BrainStuff

Instead of a mouth, the hell ant had blades and a metal horn. Learn more about this prehistoric creature on BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today's flu vaccines can absolutely prevent or lessen an influenza infection, but they have to be taken yearly and don't always work. Learn why -- and what researchers are doing about it -- in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

People have been depicting wildly lavish foods for a lot longer than Instagram has been around. Learn about the history of what people eat versus what they show in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Spoiler alert: Yep, most of the commonly used words (and names!) in the English language are already trademarked. Learn more about how trademarks work in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The planet Earth is fairly well charted at this point, but we humans still have a drive to explore. Learn how modern-day exploration works in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Seeing footage after a hurricane or other natural disaster makes us want to help, but some actions are a better use of time and money than others. Learn how to make your aid go the furthest in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Research suggests that squirrels use memory strategies to remember where they put the good nuts. Learn more in this classic episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An analysis of the ancient Indian Bakhshali manuscript suggests the numerical symbol zero, as we use it today, may be centuries older than previously believed. Learn more in this classic episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

American interstates aren't given those numbers randomly. Learn how information is coded into every number -- and how this high-speed road system got its start -- in today's episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Siberia's Lake Baikal is so massive that it contains islands that have their own lakes. Learn about this ocean in the making, its amazing wildlife, and the myths about it in today's episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hurricanes weren't always given names. Learn how the tradition began and how the names rotate from year to year in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The cowboy is an American icon, but the profession originated with Native American workers tending Spanish horses and cattle in Central America. Learn about the vaquero in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Early humans did help hunt woolly mammoths to extinction, but the last surviving pockets of these animals were remote from humans. Learn more about them in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new study put dogs and wolves head to head in the intelligence department. Guess which species won? Find out on BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Archaeologists discovered what they believe to be ruins of the Roman city of Neapolis in the Mediterranean, near Tunisia. Learn what they found out about it in this classic episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trebuchets are a type of catapult that crushed castles in the Middle Ages. Learn how these siege engines helped kingdoms wage war in today's episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We often think of climate on the global scale, but trends in weather can be much smaller -- a whole climate can be tracked on the surface of a leaf. Learn more about microclimates in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the 1960s, a Midwestern elementary school teacher became famous -- or infamous -- for walking her third-grade class through an exercise about racial discrimination. Learn about Jane Elliott and her blue eyes/brown eyes exercise in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yes, race cars and race car drivers buy insurance, too -- and yes, it works a little differently. Learn about how NASCAR teams are insured in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We usually think of fertilizer as being a good thing -- so how can it cause so much destruction? Learn why ammonium nitrate can cause deadly explosions in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Research shows that doctoral programs can incite some serious problems. Learn how getting a Ph. D. affects mental health in this classic episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The magnificent bryozoan is a colonial organism that usually lives in warm ponds and lakes east of the Mississippi River. Learn what it's doing in western Canada in this classic episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hair is much softer than steel. So how can shaving cause a razor blade to dull? Learn how a few researchers figured out the answer -- and how they may provide a solution -- in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Spoiler alert: Marie and Pierre Curie started the family that has won more Nobel prizes than any other in history. Learn the Curie family's story in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In some countries, important fossils are considered shared cultural heritage and can't be privately owned; in others, private sellers can make millions off dino fossils at auction. Learn more about owning dinosaur remains in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.