ELI5 Explain Like I'm 5: Bite sized answers to stuff you should know about - in a mini podcast

Latest Episodes:

ELI5 Donuts - why the association with the police? Aug 26, 2022

Show notes

Why do powdered donuts feel cold? Why are donuts often associated with the police? Where does the donut come from? How did the hole get invented?

... we explain like I'm five

Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive community and in particular the following users whose questions and comments formed the basis of this discussion: cmonster194, speckledeggs, informationhorder, daracmarjal, liamthebobbitt, zyreal and crazykiahl

To the ELI5 community that has supported us so far, thanks for all your feedback and comments. Join us on Twitter:

https://www.twitter.com/eli5ThePodcast/

or send us an e-mail:

ELI5ThePodcast@gmail.com

ELI5 Ampersand - the 27th member of the alphabet? Aug 19, 2022

Show notes

Why does the ampersand exist? Why do movie credits have a specific use of the ampersand? When did it stop being the 27th member of the alphabet? What does ‘per se’ mean in the context of the ampersand? Why is the ampersand written the way it is?

... we explain like I'm five

Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive community and in particular the following users whose questions and comments formed the basis of this discussion: moongosling, uniqueusername014, jayman419 and kaffekalle.

To the ELI5 community that has supported us so far, thanks for all your feedback and comments. Join us on Twitter:

https://www.twitter.com/eli5ThePodcast/

or send us an e-mail:

ELI5ThePodcast@gmail.com

ELI5 Wrinkled Fingers - why water makes our fingers wrinkle? Aug 12, 2022

Show notes

How did they disprove the common assumption that our skin wrinkles or water aging occurs because water makes it swell? What did they observe and how is this fact used in the medical field today? What evolutionary purpose does wrinkled fingers serve? What other medical conditions could wrinkled fingers be linked to?

... we explain like I'm five

Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive community and in particular the following users whose questions and comments formed the basis of this discussion: forgivethepast, axel927 and dday0123.

Nature article referenced in episode:

https://www.nature.com/articles/nature.2013.12175

To the ELI5 community that has supported us so far, thanks for all your feedback and comments. Join us on Twitter:

https://www.twitter.com/eli5ThePodcast/

or send us an e-mail:

ELI5ThePodcast@gmail.com

ELI5 Escalators - what is the shoe shine thingy there for? Aug 05, 2022

Show notes

Why does it feel so strange to step onto a stationary escalator? What do the brush type things on the side of escalators do? Why are escalator steps jagged with the brushlike shape at the top and bottom? Why do escalator handrails often run at slightly different speeds than the steps? Why does it feel so strange to step onto a stationary escalator?

... we explain like I'm five

Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive community and in particular the following users whose questions and comments formed the basis of this discussion: ferdinand00, v0kun, banauuuuh, teddyjules, rashikun, south5, ac7ss, voltenic and aptom203

To the ELI5 community that has supported us so far, thanks for all your feedback and comments. Join us on Twitter:

https://www.twitter.com/eli5ThePodcast/

or send us an e-mail:

ELI5ThePodcast@gmail.com

ELI5 Occam's Razor - please explain what it really means! Jul 29, 2022

Show notes

What is Occam’s Razor? Why is it so commonly misunderstood? Why do people talk about hooves and zebras when describing it? Who was Occam, and why is it his razor? What is Occam’s broom? What are other philosophical razors that we should know about?

... we explain like I'm five

Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive community and in particular the following users whose questions and comments formed the basis of this discussion: shadowofthewild, stairway2evan, bakanobaka, albatroopa, zjm555, lukavwolf and mredding

To the ELI5 community that has supported us so far, thanks for all your feedback and comments. Join us on Twitter:

https://www.twitter.com/eli5ThePodcast/

or send us an e-mail:

ELI5ThePodcast@gmail.com

ELI5 Bear Markets - where it gets its name? Jul 22, 2022

Show notes

Why is it called a bear market? How did it become used to describe financial markets? What does it have to do with bear skins? What does a stock market ‘dead cat bounce’ mean?

