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SciShow Tangents — Science
SciShow Tangents

SciShow Tangents is the lightly competitive knowledge showcase from the geniuses behind the YouTube series SciShow. Every other Tuesday, join Hank Green, Ceri Riley, and Sam Schultz as they try to one-up and amaze each other with weird and funny scientific research… while not getting distracted. There will be tangents about video games, music, weird smells, surprisingly deep insights about life, and of course, poop, but it always comes back to the science.

Copyright: © Complexly

Latest Episodes:

Fear Month: Failure with Caitlin Hofmeister! Oct 01, 2019

Show notes

Here at Tangents, we don't mess around when it comes to Halloween. So each week in October, the topic will be one of our greatest fears! Hank was apparently too afraid to even be on this episode, so instead special guest Caitlin Hofmeister confronts her fear of failure as we tell her tales of science gone wrong!

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

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

[Truth or Fail]

Bubble Wrap

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/accidental-invention-bubble-wrap-180971325/

Whoopee Cushion

https://torontoist.com/2013/04/toronto-invents-the-whoopee-cushion/

Vaseline

https://www.dummies.com/education/history/american-history/the-history-of-an-incredibly-useful-u-s-product-vaseline/

https://www.damninteresting.com/nugget/story-of-vaseline/

[Fact Off]

Mosquito self-limiting gene

Four Pests campaign

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/bodyhorrors/2014/02/26/mao-four-pests-china-disease/#.XKzfDOtKhxw

https://io9.gizmodo.com/china-s-worst-self-inflicted-environmental-disaster-th-5927112

https://chineseposters.net/themes/four-pests.php

http://www.zonaeuropa.com/20061130_1.htm

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1127087/

[Ask the Science Couch]

Killifish

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/354/6317/1305

https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/against-tide-fish-adapts-quickly-lethal-levels-pollution/

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/09/science/atlantic-killifish-evolution-pollution.html

Radiotrophic fungi

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/radiation-helps-fungi-grow/

https://mbio.asm.org/content/7/6/e01483-16

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0000457

Birds

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/140424223057.htm

https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1365-2435.12283

https://www.cell.com/trends/ecology-evolution/pdf/S0169-5347(16)00019-7.pdf

[Butt One More Thing]

Artificial poop pills

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/08/sham-poo-washes-out/493811/

https://academic.oup.com/jid/article/214/2/173/2572105

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Plastic Sep 24, 2019

Show notes

Plastic: space age wonder material or planet-destroying scourge? The real answer may lie... somewhere in the middle (but leaning more towards scourge). Plus, learn exactly how many LEGO minifigures you can eat before you die!

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

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

[Truth or Fail]

Milk

https://blogs.getty.edu/iris/galalith-alchemy-in-the-age-of-plastic/

https://www.chemistryworld.com/podcasts/casein/3007625.article

https://www.ganoksin.com/article/galalith-jewelry-milk-stone/

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bring-science-home-milk-plastic/

Blood

https://books.google.com/books?id=3uoiAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA9

https://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/rjrtags/ill65.html https://surface.syr.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1261&context=beads

https://materialdistrict.com/material/blood-plastic/

https://surface.syr.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1261&context=beads

pictures: https://www.hippohardware.com/blogs/news/at-deaths-door-a-history-of-hemacite

Venom

http://www.t3db.ca/toxins/T3D2544

[Fact Off]

Bees and plastic

https://www.sciencealert.com/wild-bees-have-been-found-building-nests-entirely-out-of-plastic-for-the-first-time

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs13592-019-00635-6
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-03/pp-bsw030117.php

https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1890/ES13-00308.1

Celluloid billiard balls

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_eye/2015/05/13/the_death_of_billiards_and_the_rise_of_plastic_on_99_invisible_with_roman.html

https://www.liveabout.com/what-pool-balls-are-made-of-368742

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/once-upon-time-exploding-billiard-balls-were-everyday-thing-180962751/

http://mentalfloss.com/article/64247/first-plastic-billiard-balls-routinely-exploded

[Ask the Science Couch]

Corn plastic

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/environmental-impact-of-corn-based-plastics/

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/corn-plastic-to-the-rescue-126404720/

https://mcgillcompost.com/blog/recycling-number-7-pla-plastics

[Butt One More Thing]

Cigarette butts

https://www.sciencealert.com/this-company-recycles-cigarette-butts-and-turns-them-into-plastic

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Teens Sep 17, 2019

Show notes

For humans, the teenage years are marked by angst, self-discovery, and homework. For elephants, they’re marked by pus-weeping face glands, uncontrollable rage, and a green penis!

