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Live is in partnership with Greenlight, the

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money app

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for kids and teens. Learn more

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about Greenlight at greenlight.com slash

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million. That's greenlight.com

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slash million.

0:39

You're listening to Brains On, where

0:42

we're serious about being curious.

0:44

Brains On is supported in part

0:46

by a grant from the National

0:49

Science Foundation. Do

0:54

you ever look at a pair of crusty socks in the

0:56

corner and think, man, I wish

0:58

I had a tongue so long I could grab those stinkers

1:00

and put them in the hamper without

1:02

getting out of bed?

1:03

Or eyeballs so powerful you could

1:06

see the heat beating down on the pavement as

1:08

you fry an egg? Well, those are just

1:10

two of the things we can do. I'm Paul.

1:13

And I'm Kiki.

1:15

And we're chameleons.

1:18

We're here to show you how chameleons'

1:20

lives are a trillion times cooler,

1:23

chiller, and more fun than you could

1:25

have ever imagined. Hire

1:30

us to blow young minds at your kid's

1:32

next birthday party. Or

1:35

book a ticket on Paul and Kiki's

1:37

chameleon cruise. Got

1:39

an auditorium full of rambunctious human

1:41

children? We will captivate them

1:44

for at least

1:45

11 minutes. We also do weddings, bar

1:47

mitzvahs, and quinceañeras. We

1:51

sing, we dance, we change

1:53

color. And we explain all

1:55

the most difficult scientific concepts

1:57

using jokes and props so you won't

1:59

be left thinking, what in the chamomile

2:02

doop just happened? So what

2:04

are you waiting for? Stop eating

2:06

those cheese puffs and hanging around the

2:08

monkey bars. Monkey bars?

2:11

Those, my friends, are chameleon

2:14

bars. We can hang from our tails

2:16

forever. So give us a call at

2:19

1-600-WILD-4-CHAMELIANS

2:22

today, and we'll waddle your

2:24

way.

2:26

I'm Kiki. And I'm

2:28

Paul. And we're chameleons.

2:31

Committed to changing colors

2:33

and hearts. One show at a time.

2:44

You're listening to Brains On from APM Studios. I'm

2:47

Ollie Bloom, and I'm here with my co-host Arjun

2:49

from Sydney, Australia. Hi, Arjun. Hi, Molly.

2:52

Today's episode is about colorful,

2:55

captivating chameleons. So, Arjun,

2:57

what comes to mind when I say chameleon?

3:01

When you say chameleon, I think of Jackson's

3:04

chameleon, which has three horns on

3:06

its head, like a triceratops. It's

3:09

probably my favorite type. That's

3:11

so cool. I didn't even know that chameleon existed.

3:14

You're already teaching me things. So have

3:16

you ever seen any kind of chameleon

3:18

in real life? No, sadly.

3:21

Me neither. Okay, this is our

3:23

goal now. In 2023. No,

3:25

maybe 2024. Okay, in the next year,

3:28

we're going to both aim to find a chameleon that

3:30

we can see

3:31

with our eyeballs in real life. Deal?

3:34

Yes. So you

3:36

also host a podcast called Animals

3:38

Rule, which is probably why you're teaching

3:40

me about animals already. So can you tell

3:42

us a little bit about your podcast? Yeah. So

3:45

Animals Rule is a podcast only

3:48

found on Spotify, where we

3:50

cover all sorts of animals and dinosaurs.

3:54

In the podcast, I have a wise

3:56

old monkey

3:57

sitting with me in the studio. His name is Loki.

4:00

So he helps me explore

4:03

more facts about all these animals. Have

4:05

you done an episode on chameleons yet? Yes,

4:08

that was my son of an episode. Amazing,

4:10

okay. So, all

4:13

animals are awesome. But

4:15

today we're talking about chameleons

4:17

and they are really rad reptiles.

