Curious About Monster Trucks

PODCAST 183: CURIOUS ABOUT MONSTER TRUCKS

RELEASE DATE: FRIDAY, APRIL 1ST, 2022

M:  HELLO, AND WELCOME BACK TO THE CURIOUS KID PODCAST, SEASON 8.  WE ARE SO EXCITED TO BE BACK FOR ANOTHER SEASON FULL OF LEARNING AND LOTS AND LOTS OF FUN.  THIS WEEK, WE ARE GETTING CURIOUS FOR 2 LISTENERS FROM DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD THAT HAVE BOTH BEEN WAITING FOR ABOUT A YEAR FOR US TO GET CURIOUS FOR THEM.  

N:  DOUBLE-MAILBAG!

M:  DOUBLE-MAILBAG!

“HELLO, MY NAME IS TOM.  I AM 8 YEARS OLD FROM TASMANIA, AUSTRALIA.  I AM CURIOUS ABOUT LEGO AND PHONES.  I’M ALSO CURIOUS ABOUT MINECRAFT, PAPER, HOW THE EARDRUM WORKS, MONSTER TRUCKS AND POWERLINES.  THANKS FOR YOUR PODCAST.

-TOM OF TASMANIA, AUSTRALIA”

“HEY OLIVIA AND JACOB.  MY NAME IS JENNA AND I PICK UP MY TWO COUSINS, SADIE (7) AND AUSTIN (4) FROM SCHOOL.  WE LIVE IN TEMPLE, TEXAS, AND WE LOVE YOUR PODCAST!  SADIE IS CURIOUS ABOUT FLAMINGOS, PILLOWS, AND BUTTERFLIES.  SHE WANTS TO KNOW WHY FLAMINGOS ARE PINK, HOW PILLOWS ARE MADE, AND HOW BUTTERFLIES GET WINGS.  AUSTIN IS CURIOUS ABOUT MONSTER TRUCKS AND TRACTORS.  HE WANTS TO KNOW HOW MONSTER TRUCKS JUMP OVER CARS AND HOW TRACTORS WORK.  THANK YOU FOR MAKING SUCH A WONDERFUL PODCAST THAT WE CAN LISTEN TO ON THE WAY HOME FROM SCHOOL.  WE LOVE Y’ALL!”

N:  THOSE WERE AMAZING E-MAILS.  WE ARE GETTING CURIOUS ABOUT MONSTER TRUCKS FOR TOM, JENNA, SADIE, AND AUSTIN.

M:  THAT’S RIGHT, NOAH.  WE ALSO COVERED LOTS OF THE OTHER TOPICS THAT OUR LISTENERS FROM TASMANIA AND TEXAS WERE CURIOUS ABOUT, INCLUDING LEGO, PHONES, PAPER, EARS, AND FLAMINGOS, SO IF YOU HAVEN’T HEARD THOSE EPISODES YET, AND THOSE TOPICS INTEREST YOU TOO, GIVE THEM A LISTEN WHEN YOU’RE DONE WITH THIS EPISODE.  MONSTER TRUCKS ARE REALLY MASSIVE TRUCKS AND THERE IS SO MUCH TO LEARN ABOUT THEM, SO LET’S GET STARTED WITH THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK.

N:  THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK IS, WHAT IS THE MINIMUM WEIGHT OF A MONSTER TRUCK?

M:  OUR FAMILY HAS 2 CARS.  WE HAVE A MINIVAN… IT’S A HONDA ODYSSEY TO BE EXACT.  OUR MINIVAN WEIGHS ABOUT 4,500 POUNDS (WHICH IS SLIGHTLY MORE THAN 2,000 KILOGRAMS).  IT’S VERY BIG.  WE ALSO HAVE A SMALLER CAR, A TOYOTA CAMRY.  THAT CAR WEIGHS ABOUT 3,400 POUNDS (WHICH IS A BIT MORE THAN 1,500 KILOGRAMS).  CAN YOU GUESS THE MINIMUM ALLOWED WEIGHT FOR A MONSTER TRUCK?  WHILE YOU’RE THINKING OF THE ANSWER, LET’S GET CURIOUS!

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O:  APRIL FOOLS, EVERYBODY!  DID WE FOOL YOU?  WERE YOU WONDERING WHERE WE WERE?  WERE YOU WONDERING WHY OUR EPISODE WAS COMING OUT ON A FRIDAY INSTEAD OF A SUNDAY?  

