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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2,688 episodes
Updated Monday

Episodes2688

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May 12 · 10 min
How Did Beer Help Sell the Myth of Custer's Last Stand?
The idea of General George Custer's deadly military blunder being a heroic last stand was constructed over decades to encourage U.S. colonization of the West. Learn how Anheuser-Busch helped in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://history.howstuffworks.com/american-history/custers-last-stand.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 11 · 12 min
How Does Bioluminescence Work?
When organisms like fireflies, fungi, and fish glow with cold light, there's chemistry at work. Learn what we know (and don't know!) about bioluminescence -- including how humans are harnessing it -- in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://animals.howstuffworks.com/animal-facts/bioluminescence.htm/printable See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 8 · 9 min
How Is Maillardet's Automaton Still Wowing Us After 200 Years?
Around the year 1800, Swiss clockmaker Henri Maillardet created a mechanical doll that moves like a person as it produces drawings and poems with a pen on paper -- it's programmed for seven in total, without having any electrical parts. Learn how it and other automata work in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/maillardets-automaton.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 4 · 6 min
How Do Tiny Capers Pack Such a Big Flavor Punch?
Capers are the flower buds of a spiny shrub, and though they have a lot of flavor on their own, they're often amped up by being pickled or packed in salt. Learn more about capers and how to cook with them in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://recipes.howstuffworks.com/capers.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 1 · 9 min
What Do A.M., P.M., and SOS Stand For?
OK, this is a trick question -- 'SOS' doesn't stand for anything at all. Learn the history of these three terms, including what astronomy and telegraphy have to do with it, in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://people.howstuffworks.com/am-pm.htm; https://people.howstuffworks.com/what-does-sos-mean.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
April 23 · 9 min
How Do Fainting Goats Work?
Fainting goats don't really faint -- their muscles just lock up for a few extra seconds when they startle or get excited. Learn how myotonia works and why it can actually be a useful trait in goats in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://animals.howstuffworks.com/mammals/fainting-goat.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
April 22 · 8 min
Does Smog Make Sunsets More Beautiful?
Although a little air pollution can bring out brilliant colors in sunsets, most of it just causes a washed-out haze. Learn how both sunsets and smog work in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/smog-sunset.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
April 21 · 8 min
Why Does Albania Have Hundreds of Thousands of Bunkers?
When Albanian dictator Enver Hoxha started building concrete bunkers during the Cold War, it was part paranoia and part propaganda. Learn more about these mysterious bunkers and how they're being repurposed today in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://history.howstuffworks.com/european-history/albania-bunkers.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
April 1 · 8 min
What Pranks Have Astronauts Pulled?
Since the early days of space exploration, some of NASA's greatest have pulled some great pranks. Learn about our favorites, from a smuggled sandwich to a space gorilla, in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/ridiculous-history-5-nasa-greatest-pranks.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
March 30 · 10 min
How Can Your Body Learn to Tolerate Cold?
When you shiver, your fingers and toes go numb, or you get goosebumps in the cold, that's actually your body trying to keep you warm. Learn how it works -- and how you habituate to chilly temperatures over time -- in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://health.howstuffworks.com/human-body/systems/nervous-system/body-learn-frigid-temperatures.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
March 27 · 10 min
How Did the War of 1812 Settle the American Revolution?
The War of 1812 between the U.S. and the British Empire ended in a stalemate, but it established the U.S. as an independent nation and economic power -- and allowed Americans to colonize the West. Learn more in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://history.howstuffworks.com/historical-events/war-1812.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
March 19 · 6 min
How Do Geoducks Work?
Geoducks are large clams that can live for over a century, are eaten as delicacies, and look incredibly NSFW. Learn more about these amazing mollusks in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://animals.howstuffworks.com/marine-life/geoducks.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
March 18 · 7 min
How Did One Woman Make Vincent van Gogh Famous?
Van Gogh didn't find fame or financial success during his life. But after he died, his widowed sister-in-law, Johanna van Gogh-Bonger, worked for decades to bring his life and work to the spotlight. Learn more about her in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://history.howstuffworks.com/historical-figures/johanna-van-gogh-bonger.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
March 9 · 7 min
How Does Building Muscle Work?
Building muscle isn't just about getting ripped -- it's a way all of us can be healthier. Learn about the facts and fictions behind building muscle (aka mucle hypertrophy) in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/diet-fitness/exercise/hypertrophy.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
March 6 · 8 min
Deinonychus: The Dinosaur That Sparked a Renaissance
The discovery of Deinonychus, an agile theropod that may have hunted in packs, changed the way we think about dinosaurs -- and inspired 'Jurassic Park' to boot. Learn about Deinonychus and the real (smaller) Velociraptor in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://animals.howstuffworks.com/dinosaurs/deinonychus.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
March 5 · 9 min
How Do Scales Measure Weight?
Scales range from simple machines that weigh your produce to precision instruments that measure anything from molecules to massive cargo -- but they all work on related principles. Learn how different types of scales work in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/fitness/digital-scale.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
February 23 · 9 min
How Did the Penn Center Become a Civil Rights Sanctuary?
In South Carolina, the first school for formerly enslaved people during the Civil War shifted to become a center for social activism during the Civil Rights movement, and stands today as a landmark of African American culture and history. Learn more about the Penn Center in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://history.howstuffworks.com/american-civil-war/penn-center-strategic-secret-pivotal-to-civil-rights-movement.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
February 21 · 5 min
BrainStuff Classics: Why Is Cramming the Worst Way to Study?
Cramming for a test or other deadline may give you decent short-term results, but research shows it sacrifices long-term comprehension and memory. Learn why study methods like spacing and interleaving are better in this classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://people.howstuffworks.com/why-cramming-is-worst-way-to-study.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
February 20 · 7 min
How Can We Separate Ninja Fact from Ninja Fiction?
Over a few hundred years, real stories about secretive agents developed into the legend of the ninja. Learn how this myth captured the world's imagination -- and about the work being done at the world's first International Ninja Research Center -- in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://people.howstuffworks.com/first-ninja-research-center-out-to-solve-myth-behind-legend.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
February 19 · 7 min
How Did 'Bourgeois' Become a Bad Word?
The French word 'bourgeois' originally just meant a middle-class town dweller, but it's taken on a lot of different (and often derogatory) connotations over the centuries, including in the English slang term 'bougie'. Learn more in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://people.howstuffworks.com/bourgeoisie.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.