Brain Junk

How did we go from no green spaces in city neighborhoods to the perfectly manicured lawn that defines American suburbia? It all comes down to Frederick Law Olmsted and properties in a housing development in 1860's Illinois. Show Notes: The Duncan Gardens at Manito Park in our own beautiful Spokane-Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted New York City and Charleston SC neighborhoods prior to Olmsted's la...

No joke, the best and last line of defense to protect the drinking water for an entire city in Poland is eight clams. Let's chat about bivalve science! image from Fat Kathy 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

During the 13th century, in the part of the world that would become Germany, husbands and wives could settle marital disagreements with an elaborate battle that used clubs and rocks. It was a drastic argument resolution of last resort. Amy explains all. Show Notes: In 1476 Hans Talhoffer wrote a manual on various kinds of combat. One of his chapters had illustrations with examples of men and women...

Trace dug deep for this animal symbiosis extravaganza. Frogs and tarantulas, blind snakes and owls; it's so so good. Show Notes: Bonus content: an article with a sound recording of screech owls. Some info on blind snakes from the Smithsonian Skip in to :28 for the frog CLIMBING UNDER the tarantula. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to...

In 1836, the Belville family began their business of selling time. It started with Ruth Belville's father and passed down to his daughter, Ruth. She sold time until 1939. Give it a listen, you know you want to learn more. Show Notes: Ruth Belville at the Greenwich clock. Visit the museum that has Ruth Belville's watch. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscrib...

There might be longer names, but Hubert Blaine Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorff Sr. probably comes the closest. Amy reads it all. Because there's more. SO MUCH MORE to his very long name.   Show notes: Wikipedia Record for Longest Personal Name       *Visit Wikipedia for a great picture of Hubert holding his birth certificate.  Mental Floss Record for Longest Personal Name Used The longest name...

In the movie Good Will Hunting, Will is a janitor at MIT--he solves some impossible math problems and shocks the professors. That origin story is taken straight from real life (sort of). George Dantzig was a brilliant mathematician who got his start when he was late to class one fateful day and solved some math problems nobody thought could be solved. This is a public episode. If you would like to...

In this time of COVID19 and staying at home (if you happen to be at home with more than just yourself) you might be finding family harmony is getting a little rough around the edges. Amy has the perfect solution for you, the Scottish tradition of the Isle of Discussion.   The Isle of Discussion, or Eilean a' Chomhraidh can be seen on the left. Disputants were left on the island to settle their dif...

In 1930, the Kutol company came up with a putty to clean coal dust off of walls. Impending bankruptcy forced them to shift gears to find news ways of making a profit. A new company was formed and Play-Doh was born. Show Notes: Trace's Mom's Most Excellent Play dough recipe: 2 cups flour 1 cup salt 2 cups water 2 Tablespoons neutral oil 3 teaspoons cream of tartar a few drops of the food coloring o...

Margaret and Matilda Roumania Peters were sisters and tennis champions in the 1930s, long before Serena and Venus Williams. While still in high school, they were recruited by Tuskegee University's tennis coach, Cleve Abbott. The Peters sisters were accepted into the Tuskegee Hall of fame in 1977. Margaret and Matilda: Tennis doubles champions Blackpast.org Pete & Repeat theroot.com Before Venu...

It's one of those episodes where you think you know where your research is leading and then it takes a sharp right turn. Trace follows a trail from shoving boulders downhill to the 18th century sport of hoop rolling. P.S. Trace mentions in the beginning of the episode a video she'd seen on Instagram of guys rolling a giant boulder. That vid has since been removed. In many cases, trundling is illeg...

The science of how bubbles work changes a bit when they go into space. Amy explains why. Show Notes:  These show notes are super cool. Click all the links and watch all the videos. You'll go down a space bubbles worm hole into fluid dynamics and it's great!   Wired.com Bubbles in space video Watch an astronaut play with bubbles and antacid in space. Worth waiting through the commercial.    https:/...

Welcome to a socially distanced Brain Junk Episode. Hopefully by the time this comes out, Amy and I are back to recording face to face. This was tapped at the end of April and we were each in our own houses recording remotely. Sorry about the less than super sound quality--I hope the content more than makes up for it. How could you not LOVE sharks that like heavy metal music?!?! Show Notes: Nature...

