering sound effect] Okay! That's better. Now the next quiz is called...

Female V.O. (04:14):
Listified.

Christopher Lloyd (04:14):
And here's how it works. I'm going to read a list and one of the things on the list doesn't belong there. After I've finished reading the list, the first contestant to hit the buzzer and tell us what shouldn't be on the list wins the quiz. A correct answer is worth four points. Here we go.

Scientists classify all living things into five main kingdoms, which of these is not a kingdom of life? Animals, Plants, Fungi, Atoms, Protists, or Monerans.

Julia. That was quick on the buzzer. Congratulations. Tell me which one of those does not belong in the list.

Julia (05:04):
Atoms.

Christopher Lloyd (05:04):
Oh, very good. Indeed. You correctly spotted that atoms actually aren't living things at all. Are they? So they can't possibly be in one of life's main kingdoms. Congratulations, Julia. That's fantastic. You have scored four points.

Julia (05:18):
Thank you!

Christopher Lloyd (05:18):
So at the end of our second round, we have Zoe on one point, Lillian on two points, and Julia who's raced into the lead with six points! We're going to take a short break here, but we'll be back with more of Show What You Know right after this word from our sponsor.

Male V.O. (05:39):
Say hello to Mushroom Man and his sidekick Fungi. Two of nature's awesome superheroes! In a world of fallen leaves and rotten trees, Mushroom Man and Fungi sprout from ground to devour Dead plants.

Mushroom Man (05:59):
I've had enough of you, rotten trees! Fungi and I are going to eat you for lunch.

Male V.O. (06:05):
Day or night, Fungi and Mushroom Man are on the march, saving our planet from becoming a disgusting smelly mess. Don't miss Mushroom Man and Fungi - coming soon to a forest near you!

Christopher Lloyd (06:22):
You know the best part about that is mushrooms and fungi grow all over the world. And if you keep your eyes peeled, I bet you can find some too, even if it is right between your toes, which isn't something you want to think about much. Hmm. That brings us to our next quiz.

Male V.O. (06:44):
Phony Baloney!

Christopher Lloyd (06:44):
We call it Phony Baloney because there are four incorrect things in the sentences I'm about to read to each of you. When you hear the wrong thing, you have to shout "Baloney!" Let's give it a try, everyone shout...

Contestants (06:58):
"Baloney!"

Christopher Lloyd (06:58):
Great! Now after you shout baloney, you can get an extra point if you tell me what the correct answer is. We'll start with contestant. Number one, Lillian. Lillian, when you hear something that doesn't sound right, what do you shout?

Lillian (07:17):
"Baloney!"

Christopher Lloyd (07:17):
Okay! Lillian, your subject is the rain forest. Rain forests grow in parts of the world that are very dry.

Lillian (07:28):
"Baloney!"

Christopher Lloyd (07:28):
Oh, what's the problem with that.

Lillian (07:36):
They do not grow in parts of the world that are very dry, they grow in parts of the world that are very wet!

Christopher Lloyd (07:36):
You're absolutely right, congratulations. Here we go. They are important because they produce carbon dioxide to help stabilize the climate. The forest canopy allows lots of light to come through -

Lillian (07:51):
"Baloney!"

Christopher Lloyd (07:51):
Oh, what's the problem with that?

Lillian (07:59):
The sunlight doesn't come through the trees.

Christopher Lloyd (07:59):
Aha, you're absolutely right. The canopy does not allow lots of light to come through because the trees block out the sunlight. Congratulations.

Okay. Here we are with our final sentence. The biggest trees in the world, redwoods and giant cicadas live in rainforests along the west coast of the U.S.A.

Lillian (08:20):
"Baloney!"

Christopher Lloyd (08:20):
What's the problem with it, Lillian?

Lillian (08:21):
It's redwoods and sequoias.

Christopher Lloyd (08:21):
Ah, you're right. Cicadas aren't trees! They're insects. Sequoias are trees. Brilliant. Well done.

So Lillian, you did extremely well in that round. You spotted three "Baloneys" and gave me three corrections, but there was one that just slipped through the net. In the second sentence, I said that rainforests are important because they produce carbon dioxide to help stabilize the climate, and actually that was baloney because what they produce is oxygen to stabilize the climate. You did terrifically well, and after that round, you have scored a total of six points!

