SciShow Tangents

Latest Episodes:

Fruit Jun 22, 2021

Show notes

The Tangents team tackles one of the greatest controversies in science history: are tomatoes fruits?

Head to the link below 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! https://www.patreon.com/SciShowTangents

A big thank you to Patreon subscriber Eclectic Bunny 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: @slamschultz Hank: @hankgreen

[Fact Off]

Thumping watermelons

https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/news/stories/2020/07/how-to-pick-a-ripe-melon.html

https://www.almanac.com/how-tell-if-watermelon-ripe

https://www.bksv.com/en/knowledge/blog/perspectives/ripe-watermelon

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-science-of-a-ripe-watermelon-1498828907

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4325046/

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00779-013-0706-7

Animals eating moldy fruit

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-05643-z

[Ask the Science Couch]

Ripening fruit biochemistry

https://kids.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frym.2018.00016

https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/all-fruit-and-vegetables-are-not-created-equal-when-it-comes-to-proper-storage-conditions

https://academic.oup.com/jxb/article/63/13/4741/484722

https://www.actahort.org/books/463/463_42.htm

[Butt One More Thing]

Medlar fruit

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210325-the-strange-medieval-fruit-the-world-forgot

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/medlar-fruit-forgotten-butt-shape

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dogs with Frankie Jonas Jun 15, 2021

Show notes

Frankie Jonas stops by to chat with us about your best friend and mine, the humble dog! You'd think that in this, of all episodes, we'd be able to have a nice, simple definition of the topic. But guess what, no one even knows what a dog is apparently! Science!

If you want more Frankie Jonas, check out his TikTok! He's got a cute dog!

A big thank you to Patreon subscriber Eclectic Bunny 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: @slamschultz Hank: @hankgreen

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Electricity Jun 08, 2021

Show notes

Danger! High voltage episode! This week, we're zapping your earholes with electrifying knowledge that's sure to illuminate you!

A big thank you to Patreon subscriber Eclectic Bunny 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: @slamschultz Hank: @hankgreen

If you want to learn more about any of our main topics, check out these links:

[Fact Off]

Space tethers to generate electricity

https://www-spof.gsfc.nasa.gov/Education/wtether.html

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-75.html

https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/abs/10.2514/2.3563?journalCode=jsr

https://edisontechcenter.org/generators.html

https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/abs/10.2514/2.3563?journalCode=jsr

https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://en.wikipedia.org/&httpsredir=1&article=2532&context=smallsat

Electric fish with dramatic pauses

ttps://www.fishbase.se/summary/5208

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2021/05/electric-fish-pause/618993/

https://www.pennlive.com/life/2021/05/new-research-shows-that-electric-fish-pause-before-sharing-something-meaningful.html

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-05/wuis-ef-051921.php

[Ask the Science Couch]

Static electricity

https://www.utm.edu/staff/cerkal/electricity.htm

https://www.livescience.com/51656-static-electricity.html

https://intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/hr/documents/public/hsu/information/electrical/staticelectricity.pdf

[Butt One More Thing]

Manure electricity

https://apnews.com/article/ap-top-news-sports-science-technology-business-3ad8a6b9b1cb4100a9db1b2e406ad14d

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-equestrian-manure-energy/poo-power-horse-manure-from-world-cup-powers-helsinki-homes-idUSKBN1X70QX

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

SciShow Tangents Classics - Cars Jun 01, 2021

Show notes

It’s too nice outside to make a podcast this week, so instead, we’ve got a classic episode for you! Learn basically everything you need to know about cars before you set out on your epic summer road trip.

A big thank you to Patreon subscriber Eclectic Bunny 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: @slamschultz Hank: @hankgreen

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

DNA with Amanda Wacker May 25, 2021

Show notes

This week, we’re joined by scientist and podcaster Amanda Wacker to talk about DNA, the building blocks of life! A blueprint for building a living thing, even!

