Do you really know?

“Spring forward, fall back” goes the saying; that’s right - today, Sunday the 30th of October 2022, saw the clocks go back an hour, meaning it gets dark earlier all of a sudden and winter is on its way! If there’s one day, or rather two days, of the year where you don’t want to schedule any important appointments, it’s on a day when the clock changes. Forgetting the time change is something that’s...

With Halloween right around the corner, find out about the not-so-spooky internet behavior we all hate: ghosting. Listen to our rerun episode! Ghosting is a modern slang term for ceasing all communication without any warning or explanation. It’s likely happened to you in the past at some point, and you may well have ghosted someone yourself! The term was first added to dating jargon in the 2000s,...

The nipples are an erogenous zone for many people. But as it turns out, having them touched can bring on a whole other kind of feeling for others. The so-called sad nipple syndrome has been discussed more openly on Reddit and Tiktok in the last few years, raising awareness. But it still remains somewhat of a mystery. It refers to a wave of negative emotions on a person when their nipples are touch...

You’ve no doubt heard references to the existence of body clocks, and it’s no surprise because all of our bodily functions are regulated by the circadian system. To put it simply, our circadian rhythms optimise bodily functions. In this episode, we explain why it is important. They are managed by a master clock known as the circadian pacemaker which is formed of around 20,000 neurons. It’s situate...

Ghost stories told around a camp fire, visiting a haunted house or watching a scary film are all common Halloween activities. We clearly enjoy scaring each-other and feeling scared, even though it seems completely counter intuitive. There are a number of reasons for this, which we'll explore in the episode. Fear is an emotional response to danger, both real or perceived. Our body releases a mixtur...

The energy crisis is still going on in all of Europe. The price of oil and gas is worrying governments as the cold winter months get closer. In this episode, we delve into the history of energy and explain what an oil shock is. For over a century, oil has been both a fuel and a barometer for the world economy. But it can also be a double-edged sword as Western countries found out in the 1970s. At...

Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022, her son Prince Charles became King at the age of 73. He inherited the many titles that his mother carried throughout her 70-year reign, one of which is the “Defender of the Faith”. That refers to his role as the supreme governor of the Church of England. In 2009, the Church of England stated it had over 26 million baptised members accoun...

Diarrhea is a common ailment that affects many of us, from time to time. While it’s often the subject of off-colour jokes, in reality it’s the number two cause of death in children under five years old, after pneumonia. It accounts for over 500,000 child deaths each year according to the World Health Organisation, making it a major public health issue. The majority of these cases are recorded in t...

The great un-retirement is a term that has been coined to explain the fact that people are working longer or even coming out of retirement completely to return to work. Find out why this is happening in this episode. In a poll by Rest Less, a digital community that supports the over-50s, 32% of members said they would consider returning to work or that they were already working again. And statisti...

The K-Pop band BTS made headlines recently: its members are due to enroll in South Korea's mandatory military service. Listen to our rerun episode to learn more about K-Pop and its origins. K-Pop is a form of pop music originating in South Korea. You've probably heard songs from the famous K-Pop boy band, BTS. With their flashy looks and extravagant hairstyles, the members of BTS, also known as th...

Interviewed by Harper's Bazaar in June 2022, US First Lady Jill Biden admitted to arguing over text with her husband. She said it’s been a good way for them to settle disagreements, away from the ears of secret service agents and everyone around them. Arguing by text is also known as fexting, which is a contraction of fighting and texting. Of course, it isn’t only the President and his wife who fe...

On 4th October 2022, Saudi Arabia was named as host country for the 2029 Asian Winter Games. The event takes place every four years, bringing together 10,000 athletes from all across the continent. The 2029 event will take place at the Trojena resort within the futuristic city of Neom, which is being developed in the middle of the desert. The name is a contraction of neo, which means new in Greek,...

This week on Do You Really Know?, we're all about tech. In constant evolution, digital technologies are shaping the world we live in today and are revolutionising our daily lives. To learn more about this, listen to our rerun episodes about tech! We all know how the internet links people between each other and devices between each other. Well, that’s not the end of it, as these days researchers ar...

In early October 2022, Russia used its veto power to prevent the UN Security Council from collectively condemning its annexation of four Ukrainian regions. And it’s not the first time that the country has used its permanent member status to veto a motion this year. The UN Security Council is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations, and it’s responsible for ensuring international peac...

Just a month or so ago we were talking about quiet quitting on Do You Really Know?. In the episode, we are talking about another modern workplace reality: quiet firing. Whereas quiet quitting is all about employees sticking to doing the bare minimum, quiet firing is kind of the opposite. It’s when an employer nudges an employee towards the exit door, either subtly or not so subtly. It isn’t always...

Throughout history people have been keen to find the answer to immortality. It's now commonly accepted that eternal life is not possible. Yet, somewhere deep in the ocean, a tiny fingernail-sized creature nicknamed the “immortal jellyfish” might be able to cast new light on the human aging process. A new study published in August 2022 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows th...

This week on Do You Really Know?, we're all about tech. In constant evolution, digital technologies are shaping the world we live in today and are revolutionising our daily lives. To learn more about this, listen to our rerun episodes about tech! Quantum technologies are tools which use the physical properties of tiny particles like ions or photons. It might seem abstract, but these technological...

Chronic pain is pain that lasts for an extended period of time, usually 12 weeks or more, despite medication or treatment. A study carried out by Ipsos on behalf of BBC news in March 2022 showed that 26% of adults living in the UK are suffering from chronic pain. Chronic pain is a condition in its own right, which often remains hidden and misunderstood. It can last for several years, and can impac...

The European Political Community was launched in 2022 to discuss the future of Europe, mainly in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron first suggested the EPC’s creation in a speech to the European Parliament back in early May. Less than six months later, the first summit was held in Prague. Despite initially opposed to the creation of the EPC back in June as F...

This week on Do You Really Know?, we're all about tech. In constant evolution, digital technologies are shaping the world we live in today and are revolutionising our daily lives. To learn more about this, listen to our rerun episodes about tech! Fintech is an abbreviation of “financial technology.” It’s a new business sector which began developing during the 2010s. Fintech companies put technolog...

Barbie has quite the impressive CV. She has had over 150 careers including fashion editor, surgeon and astronaut - enough to inspire any young fan. But what she has career-wise, she lacks when it comes to inclusivity. Barbie is usually blond, perfect and impossibly proportioned - there is a reason Margo Robbie is playing her in the latest Barbie film. But this is finally going to change: Barbie is...

Singer Harry Styles is set for a starring role in upcoming romantic drama My Policeman, which is set for release in October 2022. He plays a gay police officer in 1950s England, which has revived months-old accusations of queerbaiting from some observers. Queerbaiting is a marketing strategy which consists of using LGBT community culture or aesthetics, without actually being queer, at least not pu...

Believe it or not, the history of popcorn stretches back as far as ancient times. The first traces go back to Peru over 7,000 years ago, according to a 2012 study. Initially, popcorn was cheap to produce and therefore sold for next to nothing. In the 1920s, popcorn was affordable for all and every cinema had a walking salesperson just in front of the entrance. To start with, it only really took of...

You’ve probably already walked by a stranger spreadeagled on the ground. Chances are that if you saw several people already offering assistance, you carried on walking by. That’s due to what is known as the bystander effect. The bystander effect is a psychosocial phenomenon which typically crops up in emergency situations. It shows that the more other people are already intervening to help, the le...

In any given week in England, 3 in 100 people are suffering from depression, according to a NatCen Social Research study published in 2014. Depression can affect anyone, regardless of age or social class. Everybody experiences different moods. You might find yourself feeling happy during the day, sad at times, or even just okay. Those with mood disorders experience these same emotions, but for lon...