BrainStuff
2,727 episodes — Page 38 of 55
BrainStuff Classics: How Do One-Way Mirrors Work?
How can a single piece of glass look like a mirror from one side but a window from the other? Learn how materials technology makes it possible in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Can Different Species of Birds Understand Each Other?
Birds and other animals can learn to "talk" to one another, and even work together to spread warnings about predators nearby. Learn how it works in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Can Absurdly Big Numbers Be Useful?
The bigger that numbers get, the harder they are for us to conceive of -- but that doesn't mean they can't be useful. Learn about some just ridiculously huge numbers in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Why Shouldn't You Hold in a Sneeze?
Better out than in. Learn why a politely covered sneeze beats holding one back in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What Did Our Ancestors Really Eat?
Figuring out what foods were on ancient menus can be tricky, but a mummy called Ötzi the Iceman was preserved with his last meal still intact. Learn what scientists found out about his eating habits in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Could Recycled Urine Make Sustainable Fertilizer?
Sports stadiums have a lot of grass that needs to be fertilized, and a lot of urine to dispose of. Learn how researchers are working to solve both problems at once 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 Do Erasers Erase?
Erasers lift our mistakes right off the page, but it's not magic -- it's the microscopic physics of stickiness. Learn how erasers work 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 Do Antiperspirants Work?
Every day, millions of people safeguard themselves against excessive sweat with a quick roll of antiperspirant. But what does this stuff do, exactly? Learn how it works in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Why Does It Feel So Good To Be Scared?
Plenty of things are scary these days, so why do people pay good money to see horror movies and go to 'haunted' houses? Learn why psychologists say these fearful experiences are helpful in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What Are Macronutrients and Micronutrients?
Fitness enthusiasts often talk about macros and micros. Learn what they are and how much you should be eating in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What Kind of Dinos Did Today's Birds Evolve From?
The hypothesis that today's birds evolved from dinosaurs isn't new, but recent research has filled in clues about exactly how that happened. Learn more in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
When Do Presidential Approval Ratings Really Matter?
A president's approval rating may seem like just another number, but statistically speaking, it can have a huge impact on American politics. Learn why in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What's the History of Toothpaste?
Toothpaste actually predates the toothbrush in dental hygiene's history. Learn the long history behind this everyday item in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Why Do Hounds Have Floppy Ears?
Sure, scent hounds' noses are powerful tools -- but their ears may be the secret to their success. 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 American Cheese Really Made Of?
Process cheese, often called American cheese, is super inexpensive, consistent, shelf-stable, and orange. Learn how this science cheese is made in this classic episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Should You Really Eat Activated Charcoal?
Celebrities and Instagrammers have been singing the praises of activated charcoal as a health supplement, but why? Can it really help make you healthier? Learn the science behind the activated charcoal fad in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What Is the Museum of Broken Relationships?
Museums collect all kinds of art and artifacts -- this one collects pieces of broken hearts. Learn about some of the items and stories held in the Museum of Broken Relationships in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
No, There's No 'Secret' Cure for Cancer
Like many fringe theories, the idea that there's a massive conspiracy to conceal a known cure for cancer is mostly misplaced wishful thinking. Learn why in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What Are Vampire Squid?
Despite their name and their somewhat scary appearance, 'Vampyroteuthis infernalis' squid aren't blood-suckers. Learn why they're pretty cool anyway in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
How Close Are We to Recycling Carbon Dioxide Emissions?
Carbon dioxide is a waste product of gasoline- and coal-burning engines, and it's a serious pollutant. But what if we could capture that carbon and recycle it into usable fuel? Learn why researchers say we're getting close in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
How Did the U.S.-Mexico Border Become Such a Flashpoint?
The border between the United States and Mexico is at the center of much political and social debate in 2018 -- but how did we get here? How much crime really crosses the border? Learn more in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Why Did Victorians Think Green Tea Causes Hallucinations?
We attribute lots of potential health effects to green tea, but the Victorians had a strange one: they thought it caused hallucinations. Learn why in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Do Boys and Girls Bully Differently?
From a young age, male and female bullies develop different ways of getting under their targets' skin. Learn more -- plus how to help kids combat girl-style bullying -- in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
How Can Robots Help Catch Poachers?
Robotic animals can help law enforcement agents catch poachers in the act -- but only if the robots are convincing enough. Learn a few things engineers are doing to make their robots more realistic in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Are We Still Discovering Human Organs?
Some researchers are calling a previously overlooked type of tissue a new human organ. Learn what it does and why it was never identified before in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Who Was the First Fashion Designer?