Lillian (09:02):
Thank you.

Christopher Lloyd (09:02):
All right, moving on to Julia, our contestant number two, Julia, your subject is Animals.

Animals form one of the five kingdoms of living things. Like plants, animals make their own food.

Julia (09:18):
"Baloney."

Christopher Lloyd (09:18):
Oh, what's the problem with that?

Julia (09:19):
Animals don't make their own food. They rely on plants and other animals for food.

Christopher Lloyd (09:25):
You are absolutely right. Of course, you're right. Well done. Indeed. Plants make their food through photosynthesis, but animals don't! Okay, let's carry on. Animals that eat plants are called herbivores, and animals that eat meat are called frugivores.

Julia (09:42):
"Baloney."

Christopher Lloyd (09:42):
What's the problem with that, Julia?

Julia (09:44):
Animals that eat meat are called carnivores, not frugivores.

Christopher Lloyd (09:47):
Okay. Very good. Indeed. Let's carry on. Animals are often divided into two groups, birds, which don't have a backbone and vertebrates, which do have a backbone.

Julia (10:00):
"Baloney."

Christopher Lloyd (10:00):
What was "Baloney?"

Julia (10:02):
Animals are usually divided into vertebrates and invertebrates, not birds.

Christopher Lloyd (10:07):
Very good. Indeed. Of course. Birds are actually vertebrates. They have backbones. So vertebrates and invertebrates is how we divide the animal kingdom. Congratulations for spotting that one and correcting me and here's to our final sentence.

Vertebrates include mammals, fish, reptiles, and insects.

Okay, Julia, at the end of that round, you have spotted three out of the four "Baloneys," and you corrected me very well, except right at the end, I managed to sneak one past you. When I said the vertebrates included mammals, fish, reptiles, and insects, actually insects are not vertebrates. They are invertebrates. So at the end of that round, you score a total of six points!

Julia (10:53):
Thank you.

Christopher Lloyd (10:53):
And last but not least, Zoe, our contestant, number three, you're up next. Zoe, your subject is plants and funghi.

Like animals, plants cannot make their own food.

Zoey (11:08):
"Baloney!"

Christopher Lloyd (11:08):
Okay Zoey, what's the problem with that?

Zoey (11:10):
Plants take carbon monoxide and make it into their own food.

Christopher Lloyd (11:15):
That is brilliant. Zoe you're right. Which brings us onto our next sentence. They take carbon dioxide from the air and water from the soil and use the sun's energy to make sugars in a process called photography.

Zoey (11:30):
"Baloney!"

Christopher Lloyd (11:30):
Oh, what's the problem with that, Zoey?

Zoey (11:32):
It is not called photography, it's called photosynthesis.

Christopher Lloyd (11:37):
Excellent. Of course it is! Very good indeed. Let's carry on. Funghi are able to make their own food.

Zoey (11:45):
"Baloney!"

Christopher Lloyd (11:45):
What's the problem with that, Zoe?

Zoey (11:47):
Fungi do not make their own food.

Christopher Lloyd (11:50):
Ah, excellent. They're not like plants. They're not green. They don't have photosynthesis and they don't make their own food! Very good. Here's our last sentence. Many fungi reproduce by shedding tiny cells called sparks.

Zoey (12:05):
"Baloney!"

Christopher Lloyd (12:05):
What's the problem with that last sentence there, Zoe?

Zoey (12:07):
They're not called sparks.

Christopher Lloyd (12:10):
Do you know what they are called?

Zoey (12:12):
I can't remember.

Christopher Lloyd (12:13):
Oh, okay. Well don't worry, Zoe. You did so well in that round, you spotted all four "Baloneys," and you correctly identified the right answers for three out of four of them. The last one they're not called sparks, they're called spores. So that means at the end of that round, Zoe, you have scored a total of seven points!

Zoey (12:35):
Thank you!

Christopher Lloyd (12:35):
Let's take a moment to check the scores. So we have Julia in first place with 12 points. And in second place, tied is Zoe and Lillian who have 8 points each. Now remember we still have two more quizzes to go. So all of these points are going to change. But first we're going to check in with our roving reporter, Emily Miller, Emily. I understand you're coming to us all the way from the Pacific Ocean?