Webster’s dictionary defines DNA as “any of various nucleic acids that are usually the molecular basis of heredity, are constructed of a double helix held together by hydrogen bonds.” I define it as the little wiggly guys inside us that make our cells and stuff. We’re both right, in our own way.

If you want more Amanda Wacker, check out her podcast, Triplicates! And check her out on Twitter: @AstroAma!

A big thank you to Patreon subscriber Eclectic Bunny 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: @slamschultz Hank: @hankgreen

If you want to learn more about any of our main topics, check out these links:

[Ask the Science Couch]

Gene expression & cell type

https://www.cirm.ca.gov/our-progress/advanced-how-does-stem-cell-%E2%80%9Cknow%E2%80%9D-what-become

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK26885/

https://www.cell.com/trends/cell-biology/fulltext/S0962-8924(20)30059-3

https://www.discovermagazine.com/health/our-cells-are-filled-with-junk-dna-heres-why-we-need-it

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-05462-w

[Butt One More Thing]

Pooprints

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/19/pooprints-brings-in-millions-testing-dog-poop-dna-to-snag-non-scoopers.html

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Smell May 18, 2021

Show notes

If SciShow Tangents had a smell what would it be? It’s full of knowledge, so maybe a dusty old book? We talk a lot, so maybe all of our nasty breath? We talk about butts a lot… you know what? Podcasts don’t smell, and maybe that’s for the best.

A big thank you to Patreon subscriber Eclectic Bunny 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: @slamschultz Hank: @hankgreen

If you want to learn more about any of our main topics, check out these links:

[Fact Off]

Rats smelling concepts

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-11/uog-tso112520.php

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/11/201125164455.htm

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2020.2327

https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3000628

Big cats and perfumes

https://www.thecut.com/2020/01/big-cats-love-calvin-kleins-obsession-for-men.html

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/100624-big-cats-cologne-vin-video

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/thoughtful-animal/youe28099ll-never-guess-how-biologists-lure-jaguars-to-camera-traps/

https://www.rsc.org/Merck-Index/monograph/m3604/civetone?q=unauthorize

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Viverricula_indica/

[Ask the Science Couch]

Smells & memory

https://www.livescience.com/why-smells-trigger-memories.html

https://www.discovery.com/science/Why-Smells-Trigger-Such-Vivid-Memories

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23147501/

[Butt One More Thing]

Indole smell

https://io9.gizmodo.com/why-is-a-compound-that-smells-like-feces-put-in-perfume-1717903411

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sticky Things May 11, 2021

Show notes

Sticky seems easy, right? You step on gum, it sticks to your shoe, You put glue on paper, it sticks to other paper. It just works! But it turns out stickiness is one of those sneaky, impossible-to-explain science things that involves physics and atoms and stuff!

A big thank you to Patreon subscriber Eclectic Bunny 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: @slamschultz Hank: @hankgreen

If you want to learn more about any of our main topics, check out these links:

[Fact Off]

Exploding ant butts with toxic goo

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1A_nAQosWmC5o_jepXNJ0oc3RacjLK5qe1groWg34bL4/edit?usp=sharing

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/animals-ants-borneo-exploding-defense?loggedin=true

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/23/science/exploding-ants.html

https://zookeys.pensoft.net/articles.php?id=22661

Sticky rice mortar

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/ar9001944

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11431-008-0317-0

https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/newsreleases/2010/may/revealing-the-ancient-chinese-secret-of-sticky-rice-mortar.html

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/chemistry/amylopectin

[Ask the Science Couch]

Frog tongues

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/feb/01/special-spit-is-the-secret-of-uniquely-sticky-frog-tongues-study-reveals

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5332565/

Picture of finger: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5332565/figure/RSIF20160764F1/

[Butt One More Thing]

Sucker-bum squid

https://australian.museum/blog-archive/science/sucker-bum-squid-and-other-intriguing-molluscs

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dirt May 04, 2021

Show notes

A wiser man than me once said “worms make the dirt and the first makes the Earth.” And that’s true. Join us as we learn about the stuff everything on earth walks, sits, and poops on all day, every day! Thanks, dirt!

