Moment Of Um

It’s super helpful that each day of the week has its own name!  Without these names, it’d be really hard to keep track of our calendars – and there’d be no such thing as #MotivationMonday or #TacoTuesday! But why do the days of the week have the names that they do?  We asked language expert Amelia Tseng to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s making you #WonderWednesday? Send it to us at...

Movies are everywhere. They’re on our tablets, phones, and projected onto giant screens. But it hasn’t always been that way! So… when were movies first made? We asked cinema and media historian Laura Isabel Serna about it – and she helped us find the answer! Got a question flickering in your mind’s eye? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll produce an animated answer! See omnystudio.com...

We may not think much about sewing machines, but there are so many things we wouldn’t have without them! Think about how many things are sewn together in our everyday lives. Your shirts, pants, hats, pillows, backpack, even parts of your car seats! There’s no doubt that sewing machines were a revolutionary invention. But when exactly were the first ones made? We asked Articles of Interest host Ave...

People have all different kinds of animals as pets: dogs, cats, hamsters, gerbils, pigs, you name it. The famous artist Salvador Dalí even had a pet lobster that he took for walks on a leash! But when did humans first start craving animal companionship? We asked anthropologist David Ian Howe to help us find the answer. Got a question that you want to ask right meow? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/c...

Drums are the backbone of rock’n’roll…and most other kinds of music, too! Where would we be without a big bass drum leading a parade, or a jazzy ba-dum-CH after a well-told joke? But how do drums actually make their sounds? We asked drum maker Liz Aponte to help us find the answer. Are you ensnared by a question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we won’t miss a beat in finding the answer...

Bees are incredible! There are 20,000 species, and so much to learn about them. But have you ever wondered why they are black and yellow? Such a specific color palette, right? We asked Entomologist Dan Cariveau to help us find the answer. Got a Moment of Um question that’s buzzing around in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you BEE informed. See omnystudio.com/liste...

Good morning! Rise and shine! Time to stretch and yawn and…blech! What is that taste? What is that smell?? Morning breath can be especially stinky, even if you brush your teeth the night before. What’s up with that? We asked Dr. Michael Eggert, who teaches in the dental school at the University of Alberta to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s really stinkin’ good? Send it to us at Brai...

If you’re an adventurous eater you might have tried spicy cuisine, or maybe added hot sauce to your meals. Did your eyes water? Did your nose run? If so, that’s a totally normal response, and  Otolaryngologist Erich P. Voigt is here to help us understand why that is. Got a burning Moment of Um question for us? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you find the answer. See omnystudi...

Have you ever looked at a bird turd? Like, really looked at it? If so, you might’ve noticed there’s a lot of white in there. But what is that white stuff?  We asked bird expert Amanda Bender to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s poo-sitively great? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find an answer that doesn’t stink! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informatio...

Astronauts have such cool jobs!  They get to blast off in rockets, experience micro-gravity, and see Earth from a whole new perspective.  But how does someone become a NASA astronaut?  We asked spacesuit designer Pablo de Leon to help us find the answer! Got a question that’s out of this world? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll launch an investigation. See omnystudio.com/listener fo...

Shells come in so many amazing shapes and sizes -  spirals, sand dollars, sundials, ones that whirl around, ones that twirl around, ones that twist to the side and some that even look like cookies! Our listener Lily had a great question about these shapes, and Mike Sanchez, a Naturalist at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, helps us get to the bottom of this twisted subject! Got...

Throwing up isn’t fun, but it happens to everyone. Sometimes we vomit if we’re sick with a virus or an infection – and other times, it happens because we’re feeling dizzy or carsick. But do other animals barf too? Like snakes? We asked wildlife biologist Laura Kojima to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s retch-edly hard to figure out? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll sp...

You might have heard a rumor that snails have a big reaction when you pour salt on them. But curator Tim Pearce from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History wants you to know that it’s cruel to do so. And he’ll tell you why!  Got a Moment of Um question that wants to come out of its shell? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help slug out an answer. See omnystudio.com/listener for priv...

If you fold a sheet of paper just right, you can create a paper airplane that zooms through the air! But how do you make sure that your plane zooms across a room instead of nose-diving into the couch cushions? What makes a good paper airplane? We asked physics grad student Angie Huerta to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s just plane fun? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’l...

Bird eggs come in all shapes and sizes, from speckled hummingbird eggs smaller than a jellybean to mango-sized emu eggs. But how do birds make them? We asked bird expert Paul Bartell to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s ova-whelming? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help crack the case! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have you ever screamed when you saw a spider in the house? First of all, don’t be scared, that spider isn’t looking for you. But second of all, did you wonder if the spider even heard you? Most of us haven’t gotten close enough to a spider to see if it has any ears at all. We asked spider expert Paul Shamble to explain how spiders hear.  If you’ve got a question about spiders or anything else, sen...

Oobleck is a mix of cornstarch and water that can act like a solid or a liquid. On its own, it’s gloopy and squishy, but if you squeeze it, it turns into a solid ball in your hand! So what would happen if oobleck fell from the sky like rain?  We asked meteorologist Ginger Zee to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s clouding your mind? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll bRAI...

We’ve all seen cartoon images of a mousetrap loaded with a big wedge of delicious cheese, but is that what mice actually like to eat? Maybe they like spaghetti, or tacos, or chocolate pudding. We asked veterinarian Kate Pritchett-Cornett what we should serve next time we’re having a family of mice over for dinner.  Got another cheesy question for us? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll...

Paper is made out of trees! But… how? Those tall, leafy, shade-giving beauties in your backyard don’t look anything like the piece of white paper coming out of your computer printer. We asked forest expert and educator Sanford Smith to help us find the answer. Got a question printed on the inside of your brain? Send it to us at Brainson.org/contact, and we’ll help you uncrumple the answer! See omn...

About 60 miles above Earth is a line where our atmosphere ends and space begins.  That boundary is called the Karman line.  Of course, rockets that astronauts take go much farther than that.  But just how far from earth have astronauts gone?  And what do they need to bring for the trip?!  We asked spacesuit designer Pablo de Leon to help us find the answer! Got a question that’s far out? Send it t...

Even though fish can be very small, it’s obvious that they have mouths. But what’s inside that mouth? Tiny teeth? A little tongue? A uvula hangy ball at the back of their throat? Tierney Thys, a marine biologist and National Geographic explorer, helps us understand at least one element of a fish’s mouth - whether they have tongues!  Got a burning Moment of Um question that you just can’t lick? Sen...

At first glance, you might think bats and birds are close relatives. After all, they both flap their wings and fly! But are they actually close cousins or just coincidental copycats? We asked bird expert Amanda Bender to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s got you in a flap? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find an answer–we promise we won’t just wing it!  See omnys...

We already know that bats are amazing creatures. They are the only mammals that can fly. The bones in their wings resemble our fingers. They account for about one in five of all mammals living on the planet. And some can fly up to 99 miles per hour! But have you ever asked yourself why the heck they sleep upside down? We asked biologist DeeAnn Reeder to help us find the answer. Got a Moment of Um...

Cinnamon is used all over the world. It makes cookies, cakes, tea, and coffee taste and smell amazing, and it’s also used in lots of savory foods! But where does cinnamon come from…before it gets to the grocery store? We asked spice expert Pooja Bag to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s flavoring your thoughts? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll bark up every tree until w...

Bacteria are everywhere. At the top of Mount Everest. At the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. There are millions on your hands and TRILLIONS in your gut! So what happens when a truck rolls over bacteria on the road? Do they get squished? We asked microbiology professor Daniel Bond to help us find the answer. Got a crushing question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll keep on truckin’ til...