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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

00:13:11

308: I’m Stuck on Band-aids

Brain Junk ·

2024/04/02

2024 is the 100th anniversary of Band-aids. But before they were the little strips in cool tins, they came in a roll you could cut to size.Show Notes: Johnson & Johnson history of Band-aids Wikipedia: Band-aid history Disposable America The Atlantic: The Story of the Black Band-aid TruColour Bandages Transcript: [00:00:03] Speaker A: Welcome to brain junk. I'm Amy Barton. [00:00:05] Speaker B: And I'm Trace Kerr. And I do have a cold. [00:00:08] Speaker A:

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13:11

308: I'm Stuck on Band-aids

Brain Junk ·

2024/04/02

2024 is the 100th anniversary of Band-aids. But before they were the little strips in cool tins, they came in a roll you could cut to size.Show Notes:Johnson & Johnson history of Band-aidsWikipedia: Band-aid historyDisposable AmericaThe Atlantic: The Story of the Black Band-aidTruColour BandagesTranscript:[00:00:03] Speaker A: Welcome to brain junk. I'm Amy Barton.[00:00:05] Speaker B: And I'm Trace Kerr. And I do have a cold.[00:00:08] Speaker A: Yes.[00:00:08] Speaker B: But today is

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00:15:22

307: 52 Cards

Brain Junk ·

2024/03/19

From poker to games played to pass the time, those 52 cards are so ubiquitous it's hard to figure just when we started using them. We go all the way back to ancient China for a possible origin of cards.images: Cloisters Deck from the Metropolitan Museum of Art and and example of cards from today from pixabay Show Notes: The strange coincidence of the Instagram guy & 52 card decks Metropolitan Museum of Art: The Cloisters Playing Cards Atlas Obscura: Playing cards around

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15:22

307: 52 Cards

Brain Junk ·

2024/03/19

From poker to games played to pass the time, those 52 cards are so ubiquitous it's hard to figure just when we started using them. We go all the way back to ancient China for a possible origin of cards.images: Cloisters Deck from the Metropolitan Museum of Art and and example of cards from today from pixabayShow Notes:The strange coincidence of the Instagram guy & 52 card decksMetropolitan Museum of Art: The Cloisters Playing CardsAtlas Obscura: Playing cards around the world and through the

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00:23:16

306: The Flip That Flopped

Brain Junk ·

2024/03/12

Call them slippahs, flip flops, chanclas, slops, plakkies, slaps, pantofles, or thongs...whatever word you choose says a lot about your age and what part of the world you grew up in. We came up with this episode topic as kind of a joke. Turns out there's way more about to know about these summer shoes than we thought.Show Notes: Wikipedia on the history of flip flops The Paduka Kanye West being weird as usual with diamond studded flips Satra: History of the flip flop Forbes:

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23:15

306: The Flip That Flopped

Brain Junk ·

2024/03/12

Call them slippahs, flip flops, chanclas, slops, plakkies, slaps, pantofles, or thongs...whatever word you choose says a lot about your age and what part of the world you grew up in. We came up with this episode topic as kind of a joke. Turns out there's way more about to know about these summer shoes than we thought.Show Notes:Wikipedia on the history of flip flopsThe PadukaKanye West being weird as usual with diamond studded flipsSatra: History of the flip flop Forbes: This Brand Reinvented

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12:20

305: Deadly Animal Mimics

Brain Junk ·

2024/03/05

It's easy to believe that a snake might be a deadly mimic. But butterflies that start life as carnivorous caterpillars? Oh heck yeah!Show Notes:YouTube BBC: Ants Adopt a CaterpillarYouTube Entomological Society of America: Ants and BluesThe Pattern of Social Parasitism in Maculinea teleius Butterfly Is Driven by the Size and Spatial Distribution of the Host Ant NestsEntomology Today: Carnivorous Caterpillars Fool Ants by Sounding like QueensPLOS One: Variation in Butterfly Larval Acoustics as a

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00:12:20

305: Deadly Animal Mimics

Brain Junk ·

2024/03/05

It's easy to believe that a snake might be a deadly mimic. But butterflies that start life as carnivorous caterpillars? Oh heck yeah!Show Notes: YouTube BBC: Ants Adopt a Caterpillar YouTube Entomological Society of America: Ants and Blues The Pattern of Social Parasitism in Maculinea teleius Butterfly Is Driven by the Size and Spatial Distribution of the Host Ant Nests Entomology Today: Carnivorous Caterpillars Fool Ants by Sounding like Queens PLOS One: Variation in

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00:14:43

304: The Wrong Wipe

Brain Junk ·

2024/02/27

If you haven't figured it out by now, Amy is not afraid to ask tough questions! Today she talks butt health, bidets, and the dangers of wet wipes. It's funnier than you'd think, we promise.Show Notes: Business Insider: interview with Dr. Goldstein Am I Doing it Wrong? Jan 2024 The Spruce: 7 Best Bidet Attachments Splinter free toilet paper History Channel: All the Ways We've Wiped CBS news article about Johnny Carson creating a toilet paper shortage And just in case

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14:42

304: The Wrong Wipe

Brain Junk ·

2024/02/27

If you haven't figured it out by now, Amy is not afraid to ask tough questions! Today she talks butt health, bidets, and the dangers of wet wipes. It's funnier than you'd think, we promise. Show Notes:Business Insider: interview with Dr. GoldsteinAm I Doing it Wrong? Jan 2024The Spruce: 7 Best Bidet AttachmentsSplinter free toilet paperHistory Channel: All the Ways We've WipedCBS news article about Johnny Carson creating a toilet paper shortageAnd just in case you're not a dinosaur like Trace and

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00:21:31

303: The Birds!

