02x13 - Creepy Crawlies

[bunniefuu]

Today on Dragonfly TV, kids take lunch

orders from a snake. I don't think he

likes it. Feed leftovers to some worms.

You're going to get dirty. And get some

crocodiles to cooperate. Here we go. Got

him. Good girl. Kick it. Major

funding for Dragonfly TV is provided by

the Best Buy Children's Foundation. We're

excited to see kids like you exploring

the world of science and technology,

because what you're learning is going to

change the way we live. Best by the

future looks fun.

And by the National Science Foundation,

supporting education and research in

science, mathematics and technology.

The National Science Foundation.

America's investment in the future.

It's Dragonfly TV. Dragonfly

TV.

This is DFTV. I'm Michael. And like the

sign says, I'm Mariko. Today we're

checking out some critters that some kids

would find kind of creepy. Or scary or

disgusting, but we think they're pretty

cool. Like snakes, for example. Leanne

and Carmen are doing some snake charming

to keep those fork tongues flicking. And

in case that's too much for you, you can

relax with Kevin and his pet worms. All



are trying their hand at some crocodile

training. Good eye, might. Welcome to

Crocobite in school. She's a beard,

aren't you?

I'm Courtney. And I'm PJ. And

we hang with crocodiles and alligators.

Because we volunteer at Gear Land in

Orlando, Florida.

Down to the swamp.

Here we go. Come on.

Head on down. You

guys want to pet the back?They're

soft, aren't they?You can tell the

difference between a crocodile and an

alligator by their snout. An alligator

has a round U-shaped snout, and a

crocodile has a thinner snout shaped like

AV and a crooked smile. What must not

have been a pleased expression when

encountering that large lizard like

amphibian with long jaws, armored skin

and webbed feet. otherwise known as a

crocodile. This is Flavio.

He does almost all the training here.

Flavio calls the crocs or gators by name.

Then he gives the command, and the gators

come looking for food.

If the wrong gator comes over, it doesn't

get any food, and so they learn.

Crocs and gators will come when they're

called for dinner, but we want to know,

can we train them to do something special?

Basically,Who wants to move a croc?They

have to muzzle it and wrestle it into a

crate. But wouldn't it be great if a

crocodile would get into its crate by

itself?Well, that's what the trainers

here are trying to do. What you need to

train a croc is A, a crocodile,

B, a place you want the croc to go,

C, a food reward, and D, a

signal, like the sound of my voice. Oh,

yeah Okay, now we've gathered up some

young crocodiles with different amounts

of training. We're gonna give the

command, and if they make it into the

crate, we'll reward them. We'll run each

croc through three trials and record the

results. Ready to crate a croc?

Let's croc and roll.

The first two crocodiles we tested were

baby saltwater croc. They've had no

training at all.

Ready?Yep. Let's go. Crate.

Crate. Crate.

Crate. Neither of them did it.

Ready to do it again?Yeah, let's try it.

Let's go. Come on. Crate.

Crate.

These cracks made no connection at all

between our voices, the crate, and the

food.

Next, we tried these little Cuban

crocodiles. teach with about four weeks

of training. Crate.

Crate.

Crate. Good boy. He went really

fast. Yeah. He got in there. He wants

another one. Crate.

Crate.

Crate. Crate.

He was smart. He knew the meat was over

here, and yeah he was halfway, and then

he just ran over there and started going

for the meat. After some training, these

crocs get the connection between our

voices and food, but I don't think they

have the cray part figured out yet.

Finally, we checked out some full-grown

crocs. These are four- to five-foot

Cuban crocodiles. They're very fast, so

we're going to conduct these trials from

behind the fence.

The command, Cuban here. The

reward, red meat. First

trial, Cuban here.

Cuban here.

Good girl. We had one Cuban

croc that did it, and the other ones

came. They responded a little bit, but

only one really came up to the crate.

Second trial, Cuban here.

Here we go. Got it. Cuban,

here. This one was a

lot better than the first one. Yeah, we

had two of them go in. Yeah.

Third trial. Cuban, here.

Cuban, here. Cuban,

here. Good girl.

Yeah, that one came over there. This one

came right away. And there was another

one that came out. Right there, and then

came out. So yeah, we got three this

time. These cracks definitely responded

to my voice right away, almost like they

knew there was food waiting. We're done.

Okay, let's go analyze the data. Let's

go!

Let's see what we got. OK. Let's look at

the salties. Not much to say about them.

No one-- neither of them did anything.

They sat in the corner the whole time.

The first time you give a croc a command,

it obviously doesn't know what to do.

Training means getting the croc to link

the command to something else, like food.

