SciShow Tangents

Latest Episodes:

Homes Mar 22, 2022

Show notes

From shells to hives to holes in the ground, most animals have a place to call home. And today, we're paying them all a visit! So open up, cause Science is knocking and it needs to use your bathroom!

Head to https://www.patreon.com/SciShowTangents to find out how you can help support SciShow Tangents, and see all the cool perks you’ll get in return, like bonus episodes and a monthly newsletter!

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A big thank you to Patreon subscribers Garth Riley and Tom Mosner for helping to make the show possible!

Follow us on Twitter @SciShowTangents, where we’ll tweet out topics for upcoming episodes and you can ask the science couch questions!

While you're at it, check out the Tangents crew on Twitter: Ceri: @ceriley Sam: @im_sam_schultz Hank: @hankgreen

[Trivia Question]

Machine learning saving kilowatt-hours

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7765259/

[Fact Off]

Cichlid fish dream houses (for conservation)

https://www.mpg.de/14854482/3d-printing-cichlids

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/if-fish-could-build-its-own-home-what-would-it-look-like-180976172/

Devil’s garden - lemon ant & rainforest tree symbiosis

https://news.stanford.edu/news/2005/september28/devil-092805.html

https://www.nature.com/articles/437495a

https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/606022?journalCode=an

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2124481/

https://www.jstor.org/stable/2459556

[Ask the Science Couch]

Estimate of how many animals there are

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/newsletters/animals/article/how-many-species-have-not-found-december-26

https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.1001127

https://academic.oup.com/sysbio/article/61/5/871/1734723

Animals that are parasites

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2016.0324

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/animals-evolution-parasites-ed-yong

https://www.audubon.org/news/the-brilliant-ways-parasitic-birds-terrorize-their-victims

Constructing homes (natural & artificial)

https://www.naturepl.com/pictures/pdfs/NPL_Architecture.pdf

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34269510/

[Butt One More Thing]

Snail shell poop + African swine fever virus

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35151121/

https://www.carnegiemnh.org/science/mollusks/dietbehavior.html

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Green Mar 15, 2022

Show notes

Grass... money... Ninja Turtles... some of the best things in the world are all the same color: green! This week, we're taking a deeper look at this most verdant of colors.

Head to https://www.patreon.com/SciShowTangents to find out how you can help support SciShow Tangents, and see all the cool perks you’ll get in return, like bonus episodes and a monthly newsletter!

And go to https://store.dftba.com/collections/scishow-tangents to buy your very own, genuine SciShow Tangents sticker!

A big thank you to Patreon subscribers Garth Riley and Tom Mosner for helping to make the show possible!

Follow us on Twitter @SciShowTangents, where we’ll tweet out topics for upcoming episodes and you can ask the science couch questions!

While you're at it, check out the Tangents crew on Twitter: Ceri: @ceriley Sam: @im_sam_schultz Hank: @hankgreen

[Definition]

https://www.wired.com/2012/06/the-crayola-fication-of-the-world-how-we-gave-colors-names-and-it-messed-with-our-brains-part-ii/

[Truth or Fail]

[Trivia Question]

Green spaces reduce systolic blood pressure

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969721075914?via%3Dihub

https://www.cdc.gov/bloodpressure/about.htm#:~:text=The%20second%20number%2C%20called%20diastolic,%E2%80%9C120%2F80%20mmHg.%E2%80%9D

[Fact Off]

Green glacier mystery

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/icebergs-can-be-emerald-green-now-we-know-why?loggedin=true

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/859296

Emerald ash borer pest control by biomimicry and electrocution

https://ag.umass.edu/landscape/fact-sheets/emerald-ash-borer

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/resources/pests-diseases/hungry-pests/the-threat/emerald-ash-borer/emerald-ash-borer-beetle

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-01496-8

https://www.psu.edu/news/research/story/femme-fatale-emerald-ash-borer-decoy-lures-kills-males/

https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1412810111

[Ask the Science Couch]

U.S. green paper money

https://www.bankofcanadamuseum.ca/2019/02/the-canadian-roots-of-the-greenback/

https://www.visitthecapitol.gov/exhibitions/artifact/hr-240-legal-tender-act-february-25-1862

https://www.moneyfactory.gov/resources/faqs.html

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/important-improvement-in-bank-note/

https://cite.case.law/barb/56/84/

https://cite.case.law/barb/56/96/

[Butt One More Thing]

Orb weaver butts

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spider_-_Eriophora_nephiloides,_Caves_Branch_Jungle_Lodge,_Belmopan,_Belize.jpg

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4263&context=etd

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Computers Mar 08, 2022

Show notes

Back in my day, a computer was a computer: It was big, tan, and was plugged into your living room wall. But now we've got computer cars, computer phones, even computer lightbulbs! And that's great! But I think we better keep an eye on them all, just in case...