4:20

Loundy lizards. Terrific

4:23

tree-hugging tail-habbers. They're

4:25

known for their bulging eyes, long

4:27

sticky tongues, and of course, the fact that they

4:29

can change color. And

4:31

they've been around since dinosaurs

4:33

run the Earth. Today

4:40

there are 228 different chameleon species on the planet. So

4:45

many chameleons, so little time. Especially

4:49

on Madagascar, which is a big island

4:51

off the coast of Africa. Almost

4:54

half of all chameleon species live there.

4:56

Okay, packing my bags. Madagascar, here I

4:58

come. Wait, Molly. Don't go

5:01

yet. We need to answer our most pressing

5:03

question about the wizards of lizards. Oh,

5:06

right. Jayden and Luke sent us these

5:08

colorful questions. My name is

5:10

Jayden. I live in Boynton Beach, Florida.

5:13

My name is Luke and I'm from Pittsburgh, Virginia. And

5:15

I want to know, how do chameleons change color?

5:18

Why do chameleons change color when they

5:20

are mad, sad, or afraid? Exactly.

5:23

How do chameleons change

5:25

their color? Wait, do

5:27

you hear that?

5:31

Yeah, where's it coming from? It

5:33

sounds like it's right. Hello,

5:35

human. Ah, there's a teeny tiny

5:38

lizard on my microphone. The name's

5:40

Kiki.

5:41

Wow, are you a brooksea chameleon?

5:45

How did you know?

5:47

I host a podcast about animals, so

5:49

I know a thing or two about you guys. Chameleons

5:54

or leaf chameleons are the smallest kind.

5:57

We are. We're about the size of a

5:59

sunflower seed. And Pawson's

6:01

chameleons are the biggest.

6:02

You got that right! Hiya!

6:06

I'm Paul, a Parson's chameleon

6:08

with a big body and an even bigger

6:10

heart. Hi Paul! Hi Paul! My

6:13

size? Thanks for asking!

6:16

No one asked about your size, Paul. From

6:19

the tip of my tail to the tip of my nose,

6:21

I'm over two feet long!

6:23

You're the size of a small cat.

6:26

And my purr is even better.

6:29

Purr! Purr! Nice

6:33

try, Paul. Maybe you can

6:35

tell, but chameleons don't,

6:37

Paw. They hiss.

6:39

Yep! Like this!

6:44

Wait, but why are you here?

6:47

We're on a mission to teach the world about

6:49

chameleons.

6:51

So when we heard you were doing a show all about

6:53

us, we thought we better stop by.

6:55

That question! How do chameleons

6:58

change color? What

7:00

a classic! We have an act for that!

7:03

And since you're already spreading the word about

7:05

our amazing kind, we'll do it

7:07

free of charge. Oh,

7:09

that's, um, really nice of you?

7:12

Alright, Keeks! You ready

7:14

to let it rip? You betcha, Paulie!

7:16

Here comes the music!

7:18

Wait, this is not what we have planned, so

7:20

if we...

7:24

Chameleons change color!

7:26

Whoo! From green and brown to pink

7:29

and blue.

7:29

You bet, and yellow and orange hue.

7:32

You're purple and black. How about you?

7:34

They're humans, Kiki. They're not like

7:37

us. That's always why they make a fuss. Our

7:40

bodies, our skin so cool. You're

7:42

right! Let's take a big chameleon for...

7:46

What in the wide world

7:48

of weird is happening? I

7:51

think these chameleons are performers, Molly.

7:53

Shh!

7:59

Welcome, Kork!

7:59

Professor Paul here, a

8:02

big chameleon with an even bigger

8:04

heart and a pretty big following on Lizardstagram.

8:07

Get to the scratch, Paul!

8:09

As I was saying, today we're going to learn

8:11

how chameleon skin works and it's

8:13

pretty complicated so pay close

8:16

attention. Alright? Alright!

8:18

So chameleons

8:20

have not one, not two, not

8:23

three, but four layers of skin.

8:27

The first layer of skin is where it all

8:29

begins. Kiki, my props please! Coming

8:32

right up! Ah,

8:35

perfect. The first layer of our skin

8:38

is mostly clear and lets the light

8:40

shine through, but

8:41

it has a bit of yellow in it, just

8:44

like this slightly yellow seat of see-through

8:46

plastic.

