Tag! You’re BIT! The Science of Why Mosquitoes Bite Certain People!

Grab your bug spray and zip up your mosquito-proof jumpsuit, because this episode of Wow in the World is buzzing with science, chaos, and one very complicated game of “Mosquito Tag!” illustrating why mosquitoes bite certain people! Perfect for kids and listening with the whole family. On a hot summer evening, Mindy, Guy Raz and the crew gather outside for what should have been a simple game of tag…until a swarm of mosquitoes crashes the party and turns the whole thing into a deep dive into the weird and wonderful world of mosquitoes and why they choose to make a meal out of you!

Why do mosquitoes seem obsessed with biting some people while completely ignoring others? Are all mosquitoes blood-sucking pests? And why does Thomas Fingerling somehow attract every mosquito within a five-mile radius? Along the way, Mindy and Guy Raz reveal the surprising truth about mosquito biology! And the science gets even wilder when the crew dives into a real-life experiment inspired by researchers at Georgia Tech. These scientists wanted to understand exactly how mosquitoes track down humans, so they created a special mosquito-testing room filled with clues mosquitoes love… as it turns out, mosquitoes don’t just randomly fly around looking for snacks—they combine multiple clues to zero in on their targets like tiny flying detectives!

Through hilarious roleplay, disastrous experiments, and Dennis’s increasingly dangerous game rules, the crew discovers how mosquitoes use sensory clues to decide who gets bitten next. This episode for kids and families also explores how scientists hope this research could lead to better mosquito traps and new ways to stop the spread of dangerous mosquito-borne diseases around the world.

It’s an episode crawling with outrageous comedy, gross mosquito facts, pretend blood-sucking, and enough buzzing sound effects to make you itch just listening!

📺 You can watch the WOW of this episode right now on our YouTube channel, WowTube! Find your favorite Tinkercast podcast episodes, experiments with Mindy, original music with Dennis and so much more at youtube.com/@tinkercast.

✨ Don’t miss the chance to explore even further with Wow in the World:

Grownups can visit https://bit.ly/4pU76WO to join the World Organization of Wowzers (WOW) and unlock exclusive activities, birthday cards, quarterly mailings, first dibs at events, and a welcome kit with an autographed photo of Mindy & Guy Raz! Plus, Grownups help support our podcast and our mission to create content and experiences that connect laughter to learning, curiosity to innovation and kids to the WOWs in their world!

This episode of Wow in the World is perfect for kids and families who love mosquitoes, insects, biology, and big WOWs of science!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.