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 Amy Show 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-attractive WPRI.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/places/the-oozing-whale-skeleton-of-new-bedford-new-bedford-massachusetts Popular Science: https://www.popsci.com/science/blue-whale-leaking-oil/ MSN Lyudmila Trut: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/lyudmila-trut-soviet-scientist-who-sped-up-evolution-with-tame-foxes-that-began-to-look-like-dogs/ar-AA1sMlb1 BMC, The silver fox domestication experiment: https://evolution-outreach.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12052-018-0090-x Episode 240 Extreme Lookalikes (where we mention the silver foxes)https://brainjunkpodcast.com/podcast/240-extreme-lookalikes/ Popular Science, Why 60 degrees feels different: https://www.popsci.com/environment/why-fall-feels-colder-than-spring/ Evolutionary ecology of ethanol: https://www.cell.com/trends/ecology-evolution/fulltext/S0169-5347(24)00240-4?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0169534724002404%3Fshowall%3Dtrue New Scientist, Can all animals get drunk? https://www.newscientist.com/lastword/mg25934543-000-can-all-animals-get-drunk-what-enables-this-in-those-that-can/ Science Daily: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/10/241030150809.htm Penn Engineering Today, The secrets of baseball's magic mud: https://blog.seas.upenn.edu/the-secrets-of-baseballs-magic-mud/ Lena Blackburne Rubbing Mud: 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 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: 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.html Harvard "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)00805-4 Live 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-so TW: Facebook video showing actual leg amputation https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=846736237392641 Pub 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-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: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potamon_fluviatile Freshwater crabs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freshwater_crab When 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-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: https://www.science.org/content/article/ig-nobel-prizes-reward-research-helium-huffing-alligators-and-knives-made-feces CNN US: https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/18/us/ig-nobel-awards-alligator-helium-scli-scn-intl/index.html Journal 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-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 camera: https://www.ball.com/newswire/article/123308/ball-aerospace-hirise-camera-returns-stunning-images-from-mars Deep Impact: https://deepimpact.astro.umd.edu/tech/instruments.html Ball Aerospace and Hubble: https://www.ball.com/newswire/article/123389/ball-aerospace-hubble-space-telescope-science-instruments-shine-a-light-on-the-universes Dating a Ball jar: https://www.frenchcreekfarmhouse.com/2018/03/how-to-date-ball-mason-jar.html Mason Jars a history: https://masonjars.com/history-of-ball-jars-html/comment-page-1/ Journey Indiana Youtube, Ball Family Legacy : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HG1z0D_JJzk Tiktok youthpastorryan talking companies behaving badly: https://www.tiktok.com/@youthpastorryan/video/7305919108434971947?lang=en Wikipedia r-Gator: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R-Gator Honeywell flight control autopilot: https://aerospace.honeywell.com/us/en/products-and-services/product/hardware-and-systems/cockpit-systems-and-displays/flight-controls-and-autopilots GE hydro power: https://www.gevernova.com/hydropower/ 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

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 Hear: https://www.lsu.edu/deafness/HearingRange.html Hidden 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_clavata Wikipedia Jorogumo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jor%C5%8Dgumo Described 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-67053001 Wikipedia World Porridge Making Championship: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Porridge_Making_Championship 2023 Golden Spurtle newsletter: https://heyzine.com/flip-book/d871ced870.html#page/1 Bob'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-scotland YouTube Golden Spurtle prep: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJhlAaW5uIA The Guardian No milk, no rolled oats and always add salt: how to make porridge like a champion Gravy restaurant: https://gravyrestaurant.com/menu/ 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