Head to https://www.patreon.com/SciShowTangents to find out how you can help support SciShow Tangents, and see all the cool perks you’ll get in return, like bonus episodes and a monthly newsletter!

And go to https://store.dftba.com/collections/scishow-tangents to buy your very own, genuine SciShow Tangents sticker!

A big thank you to Patreon subscribers Garth Riley and Tom Mosner for helping to make the show possible!

Follow us on Twitter @SciShowTangents, where we’ll tweet out topics for upcoming episodes and you can ask the science couch questions!

While you're at it, check out the Tangents crew on Twitter: Ceri: @ceriley Sam: @im_sam_schultz Hank: @hankgreen

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Venus Mar 01, 2022

Show notes

We kick off Season 4 by getting up close and personal with Earth's other, less popular, more mysterious neighbor: Venus!

Head to https://www.patreon.com/SciShowTangents to find out how you can help support SciShow Tangents, and see all the cool perks you’ll get in return, like bonus episodes and a monthly newsletter!

And go to https://store.dftba.com/collections/scishow-tangents to buy your very own, genuine SciShow Tangents sticker!

A big thank you to Patreon subscribers Garth Riley and Tom Mosner for helping to make the show possible!

Follow us on Twitter @SciShowTangents, where we’ll tweet out topics for upcoming episodes and you can ask the science couch questions!

While you're at it, check out the Tangents crew on Twitter: Ceri: @ceriley Sam: @im_sam_schultz Hank: @hankgreen

[Trivia Question]

Venera missions

https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1970-060A

https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/chronology_venus.html

[Fact Off]

Venus tables & Maya Codex of Mexico

https://www.mesoweb.com/articles/Coe_etal/Fourth_Codex.pdf

https://www.brown.edu/news/2016-09-07/mayacodex

https://www.inah.gob.mx/boletines/7497-inah-ratifica-al-codice-maya-de-mexico-antes-llamado-grolier-como-el-manuscrito-autentico-mas-antiguo-de-america

https://www.news.ucsb.edu/2016/017062/mayan-moment

Phosphene/ammonia on Venus (and microbial life possibility)

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/938538

https://news.mit.edu/2020/life-venus-phosphine-0914

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/14/science/venus-life-clouds.html

https://news.mit.edu/2021/newer-nimbler-faster-mission-venus-search-signs-life-clouds-sulfuric-acid-1210

https://venuscloudlife.com/venus-life-finder-mission-study/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7381915/

https://www.pnas.org/content/118/52/e2110889118

[Ask the Science Couch]

Pictures of the surface of Venus

https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/imgcat/html/object_page/v09_lander_proc.html

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/venera-13/in-depth/

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2022/sun/parker-solar-probe-captures-its-first-images-of-venus-surface-in-visible-light-confirmed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ueMGZTezfY

https://airandspace.si.edu/exhibitions/exploring-the-planets/online/solar-system/venus/magellan.cfm

https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3728

https://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/parker-solar-probe-instruments

[Butt One More Thing]

Venus cloacina goddess

https://drainfast.co.uk/blog/cloacina-goddess-sewers/

https://books.google.com/books?id=SYqFBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA128#v=onepage&q&f=false

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SciShow Tangents Classics - The Internet Feb 22, 2022

Show notes

Season 3 has come to a close, and the Tangents crew is taking a week off. While we scour the World Wide Web for all new, mind-blowing science facts, enjoy this classic episode about the Internet!

Head to https://www.patreon.com/SciShowTangents to find out how you can help support SciShow Tangents, and see all the cool perks you’ll get in return, like bonus episodes and a monthly newsletter!

And go to https://store.dftba.com/collections/scishow-tangents to buy your very own, genuine SciShow Tangents sticker!

A big thank you to Patreon subscriber Garth Riley for helping to make the show possible!

Follow us on Twitter @SciShowTangents, where we’ll tweet out topics for upcoming episodes and you can ask the science couch questions!

While you're at it, check out the Tangents crew on Twitter: Ceri: @ceriley Sam: @im_sam_schultz Hank: @hankgreen

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Butts Feb 15, 2022

Show notes

It's all led up to this! We usually relegate our butt facts to the end of episodes, but this week we're giving butts the respect they deserve.

