BrainStuff

Dressing up to feel powerful may have been a fashion fad of the 1980s, but do we still think differently if we wear formal clothes? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s good hygiene to wash your hands after touching shared bathroom surfaces. But bars of soap are a shared surface. Does soap really help get you clean? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Some hair dyes are basically fine-grained paint. But dyes that stick with you for more than a couple weeks physically and chemically change each hair. Learn how with Christian Sager. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tattoo machines (sometimes called guns) haven’t changed much since the 1890s because they’re such elegant devices. Tune in to learn how the most common types work. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What makes a planet ideal for sustaining life? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The short answer is “no.” Tune in to learn how long it really takes, plus how nuclear weapons led scientists to the solution. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Scientists have found evidence that plants have senses, memories, and can even communicate with each other. But does this mean they're conscious? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christian explains the difference between common types of milk, looking at calories, fat and the rest of their composition. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tinnitus is what makes your ears ring after a loud noise. And it's really annoying. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We all know what an ice cream headache feels like. Christian's here to explain why they happen. It involves temperature (duh), nerves and lots of blood. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s true – some people hear colors, or taste words. But what produces synesthesia? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's one of the strangest - and potentially grossest - challenges out there. But what happens when you drink milk? Why does it make you throw up? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You’ve probably heard people complaining about vocal fry, and you’ve certainly heard it used in conversation, but what causes it? Christian explains the science of fry and creak in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How does aspirin target your pain? The plants that aspirin were derived from have been used as medicine for about 6000 years, we finally discovered how it works in 1971, and Christian explains it to you now. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christian explains what goes into calculating how long it would take to traverse the globe on foot, and tells us about some intrepid explorers who've tried to do it. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ever gotten the strange feeling that you’re repeating an experience? Researchers have over 40 theories about what’s going on in the brain during déjà vu, and Christian is here to explain the most popular ones. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christian explains the science behind this seemingly magical gizmo. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

GDP, GNP – what does it all mean? Jonathan explains what economists mean when they bring up these common economic indicators. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's a lot of natural variation in the color of human hair. What's the physical explanation for the difference? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sure, everyone knows that bacon and eggs are a traditional breakfast - but why? Listen in to learn how Freud's nephew invented PR and changed the way America eats breakfast. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christian delves into the euphoric sensations of the Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) and reveals what triggers it and how science has responded so far. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The FDA recently changed their Nutrition Facts label to include added sugars. But why? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Erasers lift our mistakes right off the page, but it's not magic - it's the microscopic physics of stickiness. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christian explains the science of why people faint at the sight of blood. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are the buttons we push to cross streets, close elevator doors, and nudge the office thermostat really connected to anything? Some aren’t! Learn how these placebo buttons (don’t) work. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.