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Whether the topic is popcorn or particle physics, you can count on BrainStuff to explore -- and explain -- the everyday science in the world around us.

BrainStuff

This all-American condiment got its start as a fermented fish sauce and featured in the formation of the Food and Drug Administration. Learn about the history of tomato ketchup -- and why it's so hard to get out of bottles -- in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://recipes.howstuffworks.com/ketchup.htm

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How Does Ketchup Work?

We all know we're supposed to reach out to friends and family experiencing depression, but it's an intimidating prospect. Learn how to get a conversation started in this classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://health.howstuffworks.com/mental-health/depression/questions/help-friend-with-depression.htm

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BrainStuff Classics: How Can You Help a Friend with Depression?

The Minotaur -- a monstrous half man, half bull -- has raged through stories for millennia. But where did he and his labyrinth come from? Learn the ancient history and modern psychology behind both in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://history.howstuffworks.com/history-vs-myth/minotaur.htm

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How Does the Myth of the Minotaur Work?

Manatees swim the calm waterways of tropical Atlantic coastlines with no worries of natural predators. Learn why humans are their only real danger -- and how we can help -- in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://animals.howstuffworks.com/mammals/manatees.htm; https://animals.howstuffworks.com/mammals/manatees-see-underwater.htm

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How Do Manatees Work?

The tradition of putting diamonds on engagement rings is less than a century old, but some 80% of engagement rings in the U.S. now bear them. Learn how a cartel and an ad campaign created such a pervasive demand for diamonds in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://money.howstuffworks.com/true-story-blood-diamonds.htm and this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IceJ-gUm-gQ. To learn more about the De Beers cartel, check out the episode of Stuff They Don't Want You To Know 'Diamonds: The Conspiracy' https://omny.fm/shows/stuff-they-dont-want-you-to-know/diamonds-the-conspiracy

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Why Do We Put Diamonds on Engagement Rings?

The police raid and ensuing riots at the Stonewall Inn in June of 1969 became a turning point in queer civil rights because of the larger movement that coalesced around it. Learn about its place in LGBTQIA history in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://history.howstuffworks.com/historical-events/stonewall-riots.htm

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How Did the Stonewall Riots Work?

Tarsiers are our palm-sized primate cousins that evolved in the forests of Southeast Asia to have long limbs and huge, round eyes. Learn how we've learned about them in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://animals.howstuffworks.com/mammals/tarsier.htm

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How Did the Smallest Primates Get Such Big Eyes?

This isn't just the least-fun thought experiment, it's a medical malady common enough to have its own name. Learn how internal hirudiniasis works (and why you don't need to panic if if happens to you) in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://animals.howstuffworks.com/marine-life/swallow-leech.htm

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What Would Happen If You Swallowed a Leech?

We know rhubarb as a tart fruit that looks like pink celery, but it also has a bulbous underground storage unit that was used medicinally for millennia -- and lets it grow in complete darkness. Learn about the pie plant (and how rhizomes work) in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://home.howstuffworks.com/rhubarb.htm

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How Can Rhubarb Grow in the Dark?

This marine bird carries the color of the ocean in its webbed feet, was named after an insult, and uses its excrement in creative ways. Learn about the blue-footed booby in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://animals.howstuffworks.com/birds/blue-footed-booby.htm

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How Does the Blue-Footed Booby Work?

When the temperature drops (or bounces), are you more likely to get sick? Learn the science behind the old wives’ tale in this classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://health.howstuffworks.com/diseases-conditions/cold-flu/can-change-in-temperature-really-make-sick.htm

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

BrainStuff Classics: Will Temperature Changes Make You Sick?

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