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=1 SCMP 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-body Cleveland Clinic limb lengthening: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/24316-limb-lengthening-surgery Bears and skunk cabbage: https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Plants-and-Fungi/Skunk-Cabbage USDA Forest Service yellow skunk cabbage: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/ipnf/learning/?cid=fsm9_019161 Maryland Biodiversity project & skunk cabbage: https://www.marylandbiodiversity.com/view/1660 Nude Cruise: https://cruisebare.com/ Ovulation: https://productions-animales.org/article/download/2583/13696?inline=1 Cheetah vocalization FB: https://www.facebook.com/runningwildconservation/videos/listen-to-jordan-making-stutter-bark-sounds-to-shadow-in-the-camp-adjacent-to-hi/484675892467812/ CNN Travel "Bare-adise" https://www.cnn.com/travel/bare-adise-adventure-nude-cruise-miami-2025/index.html Pee Pants: https://www.jordanluca.com/collections/denim Complex designer jeans: https://www.complex.com/style/a/alex-ocho/pee-stained-designer-jeans-sell-out Wenis. Thanks Merriam-Webster (LOL) https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/weenus-weenis-slang-definition-origin 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 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 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=106s Linkedin post https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dante-fenolio-ms-ph-d-76833a52_silkhenge-spider-amazon-activity-7147602639663316992-gZY4 Live science https://www.livescience.com/silkhenge-returns-video.html Live science2 https://www.livescience.com/57401-silkhenge-spiders-hatch-on-video.html Youttube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Unc-g9AHl2Y iNaturalist https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=any&q=silkhenge&subview=map Medicinal leeches: https://media.vwr.com/emdocs/docs/scied/Medicinal_Leeches.pdf 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 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 ladder Wolfenoot McGill 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 penguin The Guardian: 'Sexual depravity' of penguins that Antarctic scientist dared not reveal Live Science: Are penguins really monogamous? Penguin divorce rates Penguinsinternational.org: Divorcing Penguins Edinburgh Zoo pebbles for penguins Popular Science: Menstruation in Space NPR: TED Radio Hour Nautilus: Humpback Whales, getting humpy Happy Whale Lincolnshire Wildlife Park's swear parrots: FB page with videos Smithsonian: Parrots, What the Flock?! The complete sillyness of reindeer poop "science" Instagram: Toiley T Paper Penis 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 other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brainjunkpodcast.substack.com

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 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 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: Bats jam each other's sonar The Sensory & Movement Ecology Lab @ UCCS Science: 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: 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 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 Turnpike Somerset Historical Center: The Conestoga Wagon Windwagon Smith a Disney animated picture from 1961 Wikipedia left and right side The Economist" Robespierre and driving on the moral side of the road US Dept. of Transportation Federal Highway Administration: On the Right Side of the Road UK car glass and their opinion on right side/left side BBC: 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 Scent Royal Society B: Donning your enemy's cloak: ground squirrels exploit rattlesnake scent to reduce predation risk Nature: 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 method Science Direct: Molecular Clock US Southwestern University: Understanding the circadian clocks of individual cells Wikipedia: Suprachiasmatic nucleus NIH: Visual impairment and circadian rhythm disorders The New Yorker: The Woman who Spent Five Hundred Days in a Cave Benadryl and Alzheimer's possible link Transcript: [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 happening. [00:00:21] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:00:24] Speaker A: I am not a 03:00 a.m. Wake up person, so this will be interesting. [00:00:27] Speaker B: You're not what it. [00:00:29] Speaker A: No. [00:00:29] Speaker B: Do you wake up in the night? [00:00:30] Speaker A: No, I'm not a wake upper. [00:00:32] Speaker B: Oh, that's interesting. Well, Chris and I both are, and I tend to. On a good night, I just wake up once. But oftentimes I will wake up in this somewhere between two and 04:00 a.m.. Time. And so we're both like, why is that happening to us? And some of it is Shelby the cat. She seems to get the zoomies. So let's back up, too. Greg Murray, professor and director, center for Mental Health in Sweden, Swinburne University of Technology. Swin. Yeah, Swinburne University of Technology. He's a psychology researcher, and his expertise is in mood and sleep and circadian systems. Oh, and so he talks about this in an article for IFL science. For those of you who don't wake up like trace, it's bad because in the middle of the night, all of the thoughts seem to be. It's never like, I was so good in that meeting today, and I just love these blankets, and it's not that stuff. It's distressing and punitive thoughts, and they're irrational and unproductive. If you are alert enough that you have awoken, usually some people, it might not be that way, but it's definitely the way my brain works. It will worry about everything and anything.... 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