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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

01:16:48

328: The Last Gasp

Brain Junk ·

2024/12/24

We've had a hell of a good time spending the past 6 years scrounging up weird science and history junk for you to listen to! It's been a privilege knowing there a lots of fact junkies out there like us, digging through our podcast like raccoons in a trashcan. Our legacy is 328 fantastic episodes and we hope you never stop coming back when you need a little weird and wacky in your life.We'll still be on Instagram, full of shenanigans and making reels. Never stop being curious. Love ya

en

76:47

328: The Last Gasp

Brain Junk ·

2024/12/24

We've had a hell of a good time spending the past 6 years scrounging up weird science and history junk for you to listen to! It's been a privilege knowing there a lots of fact junkies out there like us, digging through our podcast like raccoons in a trashcan. Our legacy is 328 fantastic episodes and we hope you never stop coming back when you need a little weird and wacky in your life.We'll still be on Instagram, full of shenanigans and making reels. Never stop being curious. Love ya forever, Trace

en

16:09

327: MIT Hacks

Brain Junk ·

2024/12/17

Amy lives for a good shenanigan so of course she adores MIT's tradition of playing hacks (aka pranks) on Harvard and Yale. The biggest one you've ever heard of turned out to be a fake but don't worry, there's still some great ones from the past 75 years that were real!Show Notes:Atlas Obscura: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/a-harvard-stadium-pigeon-prank-that-pavlov-would-be-proud-ofMITbloggers YouTube 1982 pranktacular: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iq4rzxw_wYUBoston.com:

en

00:16:09

327: MIT Hacks

Brain Junk ·

2024/12/17

Amy lives for a good shenanigan so of course she adores MIT's tradition of playing hacks (aka pranks) on Harvard and Yale. The biggest one you've ever heard of turned out to be a fake but don't worry, there's still some great ones from the past 75 years that were real! Show Notes: Atlas Obscura: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/a-harvard-stadium-pigeon-prank-that-pavlov-would-be-proud-of MITbloggers YouTube 1982 pranktacular: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iq4rzxw_wYU Boston.com:

en

00:13:53

326: Medical Ants

Brain Junk ·

2024/12/10

In a weird turn of events, it's ants performing surgery when one of them has a leg injury instead of scientists whacking the legs off. Okay,we lied, the scientists are doing it too...Show Notes: Episode 71: Ants on Stilts (it's just as horrible as it sounds) https://brainjunkpodcast.com/podcast/71-ants-on-stilts/ Current Biology article: https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(24)00805-4 Live Science, Ants perform life saving surgery:

en

13:52

326: Medical Ants

Brain Junk ·

2024/12/10

In a weird turn of events, it's ants performing surgery when one of them has a leg injury instead of scientists whacking the legs off. Okay,we lied, the scientists are doing it too...Show Notes:Episode 71: Ants on Stilts (it's just as horrible as it sounds) https://brainjunkpodcast.com/podcast/71-ants-on-stilts/Current Biology article: https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(24)00805-4Live Science, Ants perform life saving surgery:

en

12:40

325: Crabs of Rome

Brain Junk ·

2024/11/26

Imagine rolling up to excavate an ancient ruin only to spend the day carrying out buckets full of crabs! Today we get to know the Potamon fluviatile crab.Show Notes:National Geographic article: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/river-crab-ancient-romeMusei In Commune Roma, The sculpture of Constantine: https://www.mercatiditraiano.it/en/percorsi/percorsi_per_temi/la_statuaria/testa_rilavorata_come_costantinoWikipedia, Giant Crabs:

en

00:12:41

325: Crabs of Rome

Brain Junk ·

2024/11/26

Imagine rolling up to excavate an ancient ruin only to spend the day carrying out buckets full of crabs! Today we get to know the Potamon fluviatile crab.Show Notes: National Geographic article: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/river-crab-ancient-rome Musei In Commune Roma, The sculpture of Constantine: https://www.mercatiditraiano.it/en/percorsi/percorsi_per_temi/la_statuaria/testa_rilavorata_come_costantino Wikipedia, Giant Crabs:

en

00:12:34

324: Helium Alligators

Brain Junk ·

2024/11/12

Have you ever wondered if a hit of helium would change the sound of an alligator's bellows? Lucky for us, there are scientists out there who wanted to know. Show Notes: BBC: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-54197198 Kyoto University Ig Nobel announcement: https://www.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en/news/2020-09-29 YouTube resonance to vocalize: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gz-plqEyxik Science:

en

12:34

324: Helium Alligators

Brain Junk ·

2024/11/12

Have you ever wondered if a hit of helium would change the sound of an alligator's bellows? Lucky for us, there are scientists out there who wanted to know.Show Notes:BBC: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-54197198Kyoto University Ig Nobel announcement: https://www.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en/news/2020-09-29YouTube resonance to vocalize: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gz-plqEyxikScience:

