Sparklemuffin, turdus maximus, and sarcastic fringehead. These are the names of some of Marc’s favorite animals! Will Molly be able to guess what kind of animals they are?
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COMPUTER VOICE: Now entering Brains On Headquarters.
[BEEPING]
MOLLY BLOOM: Hey, smarty pals. You are just in time. I'm headed down to Marc's workshop. He's usually doing something fun, like making a sculpture out of used plastic forks or learning a new jump rope routine. Let's see what he's up to today.
[DOOR OPENING]
MARC SANCHEZ (SINGING): Scooby, dooby, doop, doo. Snippety, glippety glue. I love animals. Animals are so cool. I love animals, even when they drool. I love animals. Scooby, doo, ba, di, doo, ooh, ooh.
MOLLY BLOOM: Hi, Marc. What are you doing?
MARC SANCHEZ: Oh, hey, Molly. I'm making a collage of my favorite animals. See? Here's a black-footed ferret, and a ring-tailed lemur. And here's a fardalome.
MOLLY BLOOM: A fardalome?
MARC SANCHEZ: Yeah. See? It's a type of snail.
MOLLY BLOOM: [LAUGHS]
MARC SANCHEZ: Wait, why are you laughing? The name fardalome comes from Latin. Fardam means stuffed thing. And fardalome means little stuffed thing. And this snail looks like--
MOLLY BLOOM: A little stuffed sausage.
MARC SANCHEZ: A little stuffed sausage.
MOLLY BLOOM: Yes, a little stuffed sausage.
MARC SANCHEZ: Exactly.
MOLLY BLOOM: [LAUGHS]
I'm glad my name isn't Molly Fardalome Bloom.
MARC SANCHEZ: Eh, I wish my name was Marc Fardalome Sanchez.
MOLLY BLOOM: Whoa, what animal is that? It looks like a rug with a mouth.
MARC SANCHEZ: A tasseled wobbegong.
MOLLY BLOOM: What? Your favorite animals have the wildest names.
MARC SANCHEZ: You bet they do. And I've got more where that came from. There's the roly poly lumpsucker fish. And the dik-dik, which is a little African antelope. And the sparklemuffin.
MOLLY BLOOM: Did you say sparklemuffin?
MARC SANCHEZ: Yeah.
MOLLY BLOOM: OK, what kind of animal is that?
MARC SANCHEZ: Hmm, you want to guess?
MOLLY BLOOM: Sure.
MARC SANCHEZ: Right on. All right. Then it's time for a game of Taxonomic Ticklers.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Where you, Molly Bloom, guess the identity of animals with wild names.
MOLLY BLOOM: Hit me with your first stumper, Marc.
MARC SANCHEZ: You're on. Creature number one is, of course, the sparklemuffin.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
MOLLY BLOOM: OK. I would say a pastry item, but it's an animal. So what looks like a pastry item? Maybe like something under the sea. I feel like that's the most-- they have the weirdest creatures down there. So I'm going to say some kind of sponge sea anemone thing.
MARC SANCHEZ: OK. Maybe a sponge sea anemone that looks like a muffin? Looks like you could find it in a bakery? [LAUGHS]
MOLLY BLOOM: Yeah, and it's sparkly.
MARC SANCHEZ: I think that's good rationale. However, the sparklemuffin is a peacock spider.
MOLLY BLOOM: What?
MARC SANCHEZ: The graduate student who discovered this amazing little spider was so taken by its shimmery round little rump that she nicknamed it sparklemuffin. Its Latin name is actually maratus jactatus.
It lives in Australia and is about the size of a pencil eraser, so pretty tiny. The males are super colorful. Their bodies are covered in shimmering red and turquoise stripes. Mm, beautiful. And they do fabulous shivering quivering dances to attract their female mates.
MOLLY BLOOM: Mm.
MARC SANCHEZ: Sparkle muffin dance time.
[BEATBOXING]
OK, creature number two, the turdus maximus. What do you think?
MOLLY BLOOM: OK, that is not a real name. I do not believe there is something called a turdus maximus.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
MARC SANCHEZ: It is indeed a real thing. So give it a guess.
MOLLY BLOOM: Because, to me, that sounds like the translation would be giant turd?
MARC SANCHEZ: I mean, that happens. That's the thing.
MOLLY BLOOM: I guess so.
[LAUGHTER]
But they're not animals. OK, let's see. OK, a giant poop. How about a dung beetle, like a really big dung beetle that only deals in giant elephant poop. That's my guess.
MARC SANCHEZ: Molly, you really got poop on the brain. But why not? With a name like turdus maximus, I think, again, your rationale was great. I like the idea of a discerning dung beetle. Mm. [LAUGHS] Too small. Pass. Hmm, next.
However, the turdus maximus is also known as the Tibetan blackbird. You see, in Latin, turdus means thrush, which is a type of bird, and maximus means greatest. So turdus maximus means greatest thrush. They live in the Himalayas. And they're about as long as a spatula.
MOLLY BLOOM: That is amazing.
MARC SANCHEZ: I know, right? Very turdus maximus.
MOLLY BLOOM: Very.
