[all] Ta-da!
[eyebrows squeak]
[hydraulics whirring]
-[beeping] -[rock music plays]
-♪ Answer Time, Answer Time ♪ -♪ Answer Time! Answer Time! ♪
-♪ It's StoryBots: Answer Time ♪ -♪ Answer Time! ♪
♪ They live in your computer And they got a job to do ♪
♪ They're all about learning They make it fun too ♪
♪ When you have a question They answer it for you ♪
♪ It's StoryBots: Answer Time ♪
♪ Answer Time! ♪
[clock ticking]
[beeps and rings]
-[all speaking] -Hey, how's it going?
Hi, Bo. Do insects sleep?
Oh, that's a good question. Let's ask.
-[whirs] -[snoring]
-What the… -What is it, dear?
Ah, just the StoryBots with their cockamamie questions.
Well, I guess that answers the question. [chuckles]
Hey, Bing. High five!
All right! Ha!
-[crashes] -Ooh.
[sighs] Not again! I can never resist a high five.
-[giggling] -[circuits scrambling]
[car horn honks]
-Boop? -[car horn honks higher]
-Boop, Boop. -[car horn honks twice]
-Boop, Boop, Boop. -[ahooga horn blares]
Wow, Boop.
I didn't realize you spoke Car. What do they want?
Boop, Boop, Boop.
Oh. Well, why didn't they just say so?
[alarm beeping]
Whoo! Got a Level Three coming in, gang!
Oh!
Oh, StoryBots!
StoryBots, I am so happy to see you.
And we're glad to see you, Mr. Cow.
Oh, thank you, Bo.
You've no idea how much I appreciate your kindness,
given how nervous and… And jittery I've been.
Have you tried deep breathing?
It really helps me when I need to get all centered and stuff.
Funny you should say that.
My therapist recommended meditation, but nothing seems to help.
Help with what?
A few weeks ago, I'm out in the field, next to the tractor, to grab a bite.
Nice, juicy patch of grass.
Always greener on the other side of the tractor.
And so all of a sudden, the sky grows dark and it started to rain.
-That doesn't sound so bad. -Yeah.
Rain is a pretty natural occurrence, Mr. Cow.
Oh, StoryBots, no. [chuckling] It wasn't the rain.
It was the tractor.
Like, what was wrong with the tractor?
Oh, nothing. Nothing other than the fact…
[shouting] that it got sucked straight into the sky!
Whoa! How did that happen?
A twister, Bing! A tornado!
[stammers] It came out of nowhere, and poof!
It was gone! The tractor disappeared outta here!
Oh my gosh! Are you okay?
I was. That time.
But what about the next time? Or the time after that?
Boop, Boop?
Boop?
Look, if a tornado can take a tractor, then it could definitely take a cow.
This cow!
I'm sorry, Mr. Cow,
but I don't think we can help you stop a tornado.
Oh, no, no, no, no.
I don't need you to help me stop one.
I just need you to help me understand how they form.
You know, that way, I can spot one coming in advance,
and get my self to safety.
That sounds reasonable enough.
Sure does.
So you can help, right? You can tell me how tornados are formed?
Oh! There's a weather documentary playing at the Majestic Movie Complex.
I hear it's full of tornados.
-[Bo] Ooh! That's a great idea, Beep. -[Bang] Awesome idea.
Fantastic!
Fantastic, StoryBots. Thank you so much.
But please, please hurry. Every minute I spend waiting for an answer
is another minute a tornado could come and take me away.
Don't worry, Mr. Cow. We are on the job.
[whirring and suctioning]
-♪ Answer Time! ♪ -[whirring]
Hi, StoryBots. Can you tell me a fun fact?
[whirring]
[machine] Fun fact number 89,827,369.
Did you know if you could drive a car at 60 mph straight into the sky,
it'd only take about an hour to get to space?
-[waltz music playing] -[engine purring]
Here we are, kids. Outer space.
Have you ever seen anything like it?
It's awesome.
So amazing.
