September 22, 2023 • 13 mins
Maria chats with Nat GEo Kids' Kathryn Williams about the-over-300-paged National Geographic Kids Weird But True! WORLD 2024.
Learn about the world's strangest ANIMALS, NATURAL WONDERS and more!!
This info-packed hardcover book will fascinate adults as well (I love it!)
Learn about the world's strangest ANIMALS, NATURAL WONDERS and more!!
This info-packed hardcover book will fascinate adults as well (I love it!)
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
It's Maria's MutS and Stuff. Whata great idea. On I heard radio
Welcome to Maria's MutS and Stuff.And with me is National Geographic Editor Katherine
Williams, and we're going to talkabout this brand new spectacular book, Weird
(00:21):
but True World twenty twenty four.So, Catherine, this is an amazing
book. You did an excellent job. Oh, thank you so much.
Yeah, I'm really proud of theway it came out. This is a
really it's a huge, undertaking,really large book, and we try to
pack it with the weirdest, whacky, is most inspiring things the world has
(00:43):
to offer. Yeah, and definitely, And I mean it's just chock full
of great pictures obviously, right.I mean, I know it's aimed at
kids, but as an adult,I really like I just got it today
and I can't wait to really readit read it because I feel like it's
so it's so educational even for adultstoo. Yeah, I mean, yeah,
(01:06):
it's it's it's aimed at a middleschool audience, but I learn a
ton while I'm working on these kindsof books, and it's definitely fun for
adults. I think there's a lotof things in here that kid reads,
they'll be able to stump their parents. They'll have forbia that their parents don't
know. So I think it's definitelyworthwhile for people of all ages. Yeah,
(01:26):
and yeah, it's got lots ofscience that's accessible to to eight to
twelve year olds. But I thinkalso we don't talk down to our readers,
so it definitely feels like something foranybody. No, it's true,
you know what, that's a reallyreally good point. You don't talk down
at all, Like there's nothing that'slike sarcastic or I'm even not sure if
(01:49):
sarcastic is the right word, butyeah, it definitely appealed to, you
know, middle school adults. Ithink it's I think it's ageless. So
so let's talk a little bit aboutthe book itself, because I know,
like right there, the first chapteris weird this year. So every year
the because it's like an almanac,but the book comes out with something that's
(02:13):
weird that you just found correct forthis year. Yeah, so the first
chapter is kind of a mismatch,mismatch of all kinds of different kind of
information for that year. So therest of the book, we go continent
by continent and show groups of weirdanimals, weird places, things you can
(02:35):
find in that continent. But thefirst chapter is really kind of just a
fun round of weird stuff. Sowe have all the things that happen in
a year, so you sleep somuch that in one year that it's about
four months worth of time. Wehave weird holidays through the in the year,
(02:57):
so UFO Day for kids to celebrate, and then we also do a
roundup of weirdest, weirdest animals forthat year weirdest photos. And then this
year we did a feature on Weirdestjobs. We have professional zombie and dog
surf instructor and that's you know,and that's very perfect for what everything you
(03:21):
know, this podcast is all aboutanimals and the environment and everything else.
So yes, let's talk about beinga dog surf instructor instructor because I saw
you could also it's also an instructorfor pigs and rats. I can't imagine
like a rat on a surfboard.Yeah, I know, it's very funny.
And yeah, so if you're ifyou happen to have the two very
(03:43):
specific skills of being a good dogtrainer and knowing how to surf, you
might be able to train dogs howto surf, and dogs competing competitions to
see who can surf stay on thesurfboard the longest. And we have some
very fun photos of dogs on surfboards. But yeah, other animals have
been taught to surf as well,like goats, pigs, cats, and
(04:05):
rats. It's amazing and I can't, I like, I can't even imagine
a cat staying on And I mean, I know, I know cats can
be trained just like dogs, butI just can't imagine a cat on a
surfboard. I know. It isvery funny and notoriously not fans of the
water, Yeah, exactly. Andof course of that chapter, my favorite
(04:25):
are the weirdest animals and all andthe runner ups like the hooded seal.
I mean that poor seal. Itlooks like it has a ginormous tomato on
a t head, you know.Yeah, yeah, the hooded seal is
definitely a weirder one in the andthe photos are incredible. They have these
inflatable balloons or sacks they have ontheir faces. They have one on the
(04:46):
top of their head that's black andone on their nose that's red. And
if you're another seal and you're anothermale feel you might find that very intimidating
because they they inflate them to toshow other else that they're ready to fight.
