BrainStuff

Epizódy

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  What Would Happen If You Drank Saltwater? 16.09.2026 12min

  Our bodies need salt and our bodies need water, so why is drinking saltwater not good for you? Learn what salt does in our bodies and why seawater will actually dehydrate you in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/what-if/what-if-you-drink-saltwater.htmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  How Is Tungsten So Hard and Heat-Resistant? 14.09.2026 9min

  Tungsten's boiling point is over 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit, and as tungsten carbide, it's one of the hardest materials we know. Learn how it's used for everything from armor-piercing bullets to electron microscopes to ballpoint pens in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/tungsten.htmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  BrainStuff Classics: How Does the Hippocampus Work? 13.09.2026 7min

  Without the hippocampus, our brains have serious trouble recalling and recording certain types of long-term memories. Learn how this brain structure works in today's classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://health.howstuffworks.com/human-body/systems/nervous-system/hippocampus.htmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  What Happened During Agatha Christie's Mysterious Disappearance? 12.09.2026 13min

  In 1926, detective novelist Agatha Christie disappeared for 11 days under strange circumstances. Learn about her life and record-setting, best-selling works (second only to the Bible and Shakespeare) in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/arts/literature/agatha-christies-disappearance.htmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  How Does Escargot Work? 11.09.2026 12min

  Escargot is just one of many ways that humans enjoy eating land snails -- and we've been eating them for 30,000 years. Learn about the snails in question, how they're farmed, and why it's so hard to find them fresh in the U.S. (outside of your garden, anyway) in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://recipes.howstuffworks.com/escargot.htmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  How Does a Geiger Counter Work? 09.09.2026 12min

  The Geiger counters we use to detect harmful radiation today are 100-year-old technology that works based on simple behaviors of electrons and ions. Learn about ionizing radiation and the invention of the Geiger-Müller counter (including why it clicks) in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/geiger-counter.htmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  BrainStuff Classics: How Do Starling Murmurations Work? 05.09.2026 8min

  Starlings flock in swooping, harmonious groups of thousands of birds called murmurations. Learn how these birds pull off such an amazing feat through simple actions in this classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://animals.howstuffworks.com/birds/starling-murmurations.htmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Was Commodus One of Rome's Worst Emperors? 04.09.2026 12min

  You may know him as the villain in the film 'Gladiator', but the real-life Emperor Commodus is said to have been even more cruel and megalomaniacal. Learn about his unusual upbringing, how he made himself into a gladiator and an image of Hercules, and his eventual assassination in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://history.howstuffworks.com/historical-figures/commodus.htmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  What If Earth Had Rings? 02.09.2026 12min

  Planetary rings are gorgeous, temporary structures created when a planet's gravity captures and tears apart smaller objects. Learn why Earth doesn't have rings (right now!) and what other planets' rings are like in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on these articles: https://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/what-if/what-if-earth-had-rings.htm; https://science.howstuffworks.com/planets-with-rings.htmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Why Do We Blush When We're Embarrassed? 31.08.2026 10min

  Blushing is an involuntary reaction that can seem to draw more attention to yourself at exactly the worst moment. Learn why this embarrassing response to embarrassment can actually be useful in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/blush.htmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  BrainStuff Classics: How Are Ethnicity and Race Different? 29.08.2026 9min

  The concepts of ethnicity and race are both human inventions with no basis in science, but these concepts have huge impacts on us and our world. Learn the difference between ethnicity and race in this classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/genetic/race-vs-ethnicity.htmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  How Does Butter Get Its Texture, Flavor, and Color? 28.08.2026 14min

  Turning cream into a stick of butter involves some complex chemistry, crystallization, and (traditionally) fermentation. Learn more -- plus the difference between sweet cream, cultured, and European butters -- in today's episode of BrainStuff.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Why Do We Call Dibs and Shotgun, and Who Was the Real McCoy? 26.08.2026 9min

  Some idioms have a fairly clear origin, but others have been lost to time and legend. Learn about the game that inspired calling dibs, the media that created calling shotgun, and why the 'real' McCoy was probably a number of people -- all in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on these articles: https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/famous-inventors/why-do-people-call-things-the-real-mccoy.htm; https://people.howstuffworks.com/what-are-dibs-and-why-do-call-them.htm; https://people.howstuffworks.com/riding-shotgun-phrase.htmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Why Is Siberia's Batagaika Crater Known as the Doorway to Hell? 24.08.2026 10min

  The Batagaika crater (or, technically, megaslump) is a massive pit caused by thawing permafrost -- and it's only getting bigger. Learn what paleontologists have found there (and why geoscientists are worried about it) in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on these articles: https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/geology/batagaika-crater.htm; https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/geology/permafrost.htmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  BrainStuff Classics: How Would Authorities Handle a Murder in Space? 22.08.2026 8min

  Investigating murders right here on planet Earth can be tricky -- how would it be handled in space? Who would even be in charge? Learn what current and future laws may apply in this classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://people.howstuffworks.com/murdered-in-space.htmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  How Does Taste Work? 21.08.2026 13min

  Your sense of taste isn't just a chemical catalog of what's in a food or drink -- it's a complex physiological and psychological process. Learn what we know (and don't know!) about taste in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://health.howstuffworks.com/mental-health/human-nature/perception/taste.htmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  How Did Weasels Get a Bad Rap? 19.08.2026 15min

  Weasels have a bad reputation among bird farmers and have been cast as literal villains in books and cartoons, but they can actually help control vermin populations -- and ferrets can make great pets. Learn more about various types of weasels (including why they dance) in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on these articles: https://animals.howstuffworks.com/mammals/weasels.htm; https://animals.howstuffworks.com/pets/otherpets/ferrets.htmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  How Did Napoleon I, the Emperor of the French, Rise and Fall? 17.08.2026 15min

  In the midst of the French Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte rode his hubris straight into an emperorship, but he was fated to fail. Learn how he came to power twice, why Waterloo was his downfall, and why he actually wasn't that short in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on these articles: https://history.howstuffworks.com/historical-figures/napoleon.htm; https://history.howstuffworks.com/european-history/battle-waterloo.htm; https://history.howstuffworks.com/history-vs-myth/napoleon-short.htmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  BrainStuff Classics: How Did Alchemy Create Chemistry? 15.08.2026 7min

  Alchemists may have never turned lead into gold, but they did create the field of chemistry. Learn how the study of alchemy worked in today's classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/alchemy-to-chemistry.htmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  How Did Sundown Towns Say the Quiet Part Out Loud? 14.08.2026 11min

  Sundown towns are places in the United States where, after the Civil War and Reconstruction, white communities kept Black Americans and other groups out for decades, on purpose. Learn how they came to be -- and how some sundown towns are in recovery -- in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://history.howstuffworks.com/american-history/sundown-towns.htm. Check out Dr. James Loewen's database of sundown towns here: https://justice.tougaloo.edu/sundown-towns/using-the-sundown-towns-database/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.