Brain Junk

Wouldn't it be cool if we could just put our eggs in a warmer instead of being pregnant for months and months?!?! We dive into some big science and BIG science words. Get ready for syncytin and viruses. Check out the brain behind this topic, Dr. Noc on TikTok Also Mammals Made By Viruses by Carl Zimmer This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access...

Why won’t your teenager listen to you? Their brain. For real. Insert teenage eye roll here. Want to know the deets? Mom’s Voice study from Stanford This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brainjunkpodcast.substack.com

In the mood for a LONG episode?!?! Wish granted! We’re snacking on packages of Taco flavored jellybeans from Brach’s as we snack our way through fun facts about food trucks, the history of the pique-nique, and just what’s in horchata. And if you need more of us taste testing, check out Episode 138: Turkey Candy […] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers...

Fresh off the research presses in early 2022, a new study on how honey bees navigate the world while they fly. Turns out still water and mirrors are equally vexing for bees. Check out the paper: Honeybees Flying Over a Mirror Irremediably Crash And video! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brainjunkpodcast.subst...

We don’t know about you, but 2022 has been a MOOD so we’re starting Halloween a little early this year. Be prepared! Starting Aug 17th, we have a season of witches and cat nights. Amy also tosses a few fun extra facts into this almanac Brain Storm! Need more Almanac facts try out Farmer’s Almanac! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to b...

It’s 1576 and you don’t have a young boy to spare to turn your meat while it cooks. So what could you use? A dog. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brainjunkpodcast.substack.com

We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming to bring you a naughty summer break episode. If you’re of an age that hasn’t covered human growth and development yet, this warning is for you and your parents: we are talking about everything in the no-no squares. Don’t know what that is? Maybe don’t Google it. Just ask […] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subs...

Harriet lived from around 1835 to 2006! She is believed to be one of the Earth’s longest lived creatures ever recorded. image from Australia Zoo via the AP file of Steve Irwin, Terri Irwin, and Harriet This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brainjunkpodcast.substack.com

If you grew up on the east coast of the US, you might’ve had Hellmann’s mayo and on the west coast you’d have Best Foods. But here’s the thing, it’s the same product. The reasons why we have similar foods with different labels from coast to coast are as varied as the products we buy. […] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episo...

In the 16 and 1700s, wife selling was a type of marital separation that people did when they couldn’t afford divorce. It was shaming, mysoginistic, and patriarchal (basically it was a terrible time to be female). BUT wife selling was an attempt to work within a crushingly unfair system and sometimes even worked to the […] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subsc...

Seldom written about, female gladiators fought for glory and Rome from around 509 BCE to 200 AD. What little information we have about them was in a few historical writings and one remaining frieze. image: Amazonia and Achillea This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brainjunkpodcast.substack.com

2012 published research detailed how you could influence someone’s honesty on say, a test. It all depended on if they signed an agreement to be truthful at the beginning or the end of the test. A lot of what is discussed in the paper feels like common sense. And was also hard to reproduce. How […] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to b...

In 1948, Idaho Fish and Game got the bright idea to transport beavers into the back country with PARACHUTES. It was a wild and wacky compromise to save dwindling beaver populations, promote healthy forests, and keep beavers out of post WWII housing developments. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brainjunkpodcas...

It’s 1789 and the beginning of bureaucracy in the United States. James Madison is writing letters to smooth the path of George Washington’s disorganized congress. The way it all went down is hilarious. Not one of the 4 letters BUT this one was written by James Madison to George Washington on Dec. of 1789. He […] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or...

While baby Egyptian fruit bats start life getting carried around, once they get too heavy, their mothers leave them in a cave while they forage. It’s tough love that gets them out of the cave and learning how to find home and food. image by Yuval Barkai from New York Times Science Current Biology article […] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get...

The first roller skates were patented by John Joseph Merlin in 1760. He showed off his new fangled wheeled shoes with an epic entrance to a party that ended not quite how he thought it would. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brainjunkpodcast.substack.com

With enough pressure and heat, just about anything with enough carbon in it could become a diamond. And thankfully for us, when a scientist was asked, could he turn peanut butter into a diamond, he decided to find out. How NOT to make a diamond at home: This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brainjunkpodcast.substac...

How do whales open their mouths to grab a mouthful of food without drowning?! Because it’s not just krill that goes in, but hundreds of gallons of water. Amy digs into why. The adaptation is remarkable. Check out Science News magazine for a cool diagram! And here’s my other (Amy’s) sources:  EurekAlert Baleen Whales use […] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other sub...

In 2007, a woman’s 5,000 year old skeleton was found in Burnt City, Iran. She was at least six feet tall and had what researchers think may be the first example of a prosthetic eye. image: Check out the original paper! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brainjunkpodcast.substack.com

In cases of emergency, lizards pop off their tails to get away. Evolution made it possible for that tail to stay on when tugged but not twisted. It all comes down to physiology and a cool adaptation called nanopores. Close up of the nanopores and detached tail: image from NAVAJIT S. BABAN/NEW YORK UNIVERSITY ABU […] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers...

It wasn’t just fame and glory that inspired Lewis and Clark’s expedition across this great land. It took a “medication” so powerful that people would pray before they took it. Researchers figured out how to locate campsites from that 1804-1805 trip by analyzing dirt for Mercury. Because of course they were using medicine that was […] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with...

Anything that scatters when you turn on the light…does it have a personality? Is the cockroach urge to run an indicator of a bold or timid world view? So many questions. Of course Amy found us some answers. Cockroaches with their little monitors. image from Reuters and Science Alert This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes,...

Set aside your mammal bias because this week we’re celebrating the unexpected smarts of archerfish and goldfish! Turns out, goldfish might be able to drive a car and archerfish might just be able to count. Sit back and get ready for your mind to be blown. Goldfish research with cars. Watch out Tesla, they’re coming […] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscrib...

Amy pulled out all the stops for this shenanigan filled episode. Don’t be an April’s Fool like Trace. image from Snopes Amy’s Sources (aside from her shenanigan-filled heart):  Snopes.com   Blandx.com 1936 Olympics Article This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brainjunkpodcast.substack.com

In 1978, Dr. Alexander Schauss and a research assistant mixed 1 gallon of white latex paint with a pint of shiny red and created P-618 aka Baker Miller Pink. They thought it would relax people, especially people in stressful situations, like prison. Take a look at that powerful pink and you be the judge. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get acce...