Let's look at the young Cubans. The first

Cuban didgood first and second time,

but the third time he didn't want to go

through the crate. He kept going around

it. It has taken about four weeks for

these cracks to connect human voices with

food. For the adult Cubans, we

got one or more every single time we did

it. They came more, I think, because they

knew there was going to be food in it for

them. It also could have been that there

were more of them and they followed

each other. I wonder if when they grow

up, that they're still gonna go in their

crate, but maybe this time without a food

reward?It's a good question. It might

take a lot of time. We'll wait and find

out. So crocodiles can be

trained to respond to signals they can

hear. But I wonder, would other kinds of

signals work?Colored flags, maybe?We

could try. You could be like a crocodile

matador.

Whenever PJ is not at school, you can

find him at Gatorland. And guess what PJ

wants to do when he's older?

Crocobiologist. But you know, Courtney's

not so sure about spending the rest of

her life with crocodiles. Well, Courtney

probably heard about PJ's little

accident. Oh, yeah. OK, PJ is working

with baby alligators, and he got a little

too close to one that latched onto his

lower lip. Like the thing just hanging

off of his face, he said, Can I get a

little help here?Who knows?These croc

piercies could catch on. Stay away from

anything with big jaws. And don't forget

to tell us what all the critters you're

into. I'll tell you how in a bit.

Termites.

Those little buggers can destroy a home

just by eating through its wood. Yeah,

and they're really hard to stop because

they come from underground and you can't

see them until it's too late. So, today's

question is, how do you stop before they

make a meal at your house?Try and think

of a plan before the answer comes at the

end of the show. Think defense! Hit it!

To choke off fire, he'll need a large

bowl,Two different sized candles,

a glass half filled with baking soda and

a bottle of vinegar. But there's fire

here, so grab an adult to light the

candles. Add vinegar to the glass of

baking soda and the mixture will start to

foam. But look, the bottom candle starts

to flicker. The reaction between the

vinegar and the baking soda produces a

gas called carbon dioxide. Carbon

dioxide is heavier than the air around

it, so it sinks and starts filling up the

bowl from the bottom up. Carbon dioxide

puts out burning candles, which candle

goes out first. Well, don't just sit

there, get to it!

Hi, my name is Carmen. And I'm Leanne.

And we think snakes are too cool.

Cool for cool of other reptiles. She's a

cold flooded snake Coming after

you Oh no, what

you gonna do We know some people are

scared of snakes, but a lot

of those fears come from stories and

myths. Snakes don't bother us at all.

LeAtte even works at a reptile shop after

school.

I've been around snakes since I was three

years old, so this job is a good one for

me. The first thing you notice

about a snake is its overactive tongue.

It's always flicking, flicking, flicking.

She uses it to taste. If she smelled

something tasty on my hand, she might

even strike. That's why we

always wash your hands before handling

snakes. Their sense of smell is pretty

awesome. Oh, yeah! So we want to know,

can we tell what a snake cramps by its

tongue flicks?Yummy! We heard about a

simple way to give our snakes a taste

test, and we decided to try it out. For

our investigation, we needed some smells

that might interest a snake. We took a

variety of animals that snakes like to

hunt and eat, and we soaked them in

water. Here we have mouse water and frog

water. Hey, I said fine,

just like this. It's

nothing personal, Carmen. I'm

all right. And then we have metal water

and distilled water for control. We'll

dip a cotton swab into the water. Present

it to the snake, start the stopwatch when

it comes close, and then count the tongue

flicks that happen in one minute.

Don't worry, they're not poisonous.

One, two, three, four, five,

six, seven, eight, six, three, seven,





go. One,

two, three. I don't think he likes it.

Eight, nine.

No, little buddy, you can't come out.

Three, four, 13, 14, 15.

I forget it would get more. Mm-hmm

Three, nine,



Maybe he was just really thirsty, so

that's why he flickered more in the

water. When the sun goes down,

then the snakes replay.

Looks like he's sleeping. Wake up.

Wake up. Wake up. 1234.

Wonder doesn't do much for him, does it?

Time to wake up.

One, two, three.

One, two, three, four.

Just sitting there. I'll be here in the

mood today. One.

Yeah, Ricky just wants to be left alone

today, I guess. I think

he must have been fronting. I beg your

pardon. Let's go check out the big snake.

Let's go. Let's go. Hello there. Where's

my dinner?Where's my dinner?

Let me see.

We made a chart to show how many times

the snakes flicked their tongues for each

set.

It was amazing how the king snake went

crazy for the water. Maybe it's because

we put something new in its cage.

Otherwise, a frog got the most flicks out

of the animals. Does that make sense?Yes,

because they eat frogs in the wild. What?