It's butts all the way down, baby!

Head to https://www.patreon.com/SciShowTangents to find out how you can help support SciShow Tangents, and see all the cool perks you’ll get in return, like bonus episodes and a monthly newsletter!

And go to https://store.dftba.com/collections/scishow-tangents to buy your very own, genuine SciShow Tangents sticker!

A big thank you to Patreon subscribers Garth Riley and Tom Mosner for helping to make the show possible!

Follow us on Twitter @SciShowTangents, where we’ll tweet out topics for upcoming episodes and you can ask the science couch questions!

While you're at it, check out the Tangents crew on Twitter: Ceri: @ceriley Sam: @im_sam_schultz Hank: @hankgreen

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Hands & Feet Feb 08, 2022

Show notes

The Season 3 finale draws ever nearer, but before we get to that big beautiful Butt episode, we need to make a detour to those nifty tools on the ends of our limbs: hands and feet!

Head to https://www.patreon.com/SciShowTangents to find out how you can help support SciShow Tangents, and see all the cool perks you’ll get in return, like bonus episodes and a monthly newsletter!

And go to https://store.dftba.com/collections/scishow-tangents to buy your very own, genuine SciShow Tangents sticker!

A big thank you to Patreon subscribers Garth Riley and Tom Mosner for helping to make the show possible!

Follow us on Twitter @SciShowTangents, where we’ll tweet out topics for upcoming episodes and you can ask the science couch questions!

While you're at it, check out the Tangents crew on Twitter: Ceri: @ceriley Sam: @im_sam_schultz Hank: @hankgreen

[Trivia Question]

Heel-toe or toe-heel running

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31525171/

[Fact Off]

Trench foot and (possibly, tenuously) water balloons

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK482364/

https://www.wemjournal.org/article/S1080-6032(06)70334-9/fulltext

https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/citations/AD0666752

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B978012821606400017X

http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2049243_2048654_2049039,00.html

[Ask the Science Couch]

Nail care evolution/history

https://www.britannica.com/story/how-do-monkeys-and-apes-trim-their-fingernails

https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-why-do-we-have-fingernails-and-toenails-110989

https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/science/ancient-primates-had-grooming-claws/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0047248417305134

https://tedium.co/2017/02/07/fingernail-trimming-history/

[Butt One More Thing]

Bidets and poopy hands

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29709985/

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Heads Feb 01, 2022

Show notes

Season 3 of Tangents is drawing to a close, and we're celebrating by taking a long, top to bottom (literally) look at bodies! To kick us off, we'll be appreciating that brain-holding, eye-having, mouth-possessing orb on top of almost all necks on Earth: the head. Thank you, the head!

Head to https://www.patreon.com/SciShowTangents to find out how you can help support SciShow Tangents, and see all the cool perks you’ll get in return, like bonus episodes and a monthly newsletter!

And go to https://store.dftba.com/collections/scishow-tangents to buy your very own, genuine SciShow Tangents sticker!

A big thank you to Patreon subscribers Garth Riley and Tom Mosner for helping to make the show possible!

Follow us on Twitter @SciShowTangents, where we’ll tweet out topics for upcoming episodes and you can ask the science couch questions!

While you're at it, check out the Tangents crew on Twitter: Ceri: @ceriley Sam: @im_sam_schultz Hank: @hankgreen

[Trivia Question]

Embalming head diameter

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0021929009001444?via%3Dihub

[Fact Off]

Chicken heads for rabies oral vaccines

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2015/12/that-time-europe-air-dropped-vaccine-loaded-chicken-heads-to-bait-rabid-foxes/417951/ https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1439-0450.1982.tb01237.x

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31927421/

https://books.google.co.in/books?id=mUu6o7SiSZ8C&lpg=PA71&ots=SlWS7Vyp4u&dq=getting+rid+of+rabies+switzerland&pg=PA71&hl=en#v=onepage&q&f=false

http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.500.9910&rep=rep1&type=pdf

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3614052/

Alligator stick hats

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/crocodiles-and-their-ilk-may-be-smarter-than-they-look/2013/12/06/1084cf28-5d2c-11e3-bc56-c6ca94801fac_story.html

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/what-do-croc-tools-mean-for-dinosaur-innovation?loggedin=true

https://www.livescience.com/41898-alligators-crocodiles-use-tools.html

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/laelaps/alligators-dont-play-pick-up-sticks-to-lure-lunch/

https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn24750-zoologger-alligators-use-tools-to-lure-in-bird-prey/

[Ask the Science Couch]

