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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:

Plagues with John Green! Feb 18, 2025

Show notes

Would it really be a conversation about plagues if noted plague-hater and tuberculosis-fighter John Green wasn't a part of it? In this episode John makes his Tangents debut at last, and we dig deep into whether we could fight an old, fat beaver and win, among other things.

SciShow Tangents is on YouTube! Go to www.youtube.com/scishowtangents to check out this episode with the added bonus of seeing our faces!

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

And go to https://store.dftba.com/collections/scishow-tangents to buy some great Tangents merch!

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

[Truth or Fail Express]

Hunter-gatherer from 5000 years ago infected with plague

https://www.livescience.com/5000-year-old-man-had-plague.html

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/oldest-strain-of-black-death-bacteria-found-in-5000-year-old-human-remains#Less-deadly-and-less-contagious

Isaac Newton plague cure

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/sir-isaac-newtons-plague-prescription-toad-vomit-lozenges-180975039/

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/isaac-newton-plague

Sewer pipes in Hanoi let plague-bearing rats breed

https://feralatlas.supdigital.org/poster/colonial-sewers-led-to-more-rats

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/hanoi-rat-massacre-1902

[The Scientific Definition]

Four thieves vinegar

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7485289/

https://nutritionalgeography.faculty.ucdavis.edu/clove/

https://www.si.edu/es/object/die-mondsuchtigen:nmah_994026

The Vicary method / The live chicken treatment

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1472106/

https://muse.jhu.edu/article/665487

https://libguides.umn.edu/healthmisinformation

Zenexton

https://www.jstor.org/stable/44444207

https://archive.org/details/b30341681/page/n7/mode/2up

[Ask the Science Couch]

HIV resistance through genetic mutation and selective pressure (possibly from plagues)

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1377146/

https://jmg.bmj.com/content/42/3/205

https://www.nature.com/news/2005/050307/full/news050307-15.html

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/03/050325234239.htm

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC299980/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16880184/

Plague doctors probably didn’t look like birds (until later / after theater)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Paul_F%C3%BCrst,_Der_Doctor_Schnabel_von_Rom_(Holl%C3%A4nder_version).png

https://deathscent.com/2020/05/15/the-redolent-plague-doctor/

https://www.livescience.com/plague-doctors.html

[Butt One More Thing]

Using pastes made with human feces to treat bubonic plague

https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2021/04/medieval-pandemic-cures-that-were-medieval/

https://hosted.lib.uiowa.edu/histmed/plague/

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Inventions Feb 04, 2025

Show notes

Is it usefulness, accidental genius, or sheer dumb luck that produces inventions? Well, after this episode, we at least know for sure what Batman's answer would be. As for the rest of it, you'll just have to listen along while we dive into one of Ceri's dream topics: Inventions!

SciShow Tangents is on YouTube! Go to www.youtube.com/scishowtangents to check out this episode with the added bonus of seeing our faces!

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

And go to https://store.dftba.com/collections/scishow-tangents to buy some great Tangents merch!

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

[This or That]

Pacemaker

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3232561/

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/jul/11/from-viagra-to-valium-the-drugs-that-were-discovered-by-accident

Snow globe

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-25298507

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/how-an-experiment-to-amplify-light-in-hospital-operating-rooms-led-to-the-accidental-invention-of-the-snow-globe-180985742/

Stethoscope

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1570491/

https://www.thoughtco.com/rene-laenecc-stethoscope-1991647

[The Scientific Definition]

Pigeon Vest

https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/stories/pigeons-bras-go-war

Bat Bomb

https://www.airandspaceforces.com/article/1090bats/

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-almost-perfect-world-war-ii-plot-to-bomb-japan-with-bats

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/04/old-weird-tech-the-bat-bombs-of-world-war-ii/237267/

Chicken Eyeglasses

https://gizmodo.com/thousands-of-chickens-once-wore-glasses-to-stop-them-ki-1700343874

https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1989/11/27/entrepreneur-wants-a-lens-in-every/

https://extension.psu.edu/poultry-cannibalism-prevention-and-treatment

https://patents.google.com/patent/US730918

Experiment (patent in category “Boats to ascend rivers”)

https://books.google.com/books?id=K1YdAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA120#v=onepage&q&f=false

https://liberalarts.tamu.edu/nautarch/nwl/lake-champlain-projects/hoofbeats-over-the-water-ina-research-on-horse-powered-ferryboats/

https://books.google.com/books?id=z0Avt3ruFx0C&pg=PA294#v=onepage&q&f=false

https://www.uspto.gov/blog/the-search-for-lost-x

[Ask the Science Couch]

“Ahead of their time” inventions (Undersea cables, Antikythera mechanism, electric cars)

https://www.nps.gov/caco/learn/historyculture/french-transatlantic-cable.htm

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-84310-w

https://www.youtube.com/@clickspring

https://guides.loc.gov/chronicling-america-early-electric-cars

Patreon bonus: Patent law and whether you can apply without a prototype

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/35/100

https://www.legal.uillinois.edu/services/legal_guidance/inventions_and_patents

https://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/s2109.html

https://improbable.com/2014/02/21/the-blonsky-centrifugal-birthing-device-in-dublin/

[Butt One More Thing]

John Henry Kellog’s vibratory dining chair for bowel movements

https://www.museumofquackery.com/devices/k-chair.htm

https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/health-nutrition-history-quackery/enigmatic-dr-kellogg

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

Games with Jo Firestone! Jan 21, 2025

Show notes

Do you want to play a game? Well, we sure do! We're joined by Sam's dream guest Jo Firestone, a comedian, podcaster, and game author and enthusiast to celebrate the joy (and evil) of playing games, especially the games on Tangents!