8:48

The first layer of skin is clear

8:50

with a little bit of yellow pigment. Got it.

8:54

Yes! Now,

8:54

the second layer of skin is

8:56

where a lot of the magic happens. Kiki?

8:59

Here you go!

9:01

It looks like this net and it's

9:03

made up of teeny tiny crystals.

9:06

That's a crystal! And

9:08

this net of crystals can expand.

9:12

See me stretch it? It's okay

9:14

to oo and aah as I stretch it. Ooooh!

9:18

Ahh!

9:18

And it can also contract

9:21

our shrink back down. When

9:25

the second layer of skin is in its regular

9:27

resting state, the crystals it's

9:29

made out of are snuggled up next to

9:31

each other. That's a crystal! And

9:35

together they often reflect blue

9:37

light. That blue light mixes with

9:39

the yellow in the first layer, which makes

9:41

us chameleons look...

9:44

When blue mixes

9:46

with yellow it makes...

9:48

Oh, you want us to answer. Green!

9:51

That's right! But when

9:53

that net of crystals stretches out,

9:55

that second layer of skin

9:57

starts to reflect other colors of light.

10:00

like, for example, red.

10:03

Which mixes with a yellow in the first layer

10:05

of skin, so the chameleon might start

10:07

to look... Red plus

10:10

yellow makes orange.

10:11

Bingo!

10:13

So the second layer of skin

10:15

is made out of a net of crystals

10:17

that expands and contracts and reflects

10:20

different wavelengths of light. Yep,

10:22

on to layer three. This

10:24

one contains melanin, which is

10:27

the same pigment found in...

10:29

Oh, I know this one. Human

10:31

hair and human skin. And lots

10:33

of other places.

10:34

Yes! The melanin in

10:36

the third layer of skin can create brown

10:38

and black pigment, which mixes with the

10:41

colors in the first two layers and can turn

10:43

the chameleon a darker shade.

10:45

So the third layer is all about melanin, and

10:48

it releases brown and black pigment.

10:50

Correct! And the last layer?

10:53

It reflects white light,

10:55

but it's not as involved in the color-changing

10:57

effect.

10:58

I'm at the

11:01

end of a colorful show!

11:06

Wow, thanks for that awesome color-changing

11:09

education, Kiki and Paul. Yeah,

11:11

that was really fun.

11:13

Wow! So you want to

11:15

know more about chameleons?

11:17

I mean, yes, but... They're

11:19

gonna love my tongue trick! Cue

11:22

the music, Kiki! Okay!

11:24

This one's pretty great.

11:25

Actually,

11:28

we have the rest of our show to do, so Molly, I gotta see this.

11:31

Step right up!

11:34

Actually, stay seated.

11:37

You humans see that pen over there. Yeah?

11:41

I'm going to grab that pen with my tongue. From here!

11:44

But it's over four feet

11:46

away from you. That's like the

11:48

length of a cello. Yep, but

11:50

that's

11:50

okay, because

11:53

my tongue is twice the length

11:55

of my body. Whoa, that was

11:59

so fast!

12:00

Cameleons have some of the fastest

12:03

tongues in us. Wow! For

12:05

a human, you know your chameleon facts. Wait,

12:08

but how does your tongue go so fast? I coil

12:10

it up at the back of

12:12

my throat.

12:14

Paul, no one can understand you with that pen

12:16

in your mouth.

12:17

As I

12:19

was saying, I coil it up at the back

12:21

of my throat like a spring, or an

12:23

archer pulling back a bow, and then... Wizzoo!

12:27

Off it goes!

12:28

So cool.

12:31

That's not all. Cameleon saliva

12:33

is 400 times more

12:35

sticky than human saliva. That

12:37

means we can carry about a third of our body

12:39

weight back to our mouths in one fell swoop.

12:41

Mmm, like a crunchy

12:44

little fly. Or worms. Or

12:46

plants. Or a teeny

12:49

tiny leaf chameleon named Kiki.

12:52

Oh! Stop it!