Let's check out the corn snake. The mouse

was the highest. I can believe that

because that's what we feed them. What

about our escape artist?You mean the milk

snake?He didn't flick his tongue at all

for the mouse swatter. And that's what

they eat. Maybe it was just a little too

freaked out. Last, we have the big

Python. His talk was very active. But it

was most active for the mouse. We feed

them big rats in the store. So mouse will

be the closest to that, right?Yeah.

Snakes rely on their tongues to find

their prey. It's like they use their

tongues as much as we use our eyes. And

they respond to different smells. Yeah,

we saw that. I have one more sample to

test. What's that?My brother's

bathwater. Ohh It's

nasty. Let's try it.

So Leanne's been going to the reptile

shop since she was three. Because her

brother's 7 foot bull snake always needed

supplies. By the time she was seven, she

was already helping out at the shop.

Yeah, she did cool stuff like feed the

mice to the snakes. Oh, and that one time

a teeny snake grabbed into her finger and

just wouldn't let go. Not bad again.

What's up with these reptiles?Anyways,

now time to see some warm-blooded

animals. We fed sea lions

different kinds of fish and then watched

their behavior. If our project can make

it on DFTV, yours can too. Here's

how. Surf on over to the

Dragonfly TV website. It's at PBS

online at pbskids.org. Or you can write

us at Dragonfly TV, 172 E



We want to hear from you. It's time for a

clue to our riddle. How can you keep

termites from eating you out of house and

home?Angie and Kirsten are hot in the

termites trail.

What I did was cover the foundation of

the house with galvanized iron, so that

would be a barrier between the termites

and the foundation of the house. I put

some sealant around the edges, and I

decided to soak the wood that the house

was made of in some kind of chemical that

the termites wouldn't like.

Well, the chemicals might just wear out.

Chemicals are probably bad for the

environment. Oh, I guess I hadn't thought

of that. And your idea about the

iron around the foundation, it looks kind

of expensive. What about something like a

termite burglar alarm?But where would

we put it?Hmm

Well, now we know. Chemicals in iron

walls won't work. So see if you can think

of something else, and stick around for

the answer.

Let's go. Hi, I'm Betty

Faber. Here we are at Liberty Science

Center. I'm an entomologist. And guess

what?That means we have a lot of insects.

Oh, I ain't got no bugs. I

ain't got no bugs. I'm all cleaned up

like a brand new pup. No, I ain't got no

bugs. Insects are really

neat because you can find insects

everywhere. You don't need to go to the

movies or go into outer space to meet

aliens. c*ck are about

as alien as you can get.

A c*ck is such a

weird. thing. It

doesn't look like us. It's got more legs.

It doesn't have any expression in its

eyes. And I think when people see all

those legs moving, that just kind of

gives them the willies. When you

start showing students that

c*ck really don't hurt you and

that they're a very good research animal,

most kids really come around. If you pick

up a roach, first thing it does is clean

your odor off of it. We're filthy.

You know, c*ck breathe, but they

don't breathe with lungs. They breathe

through portholes in the side of their

bodies. So if you put a roach in the

toilet and you expect it to drown, it'll

hold its breath for some 45 minutes

before it finally sinks.

When I was growing up, my dad was a

doctor. He would sometimes talk about

puzzles, like how you would make a

diagnosis or something. And that was

always really interesting. Sometime in

the fourth grade-- I don't remember

exactly when-- my dad brought home a

microscope from the hospital. And it was

the most wonderful thing in the world. We

started looking at algae, and I I just

loved it. Now, if you were doing a study

in animal behavior,You do this

all the time. You sit around and watch

these roaches all the time. Ohh There

are 5,000 different kinds of roaches, and

they're all a little bit different. And

each roach has its own particular job in

keeping the world going. Many of them

belong to the cleanup committee. That is

to say, when something dies, especially a

plant something, they keep things clean.

They also are a part of the food chain.

There are a lot of things that love a

c*ck for breakfast, lunch, or

dinner. Sweet.

Sweet. Sweet. Science is a really

interesting endeavor, and it takes all

kinds of people to make it good. Almost

everybody I know who's successful, and

regardless of what they're doing, loves

it. They just love it.

In case you haven't heard enough about

c*ck, here are some more cool

facts. c*ck are special.

c*ck can spit, they can hold their

breath for 40 minutes, and they can live

without their head for a week. Hey, with

that bridge talent, maybe they should

host our show. Shh, don't give any ideas.

Ah, relax, Michael. c*ck have been

around for 280 million years, and

nobody's given them a TV show yet.

Which snake has the longest fangs?

Python, rattlesnake, Gaboon

viper?

