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BrainStuff

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Whether the topic is popcorn or particle physics, you can count on BrainStuff to explore -- and explain -- the everyday science in the world around us.

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a few times a week
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Episodes 26

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Today · 11 min
How Did Sundown Towns Say the Quiet Part Out Loud?
Sundown towns are places in the United States where, after the Civil War and Reconstruction, white communities kept Black Americans and other groups out for decades, on purpose. Learn how they came to be -- and how some sundown towns are in recovery -- in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://history.howstuffworks.com/american-history/sundown-towns.htm. Check out Dr. James Loewen's database of sundown towns here: https://justice.tougaloo.edu/sundown-towns/using-the-sundown-towns-database/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Wednesday · 12 min
Why Do We Yawn, and Why Is It Catching?
Science isn't entirely sure why humans and other animals yawn, let alone why yawning can be contagious -- but we've got some good hypotheses. Learn about them, from cooling the brain to spreading alertness, in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on these articles: https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human-brain/question572.htm; https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human-brain/contagious-yawn.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Monday · 9 min
How Do Rip Currents Work?
Rip currents are dangerous flows of water that can drag you away from the shore and out into the deep. Learn how they form, what to watch for, and how to escape one by swimming sideways or riding it out in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/oceanography/rip-current.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Saturday · 7 min
BrainStuff Classics: Can the Same Animal Evolve Twice?
Remote islands are excellent laboratories for observing evolution at work -- and in the case of a flightless bird called the Aldabra rail, we can observe how its evolution happened twice. Learn about iterative evolution in today's classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/evolution/iterative-evolution.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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August 7 · 10 min
Where Did Tomatoes Come From?
The tomato originated in the Americas and spread during European colonization. But was it really thought to be poisonous (or cause lycanthropy) when it first came to Europe? Learn about the legends behind tomatoes -- and how we got the sturdy ones sold in stores -- in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://recipes.howstuffworks.com/where-did-the-tomato-come-from.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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August 5 · 14 min
How Does Aspirin Know Where to Go in Your Body?
OK, that's a trick question. Aspirin goes everywhere in your body -- and wherever it goes, it works by preventing processes that amp up pain signals, encourage inflammation, cause fever, and more. Learn about the history and workings of aspirin (aka acetylsalicylic acid) in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://health.howstuffworks.com/medicine/medication/aspirin.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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August 3 · 14 min
What Is the Deepest Hole in the World?
Alongside the Space Race, the mid-1900s saw another contest of engineering -- a race downward, into the Earth. Learn why the USSR created the Kola Superdeep Borehole (the deepest artificial or natural hole we know of), what we learned from it, and how this research continues in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/engineering/civil/kola-superdeep-borehole.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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August 1 · 8 min
BrainStuff Classics: Is Canned Food Really Worse Than Fresh or Frozen?
Canning foods preserves them, but the texture and nutritive value can suffer -- and what about the potential dangers of BPA and botulism? Learn what's true and what's myth when it comes to canned food in this classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://recipes.howstuffworks.com/canned-food-bad.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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July 31 · 13 min
How Do Octopuses Work?
These marine invertebrates can solve puzzles, use tools, and camouflage themselves by changing their very skin -- yet they live only three to five years, and die after mating. Learn more about octopuses in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on these articles: https://animals.howstuffworks.com/marine-life/octopus.htm/printable; https://animals.howstuffworks.com/marine-life/why-is-octopus-blood-blue.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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July 29 · 11 min
How Do We Get Iron and Steel Out of Stone?
Iron processing is a benchmark of civilization for good reason -- this metal makes a lot of technology possible. Learn about the history and science of refining iron and steel in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/iron.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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July 27 · 13 min
Did a Journalist's Probe into JFK's Assassination Lead to Her Death?
In the mid-1900s, Dorothy Kilgallen was a famous journalist and popular media personality -- but her investigation into the deaths of President Kennedy and his assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, may have gotten her killed, too. Learn about the alledged organized crime coverup Kilgallen was looking into in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://history.howstuffworks.com/historical-figures/dorothy-kilgallen.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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July 25 · 9 min
BrainStuff Classics: Could the Great Depression Happen Again?
There were many factors that led to the depth and length of the Great Depression, but some of these mistakes are being repeated today. Learn what historians and economists are saying we should watch out for in this classic-but-relevant episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://history.howstuffworks.com/american-history/great-depression.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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July 24 · 6 min
How Many Arachnids Live in Your Eyelashes?
Pretty much every human has thousands of microscopic mites living in the hair follicles on their face, feeding off of the dead skin cells and oils there. Learn why you probably shouldn't worry about Demodex mites in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://health.howstuffworks.com/human-body/systems/eye/are-there-really-arachnids-living-in-my-eyelashes.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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July 22 · 12 min
Are Induction Cooktops Better than Gas or Electric?
Instead of putting a pan on a source of heat (like a gas burner or electric element), an induction cooktop creates heat in the pan itself thanks to the principles of electromagnetism and resistance. Learn how it works -- plus the pros and cons of the technology -- in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://home.howstuffworks.com/induction-cooktops.htm/printable See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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July 20 · 13 min
How Did Mastodons Defend the Legitimacy of America?
In the 1700s, fossil finds along the Ohio and Hudson Rivers indicated that North America was home to mysterious beasts. Learn how mastodon bones proved both that extinction is real and that America isn't full of degenerates in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://animals.howstuffworks.com/extinct-animals/mastodon-boneyard-that-stole-thomas-jeffersons-heart.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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July 18 · 7 min
BrainStuff Classics: Why Do Some People Eat Dirt?
The craving for and practice of eating earth is more widespread than you might think. Learn why researchers think people engage in this form of pica (i.e., geophagy) in today's classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://people.howstuffworks.com/culture-traditions/cultural-traditions/why-do-people-eat-dirt.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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July 17 · 9 min
What Advice About Lightning Is Wrong?
A lot of sayings and ideas about how to avoid getting struck by lightning are misguided. Learn how to stay storm safe in a building, a vehicle, or outside in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on these articles: https://science.howstuffworks.com/nature/climate-weather/storms/do-rubber-tires-insulate-car-from-lightning.htm; https://science.howstuffworks.com/nature/climate-weather/storms/10-lightning-myths.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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July 15 · 12 min
How Did Wild Bill Hickok Become America's First Gunslinger?
In the mid-1800s, the archetype of the gentleman gunslinger emerged through tall tales of real people like James Butler 'Wild Bill' Hickok. Learn how Wild Bill became a legend in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://history.howstuffworks.com/historical-figures/wild-bill-hickok.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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July 13 · 14 min
What Colors Are Impossible?
All colors only really exist in the mind of the beholder -- and there are colors that we can't perceive, or can only perceive under particular circumstances. Learn about impossible colors and how to see them in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/impossible-colors.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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July 11 · 6 min
BrainStuff Classics: What's the Controversy Behind 'Mary Had a Little Lamb'?
No, it's not the lyrics -- the author of this nursery rhyme is what's in question. Learn why (and how Henry Ford was involved) in today's classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/arts/literature/controversy-behind-mary-had-little-lamb.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Showing 1–20 of 26 episodes