Or if you're a female seal,you might find that really great because
they attractive, right, you mightbe attracted to that, you know.
(05:09):
And it's so funny because I'm lookingat it as you're telling me, and
I didn't realize that it's inflatable,which makes it even more spectacular, you
know, Yeah, that it doesn'talways have that ginormous tomato on its eye,
you know, on it. It'sreally funny, Like, how do
you guys find these animals? Ican't imagine. Yeah, it's it takes
(05:31):
a lot. So we have alot of researchers and writers who work on
this book, and they just kindof scour all of the information that we
have. I also am constantly anytimeanyone I know see something weird in the
world, especially my colleagues and NationalGeographic They'll just send it straight to me.
So I have an inbox full ofweird things. And we also sometimes
(05:54):
we just encounter these weird animals inour day to day work, just because
we are always working on books aboutanimals. So yeah, but there's even
some some of these animals in thisbook I did not know about until we
put them here. So I'm Ilearned. You learn too, So what
was what was something if you canremember off the top of your head that
(06:16):
you had no idea existed until youput this book together. Yeah, so
there was one. There's a birdin the Australia chapter called a jicana that
I saw a photo of and Ithought it was a totally fake photo because
it looks like a bird. Itwalks on lily pads, and this bird
looks like it had a dozen legs, and I thought this cannot be real.
(06:42):
But it turns out that the malejicana bird keeps its babies tucked under
its wings and then it walks aroundwith them like that, and the babies
legs hang out and they have reallylong legs, so the little legs hang
out from under its wings, andit just looks like it's it's a half
bird, half in apede. It'sgot so many legs. Wow, It's
it's so crazy. It's really like, it's so fascinating but so crazy that
(07:06):
and crazy in the sense that someof these these animals, like that these
things exist. You know, like, who would know. We wouldn't know
about it if it wasn't for Nagiofinding it for us. Yeah. Yeah,
I mean, it really is amazingthe way that the world's a big
place. There's a lot of differentecosystems, and these animals have these incredible
(07:27):
ways of adapting to where they live. And I think it is cool to
have a book like this for kidswho I know, when I was in
middle school, I hadn't gone veryfar from homes, and it was it's
so nice to see all of theseincredible things and see a big photo of
them and what they really look like, even if they're on the other side
of the world. No, it'strue. It's like it's like a travelog
(07:49):
for kids. You know, evenfor me. You know that you don't
travel a lot to different continents andeverything, and it's like, oh,
you kind of learn, you know, it's it kind of broadens everyone's for
risings about what's what's living in thereand other continents and around the world.
Like you said, so it's likea travel it's like a travelogue for us,
which is pretty cool, especially forkids. Yeah, so how long
(08:13):
did it take to put this wholebook together? Because I'm sure you probably
since it's for twenty twenty four andprobably started on this from last year,
right, twenty twenty three. Yeah, yeah, yeah, So we basically
are I'm already working on the nextone. We basically are constantly working on
(08:33):
these books. And I've been workingon this one for about a year.
So wow. Yeah. So wewe A lot goes into it, and
we updated as we go so it'sas current as possible. It's amazing,
amazing. So do you have afavorite chapter. I'm not sure. I
(08:54):
love I'm sure of those animals alot. One of my favorite animals and
that sort of the marine iguana,And I love the fact that they they
consume a lot of salt water asthey swim, and they have to get
it out of their bodies and theydo that by sneezing. But sometimes they
(09:16):
sneeze on and it lands on topof their heads and so they end up
with the salty crest on their headsfrom all this sneezing they do. Oh
my god, that's really funny.Yeah, it's really funny. And we
have a photo of this iguana thathas just all this salt on it.
Oh my goodness. I have tolook for that that's really funny, Like
(09:37):
just you describing it, I findreally funny. I have to see what
that looks like. I can understandwhy that's your favorite. You know,
yeah, you actually this is likea really cool job. You have a
very cool job to do. Yourfriends tell you that all the time.
Yeah, yeah, I do.And I'm well, and I'm probably probably
(09:58):
a little bit annoying because I'll be, you know, out with my friends
and I'll just start dropping all ofthese animals, facts and regular phases because
everything reminds me of one of thesefacts. That's really funny. But that's
kind of cool though. It's kindof cool, like if any of your
friends ever get on you know,like a game show or something, you
could be there go to for informationsince you know so much. You know,
(10:22):
you have all this research that you'vedone through your job. But it's
it's true. It must. Imean, I think it would be really
fun to hang out with you andthen you start telling these funny facts.