MARC SANCHEZ: OK, creature number three. Are you ready?
MOLLY BLOOM: Oh, you know I am.
MARC SANCHEZ: Here we go. It's called a sarcastic fringehead.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
MOLLY BLOOM: Sanden. It's Sanden.
MARC SANCHEZ: [LAUGHS]
MOLLY BLOOM: Oh, wait. No.
MARC SANCHEZ: I think that's where my mind goes too immediately.
MOLLY BLOOM: [LAUGHS]
MARC SANCHEZ: That sarcastic fringehead.
MOLLY BLOOM: Sanden after he's gone too long between haircuts. No, OK.
MARC SANCHEZ: [LAUGHS]
MOLLY BLOOM: Let's see, a sarcastic fringehead. All right, fringehead. Something with some kind of fringy thing on its head.
So I was going to say bird, maybe kind of a bird that squawks in kind of a sarcastic manner. The other birds are like, tweet, tweet. And that birds like, tweet. Ha, ha. Am I right? So that's my guess.
MARC SANCHEZ: [LAUGHS] I love that. The original sarcastic fringehead is a fish. It's known for its huge mouth and extremely territorial behavior.
Whenever a sarcastic fringehead makes its home, whether it's a clam shell, or an old soda can, or an abandoned burrow in the sand, it defends it with its life. Yeah! Team sarcastic fringehead forever.
When two male sarcastic fringeheads fight, they go mouth to mouth until one of them bites the other one in the head. The name fringehead comes from the tassels of tissue that dangle over its eyes. And sarcastic comes from its silly skeptical expression or the Greek word sarkazein, which means to tear flesh. Arg!
MOLLY BLOOM: Yikes on bikes.
MARC SANCHEZ: Yikes on bikes indeed. And I got more where those come from.
MOLLY BLOOM: I believe it. But can we take a break? I want to do some animal collages too.
MARC SANCHEZ: Oh, OK. Sure. What are you going to make?
MOLLY BLOOM: I'm going to make a collage of my favorite animal.
MARC SANCHEZ: Oh, OK. Let me guess. Is it a pangolin?
MOLLY BLOOM: No, Marc. It's a sloth.
MARC SANCHEZ: Oh, right. Duh. Did you know the scientific name for sloth is folivora?
MOLLY BLOOM: [LAUGHS]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
That's it for this Smarty Pass episode. It was made by Aron Woldeslassie and Anna Goldfield. Our executive producer is Beth Pearlman. And the executives in charge of APM Studios are Chandra Kavati, Joanne Griffith, and Alex Schaffert.
Brains On is a non-profit public radio program. Thanks Smarty Pass friends. We appreciate you!
MARC SANCHEZ: Goodbyeus maximus.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[BEEPING]
MOLLY BLOOM: Hey, smarty pals. You are just in time. I'm headed down to Marc's workshop. He's usually doing something fun, like making a sculpture out of used plastic forks or learning a new jump rope routine. Let's see what he's up to today.
[DOOR OPENING]
MARC SANCHEZ (SINGING): Scooby, dooby, doop, doo. Snippety, glippety glue. I love animals. Animals are so cool. I love animals, even when they drool. I love animals. Scooby, doo, ba, di, doo, ooh, ooh.
MOLLY BLOOM: Hi, Marc. What are you doing?
MARC SANCHEZ: Oh, hey, Molly. I'm making a collage of my favorite animals. See? Here's a black-footed ferret, and a ring-tailed lemur. And here's a fardalome.
MOLLY BLOOM: A fardalome?
MARC SANCHEZ: Yeah. See? It's a type of snail.
MOLLY BLOOM: [LAUGHS]
MARC SANCHEZ: Wait, why are you laughing? The name fardalome comes from Latin. Fardam means stuffed thing. And fardalome means little stuffed thing. And this snail looks like--
MOLLY BLOOM: A little stuffed sausage.
MARC SANCHEZ: A little stuffed sausage.
MOLLY BLOOM: Yes, a little stuffed sausage.
MARC SANCHEZ: Exactly.
MOLLY BLOOM: [LAUGHS]
I'm glad my name isn't Molly Fardalome Bloom.
MARC SANCHEZ: Eh, I wish my name was Marc Fardalome Sanchez.
MOLLY BLOOM: Whoa, what animal is that? It looks like a rug with a mouth.
MARC SANCHEZ: A tasseled wobbegong.
MOLLY BLOOM: What? Your favorite animals have the wildest names.
MARC SANCHEZ: You bet they do. And I've got more where that came from. There's the roly poly lumpsucker fish. And the dik-dik, which is a little African antelope. And the sparklemuffin.
MOLLY BLOOM: Did you say sparklemuffin?
MARC SANCHEZ: Yeah.
MOLLY BLOOM: OK, what kind of animal is that?
MARC SANCHEZ: Hmm, you want to guess?
MOLLY BLOOM: Sure.
MARC SANCHEZ: Right on. All right. Then it's time for a game of Taxonomic Ticklers.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Where you, Molly Bloom, guess the identity of animals with wild names.
MOLLY BLOOM: Hit me with your first stumper, Marc.
