0:00:02 > 0:00:04# Wormy fish-killers Convoys of caterpillars
0:00:04 > 0:00:06- # Super-clever, brainless slime... # - Ugh!
0:00:06 > 0:00:08# Bunny rabbit swarms, raging storms
0:00:08 > 0:00:10# And pigs that swim at dinner time
0:00:10 > 0:00:13# Tornadoes of fire Starfish going haywire
0:00:13 > 0:00:15- # Algae balls from space! # - What?!
0:00:15 > 0:00:17# Prairie dogs that chat Birds going splat
0:00:17 > 0:00:19# And fish slapping in your face
0:00:19 > 0:00:21# They're wild and weird Wild and weird
0:00:21 > 0:00:23# Really, really wild And really, really weird
0:00:23 > 0:00:25# They're wild and weird Wild and weird
0:00:25 > 0:00:27# They're really, really wild
0:00:27 > 0:00:30# They're really, really wild and weird... #
0:00:30 > 0:00:34It's all things peculiar on today's show, including a blue volcano.
0:00:34 > 0:00:36Glowing waves.
0:00:36 > 0:00:38Gifts from our feathered friends.
0:00:38 > 0:00:41Buttons, screws, a lot of things.
0:00:41 > 0:00:43And the mystery of the fairy rings.
0:00:50 > 0:00:52- #- There'll be trouble when the kidz come out...- #
0:00:52 > 0:00:54Tim, the remote's playing up again.
0:00:54 > 0:00:56Something peculiar's happening.
0:00:56 > 0:00:58HE SIGHS
0:00:58 > 0:01:01Whoo, whoohoohoohoohoo!
0:01:01 > 0:01:05Who are you?! Where's Naomi?! What have you done with Naomi?!
0:01:05 > 0:01:06Right here, I'm Naomi.
0:01:06 > 0:01:07But you're...
0:01:07 > 0:01:10Young again, I know.
0:01:10 > 0:01:11What's happened?
0:01:11 > 0:01:13Well, I was fiddling with the remote,
0:01:13 > 0:01:17pressed the blue button and bang!
0:01:17 > 0:01:19What have I told you about pressing the blue button?
0:01:19 > 0:01:23Listen, I'll fix this, don't panic.
0:01:23 > 0:01:25Hmmmm-ma!
0:01:25 > 0:01:27- Ah.- Better?- Better.
0:01:27 > 0:01:29In fact... SHE GASPS
0:01:29 > 0:01:31Uhhh...Tim?
0:01:31 > 0:01:34What? I've turned you back. Whoa, whoaaaa, whoa!
0:01:34 > 0:01:38Why are my hands so small?
0:01:38 > 0:01:39My legs have shrunk!
0:01:39 > 0:01:41I'm tiny.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44Quick, just pass me back the remote, I'll press the blue button again.
0:01:44 > 0:01:45Good idea.
0:01:45 > 0:01:47Huh!
0:01:47 > 0:01:49- Oh.- Oh.- That was peculiar.- Yeah.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52- Oh, well, at least everything's back to normal now.- Yeah.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55- No, something's still not right. - What is it?
0:01:55 > 0:01:56Well, look at that lava,
0:01:56 > 0:01:59it's blue and it should be fiery red!
0:01:59 > 0:02:00Actually...
0:02:05 > 0:02:10- Meet your classic volcano, very hot and very...- Red.
0:02:10 > 0:02:11Certainly not the kind of place you'd want to be
0:02:11 > 0:02:13spending a lot of your time, eh?
0:02:15 > 0:02:19I really want to spend as much time as I can on volcanoes.
0:02:19 > 0:02:20OK, maybe not.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25For Olivier Grunewald, they're an obsession.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28I have been on maybe 100 volcanoes in the world,
0:02:28 > 0:02:30but one changed, really, my life.
0:02:32 > 0:02:34Kawah Ijen, east Java,
0:02:34 > 0:02:38famous for its glowing rivers of blue light.
0:02:38 > 0:02:41Olivier's photographs of this peculiar phenomenon went viral
0:02:41 > 0:02:44and caught the attention of geologists.
0:02:44 > 0:02:46Now I've been studying volcanoes for years,
0:02:46 > 0:02:48but I'm constantly surprised by them.
0:02:50 > 0:02:51Everything about this blue material
0:02:51 > 0:02:53that's flowing down
0:02:53 > 0:02:55the volcano appears to be like lava.
0:02:55 > 0:02:59It flows over the mounds and troughs. It looks like lava
0:02:59 > 0:03:04but it's blue, which means it can't possibly be the lava itself.
0:03:04 > 0:03:06Why not? Why can't lava be blue?
0:03:06 > 0:03:08Why's it have to be red? Why is it red?
0:03:08 > 0:03:10- Because...- Don't, just continue.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15When lava erupts from the earth's crust, it can flow at
0:03:15 > 0:03:18temperatures of more than 1000 degrees centigrade,
0:03:18 > 0:03:20and it's the heat from the lava that tends to give
0:03:20 > 0:03:23a volcano its incandescent red glow.
0:03:23 > 0:03:27So, if it's blue, it can't be lava.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30Well, that's it then. If you don't know and Natalie doesn't know,
0:03:30 > 0:03:31we might as well go home.
0:03:31 > 0:03:33Ah, hold your horses.
0:03:33 > 0:03:37A man with a stick held the answer to this mystery.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40During the day, Olivier noticed the locals moving in,
0:03:40 > 0:03:43completely unfazed, hacking off what appeared to be
0:03:43 > 0:03:45chunks of yellow rock.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49But it's not rock they're mining, it's actually solid sulphur
0:03:49 > 0:03:52that's cooled and solidified on top of the rocks.
0:03:52 > 0:03:53Now, check this out.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58We're used to the yellow flame that carbon produces
0:03:58 > 0:04:00from burning wood or paper,
0:04:00 > 0:04:04but when sulphur burns, it reacts with oxygen to produce...
0:04:04 > 0:04:07Oh, a bright blue flame. Whoa!
0:04:08 > 0:04:11Now, sulphur is common at every single volcano around the world,
0:04:11 > 0:04:14but what's special at this particular volcano is that
0:04:14 > 0:04:17it's got really high concentrations of sulphur.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20A breathtakingly beautiful phenomena
0:04:20 > 0:04:22explained by simple chemistry.
0:04:23 > 0:04:27If my GCSE results are anything to go by, chemistry is not simple.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30- Mm.- Surfing, on the other hand, I'd have aced that exam.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33Sparks fly when I hit the water.
0:04:33 > 0:04:34You are not the only one.
0:04:37 > 0:04:43Look at this, a video gone viral of a surfer on the San Diego coast.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45Check out his technique, very smooth.
0:04:45 > 0:04:50Forget his technique, check out the light show under his board.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52Oh, yeah, that's pretty awesome too!
0:04:52 > 0:04:53Surely it's just a camera trick?
0:04:53 > 0:04:55No camera trickery here, Tim.
0:04:56 > 0:04:58So, why's it glowing?
0:04:58 > 0:04:59Allow me to explain.
0:04:59 > 0:05:01Actually, allow me to cue up a clip of
0:05:01 > 0:05:04marine biologist Helen Scales to explain.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07The reason the wave is glowing like that is because,
0:05:07 > 0:05:10within the water, there are thousands of
0:05:10 > 0:05:12tiny single-celled creatures
0:05:12 > 0:05:14known as dinoflagellates.
0:05:14 > 0:05:15And they do that when they're
0:05:15 > 0:05:17knocked around, so whether it's the
0:05:17 > 0:05:20water moving or the surfer with his board touching the waves.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23Each of them are only glowing for maybe half a second at a time,
0:05:23 > 0:05:25but because there's thousands of them you get this kind of
0:05:25 > 0:05:28twinkling and glowing effect across the whole wave.
0:05:30 > 0:05:32Dinoflagellates use this illumination as
0:05:32 > 0:05:35a kind of security light to deter predators.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37Or dudes on surfboards.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40- Exactly.- Ah, that's amazing.
0:05:44 > 0:05:45CROW CAWS
0:05:45 > 0:05:48Oh, right on time.
0:05:48 > 0:05:49Oh!
0:05:49 > 0:05:50Thanks for the chocs!
0:05:50 > 0:05:53CROW CAWS Ahh.
0:05:53 > 0:05:55Uh, sorry, what just happened?
0:05:56 > 0:05:59A crow flew in, dropped in a pressie for me. Tasty one at that.
0:05:59 > 0:06:00Mmm.
0:06:02 > 0:06:04Yeah, it is a bit of a weird story.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06I once found a crow stuck in a fence.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09I rescued it and ever since, it's been bringing me gifts.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12- What?!- And I'm not the only one this happens to.
0:06:15 > 0:06:20Seattle, home to eight-year-old Gabi Mann and her family.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22Like many kids, Gabi likes to collect things,
0:06:22 > 0:06:26but her treasures aren't dolls or stickers.
0:06:26 > 0:06:31Metal, plastic, buttons, screws,
0:06:31 > 0:06:36rocks, more glass, bones.
0:06:36 > 0:06:38A lot of things.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41And it's not just the content of her collection that's unusual,
0:06:41 > 0:06:44it's who gave it to her.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47They're my friends and some of them are like family.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52They're really nice.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55At least, most of them, I think.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58Gabi's not referring to her friends at school,
0:06:58 > 0:07:01but to the crows in her back yard.
0:07:01 > 0:07:03Over the past two and a half years,
0:07:03 > 0:07:07these generous garden visitors have been regularly bringing her gifts.
0:07:07 > 0:07:12Her collection now contains over 100 different objects,
0:07:12 > 0:07:16some dropped right at her feet, and her collection is still growing.
0:07:16 > 0:07:18Can I show you one right now?
0:07:18 > 0:07:20Is she talking to us?
0:07:20 > 0:07:22I think so, yes.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25Blimey, this show really is interactive.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28Uh, yeah, go on, then, Gabi.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31I have one right in my hand.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33My squid that I got a week ago.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36Bit confused. Tell me there's an expert on this.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39Oh, yes. This guy.
0:07:39 > 0:07:41A lot of animals use gifts
0:07:41 > 0:07:47of one sort or the other to convey either their status
0:07:47 > 0:07:49or their interest in another partner,
0:07:49 > 0:07:50but, as far as we know,
0:07:50 > 0:07:53corvids are the only birds that do this with people.
0:07:53 > 0:07:57Crows give gifts to people really to help cement a bond,
0:07:57 > 0:08:01an important relationship that they have with this person.
0:08:01 > 0:08:05Come on, then, Tim, how common are crow companionships like Gabi's?
0:08:05 > 0:08:09Ooh, I'd say there's probably about 20 to 30 instances
0:08:09 > 0:08:12of this happening around the world. Am I close?
0:08:12 > 0:08:14How DO you do it?
0:08:16 > 0:08:20There's probably 20 or 30 instances of this happening around the world.
0:08:20 > 0:08:22Ah, it's a lucky guess.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25And they all have some consistency in terms of
0:08:25 > 0:08:28a person that's been engaging quite actively with the birds,
0:08:28 > 0:08:32feeding them a lot consistently, maybe even rescuing them.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35We've had cases where a crow was stuck in a fence and a woman
0:08:35 > 0:08:37took the crow out of the fence and then started getting gifts.
0:08:37 > 0:08:41Hang on, that's you, that... No!
0:08:43 > 0:08:47So, the gifts seem to be a thank you for the food Gabi leaves out
0:08:47 > 0:08:49for them. Pretty good manners, if you ask me.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54You know, that was an incredible story.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57Peculiar, but it was a really incredible story.
0:08:57 > 0:08:59- Hey!- Get your own crow!
0:08:59 > 0:09:02I don't need one, I've got my own peculiar pet.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04- What is it?- A fairy.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07And I tell you what, it's been up to no good in the Mibdi...
0:09:07 > 0:09:09Nim...Nimbib... Africa.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13MUSIC: Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy by Tchaikovsky
0:09:13 > 0:09:15Check this out,
0:09:15 > 0:09:20a vast scrubland pockmarked with thousands of shallow circles,
0:09:20 > 0:09:24rings of grass surrounding barren soil, each about five metres across.
0:09:24 > 0:09:28One local myth holds that these rings are the footprints of gods,
0:09:28 > 0:09:32but modern-day scientists are exploring other theories.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35So the interesting thing about the Namibian rings,
0:09:35 > 0:09:38they don't have any human origin to them.
0:09:39 > 0:09:42They extend over such a vast area.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44You can travel hundreds of kilometres
0:09:44 > 0:09:46and you'll find exactly the same patterns.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49So what's causing these elliptical oddities?
0:09:49 > 0:09:51Sorry, what?
0:09:51 > 0:09:52Oh, uh, these strange circles.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55Oh, right, well, I'm telling you, it's fairies.
0:09:55 > 0:09:57- Tim, fairies don't ex...- Gahuurghh!
0:09:58 > 0:10:04..explain this fully. Um, apart from fairies, any other theories?
0:10:04 > 0:10:08Uh, well, there's one or two, but they're pretty weird.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11Some of the earlier ideas suggested that maybe
0:10:11 > 0:10:14there was gas seeping from underground,
0:10:14 > 0:10:18or that perhaps they were the remnants of toxic bushes that had
0:10:18 > 0:10:20previously lived there and had poisoned the soil,
0:10:20 > 0:10:23and then nothing could live around them any more.
0:10:23 > 0:10:25But that's not all.
0:10:25 > 0:10:29Others thought that radioactivity could be causing the circles.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31Others still favoured fungi.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34Some even thought they might be made by rutting ostriches.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40So, which of these odd theories was the correct answer
0:10:40 > 0:10:43to the circular conundrum?