Gaboon viper.

Hi, I'm Kevin and I love trash.

Ever since I was little, I've always been

fascinated by all things having to do

with garbage.

My first job is going to be driving one

of these trucks.

Once I get that out of my system, I'm

going to find a new way to recycle using

worms.

These aren't just any old worms. These

are composting worms that I use to

recycle some of my family's leftover

fruit and veggies. Or as we say in the

biz, organic waste.

Okay, why should you care about worms

that eat leftovers?Well, if leftovers

just go in the regular garbage, it'll

just add to the pile at your landfill.

These are my pet worms. I have about



could call me an oligoketologist, which

is the fancy name for a worm scientist.

If you're going to have worms, you're

going to get dirty. I've been

studying my worms for three years now. I

even help with the UCLA research project

by sharing my data of how much my worms

eat and how fast.

Here's how I did my research project. I

carefully weighed our leftovers. Looks

like it's about a half a pound. Worms are

going to love it. And then put them in

the worm farm. Noted the amount and day

in my computer journal. Then I kept track

of how many days it took for the

leftovers to disappear. Down, down, down,

into the ground, we're going down. Again,

entering that data in my computer.

In the end, I found that mature

composting worms can eat about half their

own body weight every day. Now, that's a

lot of garbage. If

you want to set up your own worm

recycling station, here's what you need

to do. First, get a friend.

Hello there. Howdy. Next, you need some

worms.

Not gummy worms. What did I do to

deserve this?OK, they can't just be any

kind of worms. They have to be composting

worms, and I ordered mine through the

Internet. While you're

at it, you might just want to order a

worm bin or make your own. What is most

important is that you have drain holes at

the bottom and air holes at the top.

My favorite feature is the little spigot

that allows me to collect the worm

key.

Ohh Which makes great plant fertilizer.

Next thing you need to do is get some

potty soil from your local garden store.

Finally, the worms come in the mail, and

we're going to place them in their new

home.

There's a few good things to know about

your worms. Number one, they don't have

teeth. Number two, they have a small

pad of flesh above their lips that sort

of looks like a mouth. And don't worry,

most days they won't pee on you. You

can't do that on the air. Two

important things to remember. Keep your

worms in a shady area, and don't forget

to feed and water them regularly.

One day I'd like to find a way to recycle

every piece of trash so there will be no

more needs for landfills anymore. I'm not

sure how I'm going to do that, but I

think using worms will be a good first

step.

Did you know that there are 2700 types of

earthworms?Oh, really?Yep. And

earthworms can't hear. Just me and the

hi-fi. They can just sense

vibrations. And they have no eyes, so

they can't see. They can just sense

light. Mario, if you love worms so much,

why are you wearing gloves?Don't

interrupt a lecture. As I was

saying, earthworms can breathe through

their skin. Amazing. I'm sorry to

interrupt, but Marco, it's time to answer

today's riddle. How do you stop termites

before they start dinner?And we're

heading underground for the answer.

The termites crawled in the dirt. They

ran faster than a racing car. You stop

termites before they get into your house

by inviting them to snuck on a piece of

woodthat we place around the house. We

bury the wood in the ground near the

house. Inside the wood, it's a sensor.

When the termites chew through the wood,

they break the sensor. That alerts the

termite inspector the bugs are nearby.

This looks like a job for Mr. Big

Tough Guy. To k*ll the

termites, the sensors are replaced

with a pesticide bait. It takes just a

short while before the whole harmonydies.

You think the earthworm is interesting?

What about those termites?Yeah, I read

them six on insect appeal. Oh, come on.

Just listen up. Termites work 24 hours a

day. They never sleep. Overachievers.

And an average termite colony will eat

about 1,000 pounds of wood a year.

Overeaters. Okay, here's the biggest one.

There are so many termites on Earth that

they outweigh all of us humans. That's a

lot of bugs, but remember,Even if you're

not a junior entomologist, we want to

know about you. Just go to our website

and click on Beyond DFTV. To find out

more about Dragonfly TV, head to PBS

online at pbskids.org or write us at

Dragonfly TV, 172 E 4th St. St.

Paul, MN 55101. So,

Marico, what's your favorite creepy

critter?Not creepy. They're just

misunderstood. Uh huhOh,

sorry, just a misunderstanding. See you

next time on Dragonfly TV.

Major funding for Dragonfly TV is

provided by the Best Buy Children's

Foundation. We're excited to see kids

like you exploring the world of science

and technology because what you're

learning is going to change the way we

live. Best Buy the future looks fun.

And by the National Science Foundation,

supporting education and research in

science, mathematics and technology.

The National Science Foundation America's

investment in the future.