Brain Junk

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 and AmyShow Notes:The Poozeum: https://poozeum.com/Life Cycle of the Mosquito: https://www.vdci.net/mosquito-biology-101-life-cycle/University of Melbourne: Male Mosquitos don't want your blood: https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/news/31460-male-mosquitoes-don%27t-want-your-blood--but-they-still-find-you-very-attractiveWPRI.com Blue Whale leaking: https://www.wpri.com/news/street-stories/blue-whale-skeleton-at-new-bedford-museum-still-leaking-oil/Atlas Obscura, Oozing Whale Skeleton: https://www.atlasobscura.com/p

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: https://www.boston.com/sports/college-sports/2018/11/16/mit-hacks-harvard-yale-balloon-prank-1982/1948 newspaper article (behind a paywall)https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/105095033/MIT, Interesting Hacks to Facinate People: https://hacks.mit.edu/Hacks/by_topic/harvard.htmlHarvard "Huge Ego" hack: https://hacks.mit.edu/Hacks/by_year/2006/H_Y_huge_ego/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brainjunkpodcast.substack.com

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: https://www.livescience.com/animals/insects/ants-perform-life-saving-operations-the-only-animal-other-than-humans-known-to-do-soTW: Facebook video showing actual leg amputation https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=846736237392641Pub Med Animals that self medicate: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4267359/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brainjunkpodcast.substack.com

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: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potamon_fluviatileFreshwater crabs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freshwater_crabWhen a ladybug lands on you: https://www.wellandgood.com/symbolic-meaning-of-ladybugs/YouTube, Rome's giant crabs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=QNbVPkRDaGI This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brainjunkpodcast.substack.com

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: https://www.science.org/content/article/ig-nobel-prizes-reward-research-helium-huffing-alligators-and-knives-made-fecesCNN US: https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/18/us/ig-nobel-awards-alligator-helium-scli-scn-intl/index.htmlJournal of Experimental Biology: https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/218/15/2442/14244/A-Chinese-alligator-in-heliox-formant-frequencies This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brainjunkpodcast.substack.com

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: https://www.ball.com/newswire/article/123308/ball-aerospace-hirise-camera-returns-stunning-images-from-marsDeep Impact: https://deepimpact.astro.umd.edu/tech/instruments.htmlBall Aerospace and Hubble: https://www.ball.com/newswire/article/123389/ball-aerospace-hubble-space-telescope-science-instruments-shine-a-light-on-the-universesDating a Ball jar: https://www.frenchcreekfarmhouse.com/2018/03/how-to-date-ball-mason-jar.htmlMason Jars a history: https://masonjars.com/history-of-ball-jars-html/comment-page-1/Journey Indiana Youtu

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: https://www.lsu.edu/deafness/HearingRange.htmlHidden Hearing, Human hearing ranges: https://www.hiddenhearing.co.uk/hearing-blog/hearing-loss/what-animals-have-better-hearing-than-humans This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brainjunkpodcast.substack.com

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 Jorogumo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jor%C5%8DgumoDescribed and Captioned Media Program: PBS Digital Studios & Monstrum: https://dcmp.org/media/14555-monstrum-jorogumo-the-deadly-spider-woman-from-yokai-lore(Amy was Right!!!!) Blackarachnia: https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Blackarachnia_(BW)Selkies: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selkie This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brainjunkpodcast.substack.com

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: inner voice: https://www.prevention.com/health/mental-health/a43128717/inner-monologue/Not everyone has an inner voice: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38728320/Sister “issue” aphantasia: https://aphantasia.com/what-is-aphantasia/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brainjunkpodcast.substack.com

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: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Porridge_Making_Championship2023 Golden Spurtle newsletter: https://heyzine.com/flip-book/d871ced870.html#page/1Bob's Red Mill, Porridge vs Oatmeal: https://www.bobsredmill.com/blog/healthy-living/porridge-vs-oatmeal/BBC How humble oats have fueled a nation: https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20231004-oats-the-humble-grain-that-fuelled-scotlandYouTube Golden Spurtle prep: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJhlAaW5uIAThe Guardian No milk, no rolled oats and always add salt: how to make porridge like a championGravy restaurant

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: https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/gender-diversity/article/3230438/fake-belly-buttons-all-rage-china-women-seek-freedom-dress-and-boost-confidence-some-raise-bodyCleveland Clinic limb lengthening: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/24316-limb-lengthening-surgeryBears and skunk cabbage: https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Plants-and-Fungi/Skunk-CabbageUSDA Forest Service yellow skunk cabbage: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/ipnf/learning/?cid=fsm9_019161Maryland Biodiversity project & skunk cabbage: https://www.marylandbiodiversity.com/view/1660Nude Cruise: https://cruisebare.com/Ovulation: https://pro

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 https://www.earthtouchnews.com/discoveries/discoveries/remember-those-mystery-silkhenge-spiders-now-you-can-watch-them-hatch/Youtube spiders hatching https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Unc-g9AHl2Y&t=106sLinkedin post https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dante-fenolio-ms-ph-d-76833a52_silkhenge-spider-amazon-activity-7147602639663316992-gZY4Live science https://www.livescience.com/silkhenge-returns-video.htmlLive science2 https://www.livescience.com/57401-silkhenge-spiders-hatch-on-video.htmlYouttube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Unc-g9AHl2YiNaturalist https://www.inatural

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 Science and Safety: Do Fish Drink This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brainjunkpodcast.substack.com

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 PenguinsEdinburgh Zoo pebbles for penguinsPopular Science: Menstruation in SpaceNPR: TED Radio HourNautilus: Humpback Whales, getting humpyHappy WhaleLincolnshire Wildlife Park's swear parrots: FB page with videosSmithsonian: Parrots, What the Flock?!The complete sillyness of reindeer poop "science" Instagram: Toiley T PaperPenis size and Nose size, it's a real scientific paper, we promise: Penile length and circumference: are they related to nose size? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with oth

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 touring This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brainjunkpodcast.substack.com

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 Sensory & Movement Ecology Lab @ UCCSScience: Tiger moths jam bat echolocation!!! Southwest Research Station This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brainjunkpodcast.substack.com

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 public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brainjunkpodcast.substack.com

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 Economist" Robespierre and driving on the moral side of the road US Dept. of Transportation Federal Highway Administration: On the Right Side of the RoadUK car glass and their opinion on right side/left sideBBC: A 'thrilling' mission to get the Swedish to change overnight This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brainjunkpodcast.substack.com

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 squirrels in action) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brainjunkpodcast.substack.com

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 nucleusNIH: Visual impairment and circadian rhythm disordersThe New Yorker: The Woman who Spent Five Hundred Days in a CaveBenadryl and Alzheimer's possible linkTranscript:[00:00:03] Speaker A: Welcome to Brain Junk, I'm Trace Kerr[00:00:05] Speaker B: And I'm Amy Barton. And today I'm gonna continue changing your lives because we've talked about how to up your personal hygiene game. And today I'm gonna tell you about why you wake up at 03:00 a.m. And give you some tips and tricks.[00:00:19] Speaker A: To stop that from h