Moment Of Um

Colored eyeshadow, glossy lipstick, rosy blush – people use all sorts of makeup to change how they look. But when did we start using makeup? And how has it changed over time? We asked archaeologist and Brains On producer Anna Goldfield to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s making you blush? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you face the answer! See omnystudio.com/li...

Caves are full of amazing stuff: bats, hidden passageways and of course – spectacular rock formations! So where do these rock structures come from? We asked geologist Hazel Barton to help us find the answer. Got a rock-solid question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find the answer under the surface. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

People rubbing two sticks together and a fire magically appearing is a common thing you might see in movies or on television. But does it actually work? We asked engineer Vi Rapp to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s flickering in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help put out the fire. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Movies can take us to extraordinary places, sometimes using technology! Filmmakers create new worlds, incredible creatures, and mind-bending action scenes using something called a green screen. A green screen is just what it sounds like: a bright lime green background used to create special effects! So how does a green screen make movie magic? We asked movie-maker and film professor Jeremy Royce t...

Babies. They’re cute little peanuts, huh? Babbling and drooling while their parents talk to them in widdle baby voices. But do babies understand what people say to them? When do they start learning how to communicate with language? We asked child psychologist Dr. Beverly Goldfield to help us find the right words to explain the answer.  Got a question that’s really verbing your noun? Send it to us...

Mold is a type of fungus, which means it’s related to mushrooms. And it can be kind of pretty, if you’re not grossed out by it. Sometimes mold is green or white or even pink! Why does it have so many colors? We asked professor Jonathan Schilling from the University of Minnesota to help us find the answer. Got a question in your brain that’s taking up too mushroom? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/con...

Ever wandered around the supermarket and noticed that some of the food is marked “organic?” What does that mean? And why are the organic fruits and veggies in their own special section? We asked organic food expert Chris Schreiner to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s food for thought? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you arrive at the answer organically. See omnys...

We know how important it is to wash our hands with soap and warm water. Get between the fingers, under the nails, all that good stuff. But why does soap get all foamy when you add water? Where do those bubbles come from? We asked University of Minnesota professor Frank Bates to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s bubbling up in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’l...

If you’ve ever gotten a cut or a scrape, you might’ve noticed that your skin feels itchy while it’s healing. Why does that happen, anyway? We asked pediatrician Dr. Emma Gerstenzang to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s a cut above the rest? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll scratch our heads ‘til we find the answer! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sometimes we get questions from listeners that are so intertwined that we just have to include them both in one episode, and today is one of those days! Cardiologist Dr. Courtney Jordan Baechler helps us figure out the answer to two questions – why does blood taste like metal, and why are we not magnetic? And as a bonus, Dr. B. includes a super fun experiment that you can do at home. Got a questio...

Isn’t it cool that cars can go forwards and backwards? Backwards and forwards go can cars that cool it isn’t? All joking aside, these huge, heavy machines can switch directions with just the push of a lever! But how do they do it? We asked car expert Chaya Milchtein to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s driving you wild? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll steer you in the...

So far, only adults have been to space. But there are plenty of kids who’d love to travel to space, so what gives? Why can’t kids walk on the moon? Or visit the International Space Station? We asked NASA engineer Varoujan Gorjian to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s moonwalking around your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll spaceCRAFT an answer for you. See omnyst...

Clay is neat stuff. You can knead it, shape it, carve it, sculpt it, and make all kinds of beautiful creations. It goes from soft and squishy to hard and breakable when it’s baked in a kiln. But clay is…dirt, right? It comes from the ground! So how do you get it out of the ground and into the blocks that you find at an art supply store? We asked ceramic artist and educator Lauren Sandler to guide...

We love when our listeners send in super unique questions. We also love robots. So we had to answer this head-scratcher of a question from listener Lucas: why aren’t robots ticklish? We asked pediatrician Emma Gerstenzang to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s tickling your fancy? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find the answer faster than a well-oiled machine! See omny...

Antarctica. Home of the South Pole and an incredibly diverse population of sea life. You know what there’s not a lot of in Antarctica? People! But there are some adventurous scientists who go there for research. These folks  can’t just zip out to the grocery store when they want to make a meal…so what do they eat?  We asked scientist Cameron Hearn to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s...

If you’ve ever taken a dog on a walk, or let them run around the woods, you know that they LOVE to roll around in stinky stuff! And it’s one heck of a mess to clean up. Why do they do that? We asked researcher Elizabeth Carranza from the Arizona Canine Cognition Center to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s rolling around in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll h...

Dragons are fantastical fairytale creatures that fly and breathe fire. They aren’t real, but there are animals that can do the things dragons do! So … if dragons did exist, how would they fly and breathe fire?  We asked science professor Dr. Mark Lorch to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s DRAGON you down? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll fire off an answer! See omnystu...

We know that soil helps many things grow -- but how is it made? It must come from somewhere, right? We talked to farmer Angel Papineu to find the answer.  Got a question growing in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll dig for the truth!  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are more than 8 billion people living on our big wonderful planet. What if all of those people traveled to the exact same spot on Earth and jumped at the same time? What would happen? Would we move the Earth? We asked physicist Dr. Kiley Kennedy to help us find the answer. Got a question jumping around in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find an answer that moves...

Teething, losing teeth, growing new teeth. It’s a part of life that every human goes through! But what about dinosaurs? Did they experience the same thing? We asked paleontologist Shaena Montanari to help us find the answer. Got a dinomite question for us? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you out because we’re as smart as a thesaurus! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy in...

Energy powers our entire universe, whether it’s light from a star or energy stored in the food we eat. But could we ever run out? Will there be a time, far in the future, when the last drop of energy is used up?  We asked physicist Dr. Kiley Kennedy to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s draining your mental battery? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll find the answer for yo...

Have you ever noticed how sometimes when you wash and dry a piece of clothing, it comes out a little smaller? Why does that happen? We asked science professor Dr. Mark Lorch to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s tumbling around your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we won’t shrink away from answering it! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are your ears burning? ‘Cause we’ve been thinking about them. Sure, they’re an incredible self-cleaning marvel that we can wax poetic about all day. Sure, they’re a great place for dads to store all kinds of hairs. But do ears have bones?  We asked Olivia Bermingham-McDonogh from the University of Washington to help us find the answer. Heard a good question recently? Send it to us atBrainsOn.org/c...

Some snakes make a chemical in their bodies called venom. They use it to hunt and protect themselves. Sometimes, if a human gets bitten by a snake, they need to take a special medicine called antivenin.  How does this medicine work? We asked pediatrician Emma Gerstenzang to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s snaking around in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll...

Have you noticed that there’s a kind of cheese that’s holier than all the rest? Swiss! Why does it have all those holes anyway? We asked Jenny Eastwood of Small Goods to help us answer this delicious question. Hungry for some answers? Send your questions to BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll briepare an answer justfor you. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.