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PODCAST

Brain Junk

Brain Junk is an off-the-wall, totally unbelievable but true podcast where Amy Barton and Trace Kerr shake up science & history in the hunt for answers to questions you never knew you wanted to know. We bring you the inside scoop on things like: Can goldfish drive? How do whales not drown while eating? Who had the first prosthetic eye? We cannonball off the question high dive every other Tuesday -- those of you in the front seats, bring your ponchos. We"re out to flood your brain.

science natural sciences

All Episodes

00:30:03

318: All Things Cheeky

Brain Junk ·

2024/08/20

We're heading into the end of summer break so it's time for a mash up of wacky facts. Fake navels, cheetahs in heat, the weenus and MORE. Oh yes, we adore a good internet fact deep dive. Also, Trace does drop the 'shit' word once.Show Notes: Amazon fake navels: https://www.amazon.com/Belly-Button-Stickers-Fashion-Longer/dp/B0CC5TZ23P?th=1 SCMP Fake belly button article:

en

30:02

318: All Things Cheeky

Brain Junk ·

2024/08/20

We're heading into the end of summer break so it's time for a mash up of wacky facts. Fake navels, cheetahs in heat, the weenus and MORE. Oh yes, we adore a good internet fact deep dive. Also, Trace does drop the 's**t' word once.Show Notes:Amazon fake navels: https://www.amazon.com/Belly-Button-Stickers-Fashion-Longer/dp/B0CC5TZ23P?th=1SCMP Fake belly button article:

en

18:58

317: Silkhenge

Brain Junk ·

2024/08/06

It's tiny, inscrutable, made with spider silk, and we really don't know much about the mysteries of it's intricate construction.Show Notes:Nat Geo https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/silkhenge-spiders-ecuador-mysteryWiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SilkhengeInternet archive https://web.archive.org/web/20201108125631/https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2014/01/09/mystery-picket-fence-in-amazon-explained-2/Earthtouch news network

en

00:18:59

317: Silkhenge

Brain Junk ·

2024/08/06

It's tiny, inscrutable, made with spider silk, and we really don't know much about the mysteries of it's intricate construction.Show Notes: Nat Geo https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/silkhenge-spiders-ecuador-mystery Wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silkhenge Internet archive https://web.archive.org/web/20201108125631/https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2014/01/09/mystery-picket-fence-in-amazon-explained-2/ Earthtouch news network

en

16:43

316: Fish Doorbell

Brain Junk ·

2024/07/23

In the spring, fish like perch travel through the rivers in the Netherlands to find places to spawn. They used to get stuck behind Weerdsluis lock: waiting for it to open. But not anymore! A virtual doorbell was created to help let the lock keeper know they're there. Hot tip, starting March 3, 2025, you can go to their website to hit the doorbell!!!!Show Notes:Visdeurbel!Youtube: Dutch Wall FishScientific American article: Ring the Dam DoorbellBallard Locks fish ladderWolfenootMcGill Office of

en

00:16:43

316: Fish Doorbell

Brain Junk ·

2024/07/23

In the spring, fish like perch travel through the rivers in the Netherlands to find places to spawn. They used to get stuck behind Weerdsluis lock: waiting for it to open. But not anymore! A virtual doorbell was created to help let the lock keeper know they're there. Hot tip, starting March 3, 2025, you can go to their website to hit the doorbell!!!!Show Notes: Visdeurbel! Youtube: Dutch Wall Fish Scientific American article: Ring the Dam Doorbell Ballard Locks fish

en

39:18

315: NSFW Summer Edition

Brain Junk ·

2024/07/09

It's a super long length summertime episode with the sex lives of penguins, periods in space, Humpback whale sex, swearing parrots, terminal velocity poop, & penis size vs. nose size. Buckle up! Show Notes:Dr. George Murray Levick (1876–1956): unpublished notes on the sexual habits of the Adélie penguinThe Guardian: 'Sexual depravity' of penguins that Antarctic scientist dared not revealLive Science: Are penguins really monogamous?Penguin divorce ratesPenguinsinternational.org: Divorcing

en

00:39:18

315: NSFW Summer Edition

Brain Junk ·

2024/07/09

It's a super long length summertime episode with the sex lives of penguins, periods in space, Humpback whale sex, swearing parrots, terminal velocity poop, & penis size vs. nose size. Buckle up! Show Notes: Dr. George Murray Levick (1876–1956): unpublished notes on the sexual habits of the Adélie penguin The Guardian: 'Sexual depravity' of penguins that Antarctic scientist dared not reveal Live Science: Are penguins really monogamous? Penguin divorce

en

00:13:55

314: Mercenary Monkeys

Brain Junk ·

2024/06/25

Smarter than the mafia, more cunning than a pickpocket in Paris, long-tailed macaques in Bali are all about snatching valuables from tourists and bargaining for tasty snacks.Show Notes: Long tailed macaques info from the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center Sir Attenborough and monkeys YouTube BBC Video of things getting stolen!! Scientific Reports paper: Cohort dominance rank and “robbing and bartering” among subadult male long-tailed macaques at Uluwatu, Bali Poor

en

13:54

314: Mercenary Monkeys

Brain Junk ·

2024/06/25

Smarter than the mafia, more cunning than a pickpocket in Paris, long-tailed macaques in Bali are all about snatching valuables from tourists and bargaining for tasty snacks.Show Notes:Long tailed macaques info from the Wisconsin National Primate Research CenterSir Attenborough and monkeysYouTube BBC Video of things getting stolen!!Scientific Reports paper: Cohort dominance rank and “robbing and bartering” among subadult male long-tailed macaques at Uluwatu, BaliPoor kiddo bitten by a monkey while

en

00:12:51

313: Bat Chat 2!