Fashion designers and their work are everywhere these days, from our closets to the runways. But one man started it all: Charles Frederick Worth. Learn who he was and how he created haute couture in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
How Can We Prevent Suicides While Protecting Gun Rights?
Over two-thirds of gun-related deaths in America are suicides. This stunning fact is bringing gun rights and gun control advocates together for a common cause. Learn more in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Could the Waterbed Make a Comeback?
Waterbeds were a mainstay of opulent '80s culture, but why did they fall out of fashion? How have they evolved since then? Could they climb back from the pits of public disfavor? Explore in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What's Killing Ancient Baobab Trees?
Spoiler alert: The answer is probably 'climate change' -- but some of the world's oldest and hardiest baobab trees are dying, and researchers aren't entirely sure why. Learn more in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Why Do We Feel Hungry When We're Not?
Feeling hungry doesn't just happen when our bodies need calories (lots of things, from boredom to advertisements, can trigger hunger) and there's no one way that we feel hunger to begin with. Learn why in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Boxer Crabs Use Anemones as Weapons
Researchers have observed a species of crab clutching anemones and using them as weapons. Even weirder: The crabs clone their anemones. Weirder still: The anemones might be otherwise extinct. Learn more in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Can Beaches Be Saved by Adding Sand?
Beaches around the world are erode faster than we've ever seen. Some efforts to save them involve adding more sand from offshore -- but can that really work? Learn more in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
When Will Arlington Cemetery Run Out of Space?
The U.S.'s most honored national cemetery is vast, but it only has so much space -- and it's running out. Learn some of the proposed solutions in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
How Can the Fashion Industry Better Serve People with Disabilities?
Finding something to wear can be especially challenging for people with limited dexterity or mobility, but some fashion designers are starting to change that. Learn how in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Is Type 2 Diabetes Reversible?
Although doctors have long believed that Type 2 diabetes is a lifelong condition, research shows that it can be reversed -- and that with work to maintain weight loss, former patients can live without medication. Learn more in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What Is Music's 'Word' for Death?
Composers use musical references to classics in their own work to help create mood -- and as a wink at other music lovers. Learn how one such reference, 'Dies Irae', or 'The Day of Wrath', is often used in film soundtracks in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Can Copper Create Mummies?
After anthropologists discovered a child's mummified hand, they discovered that a copper coin might be responsible for the preservation. Learn more in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Do Dogs Use Facial Expressions to Communicate with Us?
It seems that dogs make more expressive faces when humans are watching. Are they trying to communicate? Learn more in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Is Life on Earth of Alien Origin?
The idea that life on Earth was seeded from outer space is called Panspermia, and some researchers are looking into how (and when) it could've happened. Learn more in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Is Cockroach Milk the Next Big Thing?
The food industry has brought us all kinds of non-dairy milk alternatives, but researchers are working on what's arguably the weirdest yet: cockroach milk. Learn how (and why) in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Are We Moving Closer to 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'?
We build memories through our experiences. But what if we could transfer memories to other people? It's happening -- in snails. Learn more in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Why Does Microwaved Coffee Taste So Bad?
Once a cup of coffee goes cold, it'll never taste the same -- but why? Learn the science behind the weird flavors of microwaved coffee in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Man Behind Rube Goldberg Machines
Who was Rube Goldberg, and how did he come up with his famously weird contraptions? Learn the history behind this classic American cartoonist in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Can You Really Catch Up on Sleep?
Good news, fellow weekend sleep-in-ers: recent research shows that 'catching up' on sleep on your off days can help you stay healthy. Learn more in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
How Do Sea Spiders Breathe Through Their Legs?
Sea spiders have way more leg than body, and scientists have never been able to pinpoint how they breathe -- until now. Learn what they found in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
How One Blood Donor Saved Over 2 Million Babies
A man with a rare antibody in his blood spent 63 years donating, and has touched millions of lives. Learn how in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Does Spicy Food Burn Your Tastebuds?
Hot chili peppers can make you feel like your mouth is on fire, but are they actually doing any damage? Learn about the science of spice in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Could a Plastic-Eating Enzyme Help Save the Planet?
We humans produce a LOT of plastics that wind up as harmful waste, but researchers have isolated an enzyme that may help reduce the problem. Learn how in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What Can't You Name Your Baby?
The possibilities for a baby's name aren't quite as endless as they seem -- some national and local governments restrict what you can legally name your baby. Learn what some of those restrictions are (and why they exist) in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What Happens to Red Carpet Dresses?
After celebrities wear a gown to a glitzy award show or festival, it's often archived, but sometimes sold, reproduced, or even stolen. Learn the life story of red carpet fashion in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.