Emily Miller (13:08):
That’s right, Chris. I’m off the coast of California in a place they call the Eastern Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Christopher Lloyd (13:14):
Emily, you sound like you've got a cold.

Emily Miller (13:17):
It’s not a cold. The smell out here is unbelievable. I had to put a clothespin on my nose so I could breathe.

Christopher Lloyd (13:24):
Describe the scene for us. What's it like in the Eastern Great Pacific Garbage Patch?

Emily Miller (13:30):
Well, the ocean looks like cloudy soup. It’s full of these small pieces of plastic called microplastics, and it stretches for as far as the eye can see. There are actually two enormous garbage patches in the Pacific, and this one is the size of Texas.

Christopher Lloyd (13:47):
Where is all this plastic coming from?

Emily Miller (13:50):
It’s coming from everywhere, Asia, North America, South America. The ocean currents carry it here.

Christopher Lloyd (13:58):
Emily sounds awful.

Emily Miller (14:00):
That’s an understatement. And the worst part is—when marine life eats this plastic, it eventually kills them. Okay? Okay. They're bringing some of the garbage. I put the water at a net, dropping it off the deck. And I'm seeing bits of plastic, toothbrushes, plastic chairs, old fishing nets. You can't believe how much of this stuff is floating in the ocean. I think the smell is starting to get to people. The crew is rushing to the side of the boat. Now everyone is bending over the guardrail and, well, you can hear what’s happening. I can’t blame them for throwing up, Chris. It’s an awful mess, and the world had better start to clean up our oceans before we kill off even more marine life. This is Emily Miller reporting from the Eastern Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Back to you, Chris.

Christopher Lloyd (14:54):
Thank you for your report, Emily. She’s right, you know. We can all do more to help the environment, and learning as much as possible about our living world is one of the keys to solving this problem. So, if you would like to learn more about how you can help the environment, go can visit the Saving Earth feature at Britannica.com.

Okay. Our next quiz is:

Female V.O. (15:19):
FACTastic!

Christopher Lloyd (15:20):
For this quiz. I'm going to ask each contestant a series of 10 rapid fire questions. Every time you answer a question correctly, you get one point. If you don't know the answer, just say pass or don't know, and we'll move on. You each have 45 seconds to get through the questions. Zoe, we're going to start with you.

What is the biggest coral reef in the world?

Zoey (15:45):
Great Barrier Reef.

Christopher Lloyd (15:47):
Very good. What do we call animals that eat both plants and meat?

Zoey (15:52):
Pass.

Christopher Lloyd (15:53):
Okay. The answer is omnivores. Third question. What do we call a change in the characteristics of a species, that passes from one generation to the next?

Zoey (16:02):
Evolution.

Christopher Lloyd (16:03):
Very good, evolution. Some 80% of all known species on Earth belong to what invertebrate group?

Zoey (16:10):
Arthropods.

Christopher Lloyd (16:12):
Excellent. Yes. Well done. What tiny animal is known as a water bear?

Zoey (16:18):
Tardigrade.

Christopher Lloyd (16:19):
Very good. What is the name of the current tallest living tree?

Zoey (16:24):
Don't know.

Christopher Lloyd (16:24):
The answer is Hyperion. Oh, that's the buzzer. My goodness. Zoe. You did so well, those were hard questions, but you were absolutely right. And you scored at the end of that round. You scored a total of four points.

Zoey (16:39):
Thank you!

Christopher Lloyd (16:39):
Okay, Lillian. You're next! Are you ready Lillian?

Lillian (16:43):
Yes.

Christopher Lloyd (16:43):
Okay. Here are your questions.

What forms the basis of most food chains?

Lillian (16:49):
Plants.

Christopher Lloyd (16:49):
Excellent. What are a beetle's hard, jaw like mouth parts called?

Lillian (17:00):
Mandibles?

Christopher Lloyd (17:01):
Mandibles! Excellent. What do giant pandas eat?

Lillian (17:06):
Bamboo...

Christopher Lloyd (17:06):
Very good. What Antarctic bird balances its eggs on its feet?

Lillian (17:13):
Penguin.