... we explain like I'm five

Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive community and in particular the following users whose questions and comments formed the basis of this discussion: tallahazey21, lazerslayer, azotta and willtheyeverlearn

To the ELI5 community that has supported us so far, thanks for all your feedback and comments. Join us on Twitter:

https://www.twitter.com/eli5ThePodcast/

or send us an e-mail:

ELI5ThePodcast@gmail.com

ELI5 Nitrogen - if it’s 80% of our atmosphere, why don’t we talk about it much? Jul 15, 2022

Show notes

We talk so much about oxygen and carbon, but 80% of the atmosphere is nitrogen. How does it fit in? Why does it not get talked about? Why does 1% of the world’s energy go into speeding up the nitrogen cycle? Why do divers know a lot about nitrogen? Why is liquid nitrogen so useful?

... we explain like I'm five

Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive community and in particular the following users whose questions and comments formed the basis of this discussion: chicagofaucet, edman007-work, topomouse and scarabic.

To the ELI5 community that has supported us so far, thanks for all your feedback and comments. Join us on Twitter:

https://www.twitter.com/eli5ThePodcast/

or send us an e-mail:

ELI5ThePodcast@gmail.com

ELI5 Golf - why are white balls the standard? Jul 08, 2022

Show notes

How did white become the standard color for golf balls, when a more vibrant color would make it easier to see as it’s flying through the air? How do TV camera people follow golf balls so accurately? How is ‘par’ determined for a golf course? And of course, the classic golf question - why are there dimples on golf balls?

... we explain like I'm five

Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive community and in particular the following users whose questions and comments formed the basis of this discussion: thepainapple, the_original_retro, cyb0ninja, zippo16, tezoatlipoca, xmosse, fringeaverage, robbak, toro816, akylax

To the ELI5 community that has supported us so far, thanks for all your feedback and comments. Join us on Twitter:

https://www.twitter.com/eli5ThePodcast/

or send us an e-mail:

ELI5ThePodcast@gmail.com

ELI5 Milk and Eggs - why cows and chickens became the standards for milk and eggs? Jul 01, 2022

Show notes

Why did we settle on chicken eggs as our standard eggs? Why not quail eggs, duck eggs or even ostrich eggs? What in evolution made chickens so productive? How did cow’s milk win over goats milk or bison milk? What is the concept of the butter line and why does it matter?

... we explain like I'm five

Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive community and in particular the following users whose questions and comments formed the basis of this discussion: budford12, misanthropeX, greenstrong, acceptablemadness, alexl14, darkalman and cavemanjoe47

To the ELI5 community that has supported us so far, thanks for all your feedback and comments. Join us on Twitter:

https://www.twitter.com/eli5ThePodcast/

or send us an e-mail:

ELI5ThePodcast@gmail.com

ELI5 Natural Gas - why doesn’t the flame from a gas stove ignite the supply line? Jun 24, 2022

Show notes

What’s the difference between natural gas, gasoline and crude oil? Why doesn’t the flame from a gas stove ignite the supply line? How is natural gas transported via pipeline if it’s a gas? Why do gas pipelines have bendy sections? How come we see clean air natural gas buses, but not really any natural gas cars?

... we explain like I'm five

Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive community and in particular the following users whose questions and comments formed the basis of this discussion: cheetahs_never_win, cerebralaccountant, darkalman, Badcat7, hezec, bigflagellum, evr-, individual-manner-27, loydhenderson, diamondicens and gazzaggerty

To the ELI5 community that has supported us so far, thanks for all your feedback and comments. Join us on Twitter:

https://www.twitter.com/eli5ThePodcast/

or send us an e-mail:

ELI5ThePodcast@gmail.com

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

ELI5 Explain Like I’m 5: Bite sized answers to stuff you should know about – in a mini podcast

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected