BrainStuff
2,726 episodes — Page 25 of 55
BrainStuff Classics: Which Computer Keys Wear Out First?
As casual computer use shifts to touchscreens, the wear patterns on computer keyboards have evolved. Learn what keys now wear out first in this classic episode of BrainStuff Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
BrainStuff Classics: How Do Researchers Preserve Smells?
Scents affect how we experience different cultures and places, which means they have historical value. Learn how researchers are setting about preserving them in this classic episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
How Did Ankylosaurus Work?
This genus of plant-eating dinosaurs had awesomely heavy armor, might've had a great sense of smell, and some had a serious defensive weapon in their tail. Learn more about ankylosaurs in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Why Is 'Mayday' the International Distress Call?
Prior to flight becoming common, 'SOS' was the standard distress call. Learn how the code 'mayday' was invented in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
How Do Homeless Americans Vote?
Not having a permanent address or access to identifying documents can make voting in U.S. elections nearly impossible. Learn more about these challenges -- and what some organizations are doing to help -- in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Why Don't We Know Much About Druids?
The surviving records about who Druids were and what they did aren't considered reliable. Learn what we know and don't know about Druids in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
How Big Does a Meteoroid Have to Be to Make It to the Ground?
Meteors can put on a spectacular show, but many of the pieces of debris that cause them are the size of pebbles -- or dust. Learn more about meteorites in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
BrainStuff Classics: How Fast Can Lizards Evolve?
Over the course of one frigid winter, green anole lizards in Texas changed their genetic makeup to better tolerate cold. Learn about this example of super-quick vertebrate evolution in today's classic episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
BrainStuff Classics: Are There Months When You Shouldn't Eat Raw Oysters?
Folk wisdom dictates that you should avoid eating oysters, especially raw, in months that don't contain the letter R in their name. Learn why there's some logic there in this classic episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Why Is There a Parthenon in Nashville?
In 1897, a plaster replica of the Parthenon built in Nashville for the Tennessee Centennial Exposition proved so popular that it was rebuilt in a more permanent form. Learn more about Nashville's Parthenon in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Could Science Build a Better Grain?
Staple grains, like wheat and rice, can wear out the soil — and most have to be replanted from seed each year. Learn how researchers are seeking to create new varieties (like Kernza) to save the environment in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Where Did the Phrase 'Grandfathered In' Come From?
Although the term 'grandfathered in' is applied in many situations today, it originally referred to laws about voting rights. Learn the history of this phrase in today's episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
How Do Betta Fish Work?
Betta fish are popular aquarium pets, but there are a few common misconceptions about these beautiful critters. Learn how these 'fighting fish' can be peaceful and more in today's episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Who Were the Wild West's 'Petticoat Rulers'?
In 1920, before many women in the U.S. could even vote, a frontier town in Wyoming elected an all-women ticket into office. Learn about the Petticoat Rulers in today's episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
BrainStuff Classics: How Did 'Fido' Become a Generic Name for Dogs?
We humans have lots of nicknames for dogs -- but how did 'Fido' become one of them? Learn about the history of the term in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
BrainStuff Classics: Why Do Goldfish Make Their Own Alcohol?
Goldfish can survive in icy lakes and your poorly cleaned aquarium in part because they make their own alcohol. Learn more about how goldfish work in this classic episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
How Did the Harlem Renaissance Work?
The Harlem Renaissance was a period of great social, intellectual, and artistic invention that deeply impacts our world to this day. Learn how it got started and why it was so important in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
How Much of Our Food Do Moths Pollinate?
Moths pollinate more of our food than researchers previously realized. Learn more about insect pollination in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Do Rainy Days Make Us Sad?
Popular music and video often use rain as a metaphor for melancholy, but does rainy weather really affect our mood? Learn about the psychology (or lack thereof) behind the rainy-day blues in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What Was the Biggest Snake on Earth?
The Titanoboa cerrejonensis was a massive snake related to modern boas -- but it might've grown to 47 feet (14 meters) in length. Learn about this extinct South American serpent in today's episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Why Is There a Crack in the Liberty Bell?
The massive, historic Liberty Bell wasn't always cracked, and wasn't always named that. Learn what history knows (and doesn't know) about the Liberty Bell in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
BrainStuff Classics: How Did the Grandfather Clock Get Its Name?
What we now call grandfather clocks were around for a long time before they got that name. Learn how a pop song renamed them -- and a few legends that may have inspired the song -- in this classic episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
BrainStuff Classics: Why Did the T. Rex Have Such Tiny Arms?
The Tyrannosaurus rex was a giant predator, but its arms weren't much bigger than a human being's. Learn a few hypotheses about T. rex's arms in this classic episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Will the Fires That Made Centralia a Ghost Town Ever Go Out?
Coal fires have burned beneath this Pennsylvania town for decades, driving away inhabitants with continual smoke, ash, and cave-ins. Learn how coal-seam fires work in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Why Is Real Vanilla So Expensive?
Real vanilla is much more expensive than synthetic vanilla. Learn about the delicate orchid that vanilla comes from and why most vanilla flavoring is synthetic in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Why Isn't Washington, D.C. a State?
A new bill aims to make Washington, D.C. the U.S.'s 51st state -- but why wasn't it created as a state to begin with, and why have similar bills failed in the past? Learn the history of the District of Columbia in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Why Does the Hellbender Salamander Need Our Help?
The hellbender salamander isn't nearly as scary as it sounds. Learn why they're mostly harmless -- and some of their populations are in danger -- in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
How Does the 'Streisand Effect' Make Cover-ups Go Viral?
The 'Streisand Effect' is when some powerful entity tries to repress information, but winds up publicizing it instead. Learn the history of the term and how the effect works in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
BrainStuff Classics: Why Do We Get Bags Under Our Eyes?
All humans eventually develop bags under our eyes -- but why? Learn how it happens -- and about some inexpensive, unobtrusive home remedies -- in this classic episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
BrainStuff Classics: Why Do People Talk Weird in Old Movies?
There's a distinct accent of yesteryear that's not quite British, and not quite American – so what gives? Learn about the Transatlantic accent, or Mid-Atlantic accent, in this classic episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What Was the Tulsa Race Massacre?
The Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 is the worst incident of interracial violence in U.S. history, yet it wasn't discussed for decades, and historians are still unearthing its details. Learn why, and what we do know about it, in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Why Is Carmine, a Dye Made from Bugs, So Popular?
Carmine is a vibrant, long-lasting red dye that's extracted from crushed cochineal insects. Learn about the intriguing history and modern use of carmine in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
How Many Continents Are There?
Nailing down what makes a continent a continent is a surprisingly tricky business. Learn more about how we humans have defined landmasses, past and present, in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Why Was a Doctor Once Ridiculed for Recommending Hand Washing?
Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis asked fellow 19th-century doctors to wash their hands between conducting autopsies and delivering babies -- and was ridiculed for it. Learn how he and other sanitation pioneers helped save lives anyway in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What Is Commensalism?
In commensal biological relationships, one organism benefits from another's work without harming (or, often, even alerting) the worker organism. Learn more about commensalism in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
BrainStuff Classics: Is Dry Cleaning Actually Wet?
Spoiler Alert: Yep, dry cleaning isn't dry. Instead, it uses a petroleum solvent in place of water. Learn more about dry cleaning in this classic episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
BrainStuff Classics: Why Can't We Breathe Underwater?
Water is made up of hydrogen and oxygen, but in a form that we can't breathe. Learn more about how water works in this classic episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
How Did Juneteenth Get Started?
Juneteenth is a holiday celebrating Black American independence and commemorating the ongoing struggle for equality. Learn the history of Juneteenth in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Can You Train Yourself to Become Ambidexterous?
Preference for using one hand over the other is both genetic and learned during childhood -- but can we change that later in life? Learn about how handedness and ambidexterity work in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What Is Intersectionality?
Though it started as an obscure legal term, intersectionality has become the matter of some debate. Learn what it means and how it can help everyone out in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
How Do Roly-Poly Bugs Work?
These small, grey garden critters go by many names and are more helpful than you might think. Learn about roly-poly 'bugs' (they're actually land crustaceans!) in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What Would It Take to Postpone a Presidential Election?
The United States has never postponed a presidential election. Learn why it would be extremely difficult to do so in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
BrainStuff Classics: Why Do We Have Eyebrows?
What are eyebrows really good for, evolutionarily speaking -- and what would we look like if we hadn't developed them? Learn about eyebrows, sweat, and nonverbal communication in this classic episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
BrainStuff Classics: Why Are There 60 Minutes In An Hour Instead of 100?
Lots of human mathematics are based around multiples of the number 10 -- so why do we measure time in multiples of 12? Learn more in this classic episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What Were Jim Crow Laws?
The term 'Jim Crow laws' refers to laws enacted after the U.S. Civil War to prevent emancipated slaves and other people of color from accessing their full rights as citizens. Learn the history of the term and how these laws affected society in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
When Has a Single Vote Decided an Election?
Voting is an incredibly important way to make your voice heard, but it's very rare for a candidate to win or lose by just one vote. Learn how rare -- and about a few times that it's happened -- in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
How Were Squeaky Floors Used for Security?
In Japan during the 1600s, some wealthy households installed purposefully squeaky floors as an alarm system. Learn how nightingale floors work in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Can a Star Survive a Black Hole Encounter?
In the long run, a black hole will consume any star that crosses its path -- but researchers have found one that should hang on for a few trillion years. Learn more about it in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Why Is Tear Gas Especially Dangerous During COVID-19?
Police use of tear gas at protests is controversial to begin with because it's so harmful, but these weapons may also help spread the novel coronavirus. Learn why in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
BrainStuff Classics: What Is Russia's 'Dead Hand'?
We’ve all seen movies with supervillains building catastrophic Doomsday devices – but one exists in the real world, too. In this classic episode, learn how the Cold War led to the most dangerous nuclear system in history: Russia’s 'Dead Hand' Perimeter system. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.