Stuff You Should Know

Laugh tracks have been around since the early 1950s and it’s all thanks to one (reviled) sound engineer who invented them. But as much as people like to hate laugh tracks most shows wouldn’t be at all funny without them. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Traditional multi-camera sitcoms have fallen out of style in recent years, but the golden age of the genre lives on with streaming services. Sitcom will never go away completely. Join us for part I. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Frida Kahlo was a painter who transcended her own work to became an icon. Learn all about her fascinating and inspiring life and work in this classic episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pearls are super cool. And humans figuring out how to make them is even cooler. Learn all about the most interesting gemstone today! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When you’re hungry, you’re not yourself. So say the good people at Snickers and it turns out science backs it up. Being hangry is a verifiable thing, we’re just not quite sure yet what’s going on. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1980 the “rural as rural can be” town of Elberton, Georgia erected a granite monument with a bizarre set of instructions (commandments?) that touched on eugenics, population control, and living in harmony with nature. Conspiracy theorists went wild. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As recently as 40,000 years ago we lived among humans from an entirely different species – Neanderthals. About the same time our species showed up, Neanderthals suddenly vanished. Just what happened to the other guys? Did our ancestors do something … bad? Find out in this classic episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Squids are very closely related to our old friend the octopus, but there are some key differences. You can learn all of this and more by simply clicking the play button right now.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Man of the Hole has died and we're pretty sad to hear it. Listen in to our tribute to this solitary hero today. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

George Mallory was a member of the first three European expeditions to Everest, world’s tallest mountain. He wanted to summit it so badly, he gave his life trying. Since that fateful day in 1924, climbers have wondered – was Mallory the first to summit? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For as long a shadow as it casts across the history of the Old West, the Pony Express was a failed business venture, doomed from the start, that only lasted 18 months. But since the last rider headed out with his bag of mail, its legend has only grown. Learn all about it in this classic episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Part celebration and part take down, this episode on Rolling Stone magazine dives into the highs and lows of one of America's iconic rags. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The dividing line between the North and South is purely political. But the story of its creation is pretty interesting. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Since the advent of single-use plastics, we’ve become awash in waste. Barrels of petroleum are extracted, turned into plastics that contain products, which are then opened and the containers thrown away. It’s a bonehead process start to finish. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sure knives can cut through a steak or slash through jungle vines, but probably the coolest thing you can do with a knife is throw it. At a person mounted to a wooden wheel. Spinning around. While you’re blindfolded. Learn all about the impalement arts in this classic episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Despite the overall creepiness of it, marrying family members is way more common than you might think, both historically and today. Ewwww! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The idea of "marrying up" is as old as the hills, but things are, and have been, changing for quite a while. And this episode explains it all. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The world isn’t divided into cat people and dog people, or Beatles fans and Rolling Stones fans (or neither). What really divides us is introversion or extraversion, right? Turns out people just aren’t that binary and all of us are a little of both. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You know what I heard? That Josh and Chuck hate each other and they're just faking being friends for the show. That's called gossip, folks and it can do serious damage. Learn all about it in this classic episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you think about it, enemas are kind of gross. And if you don’t now you definitely will by the end of this wild ride of an episode. All who make it through the whole way earn SYSK bragging rights. We now wonder why we ever chose to record it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You've heard the phrase "If you believe that I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you." But did you know it's based in truth? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mariachi bands have a bad rap as nothing more than "restaurant music." But there is a rich and long cultural tradition many people are missing and the music deserves our respect. Listen in today! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The chances are pretty low that you’ll find yourself lost in the desert, but on the off chance you do you’ll thank yourself that you listened to this classic episode, where we guide you to safety.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Who doesn't love breakfast? But do you know where most of the typical breakfast foods come from? Well listen in to find out. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A full 200 years on, we're still talking about one of the most sweeping hoaxes of all time.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.