Blood-brain barrier

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4292164/

https://www.rndsystems.com/research-area/blood--brain-barrier-permeability

https://sites.duke.edu/apep/module-2-the-abcs-of-intoxication/content-getting-alcohol-to-the-brain-crossing-the-blood-brain-barrier/

https://bmcneurol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2377-9-S1-S3

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3494002/

[Butt One More Thing]

Amblyopsidae/cavefish head anus

https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/scientist-names-blind-fish-with-neck-anus-after-his-favorite-team

https://zookeys.pensoft.net/articles.php?id=3824

http://webhome.auburn.edu/~armbrjw/Amblyopsidae.pdf

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Birds of Prey Jan 25, 2022

Show notes

The pointiest birds in the wild blue yonder finally get their due! Join us to learn all of these lethal birds killer secrets, and to discover their hidden softer sides. Some use teamwork! Some keep pets!

Head to https://www.patreon.com/SciShowTangents to find out how you can help support SciShow Tangents, and see all the cool perks you’ll get in return, like bonus episodes and a monthly newsletter!

And go to https://store.dftba.com/collections/scishow-tangents to buy your very own, genuine SciShow Tangents sticker!

A big thank you to Patreon subscriber Garth Riley for helping to make the show possible!

Follow us on Twitter @SciShowTangents, where we’ll tweet out topics for upcoming episodes and you can ask the science couch questions!

While you're at it, check out the Tangents crew on Twitter: Ceri: @ceriley Sam: @im_sam_schultz Hank: @hankgreen

[Definition]

https://bioone.org/journals/journal-of-raptor-research/volume-53/issue-4/0892-1016-53.4.419/Commentary-Defining-Raptors-and-Birds-of-Prey/10.3356/0892-1016-53.4.419.full

[Trivia Question]

Alkyl mercury in goshawks

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10646-013-1128-z

https://www.jstor.org/stable/4312117?casa_token=3PPQWWTwiYAAAAAA%3A7giiI7DEJGZCee8kh5vBBGP51efUFHyxLFdfDGHESY1plAdhTZLY8F5sua8iP5JMNYzhZaNZRjWpC9gYSiKEeZo5sU_BxcEbUk38ZTwCEA37g9mOpHo&seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents

[Fact Off]

Bald eagle cyanobacteria toxin mystery

https://www.livescience.com/eagle-killing-mystery-disease-solved.html

https://www.inverse.com/science/mystery-behind-mass-bald-eagle-deaths-solved

Screech owls & threadsnakes

https://www.audubon.org/news/what-would-screech-owl-want-blind-snake

https://www.jstor.org/stable/4218201?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

https://landscapeipm.tamu.edu/what-is-ipm/ipm-concepts/pest-identification/good-bug-bad-bug/neither/texas-blind-snake/

http://www.digimorph.org/specimens/Leptotyphlops_dulcis/

https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/eastern-screech-owl

[Ask the Science Couch]

Harris’s hawks (social raptors)

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Harriss_Hawk/overview

https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/harriss-hawk

https://bioone.org/journals/the-auk/volume-130/issue-3/auk.2013.120063/Reexamining-Cooperative-Hunting-in-Harriss-Hawk-Parabuteo-unicinctus--Large/10.1525/auk.2013.120063.full

[Butt One More Thing]

Anthrax in raptor cloacas

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17347404/

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Yeast Jan 18, 2022

Show notes

These little, bubbly guys help us make such perennial favorites as 'bread' and 'beer.' If you're saying to yourself "what is yeast, Alex," I got good news for you: you're right! Come learn about the microscopic fungus amung us on this week's Tangents!

Head to https://www.patreon.com/SciShowTangents to find out how you can help support SciShow Tangents, and see all the cool perks you’ll get in return, like bonus episodes and a monthly newsletter!

And go to https://store.dftba.com/collections/scishow-tangents to buy your very own, genuine SciShow Tangents sticker!

A big thank you to Patreon subscriber Garth Riley for helping to make the show possible!

Follow us on Twitter @SciShowTangents, where we’ll tweet out topics for upcoming episodes and you can ask the science couch questions!

While you're at it, check out the Tangents crew on Twitter: Ceri: @ceriley Sam: @im_sam_schultz Hank: @hankgreen

[Trivia Question]

Yeast mitotic arrest

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4255140/

[Fact Off]

Stinking hellebore flower and yeast relationship

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2871880/

https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20527473-900-stinky-flower-is-kept-warm-by-yeast-partner/#ixzz7HEPFjzKB

Fruit fly and yeast relationship