This episode was a struggle-and-a-half to get into the world. It was one of the first we recorded remotely because of COVID19 and I (Trace. Me, I did it!) lost the first TWO versions we did due to technical glitches. I'm so happy to bring you Amy's episode about the wonders of the Upside Down Jellyfish! It's a story of mutualism, stinging globs, algae, and the divers who finally studied them.   Im...

Necco Wafers and Jelly Beans were candies that citizens were urged to “send to the troops” during the Civil War. Easy to transport and not likely to melt or spoil, they were a sweet treat that reminded the Union soldiers of home. An old NYT advertisement Jelly Belly factory (Fairfield, CA.) Check out Claire Saffitiz from Bon Appetite as she attempts gourmet jelly beans from scratch. https://www.yo...

From 1920 to 1933, the United States had a ban against the sale and import of alcohol. Almost immediately the whole nation began to find innovative ways to smuggle booze past the law. Image Courtest Wikimedia Commons: Creative Commons SHOW NOTES: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/65110/footwear-helped-moonshiners-evade-police A 1922 article from a Florida newspaper called The Evening Independent...

Amy’s dug to the bottom of her pockets to find us a linty handful of random coin fact gems. Did you know there was a white cent or that coins are pickled before they get printed? Let’s see if I have any change in my wallet. Wait! Is that an orange Tic-Tac in the bottom of my bag? I call dibs!   SHOW NOTES: https://grammarist.com/idiom/dollars-to-doughnuts/   https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/713...

If you grew up in the 80s and early 90s, you were certain that someday you’d fall into a pit of quicksand. It was everywhere. In cartoons, in tv shows, in our favorite movies. Turns out, quicksand isn’t quite as ubiquitous as we thought.   Show Notes: Nature.com-Quicksand BBC-Dry Quicksand         Creative Commons License This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subsc...

It’s freezing but that flock of ducks is standing barefoot on an icy pond. Why don’t they have frostbite? Turns out, ducks (any many other birds) have something in their legs humans don’t, rete mirabile. Brrrrr! image: Capri23auto ( pixabay.com ) Rete mirabile at work, warming blood coming in from the feet and cooling blood going out into those webbed toes. A perfect internal heat exchanger for st...

I’ve heard so many of these from my Dad around the kitchen table, we should call these “dad-isms” instead of aphorisms. Those pithy phrases that are so true, they’re almost a cliche. Trace and Amy explore a few of their favorites. Show Notes: The largest list of eponymous laws Trace has ever seen ! Thank you Wikipedia r/aphorisms (be wary: it’s reddit–there are words that are not pg-13) Please don...

The term Jimmy Legs describes both a syndrome and the restless leg bumping up and down that some of us do when nervous or full of energy. Let’s find out where the name comes from! SHOW NOTES: Seinfeld The Jimmy Leg “She’s throwing off my whole sleep,” Kramer, Seinfeld CDNC Jimmy Leg https://www.stripes.com/news/new-names-same-navy-1.90423 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this...

Welcome to our gigantic, fact filled 100th episode!!!! Thank you, Brain Junkies, we couldn’t have done it without you! We’ve gathered together ther weirdest & wackiest bunch of 100 facts from pop culture, history, animals and science to pack your brain. Show Notes: Ikea’s Game of Thrones Cape Acrobatic Pizza Toss https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftQZl9e8PbI Squirrel Tracker! Find those landmine...

What happens when you cross a intestinal invading fungus or bacteria with carbohydrates? You get very very drunk. Trace explores the weird world of Auto-brewery syndrome. 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’re thinking, wait, I thought it was tenderhooks, you’re not alone. Amy explains this early 18th century idiom that describes having a sense of anxious anticipation. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenterhook   Tenterhooks or tenter hooks are hooked nails in a device called a tenter .    Tenters were wooden frames which were used as far back a...

On Feb 3rd, 1945, The all women of color, Six-Triple-Eight, was sent overseas to clear a two year backlog of mail. They were told it would take six months to a year to get every letter and package sorted and delivered. The Six-Triple-Eight did the entire job in three months. We salute you, women of the 6888th. This episode is a small part of their story. SHOW NOTES: Link to a great film footage of...