D:  IT’S BECAUSE IT’S APRIL FOOLS DAY AND WE WANTED TO HAVE SOME FUN TO CELEBRATE.

O:  THANK YOU MOMMY AND LITTLE BRO NOAH FOR GETTING US OFF TO A GREAT START FOR THIS EPISODE.  WE’RE GOING TO TAKE IT FROM HERE.

D:  THIS IS GOING TO BE SO MUCH FUN.  WHEN I WAS A LOT YOUNGER, MAYBE EVEN AROUND YOUR AGE, MY PARENTS TOOK ME TO SEE THE MONSTER TRUCKS, AND IT WAS AN INCREDIBLE EXPERIENCE.  I REMEMBER THEM BEING REALLY AMAZING AND DOING THINGS THAT I DIDN’T THINK TRUCKS THAT SIZE COULD DO. 

O:  THE HISTORY OF MONSTER TRUCKS IS REALLY INTERESTING.  IN THE LATE 1970’S, PICKUP TRUCKS WERE MODIFIED SO THAT THEY COULD BE REALLY GOOD AT MUD BOGGING AND TRUCK PULLING.  

D:  MUD BOGGING IS REALLY NEAT.  THE GOAL OF THE SPORT IS TO DRIVE A VEHICLE THROUGH A BIG MUD PIT.  THESE MUD PITS ARE BIG AND DEEP.  THERE IS NO WAY OUR CAR OR MINIVAN WOULD BE ABLE TO GET THROUGH THESE MUD PITS.  EVEN LOTS OF THE MODIFIED PICKUP TRUCKS GOT STUCK.  OF THE TRUCKS THAT MADE IT THROUGH, THE ONE THAT GOT THROUGH THE MUD PIT FASTEST WOULD WIN THE COMPETITION.  

O:  TRUCK PULLING IS EXACTLY WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE.  A TRUCK WOULD PULL A REALLY HEAVY OBJECT FOR A LONG DISTANCE.  

D:  THE DISTANCE WOULD BE 100 METERS, WHICH WORKS OUT TO 330 FEET, SO A BIT LONGER THAN AN AMERICAN FOOTBALL FIELD.  THE TRUCKS WOULD PULL SPECIAL SLEDS CALLED WEIGHT TRANSFER DRAGS.  WHAT THE SLEDS DID WAS MAKE IT MORE AND MORE DIFFICULT FOR THE TRUCK TO KEEP PULLING IT THE LONGER DISTANCE THE TRUCK TRAVELLED.  THE TRUCK THAT PULLS THE SLED THE FURTHEST WOULD WIN THE TRUCK PULLING COMPETITION.

O:  MUD BOGGING AND TRUCK PULLING WOULD REQUIRE REALLY BIG AND REALLY POWERFUL TRUCKS.  ORDINARY PICKUP TRUCKS WOULDN’T DO THE TRICK.

D:  THAT’S WHY PICKUP TRUCKS WERE MODIFIED, SO THAT THEY WERE BIGGER AND STRONGER.  THEY SOON STARTED COMPETING TO SEE WHICH TRUCK WAS THE BIGGEST.  THE TRUCKS WERE GIVEN BIGGER TIRES AND LARGER SUSPENSIONS.

O:  THE SUSPENSION IS SUPPOSED TO MAKE SURE YOUR DRIVE IS SAFE AND SMOOTH, AT LEAST AS SMOOTH AS IT COULD BE IF YOU ARE DRIVING A MONSTER TRUCK AND DOING CRAZY TRICKS.  IT DOES THAT BY ABSORBING A LOT OF THE BUMPS THAT ARE CAUSED BY THE ROAD AND OTHER FACTORS.          

D:  THESE DAYS, THE TRUCKS ARE ALSO DESIGNED WITH A TUBULAR FRAME AND FIBERGLASS BODIES THAT ATTACH TO THE FRAME, AND CAN BE REPLACED WHEN DAMAGED, BECAUSE MONSTER TRUCKS GET DAMAGED A LOT.  

O:  THE ENGINES OF A MONSTER TRUCK ARE SUPERCHARGED, AND THEY HAVE FOUR WHEEL STEERING, WITH THE FRONT AND BACK WHEELS CONTROLLED SEPARATELY.  