12:54

I'm

12:56

kidding! It gets you every

12:59

time. Cameleons hardly

13:01

ever eat each other.

13:02

Don't make me play leaf!

13:05

Play leaf? She looks like

13:07

a leaf when she plays dead.

13:09

Like that'll do me much good in here. Not

13:11

a leaf in sight. All I see are

13:13

these big stands and microphones and

13:15

paper and pens.

13:17

Microphone arms are good

13:19

for climbing. I feel

13:22

my next trick coming on to

13:24

the music, Kiki! Okay.

13:28

Do the thing. You know, say the line.

13:31

Ugh!

13:31

Give me a second, you big tonguehead.

13:34

Observe.

13:38

The cameleon

13:39

climbing the microphone stand.

13:43

Watch all of his big toes

13:45

clamp around that microphone stand. Shloop!

13:48

Shloop! Shloop! And

13:50

now, watch him coil

13:53

his prehensile tail, which

13:56

is like the tail of a monkey, around

13:59

the arms of a monkey. And watch for

14:01

it. He can hang from his

14:03

tail, folks!

14:05

Chameleon

14:09

tails are like a fifth hand!

14:12

That's really cool, but I'm

14:15

wondering about our eyes.

14:16

It's gotta be about our eyes. Oh my gosh, our eyes. Our

14:19

eyes, how do we forget to talk about our eyes? I do

14:21

have a beautiful eye.

14:24

Arjun, do you

14:26

know what the deal is with chameleon eyes?

14:29

Oh, chameleon eyes can move in two

14:31

directions at once, which

14:33

means they have almost 360 degree vision, so

14:37

they can see all the way around themselves.

14:39

Up.

14:40

Down.

14:41

And all around.

14:42

We can also use our eyes to zoom

14:44

in on objects like a camera. Wheeeeeeee!

14:50

Mr. Parsons, I'm ready for my close-up.

14:53

Wow. Okay, I'm impressed. But

14:55

I think we've forgotten the elephant

14:57

in

14:57

the room. What? Where is the elephant? Oh,

15:00

that's just an expression. There is no elephant.

15:03

Bring it

15:03

on, trunk-swinger. Human friends, my

15:05

apologies for the reaction. Paul

15:09

always wants to be the biggest creature

15:10

in the room. I'll take ya. For real.

15:13

I'm getting heated

15:15

up just thinking about it. Wheeeeeeeeeeee!

15:17

Look, Paul's changing color. That's what I wanted to talk

15:20

about. You told us how you change

15:22

color, but I want to know why you guys change

15:24

color. Human

15:26

friends,

15:28

we will tell you, but this is

15:30

the grand finale.

15:32

We need to prepare! And I need

15:34

a snack

15:35

to recover. Okay, well... And

15:37

I gotta say, Kiki, you've never

15:39

looked so delicious.

15:41

Ha ha ha!

15:43

Paul! Don't you dare!

15:46

Haha! Joking! Kiki,

15:49

come back! I love you! Proposerous!

15:51

When will you learn? Oh,

15:56

come on! We'll

15:58

be back, human friends.

15:59

We just need a few minutes.

16:01

OK, bye. Bye bye. Wow,

16:04

what a dynamic duo. I

16:06

could use a snack too.

16:07

Snack break? Sure.

16:09

We'll be right back. So don't go

16:11

anywhere. Hi,

16:19

friends.

16:19

We're working on an episode about how

16:21

we grow. And we want to know if

16:24

you had the power to either grow super

16:26

tall or shrink super small,

16:29

which would you choose and why? So

16:32

Arjun, which one would you choose? Shrink

16:34

super small or grow super tall? I

16:37

would probably shrink super small

16:39

because then I'd be able to

16:41

slip into places no one else

16:43

would be able to go. Ooh, like what

16:46

kind of places are you thinking?

16:47

Hmm, maybe

16:49

the other day I

16:51

accidentally walked into a door. So if I was super

16:54

small, I could just go under the door. Perfect.