I have to go to the bathroom.
[tires screeching]
-[sighs] -[engine revving]
Couldn't you have thought of that before we left Earth?
[whirring]
Hey, StoryBots. What's your favorite animal?
-[whirring] -[spooky music playing]
-[thunder blasts] -[birds cawing]
I have finally done it, Egad.
I have invented the strangest creature the world has ever seen!
Oh dear.
By diabolically combining a mouse and a pigeon, I give you…
[electricity crackling]
Pigeonus Mousus!
Hey, turn off that light.
Aw, it's a little bat.
Little what?
A bat. A flying mammal that looks like a mouse and has wings like a bird,
even though it's not related to either.
Wait. Flying mammals are already a thing?
Yeah. It can also navigate in the dark.
[thunder rumbles]
Oh, why can I never invent anything weirder than nature?
[thunder rumbles]
-[thunder blasts] -[scientist] Why?!
[screaming]
[announcer] Next stop, StoryBots Majestic Movie Complex.
[Beep screaming]
Hello, and welcome to the Majestic Movie Complex. How can I help?
One ticket for the weather documentary, please.
Ah, excellent choice. A true meteorological tour de force.
But there's, uh, just one tiny little problem.
Oh? What's that?
We don't have any screens to show the movie.
-[thuds] -[birds cawing]
Oh my gosh. What happened?
Well, it started to get really windy,
and then all of a sudden there was this loud train sound, and…
-[car horn honking] -And… And…
-[rock music playing] -[engine revving]
[tires screeching]
Keep your eyes peeled, gang.
That tornado must be somewhere around here.
Wait, did you say tornado?
Of course I did.
What else do you think could've caused this kind of devastation?
Hey, I know you.
You're that famous weather documentarian, Chase Weathers.
[chuckles] That's right.
Me and my team have been tracking strange weather patterns
for my next project.
[narrator] This fall,
prepare for the most electrifying half hour of TV, plus ads,
when we premiere When Weather Attacks: Volume 12. [echoing]
[explosion blasts]
[narrator] Join Chase Weathers and his storm-chasing team
as they brave flash floods, blizzards in sub-zero temperatures,
devastating 100% humidity…
-Ah. -[narrator, in deep voice] …and more.
-[thunder blasts] -[narrator] When Weather Attacks…
[in deep voice] Volume 12. [echoing]
The last thing I need to complete my special
is footage of a real-life tornado.
[storm chaser, over radio] Boss, we got a sighting at the old Paxton farm.
I repeat, there's a tornado at the old Paxton farm.
-[rock music playing] -[whistles] Okay, gang.
Let's roll!
Hey, Chase, think I can tag along?
That depends.
Do you think you have what it takes to be an elite storm tracker?
Um, maybe?
Good enough for me. Let's roll!
[rock music playing]
All right. Time to catch you up to speed.
Luckily, we have the best weather-tracking technology premium cable can afford.
Our computer picked up the formation of a larger storm known as the supercell,
which can lead to the biggest and most destructive tornados.
Got it.
[Chase] Do you see here how the wind near the ground
is moving in this direction?
And the wind above it is moving in a different direction?
[Beep] I see.
[Chase] When that happens, the two winds can merge
to form a spinning horizontal tube of air.
Whoa, that's awesome!
That's nothing. True awesomeness comes when there's condensation in the clouds.
Why is that?
Because the heat pulls the spinning funnel of air up towards the sky.
We see the funnel getting pulled up.
When the funnel connects the clouds on the high end,
touching the ground on the low end,
well, that's when we get--
-[storm rumbling] -Tornado!
Come on, team. Grab your camera. We got a live one!
[rock music playing]
[engine revving]
[whirring]
Hey, StoryBots. How big is the tallest tree?
-[whirring] -[peppy music playing]
That white-headed woodpecker nest sure is high up there.
Yeah, that… That's one heck of a big tree, Doink.
Say, Dink, how tall do you think the tallest tree is?
Oh, I don't know. I'd say, uh, it's at least six feet tall.
[music scratches, stops]
Six feet tall? Are you out of your mind?
If that's any taller than five feet, then I'm a…
[stammers] A red-breasted sapsucker.
[laughs] Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
If you think the tallest tree in the world is only five feet tall,
then you're a sucker, all right, but you ain't a bird. [laughs]
No, but you don't know anything about trees.
Oh yeah? My middle name is trees.
-[laughs] -All right, that's it.
I cannot go bird-watching with someone who thinks trees can be six feet tall.
Well, I can't go bird-watching with someone
who thinks trees are only five feet tall. [laughs]
Fine. I'm packing my binoculars and heading home.
-Good. Good, Dink. -Good. Good, Doink.
-Doink. Doink. Doink. -Goodbye, Dink.
-Goodbye. Goodbye. -Doink. Doink. Doink.
-[growling] -[both scream]
Oh my God, lease excuse my interruption,
but I'm sorry to say you're both slightly off in your calculations.
[inhales] On average, most large trees can grow between 40 and 100 feet tall,
but the tallest tree on record
is a California redwood that grew to roughly 380 feet tall.
That's taller than a 30-story building.
[laughs]
[inhales] Mmm.
[both crackling]
Y… Yeah, right, lady. And I'm J. Edgar Hoover.
[both laughing]
380 feet? [laughing]
This bear must think we were born yesterday.
[both laughing]
-Come on, Dink. -Let's get outta here, Doink.
This… This bear wouldn't know a redwood tree from a kitchen sink.
[peppy music plays, then ends]
[birds] ♪ Trees ♪
[singer] ♪ Measuring trees Measuring trees ♪
♪ From the bottom of the trunk To the top of the leaves ♪
♪ How tall are those? How tall are these? ♪
♪ You gotta find out by measuring trees ♪
♪ Some are real tall, others are short Others are more of an in-between sort ♪
♪ But most big trees When their growth is complete ♪
♪ Get to be between 40 and 100 feet ♪
[all] ♪ But that's not the highest A tree can go ♪
[singer] ♪ Some are way bigger They grow and grow ♪
[all] ♪ There's a super-sized redwood That tops them all ♪
-[singer] ♪ It's about 380 feet tall ♪ -[birds] ♪ Tall, tall, tall, tall, tall ♪
[singer] ♪ That's 32 fire trucks Stacked up high ♪
♪ Even much higher than most kites fly ♪
♪ With so many sizes and varieties ♪
[all] ♪ You're sure to see a lot When you're measuring trees ♪
♪ Tall ones, small ones, bushy ones All kinds of trees ♪
[song ends]
[announcer] Next stop, Chase Weathers's storm-tracking van.
-[rock music playing] -[engine revving]
All right, gang. Follow that tornado!
[rock music continues]
[tires screeching]
-[crashes] -[engine revving]
[tornado roaring]
[tires screech]
There it is! Grab the camera!
[tornado roaring]
-Are you getting this? -I'm getting this!
Did ya get it?
I got it!
Do you have it?
[rock music continues]
[stops]
-[wind blowing] -I had it.
-[shouting] No! -[thunder blasts]
I'm sorry about your camera, Chase, but maybe we could find shelter?
Hey, tornado! Yeah, you!
Ain't you got nothing better to do than going around and being such a…
-Such a meanie? -[tornado screeches]
Wait, you guys think I'm a meanie?
Well, duh.
What else would you call something that goes around destroying everything?
Well, it's not like I enjoy being destructive.
-Deep down inside, I'm just a… -[heartfelt music playing]
[tender sigh] A wisp of wind.