Brain Junk ·

2024/02/20

Trace found some delightful random facts about birds! Today we're talking "anting", talons locked to the death, and musical cockatoos. Show Notes: Journal of Ornithology: Anting behavior in birds Video of crow anting: aka the spicy spa Bird Note: anting Facebook video of bald eagles cartwheeling Bird Note: Eagles cartwheeling Palm Cockatoos playing their instruments Research paper on Palm Cockatoos Funny vid with Conan O'Brien and a palm cockatoo

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21:31

303: The Birds!

Brain Junk ·

2024/02/20

Trace found some delightful random facts about birds! Today we're talking "anting", talons locked to the death, and musical cockatoos. Show Notes:Journal of Ornithology: Anting behavior in birdsVideo of crow anting: aka the spicy spaBird Note: antingFacebook video of bald eagles cartwheelingBird Note: Eagles cartwheelingPalm Cockatoos playing their instrumentsResearch paper on Palm CockatoosFunny vid with Conan O'Brien and a palm cockatoo guestTranscript:[00:00:03] Speaker A: Welcome to Brain Junk

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00:26:06

302: Potato Chip Taste Test

Brain Junk ·

2024/02/13

We recorded IN PERSON! Trace brought back a whole bunch of fun flavored chips from Uwajimaya, a fantastic Asian grocery store in Seattle! Check out the show notes for our 5 other taste test episodes! Show Notes: P.S. If you like the Non Newtonian fluid cup, it's in our Merch store! P.S.S. in defense of the Pizza flavored chips, when Trace tried them the next day, she could taste the peperoni. Other Taste Test episodes: 9: Crazy food (we eat cherry pickles) 138: Turkey

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26:06

302: Potato Chip Taste Test

Brain Junk ·

2024/02/13

We recorded IN PERSON! Trace brought back a whole bunch of fun flavored chips from Uwajimaya, a fantastic Asian grocery store in Seattle! Check out the show notes for our 5 other taste test episodes!Show Notes:P.S. If you like the Non Newtonian fluid cup, it's in our Merch store!P.S.S. in defense of the Pizza flavored chips, when Trace tried them the next day, she could taste the peperoni. Other Taste Test episodes:9: Crazy food (we eat cherry pickles) 138: Turkey Candy Corn142: Socially Distanced

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14:01

301: Pregnancy & Pee

Brain Junk ·

2024/02/06

From wheat to mice to rabbits to...you won't believe the techniques we've used to determine if a woman is pregnant. The history of detecting pregnancy is long, inexact, and strange. Buckle up for some crazy science.Show Notes:Harvard University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences: Pee is for Pregnant: The history and science of urine-based pregnancy tests NIH timeline of the history of the pregnancy testMargaret Crane the 26 year old inventor of the home pregnancy testDollar Store pregnancy

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25:59

300th Episode!!!!!

Brain Junk ·

2024/01/30

We're officially pros now right?!?! We dug deep into the internet's brain junk drawer for a random smash-up of whatever facts tickled our fancy. Thank you for listening and loving this show as much as we do.Show Notes:Check out our shop for fun stuff SHIRTS, CUPS, & MOREGuinness book of World Records: Most hugs, fastest 300km cycle, 300 pound dead weight hangBones in a baby's bodyJulia Child Mastering the Art of French Cooking page 300EF5 Moore TornadoOn This Day things that happenedWootz

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11:36

299: Master of Magic

Brain Junk ·

2024/01/23

We might quit Brain Junk and run off to the University of Exeter for their brand new Masters program in MAGIC. Not Hogwarts (darn) but you'd be studying the role of magic in society. Listen to our podcast while you apply!!!!Show Notes:University of Exeter Magic and Occult Science MANPR interview with Prof. Sajjad RizviFun book recommendation (that is not for young kids): The MagiciansA second fun book rec because Trace cannot be stopped: The Lefthanded Booksellers of LondonTranscript[00:00:02]

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14:33

298: Pomology: Fruits, yo!

Brain Junk ·

2024/01/16

Apologies for the sound quality. Trace solemnly swears this is our last Zoom recorded episode.In 1886, the US government decided it was time we cataloged every fruit. Lacking the ability to take color pictures, a small group of artists, led by a talented female painter, began to create a record of over 6,000 fruits.Show Notes:USDA Pomological WatercolorsUnited States Dept of Agriculture: Ag magazine article on pomological watercolorsDaily "old fruit pictures" bot on that site formerly known at

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13:07

297: Pedestrianism

Brain Junk ·

2024/01/09

Hold onto your top hats, we're striding into the historical world of competitive race walking! Can you even imagine walking 1000 miles in 1000 hours (FYI 1000 hours is nearly 42 days)Image: Emma SharpShow Notes:BBC: The strange 19th century sport that was cooler than footballWikipedia: Foster PowellNational Galleries of Scotland: Captain Robert Barclay-AllardyceUltrarunninghistory.com: The Barclay MatchOld Weird Scotland: The Celebrated PedestrianAtlas Obscura: How competitive walking captivated

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11:33

296: Diving Bell Ships

Brain Junk ·

2024/01/02

Go look up the Carl Straat diving bell ship. It's insane to think that it's possible for people to walk on the bottom of a river in regular clothes and rubber boots. There's no special equipment except for the boat and compressed air. Show Notes:Carl Straat diving bell ship (the video Amy watches during the episode): https://www.tiktok.com/@machinepix/video/7255824577534725418wocomoMOTORS video shortShip technology magazine article on the Carl StraatHow the ship works, interview with the captain:

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