BrainStuff

This four-legged prehistoric animal had a bony sail on its back and was probably scaly, but it was more closely to related to mammals than it was to dinosaurs. Learn about Dimetrodon and other synapsids in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://animals.howstuffworks.com/extinct-animals/dimetrodon.htm

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Samhain is a pagan holiday -- celebrated between the fall equinox and winter solstice -- that helped form modern, secular Halloween celebrations. Learn about Samhain in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://people.howstuffworks.com/culture-traditions/holidays-other/samhain.htm

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After a tragic set of murders in 1974, the next residents at a grand old house in Amityville, New York, claimed the home was demonically haunted. Their story spawned a horror sensation. But was the whole thing a money-making hoax? Did the murderer really hear voices there? Learn what we know (and still don’t know) about what happened in Amityville in today’s episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://history.howstuffworks.com/history-vs-myth/amityville-horror-house.htm

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From the seed of a tropical tree to creamy candies, it takes a lot of science to turn cacao into chocolate. Learn how cacao is farmed, fermented, and processed into cocoa products -- plus its history as a drink for 3,000 years -- in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/edible-innovations/chocolate.htm

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After James Dean died in a car crash at 24 years old, the remains of that car -- a silver Porsche 550 Spyder -- were implicated in a series of other accidents before the car apparently vanished. Learn about the truth, fictions, and remaining mysteries behind Dean's supposedly cursed car in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://history.howstuffworks.com/history-vs-myth/james-deans-car-cursed.htm

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Spiritualism is a 19th-century belief system that holds that the living can communicate with spirits of the dead through mediums. Learn about the community where spiritualism is famously practiced, Lily Dale, in today's classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://people.howstuffworks.com/lily-dale-where-living-and-dead-reconnect.htm

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Philadelphia Experiment is a fringe theory that says a secret military project made a WWII ship disappear (or time travel, or eat some of its crew). Learn about the hoax that got the story started -- and why it still persists today -- in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://people.howstuffworks.com/philadelphia-experiment.htm

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tales of some great shock or fright suddenly turning a person's hair white go back thousands of years. Learn what researchers think is really going on -- and how our hair normally goes grey and white -- in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on these articles: https://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/everyday-myths/can-hair-turn-white-overnight.htm; https://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/aging/aging-process/stress-gray-hair.htm

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brown recluse spiders rarely bite humans, and when they do, it only causes a reaction in about 10 percent of cases. Learn how to identify brown recluses and what their bites do in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://animals.howstuffworks.com/arachnids/brown-recluse-spider-bite.htm (If your urine turns black, seek medical treatment immediatly.)

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Voting is an incredibly important way to make your voice heard, but it's very rare for a candidate to win or lose by just one vote. Learn how rare -- and about a few times that it's happened -- in today's classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://people.howstuffworks.com/can-single-vote-change-election-outcome.htm

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The largest pumpkins in the world now weigh well over a ton, and the record gets broken just about every year. But how (and why) would you go about growing one? Learn how competitive gourd growing works in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://home.howstuffworks.com/grow-giant-pumpkin.htm

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Every movement our bodies make -- from waving at a friend to pumping blood -- is goverened by complex electrochemical handshakes among our nerves and our muscles. Learn how voluntary, involuntary, and reflexive movements work in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on these articles: https://health.howstuffworks.com/human-body/systems/musculoskeletal/muscle.htm; https://health.howstuffworks.com/human-body/systems/nervous-system/nerve.htm

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After years of trench warfare in WWI, France built a line of massive underground bunkers and other defensive fortifications along hundreds of miles of its border. Learn how the Maginot Line worked -- and why it failed to stop the Nazi invasion -- in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://history.howstuffworks.com/world-war-ii/maginot-line.htm

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Some U.S. cities and states have officially changed Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples' Day. Learn why -- and why some Americans disagree with the change -- in this classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://people.howstuffworks.com/culture-traditions/holidays-other/columbus-day.htm

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The English-language terms for different baked goods vary based on where English is being spoken. Learn why an American cookie is a British biscuit, an American biscuit is a British scone, our muffins have nothing to do with each other, and pudding doesn't have to involve pudding at all in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://recipes.howstuffworks.com/tools-and-techniques/great-british-baking-terms-know-scones-from-biscuits.htm

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When dark spots appear on the surface of the Sun, we're actually seeing the result of massive distortions in solar magnetic fields caused by roiling plasma -- and they appear in regular(ish) 11-year cycles. Learn what we know (and don't know!) about sunspots in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/sunspot.htm/printable

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A sunken continent called Lemuria was first proposed as a scientific explanation for lemur populations in the mid-1800s, but it quickly became part of the mythology of Theosophist mystics and Tamil cultural activists alike. Learn the truth and myths behind Lemuria (plus what Darwin had to do with it) in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://history.howstuffworks.com/history-vs-myth/lemuria.htm

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Walt Disney based Sleeping Beauty's castle -- the centerpiece of Disneyland and the Disney logo -- on a real castle in the Bavarian Alps of Germany. Learn about Neuschwanstein Castle's strange and tragic history in this classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://history.howstuffworks.com/european-history/neuschwanstein-castle.htm

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Since the early 2000s, the H5N1 bird flu has sickened wild and domestic birds around the world -- and sometimes humans and other mammals, too. Learn how this strain of avian influenza works (and why it seems unlikey to cause a pandemic, but researchers are still watching it closely) in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/cellular-microscopic/bird-flu.htm

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Humans started domesticating edible gourds thousands of years ago, but one of today's most popular varieties has been around for less than a century. Learn about the history and science behind butternut squash (plus how big the heaviest on record was) in today's episode of BrainStuff.

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.