en

11:55

323: Ball Brothers

Brain Junk ·

2024/10/29

Amy looks into how companies change over time. Start making glass jars, segue into making aerospace technology, and end up only doing metal fabrication. We look at a few other companies too! Show Notes:Ball historical timeline: https://www.ball.com/our-company/our-story/history-timelineWikipedia on Ball Corp: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball_CorporationCPR News 2024, Ball Corp sells aerospace division: https://www.cpr.org/2024/02/16/ball-corp-sells-aerospace-division/HiRISE camera:

en

00:11:56

323: Ball Brothers

Brain Junk ·

2024/10/29

Amy looks into how companies change over time. Start making glass jars, segue into making aerospace technology, and end up only doing metal fabrication. We look at a few other companies too! Show Notes: Ball historical timeline: https://www.ball.com/our-company/our-story/history-timeline Wikipedia on Ball Corp: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball_Corporation CPR News 2024, Ball Corp sells aerospace division: https://www.cpr.org/2024/02/16/ball-corp-sells-aerospace-division/ HiRISE

en

12:55

322: Screaming Plants

Brain Junk ·

2024/10/15

Scientists wanted to know if plants scream and tortured tomatoes to find out the answer. Beckett (Trace's youngest spawn) wanted to know, if plants do scream, can our pets hear it and is this why cats knock plants off shelves? Show Notes:YouTube sound of Plants "screaming": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-_AGgoJ3VASci News, Plants Emit Ultrasonic Sounds When Stressed, Groundbreaking Study Shows: https://www.sci.news/biology/plant-ultrasonic-sounds-11794.htmlHow Well do Animals Hear:

en

00:12:56

322: Screaming Plants

Brain Junk ·

2024/10/15

Scientists wanted to know if plants scream and tortured tomatoes to find out the answer. Beckett (Trace's youngest spawn) wanted to know, if plants do scream, can our pets hear it and is this why cats knock plants off shelves? Show Notes: YouTube sound of Plants "screaming": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-_AGgoJ3VA Sci News, Plants Emit Ultrasonic Sounds When Stressed, Groundbreaking Study Shows: https://www.sci.news/biology/plant-ultrasonic-sounds-11794.html How Well do Animals

en

00:13:05

321: Joro Spiders

Brain Junk ·

2024/10/01

Amy laid the perfect web of "lies"; she lured Trace into an episode about shapeshifting women and then sprang the trap...this episode is about the Joro spider. We talk about the convergence of giant invasive spiders and Japanese mythology.Show Notes: Joro Spider (warning, there are spider photos): https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/millions-of-joro-spiders-are-moving-up-the-east-coast-heres-what-to-expect/ Wikipedia Joro spider:

en

13:04

321: Joro Spiders

Brain Junk ·

2024/10/01

Amy laid the perfect web of "lies"; she lured Trace into an episode about shapeshifting women and then sprang the trap...this episode is about the Joro spider. We talk about the convergence of giant invasive spiders and Japanese mythology.Show Notes:Joro Spider (warning, there are spider photos): https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/millions-of-joro-spiders-are-moving-up-the-east-coast-heres-what-to-expect/Wikipedia Joro spider: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trichonephila_clavataWikipedia

en

00:22:15

320: Voices in Your Head

Brain Junk ·

2024/09/17

How do we define and study the little voice in your head? Is it something you HEAR, hear or is it something you think? For some of us, there's no inner monologue, for others, it's so loud in there, it's hard to participate in the outside world. Trace fell down the research stairs on this one! It's a double header of things we hear and see in our heads. Get ready for anendophasia and aphantasia! Show Notes: Inner voice:

en

22:15

320: Voices in Your Head

Brain Junk ·

2024/09/17

How do we define and study the little voice in your head? Is it something you HEAR, hear or is it something you think? For some of us, there's no inner monologue, for others, it's so loud in there, it's hard to participate in the outside world. Trace fell down the research stairs on this one! It's a double header of things we hear and see in our heads. Get ready for anendophasia and aphantasia!Show Notes:Inner voice: https://neurosciencenews.com/anendophasia-inner-voice-memory-26107/Prevention:

en

20:33

319: Porridge Championship

Brain Junk ·

2024/09/03

Who knew that a simple combination of oats, water and salt could make for a yearly competition that's lasted for 30 years? We dive into the history of oats in Scotland and the famous Golden Spurtle competition!Show Notes:Golden Spurtle World Porridge Making Championship: https://www.goldenspurtle.com/BBC: World Porridge winner crowned October 2023: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-67053001Wikipedia World Porridge Making Championship:

en

00:20:33

319: Porridge Championship

Brain Junk ·

2024/09/03

Who knew that a simple combination of oats, water and salt could make for a yearly competition that's lasted for 30 years? We dive into the history of oats in Scotland and the famous Golden Spurtle competition!Show Notes: Golden Spurtle World Porridge Making Championship: https://www.goldenspurtle.com/ BBC: World Porridge winner crowned October 2023: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-67053001 Wikipedia World Porridge Making Championship:

en

349 results

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