A big thank you to Patreon subscriber Eclectic Bunny 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: @slamschultz Hank: @hankgreen

If you want to learn more about any of our main topics, check out these links:

[Fact Off]

Desert of Maine

https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/22/travel/escapes/22down.html

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-desert-of-maine-freeport-maine

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/why-desert-middle-maine-180951555/

https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/maine/articles/the-true-story-of-how-maine-got-its-desert/

Panic grass in geothermal dirt

https://schaechter.asmblog.org/schaechter/2009/10/all-for-one-and-one-for-all.html

https://www.montana.edu/news/629/yellowstone-plant-reveals-secret-for-tolerating-high-temperatures

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/315/5811/513

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/316/5822/201.1

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10583964/

https://www.nps.gov/grte/learn/historyculture/upload/JFMeadow_Dissertation-red.pdf

[Ask the Science Couch]

Rubbing dirt in wound

https://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-05/antibacterial-clays-can-kill-antibiotic-resistant-e-coli-and-mrsa/

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-05/asu-amw051713.php/

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0064068

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/04/200427125205.htm

https://www.freep.com/story/sports/mlb/tigers/2016/07/16/sports-rub-some-dirt-on-it/87184302/

[Butt One More Thing]

Pink fairy armadillo

https://www.wired.com/2014/01/absurd-creature-of-the-week-pink-fairy-armadillo-crawls-out-of-the-desert-and-into-our-hearts/

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Tools Apr 27, 2021

Show notes

Humans use tools to do work! It’s what separates us from the animals! Except for crows… and honeybees… and dolphins… octopuses… well, regardless, tools are great and so is this episode!

A big thank you to Patreon subscriber Eclectic Bunny 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: @slamschultz Hank: @hankgreen

If you want to learn more about any of our main topics, check out these links:

Chatelaines

https://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/the-killer-mobile-device-for-victorian-women/

https://toolbelts.com/tool-belt-history/

https://www.swissarmy.com/us/en/History/cms/history

New Caledonian crows

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-12/uosa-cck120417.php

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rspb.2015.0278

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-12/uosa-cck120417.php

[Ask the Science Couch]

Oldest stone tools

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-32804177

https://www.nature.com/articles/nature14464

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2015/04/world-s-oldest-stone-tools-discovered-kenya

https://anthromuseum.missouri.edu/exhibit/oldowan-and-acheulean-stone-tools

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Fish with Kurtis Conner Apr 20, 2021

Show notes

Comedian, streamer, and YouTuber Kurtis Conner (@kurtisconner) stops by to talk to us about fish! Don’t be koi… give it a listen!

This episode has everything you could want: multiple poop facts, mind-blowing revalations, and a celebrity guest! It's the total package!

If you can’t get enough Kurtis Conner, check out his YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7zsxKqd5MicTf4VhS9Y74g

A big thank you to Patreon subscriber Eclectic Bunny 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: @slamschultz Hank: @hankgreen

If you want to learn more about any of our main topics, check out these links:

[Definition]

Fish evolution

https://www.npr.org/2010/07/05/127937070/the-human-edge-finding-our-inner-fish

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/02/210205210627.htm

[Ask the Science Couch]

Smelly fish

https://www.nytimes.com/2000/05/23/science/q-a-rotten-fish.html

https://nutrition.org/is-fish-smelly/

https://www.jstor.org/stable/24086628?seq=1

https://www.pnas.org/content/111/12/4461

https://cen.acs.org/articles/91/web/2013/09/Source-Fishy-Odors-Identified.html

https://rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/trimethylaminuria/

[Butt One More Thing]

White sand beaches

https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/sand.html

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected