Molly and Aron love horror movies! So to entertain them, Ruby plays small clips from some of the spookiest episodes of Smash Boom Best: We’re talking snakes! Spiders! Dragons! Vampires! Godzilla! Zombies! Then Ruby asks Aron and Molly a trivia question about each topic. Let the spooky fun commence!
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ANNOUNCER: Now entering Brains On headquarters.
[BEEPS, WHIRRS]
MOLLY BLOOM: Smarty Pal, I'm so glad you're here. Producer Aron Woldeslassie and I are about to start our--
BOTH: Brains On movie night.
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: That's right. BOMN is the best. It's a blend of our favorite movies and snacks. I brought popcorn, candy, and barbecue chips.
MOLLY BLOOM: And I have pickled corn and corned pickles. Aron, do you want some?
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: Oh, my gosh, Molly, I'm so glad you asked. I don't. Anyway, what are we watching tonight? Angry Feet, Cinderfella. Some like it Lukewarm.
MOLLY BLOOM: No, I don't feel like watching any of those. You know what I would really like?
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: Maybe some different snack options?
MOLLY BLOOM: Close. I could really go for some horror.
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: How is that close?
MOLLY BLOOM: I want a fright, a scare, a heebie with plenty of jeebies. You catch my drift?
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: Yeah, I got them, Molly.
MOLLY BLOOM: I want to jump out of my skin and see it's covered with goosebumps.
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: Molly, I understand what you're saying. You don't have to keep repeating yourself.
MOLLY BLOOM: I don't want to go [LAUGH]. I want to go [SCREAM].
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: You want to watch a scary movie, Molly. I got it. Let's move on.
[DOOR CLACKS]
RUBY GUTHRIE: Did someone say scary movie?
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: Producer Ruby Guthrie, are you here for Brains On movie night?
RUBY GUTHRIE: Uh, no. I was looking for my pet scorpion Melvin in the vents and I heard you two talking about scary movies.
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: You lost your scorpion? Is that safe?
MOLLY BLOOM: I just really want to watch a scary movie, Ruby. Do you have any movie suggestions?
RUBY GUTHRIE: I've got more than movie suggestions. I've got a perfect game to play. Why watch a movie when you could play Smash Doom Best?
MOLLY BLOOM: What's Smash Doom Best?
RUBY GUTHRIE: It's a game I invented just for scary berries like you. I'll play you a clip from three of our scariest episodes of Smash Boom Best, and ask you a question related to the topic of each episode.
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: Shouldn't you be looking for your scorpion.
RUBY GUTHRIE: Uh, good point. We'll play a quick game and then look for all my scorpions.
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: Wait, there's more than one?
RUBY GUTHRIE: Now round one. It's time to hear about werewolves. This is a made up condition where people shapeshift into hairy beasts during a full moon.
[FILM PROJECTOR WHIRRS]
Werewolves. It's this amazing double life. You've got your normal side, and when you need it, your wild side. You can walk around outside in the sunlight.
[CLEARS THROAT]
Looking at you vamps. But also you get to run howling through the woods at night. Your majestic fur is blowing in the wind.
You've got super speed, super strength, super smell. You can shapeshift as you please or maybe you have to wait for the moon. And you get to just cut loose when you need a break from the world and let it all go.
[HOWLING]
Wow! So fun. Now, for your question, what is a group of wolves called?
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: OK, I feel like--
MOLLY BLOOM: I feel like I've heard this, right?
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: Yeah. I feel like wolves and dogs, they do the same stuff and like a group of dogs. What is a group of dogs? Oh, my, no--
MOLLY BLOOM: A cuddle.
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: Actually, I do know this.
MOLLY BLOOM: A cuddle of dogs.
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: Yes, that is a cu-- That's different. But I know this. I know the wolf one--
MOLLY BLOOM: What?
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: --because I was obnoxious in middle school with my buddies, and we were a part of the wolf pack. That's what we called ourselves.
MOLLY BLOOM: Yeah, yeah, pack.
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: Yeah.
MOLLY BLOOM: I agree. I agree. Are we right?
[BELL DINGS]
RUBY GUTHRIE: Ding, ding, ding.
MOLLY BLOOM: Yes.
RUBY GUTHRIE: You are correct.
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: Shout out to the wolf pack by the way. I miss you, fellas.
MOLLY BLOOM: Aw, aw!
RUBY GUTHRIE: All right. Awesome job. On to round two, the kraken, a mythical monster that's like a giant squid, but scarier.
[FILM PROJECTOR WHIRRS]
DECKHAND 1: Look, you can see its enormous arms all around the boat.
CAPTAIN: Abandon ship!
[SCREAMS]
DECKHAND 1: Look, the arms! They're closing in around the ship.
DECKHAND 2: It almost looks like it's cradling the ship strangely gently.
DECKHAND 3: (WHISPERS) Quiet you two. The kraken is speaking.
KRAKEN: Oh, the woodwork on this ship is exquisite and so well polished. The crew has done a wonderful job taking care of it. I should go congratulate them.
[SCREAMS]
RUBY GUTHRIE: Now that you've heard about the kraken, here's your question. How many eggs should be cracking using a traditional recipe for an angel food cake?
[GIGGLES]
MOLLY BLOOM: Wow, that is very tangentially related. I do love angel food cake. I love to eat them. And here's a fun fact about Aron-- he's an excellent cake baker.
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: That's true. I am an avid baker, which is why I know this might be a trick question because I feel like you need way more information. But at the same time, sometimes recipes are so set in stone that this number might be universal. I would be shocked if it was more than a carton of eggs. Because the idea of buying two cartons of eggs to make one angel food cake, that sounds preposterous to me.
RUBY GUTHRIE: True. That's coming from the expert. Molly, do you have thoughts?
MOLLY BLOOM: Well, here's what I know about angel food cake is that it is leavened with eggs because you can eat it on Passover when you can't eat other baked goods. So I'm going to say 10. I'm going out on a limb, but I'm going to say 10 eggs.
RUBY GUTHRIE: Are you ready for the answer?
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: Yes.
RUBY GUTHRIE: All right. Tricky. It is actually 12 egg whites, no yolks.
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: What?
MOLLY BLOOM: No yolks. That's why it's like angel food because it's so-- there's no yellow in it.
RUBY GUTHRIE: Yes. Light and fluffy.
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: So 12 whites, no yolks. So that's like-- would you say that's like six eggs then.
RUBY GUTHRIE: That's like six average.
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: Yeah.
MOLLY BLOOM: That was tricky.
RUBY GUTHRIE: You do go through a whole carton though. That's quite a lot.
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: That's preposterous.
RUBY GUTHRIE: All right, on to round three. Spooky see-through ghosts.
[FILM PROJECTOR WHIRRS]
NARRATOR: When I say ghosts, I mean the soul or spirit of a dead person. Some people see them, but you can also just feel them. They're that unknown presence that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. And even though there's no scientific proof of their existence, around 50% of Americans believe in them, in (STUTTERS) guh-- ghosts!
RUBY GUTHRIE: OK, this is a multiple choice question. In the 1995 classic hit movie Casper, what is the name of the mansion where Casper and his uncles live? Is it A, Creepsville Manor, B, Whipstaff Manor, C, Phantom Heights, or D, Ghostwood Mansion?
MOLLY BLOOM: OK, I've never seen Casper. He is a ghost. He's a little ghost.
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: Yes. Yes.
MOLLY BLOOM: Are his uncles also ghosts?
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: They are also ghosts.
MOLLY BLOOM: So it's a family of ghosts.
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: Yeah.
MOLLY BLOOM: I haven't seen this. So Aron, I don't know if you've seen Casper. Have you seen it?
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: I saw it a long time ago as a child. And I remember enjoying it, actually, so much so that I weirdly got into the comic book for some reason.
MOLLY BLOOM: Yeah.
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: I don't remember the name. I'll say this, I feel like it's got to be one of the mansions or the manors because Phantom Heights sounds like the name of a high school full of ghosts.
MOLLY BLOOM: [LAUGHS]
Yes. I'm going to. I'm going to choose Ghostwood Mansion. Because if I lived in a fancy mansion, that's what I would want it to be called.
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: I'm going to choose Whipstaff Manor because I like the way Whipstaff just rolls off the tongue. And that sounds like a good ghost house mansion name.
MOLLY BLOOM: Nice.
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: Yeah.
RUBY GUTHRIE: Aron, you are correct.
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: Yes!
RUBY GUTHRIE: It's Whipstaff Manor.
MOLLY BLOOM: You know what's cool? The way you remember Whipstaff Manor, that's how the kids who listen to Smash Boom Best will one day remember the Sneak Attack Stinger. It'll come up in their brain. They'll be like, what? I remember that.
RUBY GUTHRIE: Wow, you guys did a great job. Don't you just love Smash Doom Best?
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: Yeah. It's fine. Now, can you please look for all your scorpions?
RUBY GUTHRIE: No need. Nothing attracts scorpions like pickled corn.
MOLLY BLOOM: Oh, no, my snacks! And that's it for this Smarty Pass episode. It was made by Aron Woldeslassie and Anna Weggel, edited by Sanden Totten and produced by Lauren Humpert.
Our executive producer is Beth Perlman. And the APM Studios executives in charge are Chandra Kavati and Joanne Griffith. Brains On is a nonprofit public radio program. Thanks, Smarty Pass friends.
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: See you later.
RUBY GUTHRIE: Ciao!
[THEME MUSIC]
Oh you're the smash boom best
Oh put you through the test
Oh you're the smash boom best
Oh better than the rest
You're the smash boom best
You're the smash boom best
[BEEPS, WHIRRS]
MOLLY BLOOM: Smarty Pal, I'm so glad you're here. Producer Aron Woldeslassie and I are about to start our--
BOTH: Brains On movie night.
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: That's right. BOMN is the best. It's a blend of our favorite movies and snacks. I brought popcorn, candy, and barbecue chips.
MOLLY BLOOM: And I have pickled corn and corned pickles. Aron, do you want some?
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: Oh, my gosh, Molly, I'm so glad you asked. I don't. Anyway, what are we watching tonight? Angry Feet, Cinderfella. Some like it Lukewarm.
MOLLY BLOOM: No, I don't feel like watching any of those. You know what I would really like?
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: Maybe some different snack options?
MOLLY BLOOM: Close. I could really go for some horror.
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: How is that close?
MOLLY BLOOM: I want a fright, a scare, a heebie with plenty of jeebies. You catch my drift?
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: Yeah, I got them, Molly.
MOLLY BLOOM: I want to jump out of my skin and see it's covered with goosebumps.
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: Molly, I understand what you're saying. You don't have to keep repeating yourself.
MOLLY BLOOM: I don't want to go [LAUGH]. I want to go [SCREAM].
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: You want to watch a scary movie, Molly. I got it. Let's move on.
[DOOR CLACKS]
RUBY GUTHRIE: Did someone say scary movie?
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: Producer Ruby Guthrie, are you here for Brains On movie night?
RUBY GUTHRIE: Uh, no. I was looking for my pet scorpion Melvin in the vents and I heard you two talking about scary movies.
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: You lost your scorpion? Is that safe?
MOLLY BLOOM: I just really want to watch a scary movie, Ruby. Do you have any movie suggestions?
RUBY GUTHRIE: I've got more than movie suggestions. I've got a perfect game to play. Why watch a movie when you could play Smash Doom Best?
MOLLY BLOOM: What's Smash Doom Best?
RUBY GUTHRIE: It's a game I invented just for scary berries like you. I'll play you a clip from three of our scariest episodes of Smash Boom Best, and ask you a question related to the topic of each episode.
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: Shouldn't you be looking for your scorpion.
RUBY GUTHRIE: Uh, good point. We'll play a quick game and then look for all my scorpions.
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: Wait, there's more than one?
RUBY GUTHRIE: Now round one. It's time to hear about werewolves. This is a made up condition where people shapeshift into hairy beasts during a full moon.
[FILM PROJECTOR WHIRRS]
Werewolves. It's this amazing double life. You've got your normal side, and when you need it, your wild side. You can walk around outside in the sunlight.
[CLEARS THROAT]
Looking at you vamps. But also you get to run howling through the woods at night. Your majestic fur is blowing in the wind.
You've got super speed, super strength, super smell. You can shapeshift as you please or maybe you have to wait for the moon. And you get to just cut loose when you need a break from the world and let it all go.
[HOWLING]
Wow! So fun. Now, for your question, what is a group of wolves called?
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: OK, I feel like--
MOLLY BLOOM: I feel like I've heard this, right?
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: Yeah. I feel like wolves and dogs, they do the same stuff and like a group of dogs. What is a group of dogs? Oh, my, no--
MOLLY BLOOM: A cuddle.
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: Actually, I do know this.
MOLLY BLOOM: A cuddle of dogs.
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: Yes, that is a cu-- That's different. But I know this. I know the wolf one--
MOLLY BLOOM: What?
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: --because I was obnoxious in middle school with my buddies, and we were a part of the wolf pack. That's what we called ourselves.
MOLLY BLOOM: Yeah, yeah, pack.
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: Yeah.
MOLLY BLOOM: I agree. I agree. Are we right?
[BELL DINGS]
RUBY GUTHRIE: Ding, ding, ding.
MOLLY BLOOM: Yes.
RUBY GUTHRIE: You are correct.
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: Shout out to the wolf pack by the way. I miss you, fellas.
MOLLY BLOOM: Aw, aw!
RUBY GUTHRIE: All right. Awesome job. On to round two, the kraken, a mythical monster that's like a giant squid, but scarier.
[FILM PROJECTOR WHIRRS]
DECKHAND 1: Look, you can see its enormous arms all around the boat.
CAPTAIN: Abandon ship!
[SCREAMS]
DECKHAND 1: Look, the arms! They're closing in around the ship.
DECKHAND 2: It almost looks like it's cradling the ship strangely gently.
DECKHAND 3: (WHISPERS) Quiet you two. The kraken is speaking.
KRAKEN: Oh, the woodwork on this ship is exquisite and so well polished. The crew has done a wonderful job taking care of it. I should go congratulate them.