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

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

[Truth or Fail]

Guevedoces:

https://secondnexus.com/opinion/the-intersex-children-of-salinas/

https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34290981

https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/924291-overview

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2265.1991.tb03769.x

Cat scratch disease: https://www.sciencealert.com/a-case-of-schizophrenia-found-to-be-a-bad-case-of-cat-scratch-disease

[Fact Off]

Music

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/in-teen-music-choices-fear-rules/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=%22Gregory+S.+Berns%22

Elephant Musth

https://www.bbcearth.com/blog/?article=teenage-elephants-need-a-father-figure

http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/index.php?s=1&act=pdfviewer&id=1253211728&folder=125

[Ask the Science Couch]

Risk taking/brain development

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3445337/

https://opentextbc.ca/introductiontopsychology/chapter/6-3-adolescence-developing-independence-and-identity/

Lying

http://www.jeffreyarnett.com/articles/articles/ARNETT_the_right_to_do_wrong.pdf

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691815300184

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0109591

[Butt One More Thing]

Koala pap

https://www.savethekoala.com/about-koalas/life-cycle-koala

http://koalainfo.com/pap-the-first-solid-food-of-koalas

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Fashion Sep 10, 2019

Show notes

New York Fashion Week is in full swing, and the world's most stylish science podcast is celebrating by exploring the intersection of fashion and science!

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

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

[Truth or Fail]

Beards & miasma theory

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/plague-know/

https://mentalfloss.com/article/31056/why-did-people-wear-powdered-wigs

https://io9.gizmodo.com/the-science-behind-todays-plague-doctor-costume-1737404375

Lightning rods

https://www.newspapers.com/clip/9256546/lubbock_morning_avalanche/

https://books.google.com/books?id=UEH1AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA184

https://books.google.com/books?id=g6cwDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA190

Pictures: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning_rod_fashion

Bulletproof silk

https://jaoa.org/article.aspx?articleid=2578879

http://mentalfloss.com/article/24039/brief-history-bulletproof-vests

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/jul/29/bulletproof-silk-vest-prevent-first-world-war-royal-armouries

[Fact Off]

Julie and ear grass

Lizards and human shirts

[Ask the Science Couch]

Bamboo

http://www.patagonia.com/static/on/demandware.static/-/Library-Sites-PatagoniaShared/default/dw0de5a5be/PDF-US/bamboo_rayon.pdf

Hemp

https://slate.com/technology/2011/04/hemp-versus-cotton-which-is-better-for-the-environment.html

Wool

https://www.iwto.org/news/environmental-impacts-wool-textiles

Linen

https://econation.co.nz/linen/

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320307130_GOING_ECO_GOING_DUTCH_A_local_and_closed_loop_textile_production_system

Mass production (dyeing, burning)

https://e360.yale.edu/features/can_waterless_dyeing_processes_clean_up_clothing_industry_pollution

https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/9/17/17852294/fashion-brands-burning-merchandise-burberry-nike-h-and-m

[Butt One More Thing]

Cow manure clothes

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/poop-clothing_n_58e7d6f0e4b058f0a02efa77

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Navigation Sep 03, 2019

Show notes

Wether it's a human trying to figure out the quickest way to the airport, a salmon returning to the waters where they were born, or a dog trying to figure out the perfect place to poop, almost everyliving thing uses some sort of innate or technological navigation system every day.

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

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

[Truth or Fail]

Orientation of mental maps:

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0135803

Humans sensing magnetic fields:

https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/can-humans-sense-the-magnetic-field--65611

[Fact Off]

Marine chronometer

http://www.jgiesen.de/LunarDistance/index.html

https://www.jstor.org/stable/3087198?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

https://timeandnavigation.si.edu/navigating-at-sea/longitude-problem

https://archive.org/details/principlesmrhar00unkngoog/page/n22

https://www.timeandwatches.com/p/the-detent-escapement-from-marine.html

Etak navigator

[Ask the Science Couch]

Sunstone/calcite:

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2011/11/viking-sunstone-revealed

https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/04/mysterious-sunstones-in-medieval-viking-texts-could-really-have-worked/

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.172187

https://www.nature.com/news/2011/110131/full/news.2011.58.html

Image of calcite: https://www.sciencesource.com/Doc/TR1_WATERMARKED/6/9/f/3/SS2509789.jpg?d63642476241

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Precious Metals Aug 27, 2019

Show notes

Almost all of human culture and economics is structured around a handful of pretty metals that we have arbitrarily assigned value to!

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

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

[Truth or Fail]

Silver nanoparticles

https://jnanobiotechnology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12951-017-0254-9

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-05/osu-elc051418.php

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/07/embryo-inspired-bandage-17-times-stickier-band-aid

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-02/ez-pnf021419.php

Copper

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK225400/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/biochemistry-genetics-and-molecular-biology/copper-toxicity

Platinum

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29632935

https://www.forbes.com/sites/carmendrahl/2017/04/14/why-is-platinum-in-some-chemotherapy-drugs-and-can-we-improve-them/#1a89a88417d4

[Fact Off]

Alchemy and phosphorus:

https://phys.org/news/2019-01-phosphorus-years-discovery-vital-element.html

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/02/02/465188104/phosphorus-starts-with-pee-in-this-tale-of-scientific-serendipity

Gold vein earthquakes:

https://www.nature.com/news/earthquakes-make-gold-veins-in-an-instant-1.12615

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/earthquakes-are-basically-gold-factories-4659100/

[Ask the Science Couch]

Nickel allergy/reactivity:

https://www.nickelinstitute.org/about-nickel/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4783936/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3047925/

https://books.google.com/books?id=CpAM1U1efqcC&pg=PA120

Gold allergy/reactivity:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11244133

https://books.google.com/books?id=1mk3lFVtBSQC&pg=PA104

Implant metals:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9440845

[Butt One More Thing]

Metals in poop:

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es505329q

https://www.pnas.org/content/112/29/8803.full

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Extremophiles Aug 20, 2019

Show notes

Extremophiles are tough little guys that not only survive but thrive in the harshest environments on Earth; unforgiving places like volcanic vents at the bottom of the sea, lakes of acid, and your bellybutton

To learn more about extremophiles and a whole universe of other microscopic creatures, check out Journey to the Microcosmos at https://www.youtube.com/microcosmos

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

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

[Truth or Fail]

Single-species Ecosystem

https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn10336-gold-mine-holds-life-untouched-by-the-sun/

Extremophile Cheese

https://www.businessinsider.com/belly-button-innie-inside-cheese-bacteria-lint-fungi-2019-7

Fluffy Pink Golden Fungus

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-discover-fungus-capable-collecting-gold-its-environment-180972293/

[Fact Off]

Berkeley pit extremophiles:

https://medium.com/vision-2018/life-from-the-pit-70d3e0fbc0f6

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEnWZcG3Nzk

https://cen.acs.org/biological-chemistry/natural-products/Scientists-mine-potential-drugs-Berkeley/97/i18

PCR & Taq polymerase:

https://www.genome.gov/about-genomics/fact-sheets/Polymerase-Chain-Reaction-Fact-Sheet

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/probe/docs/techpcr/

https://www.thermofisher.com/order/catalog/product/10342020

https://www.yellowstonepark.com/things-to-do/yellowstone-bacteria-beer-science

[Ask the Science Couch]

Extremophiles:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4187170/

Bacteria vs. Archaea:

http://bio1520.biology.gatech.edu/biodiversity/prokaryotes-bacteria-archaea-2/

https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/archaea/archaea.html

Archaea characteristics:

https://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/astrobiology/environments/

https://microbiologyonline.org/about-microbiology/introducing-microbes/archaea

https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/archaea/archaeamm.html

[Butt One More Thing]

Pompeii worm:

https://serc.carleton.edu/microbelife/topics/marinesymbiosis/pompeii.html

http://faculty.montgomerycollege.edu/gyouth/FP_examples/student_examples/sathya_ramachandran/pompeiiworms.html

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Acid Aug 13, 2019

Show notes

This week, the Other Couch's high-school-level understanding of chemistry is really put to the test as we talk about acid! What is it? How does it dissolve things? It has something to do... with protons? It seems way simpler in the movies!