16:57

I'm sorry you walked into a door. Did you hurt

16:59

yourself? Are you OK? Yeah, I'm OK. OK,

17:02

good for you. Listeners, send us

17:04

a recording of your thoughts at brainson.org

17:07

slash contact. And while you're there, you

17:09

can send us mystery sounds, drawings, and questions.

17:11

Like this one. Hi, my name's

17:13

Lula, and I'm from Grand Junction, Colorado. My

17:16

question is, why are apples different colors?

17:19

Again, that's brainson.org slash

17:21

contact. And keep

17:23

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Joy, you want to hear a riddle? Um,

19:30

yes, lay it on me, Elise. All

19:32

right. What do Superman, Chewing

19:34

Gum, and children's libraries have in common?

19:36

Oh, they all

19:39

float in water. Wait,

19:41

maybe not. No, that's not it. They're

19:43

all incredibly amazing things that make our

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lives better. Yes, but

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also, they're all topics we cover

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in a new season of

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Forever Ago. Oh, yeah.

19:53

Forever Ago is coming back November

19:56

8th. We're going to have so much fun.

19:59

You know it.

19:59

You guys better mark your calendars. You

20:02

better mark it November 8th. November

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8th. November

20:06

8th. Forever with

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gold. It's back, back,

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back, back on the 8th of November.

20:14

Your brother amongst your calendars baby. Mark

20:16

your

20:16

calendars baby. Mark them

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baby. My baby.

20:27

My

20:30

name is Molly and I'm Molly and we're learning

20:32

all about laser eyes, tough tailed,

20:34

color changing chameleons.

20:37

We've learned all sorts of cool facts about

20:39

them. Their eyes can move in different

20:42

directions at the same time. They

20:44

can hang from their super strong tails

20:46

like monkeys. And their second

20:49

layer of skin expands and contracts

20:51

which is one of the ways they change colors. But

20:54

what we haven't figured out yet is why

20:57

they change color. Yeah, Kiki

21:00

and Paul said they'd come back to tell

21:02

us why but they don't see them yet,

21:05

do you? Huh, no.

21:08

Well, while we wait, let's do

21:10

the... Beep! Beep!

21:17

Are you ready Arjun? Yes.

21:20

Alright, let's hear it.

21:24

Beep!

21:37

Hmm, what are your thoughts?

21:40

Okay, so it sounds

21:42

a bit like someone put

21:44

a bunch of things in a box and is

21:47

shaking the box around. So what

21:49

do you think could be in the box? Could

21:52

be like board pieces. It sounds

21:54

like it's not things that would

21:56

be soft. Probably

21:58

would be things that are wood or wood.

21:59

metal or through the game like a board

22:02

game. Yeah, yeah. Well,

22:04

we'll hear it again. I have another chance to

22:06

guess at the end of the show.

22:15

I still don't see Kihio pull, do

22:18

you? No. Do you

22:20

think they're plain hide

22:22

and go seek? Oh, maybe

22:24

that's why they change color to blend

22:27

into the world around them. That

22:29

means they could be hiding anywhere

22:31

in here, perched on my purple

22:34

polka dot pencil case.

22:35

Stand out on our fancy Sisa phone.

22:40

Oh, hello. Hi

22:42

Molly, it's Chris Anderson. Chris

22:44

Anderson, Associate Professor of Biology

22:46

at South Dakota University and Supervisor

22:48

of the Anderson Lab? Oh my gosh,

22:51

Arjun, what perfect

22:52

timing.

22:53

Hi Chris, so glad you called. Molly

22:56

and I were just wondering, why do

22:58

chameleons change color?

22:59

Oh yeah, chameleons actually can change

23:02

color for a wide range of reasons.

23:04

For instance, if chameleons are cold first

23:07

thing in the morning, they can change their color

23:09

in order to absorb more

23:11

heat energy from the sun. Or

23:13

alternatively, if they're very warm, they

23:15

can turn really pale coloration to

23:18

become less absorbent, reflect

23:20

more of that light. And they also will use

23:22

it as kind of an indicator

23:24

of their mood and

23:27

how they are feeling about

23:29

the surroundings of their environment.

23:32

Okay, so chameleons change color

23:34

to adapt to their environment and how they're

23:36

feeling about the world around them.

23:38

Cool. Do chameleons

23:41

change color in different patterns? Yeah,

23:44

so there's kind of that age old

23:46

question about like, what happens if you put a chameleon

23:48

on plaid or something like that? Does it match

23:50

that background? Chameleons aren't

23:52

really actively matching their background

23:55

based on kind of that camouflage type

23:57

of assumption about how they're changing

23:59

color. Instead, what we see is that

24:02

chameleons have kind of adapted over

24:04

the course of evolution to the environment

24:07

that they live in. And so some of the colorations

24:09

that they adopt tend to conceal themselves

24:11

well against a backdrop of their natural

24:14

environment.

24:15

So they can't control the colors

24:17

or patterns they display, but they've evolved

24:20

so that when they do change colors and patterns,

24:23

they tend to blend into

24:24

their surroundings.

24:26

Can chameleons communicate

24:28

with each other by changing their color?

24:30

They can actually, and they can adopt

24:33

a wide range of colors and

24:35

combinations of colors throughout their body. And

24:38

we've started learning quite a bit over the years.

24:41

For instance, when two males are interacting

24:43

with each other, a male that thinks

24:45

he's dominant is going to tend to be brighter

24:48

colorations and exhibit

24:50

some of those more impressive bright colors.

24:53

Whereas a male who wants to communicate

24:55

to the other male that he's submissive, he would

24:57

tend to adopt more muted and

25:00

darker

25:00

colors to try and bring that confrontation

25:03

down a notch so that it avoids any type

25:05

of fighting. And similarly, females

25:07

can communicate to males, you know, whether they are

25:10

receptive to the male's advances

25:12

or presence based on the colors that they

25:14

adopt and some of the other

25:17

signals that they can give, including,

25:19

you know, gaping their mouth and hissing

25:21

and puffing up.

25:23

So how did you get interested in

25:25

chameleons?

25:27

So I actually became interested in

25:29

chameleons when I was in middle school, and

25:31

I was really interested in getting a chameleon as a

25:33

pet. But my father had had

25:36

chameleons when he was a child and knew

25:38

that chameleons were relatively sensitive animals

25:40

to keep in captivity and was

25:42

a little bit hesitant to allow me to get a chameleon.

25:45

And so my parents made a deal with me that if I

25:47

did my research on chameleons for six months

25:50

and read everything I could and was comfortable

25:52

with what I needed to do to keep a chameleon as

25:54

a pet, that then at that point, if I

25:57

was

25:57

still interested, they would let me get a chameleon

25:59

as a pet.

25:59

And so I ended up reading everything I

26:02

could get my hands on, bought all kinds of books.

26:04

I started talking to other keepers

26:07

and researchers online, learning

26:09

all I could about chameleons, and

26:11

eventually got my first chameleon as a pet,

26:13

and that snowballed into additional

26:16

fascination and curiosity with chameleons

26:18

more generally. And I'd get a couple more

26:20

chameleons as pets over time, and I was keeping

26:23

multiple different species. And then I started

26:25

becoming really interested in chameleons

26:27

in the wild as well. And so my

26:29

interest in chameleons kind of ballooned into

26:32

this broader obsession, if you

26:34

will, with chameleons in general, which

26:36

also helped to foster some of my interest in

26:38

other general biological questions.

26:41

Thank you so much for answering our questions,

26:43

Chris.

26:44

Not a problem. I enjoyed talking to you.

26:47

Bye, Chris. Bye, Chris.

26:55

I really wonder what happened to Kiki and Paul.

26:57

Yeah, you'd think they'd be back by now.

26:59

Kama, kama, kama, kama, chameleon.

27:04

We come and go. We

27:07

come and go. There

27:10

you are.

27:11

What took so long?

27:13

Oh, hello. Hi, humans. We

27:15

went to a bodega around the corner, and they didn't

27:17

have any frozen cockroaches. Imagine

27:20

that. It must have sold out or something.

27:22

And their leaf selection was unbelievably

27:25

bad.

