Brainstuff

NASA's DART mission aims to subtly alter the orbit of one small asteroid around another -- and thus change the trajectory of objects outside Earth for the first time. Learn more in this episode of BrainStuff: https://science.howstuffworks.com/dart-nasas-asteroid-redirecting-mission-news.htm Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Some researchers think that eventually, a rift that's forming in West Africa could become a whole new ocean. Learn more in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/oceanography/earth-get-new-ocean.htm Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Consumers are spending billions via food delivery apps like DoorDash and Uber Eats, but no one -- not the drivers, the restaurants, or the apps themselves -- are seeing much profit. Learn more in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://money.howstuffworks.com/food-delivery-make-money-news.htm Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Uranium gives glass products an unearthly glow -- and luckily for collectors, the stuff is basically safe to handle. Learn more in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/arts/artwork/uranium-glass.htm Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On a clear night, the stars seem to wink and twinkle in the sky. Learn why in this classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/why-do-stars-twinkle.htm Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Celebrities and Instagrammers have been singing the praises of activated charcoal as a health supplement, but can it really help make you healthier? Learn the real science in this classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/food-nutrition/facts/why-are-people-eating-activated-charcoal.htm Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Scientists were able to release the mRNA vaccines for COVID-19 (from Pfizer and Moderna) quickly because of decades of prior research -- and how adaptable mRNA treatments are. Learn the history and what the incredible future may hold in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://health.howstuffworks.com/medicine/modern-technology/mrna-technology-news.htm Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What started as a simple remembrance of a mother and schoolteacher has become a worldwide movement dedicated to reading and sharing books. Learn how Todd Bol started LFL in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/arts/literature/todd-bol-and-little-free-library-movement.htm Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Practicing social distancing to prevent the spread of disease isn't just solid science -- it's an instinct in other mammals, like bats. Learn more in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://animals.howstuffworks.com/mammals/social-distance-vampire-bats.htm Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Table salt, Kosher salt, sea salt, pink salt -- it may all be sodium chloride, but you can't always directly substitute one kind of salt for another in recipes. Learn why in this episode of BrainStuff, based on these articles: https://recipes.howstuffworks.com/food-facts/difference-between-kosher-salt-table-salt.htm, https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/edible-innovations/all-salt-is-not-same.htm Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Crime doesn't pay -- but penetration testing does. Learn why companies pay hackers to break into their networks and offices in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://computer.howstuffworks.com/hack-networks-security-news.htm Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sure, scent hounds' noses are powerful tools -- but their ears may be the secret to their success. Learn why in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://animals.howstuffworks.com/pets/why-do-scent-hounds-have-long-floppy-ears.htm Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We attribute lots of potential health effects to green tea, but the Victorians had a strange one: they thought it caused hallucinations. Learn why in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/natural-medicine/herbal-remedies/does-green-tea-cause-hallucinations.htm Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Poets like Shakespeare have written extensively in a particular type of verse called iambic pentameter. Learn what it is and how to write in it in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/arts/literature/iambic-pentameter.htm Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When some massive stars go supernova, they then collapse into magnetars -- the most powerful magnetic objects in the known universe. Learn more in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/magnetars.htm Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Around ten of the world's smallest porpoise, the vaquita, are alive today -- but researchers think they can be brought back from the brink of extinction. Learn more in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://animals.howstuffworks.com/mammals/vaquita.htm Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It would take a LOT of carrots (or other veg pigmented with carotenoids), but yes, the color from carrots can build up in your skin. Learn how carotenemia works in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/food-nutrition/facts/carotenosis.htm Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Most people identify as being at least a little superstitious, mariners included. Learn why bananas and suitcases, of all things, are often turned away from fishing boats in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://people.howstuffworks.com/fishing-superstition.htm Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Museums collect all kinds of art and artifacts -- this one collects pieces of broken hearts. Learn about some of the items and stories held in the Museum of Broken Relationships in this classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://people.howstuffworks.com/museum-broken-relationships-houses-heartache.htm Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Carbon dioxide is a waste product of gasoline- and coal-burning engines, and it's a serious pollutant. But what if we could capture that carbon and recycle it into usable fuel? Learn more in this classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/carbon-capture-to-fuel-is-almost-here.htm Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.