D:  AND YOU’RE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE THIS.  MONSTER TRUCKS HAVE CRAZY BIG TIRES.  THE TIRE OF A MONSTER TRUCK IS 66 INCHES (OR 168 CENTIMETERS) IN DIAMETER.  THAT MEANS THAT, IF I STOOD NEXT TO A MONSTER TRUCK TIRE, IT WOULD COME UP TO MY FOREHEAD.  EACH TIRE ALSO COSTS $2,600.  YOU COULD BUY A FULL CAR FOR THE PRICE YOU WOULD SPEND ON 4 MONSTER TRUCK TIRES.  THE AVERAGE MONSTER TRUCK COSTS ABOUT $250,000… THAT’S A QUARTER OF A MILLION DOLLARS!    

O:  ONE OF THE FIRST COMPETITORS TO COMPETE IN THE EARLY MONSTER TRUCK EVENTS WAS BOB CHANDLER AND HIS INCREDIBLE TRUCK BIGFOOT.      

D:  IN 1981, THE YEAR I WAS BORN, BOB CHANDLER DROVE OVER JUNK CARS IN BIGFOOT, CRUSHING THEM.  THE TIRES ON BIGFOOT AT THE TIME WERE ONLY 48 INCHES… HAHA, ONLY 48 INCHES.  WHEN AN EVENT PROMOTOR HEARD WHAT HE WAS DOING, HE ASKED BOB TO DRIVE OVER CARS IN BIGFOOT IN FRONT OF A CROWD.  BOB AGREED, AND HE SHOWED OFF HIS AMAZING BIGFOOT TRUCK IN FRONT OF SMALL CROWDS.  THEN, THE FOLLOWING YEAR, HE PERFORMED AT THE PONTIAC SILVERDOME IN FRONT OF A LARGER CROWD, AND DEBUTED HIS NEW AND IMPROVED BIGFOOT TRUCK WITH 66 INCH TIRES AT THAT SHOW.  

O:  SOON, OTHER MONSTER TRUCKS, LIKE KING KONG, BEAR FOOT, AND VIRGINIA GIANT, WERE DESIGNED LIKE BIGFOOT AND STARTED COMPETING TOGETHER.  

D:  IN THE EARLY 80’S MONSTER TRUCKS WERE STILL PRIMARILY USED TO COMPETE IN MUD BOGGING AND TRUCK PULLING.  BY THE END OF THE 80’S, THEY WERE COMPETING MORE AND MORE OFTEN IN RACES.  

O:  TODAY, YOU COULD GO TO A MONSTER JAM COMPETITION, AND SEE THESE MASSIVE MONSTER TRUCKS DRIVE OVER CARS AND EVEN SOAR OVER CARS AND COME CRASHING DOWN ON THEM.  THEY DO ALL KINDS OF CRAZY TRICKS AND STUNTS.  

D:  TWO YEARS AGO, BECAUSE THEY WEREN’T ABLE TO HOLD EVENTS IN FRONT OF LARGE AUDIENCES, MONSTER JAM HELD A PAY PER VIEW EVENT IN BRADENTON, FLORIDA WITH THE GOAL OF BREAKING SEVERAL GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS, WHICH IS PRECISELY WHAT THEY DID.  

O:  THE MONSTER TRUCK GRAVE DIGGER MADE THE HIGHEST JUMP BY A MONSTER TRUCK, REACHING 34 FEET INTO THE AIR.

D:  THE MONSTER TRUCK MEGALODON SET A NEW RECORD BY JUMPING OVER 8 DIFFERENT MONSTER TRUCKS.  

O:  AND THE MONSTER TRUCK ZOMBIE DID 44 DONUTS, OR SPINS, IN A SINGLE MINUTE.  BOY, THAT WOULD MAKE ME DIZZY.  

D:  THERE ARE OTHER MONSTER TRUCK RECORDS TOO.  FOR EXAMPLE, BIGFOOT 5, HAS TIRES THAT ARE 10 FEET IN DIAMETER.  THAT’S JUST PLAIN SILLY.  

O:  THE FASTEST SPEED EVER REACHED IN A MONSTER TRUCK WAS 100.31 MILES PER HOUR, SET BY THE TRUCK MOHAWK WARRIOR.  

D:  THE LONGEST JUMP BY A MONSTER TRUCK WAS COMPLETED BY BAD HABIT AND MEASURED 237.7 FEET.  THAT’S INSANE.

O:  THESE TRUCKS, AND THE DRIVERS THAT DRIVE THEM, ARE SO INCREDIBLE THAT THEY CAN EVEN DO FRONT FLIPS AND BACK FLIPS.  

D:  CONSIDERING ALL OF THE AMAZING STUNTS THAT THE MONSTER TRUCKS DO, IT’S AMAZING HOW SAFE THEY HAVE BEEN.  