It's crazy. Oh my goodness.So okay, So for the listeners who
would love to pick this up,because again it's over three hundred pages,
it's hardcover. It's a beautiful book. I mean, it's just the photography,
(10:46):
the photographs the photographers would take,these photos are just amazing. So
it's really it's pretty cool. LikeI said, it's over three hundred pages.
They can get it at at geokidsdot com. Is that correct.
You can get it in any bookretailer online or sailors or any brick and
mortar bookstore where books are sold,and you can learn other animal facts and
(11:07):
play games and things on kids dotNational Geographic dot com. That's true.
And also in this almanac there's aquiz whizz, which I think is kind
of fun. Yes, we havepersonality quizzes and we have tester or knowledge
quizzes in every chapter. Yeah,I love that. I love that.
It's hard to keep track of allthis weirdness. That's like, like,
I know it's supposed to it's reallyaimed at kids, but I'm very entertained
(11:28):
by how the wording is in thebook. I'd love to hear that.
No, it's true, it's true. I mean, like as I'm talking
to like, thanks to the pinkkrill they eat, is it a Delhi
penguins? I'm not sure I'm sayingit right. Their poop is pink,
who would know that, yes,yes, right, And I believe I
believe there's a fact about being ableto see that they poop so much.
(11:54):
I'm sorry, I'm giving all thegrowth. That's okay. No, I
love it. I love it fromspace really, oh my god. Like
the astronauts on the International Space Stationcan keep track of Penguin group. Oh
my goodness, because they can seeit from up there. That's amazing.
Like who would think that? Andis it? Is it because it's pink?
I mean is it? Is itpink? Or does it have something
that makes it glow? Or Iguess right, I think it's just a
(12:18):
lot of it. Oh my goodness, that's amazing. See, I love
that. That's what I love.Like just talking about this book, you
like, there's a fact there watwho would know that? None of us
would know that without this book.It's really incredible. So I guess for
you, Catherine, you're going tostart working on twenty twenty five? Is
(12:39):
that what your next project will be? I guess yep, yep, we're
starting to work on that one already. Wow. Well that's pretty cool.
Well that's amazing. Well good luckwith that, and thank you for all
your fun facts and talking with metoday, So weird but true. World
twenty twenty four. Geo Kids,Catherine Williams. Thank you. It's fun
(13:03):
to talk to you and keep keepspouting all those facts and fun facts with
your friends, because I think Iwish I had friends like you who would
tell me stuff like that. BecauseI would I could listen to it all
day, will do. Thank youjust
It's Maria's MutS and Stuff. Whata great idea. On I heard radio
Welcome to Maria's MutS and Stuff.And with me is National Geographic Editor Katherine
Williams, and we're going to talkabout this brand new spectacular book, Weird
(00:21):
but True World twenty twenty four.So, Catherine, this is an amazing
book. You did an excellent job. Oh, thank you so much.
Yeah, I'm really proud of theway it came out. This is a
really it's a huge, undertaking,really large book, and we try to
pack it with the weirdest, whacky, is most inspiring things the world has
(00:43):
to offer. Yeah, and definitely, And I mean it's just chock full
of great pictures obviously, right.I mean, I know it's aimed at
kids, but as an adult,I really like I just got it today
and I can't wait to really readit read it because I feel like it's
so it's so educational even for adultstoo. Yeah, I mean, yeah,
(01:06):
it's it's it's aimed at a middleschool audience, but I learn a
ton while I'm working on these kindsof books, and it's definitely fun for
adults. I think there's a lotof things in here that kid reads,
they'll be able to stump their parents. They'll have forbia that their parents don't
know. So I think it's definitelyworthwhile for people of all ages. Yeah,
(01:26):
and yeah, it's got lots ofscience that's accessible to to eight to
twelve year olds. But I thinkalso we don't talk down to our readers,
so it definitely feels like something foranybody. No, it's true,
you know what, that's a reallyreally good point. You don't talk down
at all, Like there's nothing that'slike sarcastic or I'm even not sure if
(01:49):
sarcastic is the right word, butyeah, it definitely appealed to, you
know, middle school adults. Ithink it's I think it's ageless. So
so let's talk a little bit aboutthe book itself, because I know,
like right there, the first chapteris weird this year. So every year
the because it's like an almanac,but the book comes out with something that's
(02:13):
weird that you just found correct forthis year. Yeah, so the first
chapter is kind of a mismatch,mismatch of all kinds of different kind of
information for that year. So therest of the book, we go continent
by continent and show groups of weirdanimals, weird places, things you can
(02:35):
find in that continent. But thefirst chapter is really kind of just a
fun round of weird stuff. Sowe have all the things that happen in
a year, so you sleep somuch that in one year that it's about
four months worth of time. Wehave weird holidays through the in the year,
(02:57):
so UFO Day for kids to celebrate, and then we also do a
roundup of weirdest, weirdest animals forthat year weirdest photos. And then this
year we did a feature on Weirdestjobs. We have professional zombie and dog
surf instructor and that's you know,and that's very perfect for what everything you
(03:21):
know, this podcast is all aboutanimals and the environment and everything else.