MARC SANCHEZ: You're on. Creature number one is, of course, the sparklemuffin.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
MOLLY BLOOM: OK. I would say a pastry item, but it's an animal. So what looks like a pastry item? Maybe like something under the sea. I feel like that's the most-- they have the weirdest creatures down there. So I'm going to say some kind of sponge sea anemone thing.
MARC SANCHEZ: OK. Maybe a sponge sea anemone that looks like a muffin? Looks like you could find it in a bakery? [LAUGHS]
MOLLY BLOOM: Yeah, and it's sparkly.
MARC SANCHEZ: I think that's good rationale. However, the sparklemuffin is a peacock spider.
MOLLY BLOOM: What?
MARC SANCHEZ: The graduate student who discovered this amazing little spider was so taken by its shimmery round little rump that she nicknamed it sparklemuffin. Its Latin name is actually maratus jactatus.
It lives in Australia and is about the size of a pencil eraser, so pretty tiny. The males are super colorful. Their bodies are covered in shimmering red and turquoise stripes. Mm, beautiful. And they do fabulous shivering quivering dances to attract their female mates.
MOLLY BLOOM: Mm.
MARC SANCHEZ: Sparkle muffin dance time.
[BEATBOXING]
OK, creature number two, the turdus maximus. What do you think?
MOLLY BLOOM: OK, that is not a real name. I do not believe there is something called a turdus maximus.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
MARC SANCHEZ: It is indeed a real thing. So give it a guess.
MOLLY BLOOM: Because, to me, that sounds like the translation would be giant turd?
MARC SANCHEZ: I mean, that happens. That's the thing.
MOLLY BLOOM: I guess so.
[LAUGHTER]
But they're not animals. OK, let's see. OK, a giant poop. How about a dung beetle, like a really big dung beetle that only deals in giant elephant poop. That's my guess.
MARC SANCHEZ: Molly, you really got poop on the brain. But why not? With a name like turdus maximus, I think, again, your rationale was great. I like the idea of a discerning dung beetle. Mm. [LAUGHS] Too small. Pass. Hmm, next.
However, the turdus maximus is also known as the Tibetan blackbird. You see, in Latin, turdus means thrush, which is a type of bird, and maximus means greatest. So turdus maximus means greatest thrush. They live in the Himalayas. And they're about as long as a spatula.
MOLLY BLOOM: That is amazing.
MARC SANCHEZ: I know, right? Very turdus maximus.
MOLLY BLOOM: Very.
MARC SANCHEZ: OK, creature number three. Are you ready?
MOLLY BLOOM: Oh, you know I am.
MARC SANCHEZ: Here we go. It's called a sarcastic fringehead.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
MOLLY BLOOM: Sanden. It's Sanden.
MARC SANCHEZ: [LAUGHS]
MOLLY BLOOM: Oh, wait. No.
MARC SANCHEZ: I think that's where my mind goes too immediately.
MOLLY BLOOM: [LAUGHS]
MARC SANCHEZ: That sarcastic fringehead.
MOLLY BLOOM: Sanden after he's gone too long between haircuts. No, OK.
MARC SANCHEZ: [LAUGHS]
MOLLY BLOOM: Let's see, a sarcastic fringehead. All right, fringehead. Something with some kind of fringy thing on its head.
So I was going to say bird, maybe kind of a bird that squawks in kind of a sarcastic manner. The other birds are like, tweet, tweet. And that birds like, tweet. Ha, ha. Am I right? So that's my guess.
MARC SANCHEZ: [LAUGHS] I love that. The original sarcastic fringehead is a fish. It's known for its huge mouth and extremely territorial behavior.
Whenever a sarcastic fringehead makes its home, whether it's a clam shell, or an old soda can, or an abandoned burrow in the sand, it defends it with its life. Yeah! Team sarcastic fringehead forever.
When two male sarcastic fringeheads fight, they go mouth to mouth until one of them bites the other one in the head. The name fringehead comes from the tassels of tissue that dangle over its eyes. And sarcastic comes from its silly skeptical expression or the Greek word sarkazein, which means to tear flesh. Arg!
MOLLY BLOOM: Yikes on bikes.
MARC SANCHEZ: Yikes on bikes indeed. And I got more where those come from.
MOLLY BLOOM: I believe it. But can we take a break? I want to do some animal collages too.
MARC SANCHEZ: Oh, OK. Sure. What are you going to make?
MOLLY BLOOM: I'm going to make a collage of my favorite animal.
MARC SANCHEZ: Oh, OK. Let me guess. Is it a pangolin?
MOLLY BLOOM: No, Marc. It's a sloth.
MARC SANCHEZ: Oh, right. Duh. Did you know the scientific name for sloth is folivora?
MOLLY BLOOM: [LAUGHS]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
That's it for this Smarty Pass episode. It was made by Aron Woldeslassie and Anna Goldfield. Our executive producer is Beth Pearlman. And the executives in charge of APM Studios are Chandra Kavati, Joanne Griffith, and Alex Schaffert.
Brains On is a non-profit public radio program. Thanks Smarty Pass friends. We appreciate you!
MARC SANCHEZ: Goodbyeus maximus.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
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