Brain Junk ·

2024/06/11

Amy's bringing the BATS. We've got more cool facts about bat communication and how some of them compete for food (it's sonic warfare for sure).Show Notes: Episode 214 Sky Puppies Mama fruit bats and their kiddos Episode 242 Bat Chat 1 A smorgasbord of bat shenanigans University of Bristol: Bats avoiding collisions in the air YouTube Lens of Time Roll to minute 5:20 for bat smacks Science: Bats jam each other's signals just like humans jam cell phones National Geographic:

en

12:51

313: Bat Chat 2!

Brain Junk ·

2024/06/11

Amy's bringing the BATS. We've got more cool facts about bat communication and how some of them compete for food (it's sonic warfare for sure).Show Notes:Episode 214 Sky Puppies Mama fruit bats and their kiddosEpisode 242 Bat Chat 1 A smorgasbord of bat shenanigansUniversity of Bristol: Bats avoiding collisions in the airYouTube Lens of Time Roll to minute 5:20 for bat smacksScience: Bats jam each other's signals just like humans jam cell phonesNational Geographic: Bats jam each other's sonarThe

en

14:15

312: Disco Scallops

Brain Junk ·

2024/05/28

Did Trace complain about clickbait titles in this episode? Yes. Did she ALSO use a clickbait title for this very episode? Absolutely. Sea scallops like light and it turns out that works in the favor of fisheries and the environment.Show Notes:Oceanconservancy.org: ScallopsFishtek Marine YouTube on the tech and study. Also their websiteScience Daily: University of Exeter paperUniversity of York: Scientists accidentally discover “scallop discos” as an environmentally friendly fishing method This is a

en

00:14:16

312: Disco Scallops

Brain Junk ·

2024/05/28

Did Trace complain about clickbait titles in this episode? Yes. Did she ALSO use a clickbait title for this very episode? Absolutely. Sea scallops like light and it turns out that works in the favor of fisheries and the environment.Show Notes: Oceanconservancy.org: Scallops Fishtek Marine YouTube on the tech and study. Also their website Science Daily: University of Exeter paper University of York: Scientists accidentally discover “scallop discos” as an environmentally friendly

en

13:38

311: "Right" Side Driving

Brain Junk ·

2024/05/14

While doing the show notes for this episode, Trace looked into tips and tricks for when you take a vacation and have to drive on the opposite side of the road. The advice? Don't panic and purchase travel insurance LOL. There are so many different historical reasons for how countries chose what side of the road to drive on.Show Notes:Lancaster-Philadelphia TurnpikeSomerset Historical Center: The Conestoga WagonWindwagon Smith a Disney animated picture from 1961Wikipedia left and right sideThe

en

00:13:38

311: “Right” Side Driving

Brain Junk ·

2024/05/14

While doing the show notes for this episode, Trace looked into tips and tricks for when you take a vacation and have to drive on the opposite side of the road. The advice? Don't panic and purchase travel insurance LOL. There are so many different historical reasons for how countries chose what side of the road to drive on.Show Notes: Lancaster-Philadelphia Turnpike Somerset Historical Center: The Conestoga Wagon Windwagon Smith a Disney animated picture from 1961 Wikipedia left

en

00:14:00

310: Smell-o-flage

Brain Junk ·

2024/04/30

Nothing like rubbing yourself down with snakeskin jerky to keep yourself from getting eaten. Today we check out the parallel evolution of the California ground squirrel and rattlesnakes. It's an olfactory camouflage arms race that on a bad day, ends with someone getting eaten.Show Notes: UC Davis: Squirrels Use Snake Scent Royal Society B: Donning your enemy's cloak: ground squirrels exploit rattlesnake scent to reduce predation risk Nature: Squirrel Masks Scent with Rattlesnake

en

13:59

310: Smell-o-flage

Brain Junk ·

2024/04/30

Nothing like rubbing yourself down with snakeskin jerky to keep yourself from getting eaten. Today we check out the parallel evolution of the California ground squirrel and rattlesnakes. It's an olfactory camouflage arms race that on a bad day, ends with someone getting eaten.Show Notes:UC Davis: Squirrels Use Snake ScentRoyal Society B: Donning your enemy's cloak: ground squirrels exploit rattlesnake scent to reduce predation riskNature: Squirrel Masks Scent with Rattlesnake Skin (Cool video of

en

00:18:19

309: Middle of the Night Panic

Brain Junk ·

2024/04/16

Nighttime waking and scattered thoughts are problem solving's evil twin. If you find yourself awake at 3 am obsessing over your problems, remember that stress and hormonal imbalances can really damage the quality of your sleep. Show Notes: IFL Science: Why Do We Wake Around 3am And Dwell On Our Fears And Shortcomings? VeryWellmind.com: Military Sleep method Science Direct: Molecular Clock US Southwestern University: Understanding the circadian clocks of individual

en

18:18

309: Middle of the Night Panic

Brain Junk ·

2024/04/16

Nighttime waking and scattered thoughts are problem solving's evil twin. If you find yourself awake at 3 am obsessing over your problems, remember that stress and hormonal imbalances can really damage the quality of your sleep. Show Notes:IFL Science: Why Do We Wake Around 3am And Dwell On Our Fears And Shortcomings?VeryWellmind.com: Military Sleep methodScience Direct: Molecular ClockUS Southwestern University: Understanding the circadian clocks of individual cellsWikipedia: Suprachiasmatic

en

349 results

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