So yes, let's talk about beinga dog surf instructor instructor because I saw
you could also it's also an instructorfor pigs and rats. I can't imagine
like a rat on a surfboard.Yeah, I know, it's very funny.
And yeah, so if you're ifyou happen to have the two very
(03:43):
specific skills of being a good dogtrainer and knowing how to surf, you
might be able to train dogs howto surf, and dogs competing competitions to
see who can surf stay on thesurfboard the longest. And we have some
very fun photos of dogs on surfboards. But yeah, other animals have
been taught to surf as well,like goats, pigs, cats, and
(04:05):
rats. It's amazing and I can't, I like, I can't even imagine
a cat staying on And I mean, I know, I know cats can
be trained just like dogs, butI just can't imagine a cat on a
surfboard. I know. It isvery funny and notoriously not fans of the
water, Yeah, exactly. Andof course of that chapter, my favorite
(04:25):
are the weirdest animals and all andthe runner ups like the hooded seal.
I mean that poor seal. Itlooks like it has a ginormous tomato on
a t head, you know.Yeah, yeah, the hooded seal is
definitely a weirder one in the andthe photos are incredible. They have these
inflatable balloons or sacks they have ontheir faces. They have one on the
(04:46):
top of their head that's black andone on their nose that's red. And
if you're another seal and you're anothermale feel you might find that very intimidating
because they they inflate them to toshow other else that they're ready to fight.
Or if you're a female seal,you might find that really great because
they attractive, right, you mightbe attracted to that, you know.
(05:09):
And it's so funny because I'm lookingat it as you're telling me, and
I didn't realize that it's inflatable,which makes it even more spectacular, you
know, Yeah, that it doesn'talways have that ginormous tomato on its eye,
you know, on it. It'sreally funny, Like, how do
you guys find these animals? Ican't imagine. Yeah, it's it takes
(05:31):
a lot. So we have alot of researchers and writers who work on
this book, and they just kindof scour all of the information that we
have. I also am constantly anytimeanyone I know see something weird in the
world, especially my colleagues and NationalGeographic They'll just send it straight to me.
So I have an inbox full ofweird things. And we also sometimes
(05:54):
we just encounter these weird animals inour day to day work, just because
we are always working on books aboutanimals. So yeah, but there's even
some some of these animals in thisbook I did not know about until we
put them here. So I'm Ilearned. You learn too, So what
was what was something if you canremember off the top of your head that
(06:16):
you had no idea existed until youput this book together. Yeah, so
there was one. There's a birdin the Australia chapter called a jicana that
I saw a photo of and Ithought it was a totally fake photo because
it looks like a bird. Itwalks on lily pads, and this bird
looks like it had a dozen legs, and I thought this cannot be real.
(06:42):
But it turns out that the malejicana bird keeps its babies tucked under
its wings and then it walks aroundwith them like that, and the babies
legs hang out and they have reallylong legs, so the little legs hang
out from under its wings, andit just looks like it's it's a half
bird, half in apede. It'sgot so many legs. Wow, It's
it's so crazy. It's really like, it's so fascinating but so crazy that
(07:06):
and crazy in the sense that someof these these animals, like that these
things exist. You know, like, who would know. We wouldn't know
about it if it wasn't for Nagiofinding it for us. Yeah. Yeah,
I mean, it really is amazingthe way that the world's a big
place. There's a lot of differentecosystems, and these animals have these incredible
(07:27):
ways of adapting to where they live. And I think it is cool to
have a book like this for kidswho I know, when I was in
middle school, I hadn't gone veryfar from homes, and it was it's
so nice to see all of theseincredible things and see a big photo of
them and what they really look like, even if they're on the other side
of the world. No, it'strue. It's like it's like a travelog
(07:49):
for kids. You know, evenfor me. You know that you don't
travel a lot to different continents andeverything, and it's like, oh,
you kind of learn, you know, it's it kind of broadens everyone's for
risings about what's what's living in thereand other continents and around the world.