27:26

So we had to take a quick trip to the pet

27:28

store.

27:29

And the garden center.

27:30

What a schlep! And ride along

27:32

on the roof of a taxi. And cling onto

27:35

a woman's leg just to get through the door. Wow,

27:38

sounds like an adventure. More of

27:40

a hassle, really. But anyway,

27:42

finale time?

27:43

Well, we actually figured out the answer

27:45

to our question. Chameleons mostly

27:47

change color based on their emotions. Paul,

27:51

did you hear that?

27:52

Yes, Kiki, a human

27:54

who understands our biggest secret. Paul,

27:57

it's working. Our tireless...

27:59

performances,

28:01

our endless tours, our

28:04

cruises, our home visits,

28:07

our studio visits. They're

28:09

all making a difference. People

28:11

are learning about us. Humans,

28:15

thank you. Thank you for spreading the good

28:17

word about our kind. Paul,

28:20

I think this deserves

28:22

our song of celebration. You're

28:24

right! Cue the music!

28:28

Changing colors, changing

28:31

hearts. Our

28:33

tongues and eyeballs are

28:35

works of art.

28:39

Humans, come on and

28:41

watch our show.

28:43

Cause we're a lizard

28:46

that you should know. Love

28:49

chameleons and

28:53

you'll find. Chameleons,

28:56

we're a gift to humankind.

29:01

Chameleons, we'll

29:04

blow your

29:06

mind.

29:14

Yay! Bravo!

29:17

Oh, so wonderful. Thank

29:19

you, thank you. We're

29:21

off to our next performance. We're

29:23

performing at Lizard Palooza.

29:25

Wow, that's the largest lizard-based

29:28

music festival in the country.

29:30

Well, what Paul meant to say is

29:33

we'll be performing for free in the parking

29:35

lot outside Lizard Palooza.

29:37

I'm sure they'll offer us a headlining bill

29:39

once they see what we have to offer. Later,

29:42

humans. Bye, tell all your

29:44

friends.

29:50

Chameleons are lizards with tongues

29:52

that are super fast, super long,

29:55

and super

29:55

sticky. They have cool

29:57

eyes that can move in two directions at once.

29:59

into more types of light than us humans.

30:03

They have multi-layered skin, which can

30:05

help them change colors. And

30:07

they use their color-changing powers to

30:09

show how they're feeling. That's

30:12

it for this episode of Brains On. This

30:14

episode was produced by Rosie Despont,

30:17

Nico Gonzalez-Whistler, Molly Bloom,

30:20

Anna Goldfield, Aron Wojislawsi,

30:22

Anna Weggel, Ruby Guthrie, and

30:25

Mark Zendtet. Our editors are Stan

30:27

Nisot and Jill Afarzon, sound design

30:29

by Mark Sanchez, and we had engineering help

30:31

from Alex Simpson. As a human and as our

30:33

executive producer, we've been in charge

30:35

of a chip studio structure in the community. Alex

30:37

here for 10-2-1-7.

30:38

She'll be a suburban

30:40

tingly, eating for own. Sarah Cheyenne,

30:43

she was a shmanic, maybe Chan Chan? We

30:45

have no where. Brains

30:47

On is a non-profit public radio

30:49

program. There are lots of ways to

30:51

support the show, and to Brains On. While

30:54

you're there, you can send us mystery sounds,

30:57

drawings, and pictures. And

30:59

you can subscribe to our story pass. It gives

31:01

you a special ticket to Brains On universe

31:03

bonus content, plus ad-free

31:05

episodes. Okay,

31:09

Arjun. Are you ready to hear that mystery

31:12

sound again? Sure.

31:14

Okay, here it is.

31:29

Alright, new

31:32

thoughts. Last time you thought maybe someone's shaking

31:35

a board game box. What

31:37

do you think now? Well, originally,

31:40

now I thought it might be someone

31:43

knocking things over, but it

31:45

goes on too long. I almost heard

31:47

like wheels or something. So

31:50

maybe it could be a wheelbarrow

31:53

with things in it. Oh. And

31:55

they're shaking it back and forth. Totally,

31:58

totally. They're using the wheelbarrow.