0:10:43 > 0:10:45- Ostriches?- No!
0:10:45 > 0:10:46- Fungi?- No.
0:10:46 > 0:10:48Radioactivity?
0:10:48 > 0:10:49No-ooo.
0:10:49 > 0:10:50- Poisonous gases?- No!
0:10:50 > 0:10:52What?! But that's all of them.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54What? Is it?
0:10:54 > 0:10:56Oh.
0:10:56 > 0:10:58Ah.
0:10:58 > 0:10:59Ha-ha-ha.
0:10:59 > 0:11:01Music, maestro.
0:11:01 > 0:11:03GAME SHOW MUSIC
0:11:03 > 0:11:05Uh, ants?
0:11:05 > 0:11:07Yes, we have a winner.
0:11:07 > 0:11:13And here to tell us more about it is special guest Dr Markus Eichhorn.
0:11:15 > 0:11:17Hit the button.
0:11:20 > 0:11:24Every one of the fairy rings is colonised by ants and termites,
0:11:24 > 0:11:27and there are nests around the edges of the rings.
0:11:27 > 0:11:31Were these hive-minded harvesters the real cause of the fairy rings?
0:11:31 > 0:11:35There are other parts of the world where leafcutter ants clear
0:11:35 > 0:11:37patches of vegetation and leave bare ground
0:11:37 > 0:11:42or where termites clear the areas around their nests.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45Well, it looked promising, and termites are master architects,
0:11:45 > 0:11:49building complex mound structures all around Africa.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52They certainly seem like the perfect fit.
0:11:52 > 0:11:54But it says here, "Ants..."
0:11:54 > 0:11:55Hang on, what you reading?
0:11:55 > 0:11:58- The Little Issue, it's a magazine for small insects.- Oh.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02Anyway, it says, "Ants and termites don't clear perfect circles,
0:12:02 > 0:12:04"and even if they did, it's unlikely they'd be the same diameter
0:12:04 > 0:12:06"and the same distance apart.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09"They'd have to be pretty obsessively compulsive colonies
0:12:09 > 0:12:10"to achieve that."
0:12:10 > 0:12:13- So the termite theory... - It's another dud.
0:12:18 > 0:12:19Ah, OK, any other ideas?
0:12:19 > 0:12:22Well, we could ask ecologist Dr Stephan Getzin.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25That's a good idea, a second expert.
0:12:25 > 0:12:26Do you think Markus will mind?
0:12:26 > 0:12:29- No, ecologists, they're like that. - Yeah.
0:12:29 > 0:12:31# Circle in the sand
0:12:31 > 0:12:33# Round and round... #
0:12:33 > 0:12:34It's actually a very,
0:12:34 > 0:12:36very unique pattern.
0:12:36 > 0:12:38After studying thousands of fairy rings,
0:12:38 > 0:12:40the answer suddenly came to Stephan.
0:12:41 > 0:12:46We believe that gaps emerge due to competition for moisture.
0:12:48 > 0:12:50Stephan realised that the fairy rings only form
0:12:50 > 0:12:53with exactly the right amount of rain.
0:12:53 > 0:12:57Any more water and they would be simple grassland savanna.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00Any less and it would all be desert.
0:13:01 > 0:13:03What we now think is that fairy circles
0:13:03 > 0:13:06are actually creating themselves.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10Ah, so the fairy rings develop as a way for the plants to
0:13:10 > 0:13:14organise themselves to survive in an area with very limited water.
0:13:16 > 0:13:18Well, that was all a bit peculiar.
0:13:18 > 0:13:20- HE CHUCKLES - What are you doing?
0:13:20 > 0:13:23Sorry, Tim, I can't resist. I want to feel young again.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27- I'm going to press the blue button. - No, no, no, no, no, no, no!
0:13:27 > 0:13:28Ah!
0:13:28 > 0:13:30Oh, oh, dear.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33- I think I pressed the wrong button. - You're telling me.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35- Oh.- At least you've got teeth.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39Be a love, make us a cup of tea.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42HE CREAKS AND STRAINS
0:13:44 > 0:13:46Can't get up.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49I just can't get up.
0:13:49 > 0:13:53THEY SNORE
0:13:53 > 0:13:55# They're wild and weird Wild and weird
0:13:55 > 0:13:57# Really, really wild And really, really weird
0:13:57 > 0:13:59# They're wild and weird Wild and weird
0:13:59 > 0:14:00# They're really, really wild
0:14:00 > 0:14:06# They're really, really wild and weird
0:14:06 > 0:14:09- #- Wild and weird!- #