Christopher Lloyd (17:13):
Excellent. A penguin. Yes. The emperor penguin, exactly. What is the name for the total weight or quantity of living things in an area?

Lillian (17:24):
Biomass?

Christopher Lloyd (17:24):
Wow. That's great. Lillian, what type of tree is the oldest living thing on earth?

Lillian (17:28):
Sequoia?

Christopher Lloyd (17:31):
Oh good try. Actually, the right answer is the bristlecone pine. Lillian you did so well in that FACTastic quiz, you've got a total of five points!

Lillian (17:43):
Thank you.

Christopher Lloyd (17:43):
Okay. So to our last set of questions, Julia, are you ready?

Julia (17:48):
Yes!

Christopher Lloyd (17:48):
Here we go. To which kingdom of life do ferns belong?

Julia (17:55):
Plants.

Christopher Lloyd (17:55):
Great! What is the name of the sweet liquid plants produce in order to attract pollinating insects?

Julia (18:02):
Nectar.

Christopher Lloyd (18:04):
Very good. What insect-eating plant shares part of its name with a planet?

Julia (18:09):
Venus flytrap.

Christopher Lloyd (18:12):
Brilliant. What is the biggest animal that has ever lived?

Julia (18:16):
Blue whale.

Christopher Lloyd (18:17):
Wonderful! Hundreds of dog breeds have evolved from one ancient species of what animal?

Julia (18:23):
Wolf.

Christopher Lloyd (18:25):
Brilliant! The beetle Nelloptodes gretae was named from which Swedish activist?

Julia (18:34):
Gretta Thunberg.

Christopher Lloyd (18:37):
Congratulations, Julia, you scored a total of six points! Well, I don't know about you, but these lightning rounds always tire me out. And now is the perfect time for me to take a break, and let our contestants ask some questions.

And we have a very interesting guest with us today, Dr. John Rafferty. Dr. Rafferty has held teaching positions at Lewis University, Roosevelt University, and the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Since 2006, he has been the editor of earth and life sciences at Encyclopaedia Britannica, where he covers climatology, geology, zoology, and other topics that relate to the natural world. Hello, Dr. Rafferty, and welcome to Show What You Know.

Dr. John Rafferty (19:28):
Hello, Chris. Thank you for having me.

Christopher Lloyd (19:30):
Well, it's terrific to have you on the show and we've got some very smart contestants here, so I hope you're ready. And I know they're super eager to ask you their questions. So Lillian, why don't we start with you? What would you like to ask Dr. Rafferty?

Lillian (19:44):
How long did it take for humans to domesticate dogs from wolves?

Dr. John Rafferty (19:49):
Oh, that's a very good question. And we don't really know for sure, but some of the best guesses that we have say that the first time that dogs were domesticated by humans may have been 30,000 years ago. Uh, we have more evidence of dogs being domesticated in multiple parts of the world about 15,000 years ago. But they think that the first dogs that actually teamed up with humans to hunt, to guard things, happened about 30,000 years ago.

Christopher Lloyd (20:19):
Wow. That's fantastic. So why don't we move on to Julia? What question have you got for Dr. Rafferty?

Julia (20:26):
Do you know what the temperature of lava is?

Dr. John Rafferty (20:31):
Uh, well, not by personal experience, but, uh, the temperature of lava is very, very hot. Molten rock within the earth is called magma. And when that magma comes out onto the surface of the earth, it turns into lava. So as soon as it hits the atmosphere of the earth, it tends to start that cooling process. And you may have seen some pictures or video of lava, rolling down a slope to the sea where it ends up into the water and turns the water to steam. So it's cooling all the way down, but you could say that lava is something you'd never want to touch because that's at least several hundred degrees. I would say possibly closer to maybe even more than a thousand degrees when it first comes out of the earth.

Christopher Lloyd (21:15):
Powerful stuff just reminds us how powerful Mother Nature really is. Doesn't it? My goodness. Well, that was a great question, Julia. So thank you for that. And now let's move to Zoey. What is your question for Dr. Rafferty?

Zoey (21:29):
Dr. Rafferty, how big can an isopod get?

Dr. John Rafferty (21:31):
Wow. Okay. These are commonly known as roly polies here in the Midwest. They're little bugs that look like they have armor on. They almost look like little pills. They're I think they're also called pill bugs.

Zoey (21:44):
Yes.

Dr. John Rafferty (21:45):
Well, you know what? I think you may have stumped me on this. I mean the modern ones, I don't really know how big they necessarily grow, but I think they're quite small. I think they're probably under two inches, maybe two to three inches, maybe in the tropics, they grow a little bit larger. I'm not exactly sure about that, but I know that possibly earlier forms of isopods may have grown to fairly large size, but this would be something that I, I think I would have to look up myself.

Christopher Lloyd (22:12):
So that's a terrific question, Zoe. Thank you very much. I think you're really challenging, all of you, were challenging Dr. Rafferty there, and what a fantastic range of questions to all the way from dogs to volcanoes to little, uh, little bugs! Just shows you how fascinating our topic is this week about Planet Earth. Okay. Dr. Rafferty, thank you so much for joining us, and we hope you can stick around because we're coming up to the last question of the game!

Male V.O. (22:37):
Bonus Round.

Christopher Lloyd (22:40):
Right now, Julia you're in the lead with 17 points. Lillian is in second place with 14 points and Zoey, you're in third place, just a bit behind Lillian with 12 points! But each of you can double your score if you get the right answer to this next question. So anyone could be the winner. And this question is more about using your imagination. I'm going to ask you to listen to a song and as you're listening to the song, I want you to send me a secret message telling me who or what you think the song is about. So everyone listen carefully. Here's the song:

SONG (23:25):
When you think of the words “evolutionary theory,”
There’s someone who should come to mind.
He's well known for his book On the Origin of Species,
Explaining how we reached humankind.

On the Galapagos Islands
Tortoises gave him the clue.
Natural selection holds the key.
Now the answer is all up to you.

So show that you know what you know.
Yeah, you know what you know!

Christopher Lloyd (24:03):
Wow. What a fun song. Now I hope you've all been typing in an answer telling me who or what you think the song was about. After you hear me count to three. I want you to press your buzzers, and show me your answers. Here we go. Are you ready?

Contestants (24:18):
Yes!

Christopher Lloyd (24:20):
One, two, three! [Buzzer sound effects]

Okay. I've got three answers in and I have to tell you that we only have one person who has the correct answer. And that is Lillian. And the answer is... Charles Darwin! Fantastic! And the final scores are in, and we have in third place, Zoey on 12 points. In second place, we have Julia on 17 points. But this week's winner is Lillian who has scored a total of 28 points. Congratulations, Lillian!

Lillian (25:09):
Thank you!

Christopher Lloyd (25:09):
Before we hand out the prizes, I want to thank our contestants for playing Show What You Know. Lillian, Julia, and Zoey, it's been such a pleasure to meet you. And I hope you enjoyed being on the show as much as I enjoyed having you. Kurt, why don’t you tell our contestants what they’ve won?

Announcer (25:27):
Thanks Chris. For showing us what they know, each of our contestants will be receiving a copy of the Britannica All New Kids' Encyclopedia: What We Know & What We Don’t. They will also be receiving a year-long subscription to Britannica Kids Online Premium, with over one million pages of fact-checked content, podcasts, videos, interactive coverage of major historical events and access to Britannica’s three-volume first edition. And our grand-prize winner will be receiving a six months subscription to KiwiCo, the company that empowers kids to explore, create, and have fun with hands-on building kits delivered monthly to their home.

Christopher Lloyd (26:10):
Thank you, everyone, for joining us today as we explored the living world. We hope you can join us next time, when the topic will be something that we’re all familiar with: “Being Human.” Until then, this is Christopher Lloyd, reminding all of you that the real world is far more amazing than anything you can make up.

Announcer (26:31):
Sound engineer and editor for Show What You Know, is Ryan Staples. Our Q&A researchers are Alison Eldridge, Joan Lackowski and Fia Bigelow. Our production assistant is Emily Goldstein. Chris’s guests today were Lillian, Julia, and Zoey. The music was by Jacob Denny. Original songs by Dennis Scott. Show What You Know was written, directed and produced by Rick Siggelkow. Our executive producer is Rick Livingston, and I’m your announcer, Kurt Heintz. This program is copyrighted by Encyclopaedia Britannica, Incorporated. All rights reserved.