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

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

[Truth or Fail]

Formic acid (general):

https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Formic-acid

Fire ant antivenom:

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/343/6174/1014.abstract

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/invasive-crazy-ants-are-eating-up-invasive-fire-ants-in-the-south-65189409/

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-rise-of-the-crazy-ants/

Bone-house wasps:

https://www.wired.com/2014/07/the-spider-eating-bone-house-wasp/

Electricity-generating wasps:

https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/12/101221-solar-power-hornet-science-animals/

[Fact Off]

Internal sensor:

https://www.seeker.com/when-swallowed-this-sensor-is-powered-by-stomach-acid-2248294501.html

Pregnancy gif:

https://giphy.com/gifs/pregnancy-baby-fetus-WS91RYT47sA6I

https://imgur.com/gallery/d7n3eIH

Moss bandage:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-humble-moss-helped-heal-wounds-thousands-WWI-180963081/

https://images.app.goo.gl/TWkw555pqQcRF4Ap8

[Ask the Science Couch]

Battery energy storage:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-do-batteries-store-an/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IV4IUsholjg&list=PL8dPuuaLjXtPHzzYuWy6fYEaX9mQQ8oGr

Lead-acid batteries:

https://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/lead_based_batteries

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/electric/leadacid.html

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Deserts Aug 06, 2019

Show notes

You might think you know everything there is to know about deserts: big, sandy, hot, etc. But between the alien mummies and the ice blades, we're guessing there's a lot you don't know. All that and you get to see Hank just totally embarrass himself while trying to talk about Pokemon.

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

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

[Truth or Fail]

Atacama Desert:

Ata:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/22/science/ata-mummy-alien-chile.html

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/tiny-alien-skeleton-found-chile-was-likely-result-genetic-mutations-180968576/

Ice Blades:

https://www.sciencealert.com/eerie-ice-spires-harbour-life-in-one-of-the-harshest-environments-on-earth

Microbes:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-35051-w

https://earthsky.org/earth/mars-like-atacanda-desert-rain-brings-death

[Fact Off]

Thorny devil lizard:

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rsos.170591

Libyan Desert glass:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5196362.stm

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0022309384901777

https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/geology/article-abstract/47/7/609/570318/overestimation-of-threat-from-100-mt-class?redirectedFrom=fulltext

https://theconversation.com/how-we-solved-the-mystery-of-libyan-desert-glass-117253

[Ask the Science Couch]

Sand depth:

https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-1-4614-9213-9_325-1

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-65661-8_10

https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/92232/grand-erg-oriental-algeria

https://www.nps.gov/zion/learn/nature/sand-dunes-sandstone.htm

[Butt One More Thing]

Dung beetles:

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-10/uotw-bud101912.php

https://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822%2812%2901061-5

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Metamorphosis Jul 30, 2019

Show notes

When you think metamorphosis, you might think a beautiful butterfly coming out of its cocoon. However, lots of things metamorphose in much less graceful, much more sticky, gooey, unsettling, and potentially dangerous ways!

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

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

[Truth or Fail]

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-01/uoc-sbb010308.php http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4460030.stm

Kind of gross but very cool, highly recommend this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCo2uCLXvhk

[Fact Off]

Cryptometamorphosis:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/11/science/snail-metamorphosis.html

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rspb.2018.1099#sec-3

Figure from paper: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/cms/attachment/12748a2e-c968-4fff-912a-9f9cd2c3d514/rspb20181099f01.gif

Wax moths and plastic:

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/04/25/525447206/a-worm-may-hold-the-key-to-biodegrading-plastic

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28441558

[Ask the Science Couch]

Grasshoppers/locusts:

http://mentalfloss.com/article/57104/whats-difference-between-grasshoppers-and-locusts

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/when-grasshoppers-go-bibl/

(includes picture) https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2009/01/serotonin-makes-locusts-swarm

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/306/5703/1881

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