♪ Woe is me, once I was a simple breeze ♪
♪ Oh, that is my fondest recollection ♪
♪ A faster breeze blew over me ♪
♪ But in a different direction ♪
-♪ We formed a tube of spinning air ♪ -♪ Horizontal near the ground ♪
♪ Meanwhile the sky above was stormy ♪
[clouds] ♪ Full of dark and heavy clouds ♪
[tornado] ♪ With lightning flashing everywhere ♪
♪ And the thunder booming loud ♪
-[tornado] ♪ A massive supercell formed ♪ -[clouds] ♪ Formed ♪
[all] ♪ What a storm! ♪
[tornado] ♪ Oh, when the clouds condensed to rain ♪
-[clouds] ♪ Condensation gives off heat ♪ -♪ The warm air lifts me to the sky ♪
♪ In the thunder, rain, and hail ♪
♪ Now a funnel cloud am I ♪
♪ Warning sirens start to wail ♪
-♪ And a downdraft brings me down ♪ -[clouds] ♪ Down ♪
-♪ Brings me down ♪ -[clouds] ♪ Down to the ground ♪
♪ Woe is me, I've become a full tornado For I've touched down on the earth ♪
♪ When the funnel hits the surface That's a true tornado's birth ♪
♪ I go whirling, I go swirling ♪
♪ I'm a fearsome thing to see ♪
♪ As she kicks up dust and dirt And turns a bridge into debris ♪
♪ Oh, woe is me ♪
-♪ I didn't want to be a twister ♪ -♪ Oh, spreading trouble and travail ♪
-♪ Tearing roofs, uprooting trees ♪ -♪ Oh, poor defenseless little trees ♪
♪ Oh, and so my tale is sad and bitter ♪
♪ Such a sad and bitter tale ♪
♪ I long to be a simple breeze ♪
♪ Oh, woe is me ♪
-[song ends] -[sobbing]
That was beautiful, Ms. Tornado, and informative.
Uh, listen. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to call you a meanie, I…
How about we start fresh? Get to know each other.
What do you say, friend?
[gasps] Friend?
I've never had one of those before.
Well, I'd love to stay, but I've got an answer to deliver.
Thanks for all your help, everyone. Bye!
So long, Beep!
Team, you might wanna grab your umbrellas 'cause there's about to be a downpour
of friendship.
[giggles]
[whirring]
[school bell rings]
Welcome, class.
A tornado is a fast-spinning tube of air.
My assistant Gopher will demonstrate the formation
using my tornado simulator ZX9…
[Gopher] Mm-hmm.
…which lets us observe a tornado in 100% complete safety.
-Gopher, if you please. -Mm-hmm.
When wind near the ground moves in one direction,
and wind above it moves in a different direction,
it can form a horizontal tube of spinning air.
Meanwhile, in the clouds, the condensation that makes rain and hail gives off heat,
which makes air near the ground move upward.
As this air moves upward,
it tilts the horizontal tube of spinning air to an upright position.
This upright spinning tube of air can then pull hail, rain, dirt,
and other things into it.
-[explodes] -[Gopher screams]
And when this tube stretches from the cloud to the ground,
a tornado is born.
-[cow moos] -These storms can have huge dark clouds,
lightning, thunder, large hail, and strong winds.
[Gopher screaming]
Gopher, what have you done to my tornado simul--
-[Gopher gasps] -[cow moos]
And that's how tornados form.
[groans]
-[keyboard clacks] -Hello? Mr. Cow, are you there? Come in.
Oh, Beep. Thank goodness you're back.
I can't stop thinking about that tractor that got sucked into the sky!
Don't worry, Mr. Cow. I've got your answer.
I know how tornados form.
Oh, I feel safer already. What do you got for me?
Well, tornados start to form when winds blowing in opposite directions
create a horizontal tube of spinning air.
Okay, tube of air, got it. What's next?
When rain and hail form in the clouds, it generates heat,
which can cause the tube of spinning air to tilt towards the sky.
Oh, okay.
So a tube of air starts tilting upward because of the heat.
And if the top of the tube touches the storm cloud
and the bottom touches the ground…
That's how tornados form. Hmm.
You got it.
Oh, thank you, Beep.
But to be honest, I'm still a bit of a nervous wreck.
Are you still thinking about that tractor getting sucked into the sky?
No, now I'm thinking about it coming down.
On me!
-[static crackles] -[theme music playing]