31:59

to knock things over.

32:01

Who knows? You

32:04

ready to hear the answer?

32:05

Yes. Alright, here it is.

32:09

That was the sound of me

32:11

stirring almonds in a bowl with soy sauce

32:13

to make tamari almonds which are very

32:16

yummy snacks.

32:18

Oh,

32:21

I didn't even think of cooking. Okay,

32:23

so my wheels thought was totally

32:25

wrong but you the shaking of something

32:28

in a box was like pretty close. Shaking

32:31

almonds in a bowl. Yeah.

32:43

Now it's time for the brains honor roll. These

32:45

are the kids who keep the show going with their questions, ideas,

32:47

mystery sounds, drawings, and high fives. Hala

32:50

from Chicago, Levi from Kumaroa New Zealand,

32:53

Alice from Brattleboro Vermont, Daniel from Seattle,

32:55

Archie from Madison, Ohio, Baron from Idaho

32:58

City, Vincent from Washington DC,

33:00

Jacob from NIAAC New York, Lyman from Denver,

33:02

Noah from Marblehead, Massachusetts, Mary Jane from

33:04

Strasburg Pennsylvania, Milla Louise from Delson,

33:06

Indiana, Magnus from New Mexico, Chelsea

33:09

and Alex from Portland, Oregon, Jessica and Jill

33:11

from London, UK, Maddie from Sahuarita,

33:14

Arizona, Kalen from Toronto, Owen and

33:16

Liam from Kainaohe, Hawaii, Mordecai

33:18

from Las Vegas, Mitza and Auntie from Victoria,

33:20

British Columbia, Michonne from Singapore,

33:22

Peter from Bridgeport Connecticut, Maggie and Galen

33:24

from Little King Colorado,

33:25

Diego from Los Angeles,

33:28

Florida, Cass and Viola from San Francisco,

33:30

Elsa from Austin, Texas, Acacia from Juneau,

33:32

Alaska, Hugo from Guilford, Connecticut,

33:35

Fiona, Ronan and Dara from Cohasa, Massachusetts,

33:38

Emma from

33:38

South Carolina, Michigan, Haley from Decatur, Georgia,

33:40

Rhianne from Washington, California, Amara

33:42

from Harris, California, Siena from Eastview,

33:45

UK, Yuho from Maryland, Caroline

33:47

from Los Angeles, Iris from Brattleboro, Pennsylvania,

33:49

Lucia from Shred, Virginia, Liam

33:51

from Blaine, Minnesota, Everett

33:53

from Springfield, Virginia, David from Louisville, Kentucky,

33:56

Caroline from Brooklyn, New York, Shansa from East

33:58

Moline, Illinois, Benjamin from

33:59

from Los Angeles, Oliver and Ellie from Los

34:02

Angeles, back from Asheville, North Carolina, Caspian

34:04

from San Antonio, Texas, Hazel from Minneapolis,

34:06

Emily from Ohio, Edison from Houston, Arizona,

34:09

Eda from Melbourne, Australia, Jack, Tatum

34:11

and Hartley from Lake Mary, Florida, Spencer from Jupiter,

34:14

Florida, Ella from Colorado Springs, June

34:16

from Brooklyn, New York, Ella from San Jose, Maryland,

34:18

Felicity's, Ashton, Lydia, Vio in Veronica

34:20

from Falls, Virginia, Isaac from Wisconsin

34:22

City, Maryland, Heli and Annie from Chandler, Arizona,

34:25

Gavin from Lakeland, Georgia, Juca from

34:27

Chicago, Luz and Iris from Hope Valley, Rhode Island,

34:29

Zinnia and Kelsey

34:30

from Dandy, Oregon, Kira from Sammamish,

34:32

Washington, Alton from Lagona Beach, California,

34:35

Chocomo

34:35

from San Francisco, and Diddy and Betty from

34:37

Richmond, Australia. We'll

34:42

be back next week with more answers to your questions.

34:48

Thanks

34:49

for listening.