You'll Die Smarter

Bet you didn’t see this one coming. But actually, they share one very simple trait: nicotine. Yep, both contain it. 100 grams of an eggplant contains 0.01 milligrams of nicotine. That means if you were to eat 10 kilos of eggplants, you consuming the nicotine equivalent to one cigarette. While it is a small amount of nicotine, it is still rather surprising information. This discovery was revealed by a study dating from 1993 entitled "The nicotine content of common vegetables", a study carried out by three doctors from the University of Michigan... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The word "lesbian" comes from the name of the Greek island of Lesbos, which is the homeland of the poetess Sappho. Sappho is an ancient Greek poetess who lived in the 7th and 6th centuries BC, in Mytilene on the Greek island of Lesbos. Because she was inhabitant of the island of Lesbos, she was called a “lesbian”. We know that she was very famous during Antiquity, but unfortunately only fragments of her poetic work remain today... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To answer rather directly, it's for warmth. And it is a survival reflex. But let’s get into the nitty gritty details, shall we? The thermoregulation mechanism culpable is designed to keep the body at 37 degrees. When it is too cold, and the body detects that its temperature is too low, and it triggers a protective reflex. It provokes repeated muscular contractions that create heat with the aim to raise the body's temperament. These uncontrollable muscular contractions are called tremors and are what shivering and rattling of teeth... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An interesting study has just been conducted by a scientist and cognitivist by the name of Frank J. Sulloway. He has studied 700 families, and, to be more precise, 700 siblings. To clarify even further, these siblings all evolved into the world of high-level baseball in the second half of the 20th century. His goal? To try to determine if within siblings, one of them, whether the eldest or youngest, could be designated as the bravest, or at least as the one who takes the most risks... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You're going to tell me that the answer is in the question. You may say “The V of victory comes from the word Victory, which begins with the letter V.” And you will be right. But which victory is it? And just why was the expression accompanied by the gesture? Here’s a little more explanation. According to the historian Aurélie Luneau in her book "Radio London 1940-1944 Voices of Freedom", it all began at the BBC during the Resistance in the Second World War. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You may have already noticed that when you get a first impression of someone or something, it is often difficult to get rid of it afterwards. How can you explain the fact that even when you have examined it through the lens of reason, this impression persists or at least greatly influences your final opinion? I have just read a fascinating article on this subject and I am going to summarize it for you. I'll put the link to the complete article in the description of this podcast if you want to do some of your own research... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It is a natural reflex. When it is cold, we want to warm up by drinking a hot drink, tea, coffee or hot chocolate for example. Unfortunately, that's a bad idea. Certainly, in the moment and for a short term, one feels a sensation of warmth, but it is immediately counterbalanced by a counterproductive phenome. When we drink, the hot drink gives the sensors on the mouth and tongue a false information: the body is hot. As a result, the brain reacts immediately by adjusting its internal temperature. To do this, it activates perspiration, which cools the body. This leads to the exact opposite of the desired result... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Occasionally when we hold an ice cube or a piece of frozen metal, our fingers can literally stick to it. This physical phenomenon has an easily understandable basis. The heat from our fingers melts the ice on the surface of the ice cube. At this point, the ice turns into water and gets embedded in the small folds of our skin. But a few moments later, if the ice cube is big enough and cold enough, the temperature at the surface of the ice cube is so cold that the water refreezes causing, our fingers to stick... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Braess Paradox, highlighted in 1968 by mathematician Dietrich Braess, states that adding a new road to a road network can reduce overall performance when cars choose their route individually. In simpler terms, and without going into the technical details that explain this mathematical paradox, this means that although it may seem counter-intuitive (hence the term "paradox"), when there is a traffic jam, the best way to make traffic flow smoother is not necessarily to add a lane. On the contrary, it is sometimes better to remove one... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A fairly short podcast today to quickly answer this common question! It's something you've known since you were a child: dromedaries have one hump and camels have two. But have you ever wondered why there's a difference? After all, these animals are very close. So why don't they have the same number of humps? First off, you have to know what this part of the body is used for. These bumps are essential because they provide the animal with the energy it needs to survive the extreme conditions of its habitat... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This popular three-dimensional geometric puzzle is composed of 26 outer cubes of different colors. The Rubik’s cube was invented in 1974 by Ernő Rubik, a Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture who built the cube for his students to think about its internal mechanism. They had to ask themselves the question: what is the internal mechanism that allows the cubes to rotate on three axes and still remain together. The first prototype, was composed of 26 small cubes and a center, the whole was carved out of wood. Each layer of 9 cubes could rotate, without moving the others... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a situation of Stockholm syndrome, a hostage develops a feeling of empathy and occasionally even friendship with his captor. This syndrome owes its name to a hostage situation that took place in Stockholm in 1973. On August 23rd, a prisoner on parole, Jan Erik Olsson, attempted to rob a bank. He had to retreat into the branch and ended up taking four people hostage. Negotiations were held with the authorities and after 6 days he freed everyone. Having spent almost a week with him, the hostages developed a curious behavior during the arrest, going so far as to stand in front of the policemen who came to arrest him, separating them from Olsson... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Paris syndrome is a psychological disorder that some people experience when they are on vacation in Paris. Similar to the Stendhal and Jerusalem syndromes, this disorder mainly affects Japanese people who, distraught by the gap between reality and the idea they had of the city before going there, lose their footing in the face of the cultural gap between the image of Paris depicted in Japan and Paris in reality... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You may know the adage "One lost, ten found". Perhaps we should add, "one found, two lost" to our colloquial dictionary. A British study has established that entering into a romantic relationship distances us from our friends. Two of them, to be very precise. Let me explain... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You may be like me and assume that revealing the end of a movie or giving away key plot information in a trailer would have a negative impact on a film’s box office. It’s easy to assume that spoilers would discourage potential viewers. We assume that the public would collectively no longer want to see a movie if we knew the ending or essential elements in advance. But actually, not only is this not the case, but the complete opposite is true. Let me explain... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You’ve probably heard it. That the great German composer, Beethoven, who lived during the 18th and 19th century was deaf. But is it actually true? Yes, actually, it is. How do we know? In the absence of medical records, we have to refer to his correspondence. When his deafness first developed, Beethoven began to use conversation books to communicate with those around him... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We easily recognize the faces of our loved ones, family and friends, as well as most of the people we interact with on a regular basis. But we don't remember every face we come across and there is a limit to our memory when it comes to facial recognition. To understand it more precisely, a study was conducted in Great Britain that allowed us to calculate for the first time just how many faces we are able to really recognize. The result is rather disappointing. We only remember approximately 5000 faces... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On social media, a number of recipes are circulating to cure the most diverse of ailments. One of them praises the virtues of toothpaste to relieve erectile dysfunction. To be specific, they say that coating one's penis with toothpaste will restore normal erections and prevent premature ejaculation. But that's not all - this miraculous remedy can even make the sexual act last longer. It's not so surprising that the video announcing these amazing results has been seen more than a million times... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The life of astronauts is nothing like that of other humans. In the particular environment where they live, mundane daily activities are vastly different than on Earth. One of these mundane activates that looks a little different in space is sleeping. On board the International Space Station, each astronaut has a small compartment reserved for rest. This small cabin is equipped with all the necessary equipment for sleeping like a sleeping bag, a lamp, and pillow, but these are not the objects of interest to us. Rather we want to discuss the presence of a mandatory air vent that can be found in each resting compartment... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As you may know, a chastity belt was a device allegedly developed to prevent sexual intercourse and masturbation. They are said to have been designed in Europe in the late Middle Ages so that men could ensure the fidelity of their wives when they went to war for long periods of time. But this seems to be a myth. In fact, many historians confirm that these belts never actually existed. How can this be confirmed? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Contrary to what you may have heard, no, this distance does not come from antiquity because it isn’t the distance between Marathon and Athens. The length of 42.195km run in all the marathons in the world comes from the royal family of England. Originally, the marathon appeared at the first modern... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In his book “Greek Homosexuality,” Professor Kenneth Dover explains that long and thick penises were considered grotesque in the ancient Greek cultural world. Their representations were thus limited to works of satirical art and depictions of ugliness and barbarism. Contrarily, small penises were associated with moderation, a cardinal virtue of the masculine ideal at the time, and, by extension, an artistic aesthetic. The ideal Greek man was rational and intellectual. And this "ideal" man had to be endowed with a small sexual organ... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The idea that man is descended from the ape was popularized in the 19th century by opponents of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. Nowadays, paleoanthropologists all agree that the great apes are more like our cousins. By claiming that the human species had evolved over millions of years, Darwin was opposing biblical claims that it took God only one day to create a man that was no different from his 19th century successors... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recent research suggests that reading aloud allows us to memorize what we read better than any other form of reading. And there is a particular reason why this technique is so effective. A recent study has shown the role played by reading aloud in memorization. It was conducted with the collaboration of students. Researchers presented 20 words to volunteers. For the purposes of the experiment, these volunteers were divided into four groups, each of which had to memorize words using a different technique. Depending on the group, the students either read the words silently, read the words aloud, listened to them through the voice of another speaker, or listened to their own recordings of the words... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You may have already noticed this. When it's time to eat, temperaments can get heated and you may feel more irritable than at other times of the day. The phenomena of being "hangry" has been the subject of very serious scientific research. A study was conducted by nutritionist Amanda Salis at the University of Sydney. The conclusion: the culprit is blood sugar levels. Let me explain... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The interactions between the Earth and the Moon demonstrate how far away our natural satellite actually is. This phenomenon, as well as the current position of the Sun, explains the diminishing of, then the eventual projected end of total solar eclipses. The Moon is moving away from the Earth at a rate of 3.8 centimeters, or about 1.5 inches, each year. In 600 million years, the moon will be 23,500 kilometers (or over 14,000 miles) further away than it is today... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To understand the reason for this, we should start by pointing out that during the brewing process, the alpha acids in the hops are transformed into isomerized alpha acids. It sounds complicated, but it’s not. It is these acids that give beer its bitterness. But when the beer is exposed to light, the photons trigger a process that causes some of these acids to react with another substance (riboflavin to be exact, better known as vitamin B2). The result is a compound whose structure is quite similar to … wait for it ... the substances found in skunk secretions. Including the smell that goes with it! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sometimes, when we are tired, we may rub our eyes. This reflex is widely shared amongst humans, and in most cases, uncontrollable. But how do we explain it? There is apparently no particular gain in terms of energy spent doing it. Once we rub our eyes, we don’t feel livelier than before we did this, but we do it anyway. So, what is it good for? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every person asked this question might have a different answer, depending on their personality and their role in society. For example, if we ask an employer what the ideal length of vacation is for their employees, the answer will certainly not be the same as when we ask this same person how many days of vacation they would like to take... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Many of the earliest Disney characters wear white gloves. This means we never see the hands of Mickey, Minnie, Donald Duck, or Pinocchio. It seems Walt Disney himself was the first to draw white gloves on Mickey Mouse in The Opry House, After that, the emblematic white gloves became the Disney trademark for many years! To be more exact, in 1928, when the first Mickey Mouse cartoon came out, this character still had completely black hands. But by 1929, he started to wear white gloves. There are several explanations to this evolution... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.