O:  THAT DOESN’T MEAN THAT THE TRUCKS DON’T TAKE A BEATING.  EACH TRUCK USUALLY GETS THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS OF DAMAGE AT A SHOW WITH ONLY A FEW DAYS TO MAKE THE NECESSARY REPAIRS BEFORE THE NEXT EVENT.  

D:  MONSTER TRUCKS ARE ABOUT 12 FEET TALL AND 12 FEET WIDE.  BEING THAT BIG, THEY MUST WEIGH A TON.  LET’S ANSWER THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK.  WHAT IS THE MINIMUM ALLOWED WEIGHT FOR A MONSTER TRUCK?

O:  MONSTER TRUCKS ACTUALLY WEIGH MORE THAN A TON.  THEY ARE REQUIRED TO WEIGHT AT LEAST 5 TONS.  EACH TON IS 2,000 POUNDS, SO MONSTER TRUCKS HAVE TO WEIGH A MINIMUM OF 10,000 POUNDS (OR 4,536 KILOGRAMS).  

D:  THE AVERAGE MONSTER TRUCK ACTUALLY WEIGHS ABOUT 12,000 POUNDS.  THAT IS BONKERS.  WELL, THAT’S A WRAP FOR THIS WEEK’S EPISODE.

O:  183 - MONSTER TRUCKS.

D:  GREAT JOB OLIVIA, AND GREAT JOB TO TOM, JENNA, SADIE, AND AUSTIN, FOR THE SCRAP CAR CRUSHING TOPIC SUGGESTION.  LEARNING ABOUT MONSTER TRUCKS WAS A WHOLE LOT OF FUN.  ALSO, THANKS TO MY BEAUTIFUL WIFE HEATHER AND MY SMART AND SWEET SON NOAH FOR FOOLING OUR LISTENERS.  BEFORE WE SAY GOODBYE FOR THE WEEK, WE HAVE SOME SPECIAL LISTENERS TO THANK.

O:  THANKS TO OUR NEWEST PATREON SUPPORTERS, WILL W. AND HEATHER G.

D:  A BIG, BIG THANKS TO WILL AND HEATHER FOR THE SUPPORT.  THEIR SUPPORT GETS THEM LOTS OF EXTRA BEHIND THE SCENES ACCESS TO THE PODCAST, INCLUDING ACCESS TO OUR MONTHLY CURRENT EVENTS EPISODE WHEN WE LEARN WHAT WAS GOOD, WHAT WAS BAD, WHAT WAS IMPORTANT, WHAT WAS INTERESTING, AND WHAT WAS STRANGE ABOUT EACH MONTH.  

O:  WE ALSO WANT TO THANK USERNAME DISAPPOINTED S-A-H-M FOR THE 5 STAR REVIEW.

D:  IT SAYS “BEST KIDS PODCAST.  HELLO, MY NAME IS LUKE AND I AM 6 YEARS OLD.  I LOVE THIS PODCAST.  MY FAVORITE EPISODE IS THE ONE ABOUT BIGFOOT!  MY LITTLE BROTHER LOVES SAYING “MAILBAG!” WHEN THEY SAY IT IN THE PODCAST.  IT’S SO FUNNY AND CUTE.  I THINK THIS IS THE BEST KID PODCAST EVER INVENTED!  EVERYONE SHOULD LISTEN TO IT, ESPECIALLY KIDS THAT ARE CURIOUS!”

O:  WE ALSO THINK THAT EVERYONE SHOULD LISTEN TO CURIOUS KID PODCAST.  WOULDN’T THAT BE SWEET?

D:  IT SURE WOULD.  IF YOU KNOW ANYBODY YOU THINK MAY ENJOY LISTENING TO CURIOUS KID PODCAST, LET THEM KNOW ABOUT US AND TELL THEM THAT WE HAVE 183 EPISODES OVERFLOWING WITH FUN FACTS ABOUT ALL SORTS OF THINGS.  IT WOULD MEAN SO MUCH TO US.  WE WON’T BE BACK 2 DAYS FROM NOW ON SUNDAY, BECAUSE THIS WAS A SPECIAL FRIDAY APRIL FOOLS DAY EPISODE RELEASE, BUT JOIN US NEXT SUNDAY WHEN WE WILL GET CURIOUS ABOUT GREEK MYTHOLOGY FOR LISTENERS IN AUSTRALIA, SINGAPORE, TAIWAN, AND CANADA.  AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LISTENING AND GETTING CURIOUS WITH US.