Like you said, so it's likea travel it's like a travelogue for us,
which is pretty cool, especially forkids. Yeah, so how long
(08:13):
did it take to put this wholebook together? Because I'm sure you probably
since it's for twenty twenty four andprobably started on this from last year,
right, twenty twenty three. Yeah, yeah, yeah, So we basically
are I'm already working on the nextone. We basically are constantly working on
(08:33):
these books. And I've been workingon this one for about a year.
So wow. Yeah. So wewe A lot goes into it, and
we updated as we go so it'sas current as possible. It's amazing,
amazing. So do you have afavorite chapter. I'm not sure. I
(08:54):
love I'm sure of those animals alot. One of my favorite animals and
that sort of the marine iguana,And I love the fact that they they
consume a lot of salt water asthey swim, and they have to get
it out of their bodies and theydo that by sneezing. But sometimes they
(09:16):
sneeze on and it lands on topof their heads and so they end up
with the salty crest on their headsfrom all this sneezing they do. Oh
my god, that's really funny.Yeah, it's really funny. And we
have a photo of this iguana thathas just all this salt on it.
Oh my goodness. I have tolook for that that's really funny, Like
(09:37):
just you describing it, I findreally funny. I have to see what
that looks like. I can understandwhy that's your favorite. You know,
yeah, you actually this is likea really cool job. You have a
very cool job to do. Yourfriends tell you that all the time.
Yeah, yeah, I do.And I'm well, and I'm probably probably
(09:58):
a little bit annoying because I'll be, you know, out with my friends
and I'll just start dropping all ofthese animals, facts and regular phases because
everything reminds me of one of thesefacts. That's really funny. But that's
kind of cool though. It's kindof cool, like if any of your
friends ever get on you know,like a game show or something, you
could be there go to for informationsince you know so much. You know,
(10:22):
you have all this research that you'vedone through your job. But it's
it's true. It must. Imean, I think it would be really
fun to hang out with you andthen you start telling these funny facts.
It's crazy. Oh my goodness.So okay, So for the listeners who
would love to pick this up,because again it's over three hundred pages,
it's hardcover. It's a beautiful book. I mean, it's just the photography,
(10:46):
the photographs the photographers would take,these photos are just amazing. So
it's really it's pretty cool. LikeI said, it's over three hundred pages.
They can get it at at geokidsdot com. Is that correct.
You can get it in any bookretailer online or sailors or any brick and
mortar bookstore where books are sold,and you can learn other animal facts and
(11:07):
play games and things on kids dotNational Geographic dot com. That's true.
And also in this almanac there's aquiz whizz, which I think is kind
of fun. Yes, we havepersonality quizzes and we have tester or knowledge
quizzes in every chapter. Yeah,I love that. I love that.
It's hard to keep track of allthis weirdness. That's like, like,
I know it's supposed to it's reallyaimed at kids, but I'm very entertained
(11:28):
by how the wording is in thebook. I'd love to hear that.
No, it's true, it's true. I mean, like as I'm talking
to like, thanks to the pinkkrill they eat, is it a Delhi
penguins? I'm not sure I'm sayingit right. Their poop is pink,
who would know that, yes,yes, right, And I believe I
believe there's a fact about being ableto see that they poop so much.
(11:54):
I'm sorry, I'm giving all thegrowth. That's okay. No, I
love it. I love it fromspace really, oh my god. Like
the astronauts on the International Space Stationcan keep track of Penguin group. Oh
my goodness, because they can seeit from up there. That's amazing.
Like who would think that? Andis it? Is it because it's pink?
I mean is it? Is itpink? Or does it have something
that makes it glow? Or Iguess right, I think it's just a
(12:18):
lot of it. Oh my goodness, that's amazing. See, I love
that. That's what I love.Like just talking about this book, you
like, there's a fact there watwho would know that? None of us
would know that without this book.It's really incredible. So I guess for
you, Catherine, you're going tostart working on twenty twenty five? Is
(12:39):
that what your next project will be? I guess yep, yep, we're
starting to work on that one already. Wow. Well that's pretty cool.
Well that's amazing. Well good luckwith that, and thank you for all
your fun facts and talking with metoday, So weird but true. World
twenty twenty four. Geo Kids,Catherine Williams. Thank you. It's fun
(13:03):
to talk to you and keep keepspouting all those facts and fun facts with
your friends, because I think Iwish I had friends like you who would
tell me stuff like that. BecauseI would I could listen to it all
day, will do. Thank youjust
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