[SCREAMS]
RUBY GUTHRIE: Now that you've heard about the kraken, here's your question. How many eggs should be cracking using a traditional recipe for an angel food cake?
[GIGGLES]
MOLLY BLOOM: Wow, that is very tangentially related. I do love angel food cake. I love to eat them. And here's a fun fact about Aron-- he's an excellent cake baker.
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: That's true. I am an avid baker, which is why I know this might be a trick question because I feel like you need way more information. But at the same time, sometimes recipes are so set in stone that this number might be universal. I would be shocked if it was more than a carton of eggs. Because the idea of buying two cartons of eggs to make one angel food cake, that sounds preposterous to me.
RUBY GUTHRIE: True. That's coming from the expert. Molly, do you have thoughts?
MOLLY BLOOM: Well, here's what I know about angel food cake is that it is leavened with eggs because you can eat it on Passover when you can't eat other baked goods. So I'm going to say 10. I'm going out on a limb, but I'm going to say 10 eggs.
RUBY GUTHRIE: Are you ready for the answer?
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: Yes.
RUBY GUTHRIE: All right. Tricky. It is actually 12 egg whites, no yolks.
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: What?
MOLLY BLOOM: No yolks. That's why it's like angel food because it's so-- there's no yellow in it.
RUBY GUTHRIE: Yes. Light and fluffy.
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: So 12 whites, no yolks. So that's like-- would you say that's like six eggs then.
RUBY GUTHRIE: That's like six average.
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: Yeah.
MOLLY BLOOM: That was tricky.
RUBY GUTHRIE: You do go through a whole carton though. That's quite a lot.
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: That's preposterous.
RUBY GUTHRIE: All right, on to round three. Spooky see-through ghosts.
[FILM PROJECTOR WHIRRS]
NARRATOR: When I say ghosts, I mean the soul or spirit of a dead person. Some people see them, but you can also just feel them. They're that unknown presence that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. And even though there's no scientific proof of their existence, around 50% of Americans believe in them, in (STUTTERS) guh-- ghosts!
RUBY GUTHRIE: OK, this is a multiple choice question. In the 1995 classic hit movie Casper, what is the name of the mansion where Casper and his uncles live? Is it A, Creepsville Manor, B, Whipstaff Manor, C, Phantom Heights, or D, Ghostwood Mansion?
MOLLY BLOOM: OK, I've never seen Casper. He is a ghost. He's a little ghost.
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: Yes. Yes.
MOLLY BLOOM: Are his uncles also ghosts?
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: They are also ghosts.
MOLLY BLOOM: So it's a family of ghosts.
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: Yeah.
MOLLY BLOOM: I haven't seen this. So Aron, I don't know if you've seen Casper. Have you seen it?
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: I saw it a long time ago as a child. And I remember enjoying it, actually, so much so that I weirdly got into the comic book for some reason.
MOLLY BLOOM: Yeah.
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: I don't remember the name. I'll say this, I feel like it's got to be one of the mansions or the manors because Phantom Heights sounds like the name of a high school full of ghosts.
MOLLY BLOOM: [LAUGHS]
Yes. I'm going to. I'm going to choose Ghostwood Mansion. Because if I lived in a fancy mansion, that's what I would want it to be called.
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: I'm going to choose Whipstaff Manor because I like the way Whipstaff just rolls off the tongue. And that sounds like a good ghost house mansion name.
MOLLY BLOOM: Nice.
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: Yeah.
RUBY GUTHRIE: Aron, you are correct.
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: Yes!
RUBY GUTHRIE: It's Whipstaff Manor.
MOLLY BLOOM: You know what's cool? The way you remember Whipstaff Manor, that's how the kids who listen to Smash Boom Best will one day remember the Sneak Attack Stinger. It'll come up in their brain. They'll be like, what? I remember that.
RUBY GUTHRIE: Wow, you guys did a great job. Don't you just love Smash Doom Best?
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: Yeah. It's fine. Now, can you please look for all your scorpions?
RUBY GUTHRIE: No need. Nothing attracts scorpions like pickled corn.
MOLLY BLOOM: Oh, no, my snacks! And that's it for this Smarty Pass episode. It was made by Aron Woldeslassie and Anna Weggel, edited by Sanden Totten and produced by Lauren Humpert.
Our executive producer is Beth Perlman. And the APM Studios executives in charge are Chandra Kavati and Joanne Griffith. Brains On is a nonprofit public radio program. Thanks, Smarty Pass friends.
ARON WOLDESLASSIE: See you later.
RUBY GUTHRIE: Ciao!
[THEME MUSIC]
Oh you're the smash boom best
Oh put you through the test
Oh you're the smash boom best
Oh better than the rest
You're the smash boom best
You're the smash boom best
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