SciShow Tangents is on YouTube! Go to www.youtube.com/scishowtangents to check out this episode with the added bonus of seeing our faces!

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

And go to https://store.dftba.com/collections/scishow-tangents to buy some great Tangents merch!

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

[Truth or Fail: Express]

Researchers turned quitting smoking into competitive sport

https://www.bu.edu/sph/news/articles/2024/novel-digital-pet-game-within-smoking-cessation-app-increases-user-engagement-with-apps-tools-to-quit-smoking/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37566442/

Scientists watch a hydrogel play pong

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/article/2024/aug/22/scientists-enable-hydrogel-to-play-and-improve-at-pong-video-game

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1063433

Bonus: Dead salmon FMRI study

https://www.psychology.mcmaster.ca/bennett/psy710/readings/BennettDeadSalmon.pdf

Oregon Trail decision model

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1063290

[The Gauntlet]

Game Boy Pocket Sonar accessory

https://www.outdoorlife.com/fishing/game-boy-fishing-sonar/

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/apr/21/nintendo-game-boy-25-facts-for-its-25th-anniversary

https://gameboy.fandom.com/wiki/Game_Boy_Pocket_Sonar

Foldit players solve puzzles with what molecules

https://fold.it/about_foldit

https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/2024/press-release/

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/foldit-gamers-solve-riddle/

AI neural network from floppy disk to electronic game

http://www.20q.net/?history

https://ecolloq.gsfc.nasa.gov/archive/2006-Spring/announce.burgener.html

https://openreview.net/pdf?id=FlR4Wyubayy

Jenga name in Swahili

https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/science-blog/jenga-tale-randomness-and-design

https://www.museumofplay.org/toys/jenga/

Candy Land disease epidemic

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/candy-land/

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/history-disease-outbreaks-vaccine-timeline/polio

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/07/how-polio-inspired-the-creation-of-candy-land/594424/

Jeopardy

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2007/03/19/jeopardy-has-first-3-way-tie/

https://www.npr.org/2009/12/20/121664528/sing-muse-of-the-jeopardy-three-way-tie

https://j-archive.com/showplayer.php?player_id=3578

https://www.jeopardy.com/jbuzz/behind-scenes/breaking-down-four-rare-jeopardy-scenarios

100% win rate from high-speed robot

https://ishikawa-vision.org/fusion/Janken/index-e.html

[Ask the Science Couch]

Game replayability reasons, impacts, and areas of future research

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED596614.pdf

https://www.firstpersonscholar.com/the-games-people-replay/

https://research.vu.nl/ws/files/3135888/293191.pdf

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1875952121000574

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352250X22002652

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1155/2024/5876780

Patreon bonus: Gamification, another facet of motivation psychology

https://academictechnologies.it.miami.edu/support/course-design-assistance/game-based-learning/index.html

https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1475760/1/gamification_CHI2016_preprint.pdf

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1875952119300953

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877050921023255

https://online.nursing.georgetown.edu/blog/how-to-stop-procrastinating-there-is-a-science-to-it/

https://mcgraw.princeton.edu/undergraduates/resources/resource-library/understanding-and-overcoming-procrastination

[Butt One More Thing]

Original inventor of Scrabble was named Alfred Mosher Butts

https://time.com/archive/6909539/scrabble/

https://www.museumofplay.org/toys/scrabble/

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Randomness Jan 08, 2025

Show notes

Is all life predestined, or is existence blown about by the whims of entropy? If we restarted the universe with the same world generating seed a la Minecraft, would it all play out the same??? These are ginormous questions that we do not get into in this episode! Instead, we're examining slightly more manageable examples of randomness in nature, in computing, and even in ourselves.

SciShow Tangents is on YouTube! Go to www.youtube.com/scishowtangents to check out this episode with the added bonus of seeing our faces!

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

And go to https://store.dftba.com/collections/scishow-tangents to buy some great Tangents merch!

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

[The Scientific Definition]

The Lost Boarding Pass Problem

https://www.varsity.co.uk/science/23162

The Secretary Problem

https://www2.math.upenn.edu/~ted/210F10/References/Secretary.pdf

https://slate.com/technology/2014/12/the-secretary-problem-use-this-algorithm-to-determine-exactly-how-many-people-you-should-assess-before-making-a-new-hire-or-choosing-a-life-partner.html

The Sleeping Beauty Problem

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cW27QJYNXtU

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-the-sleeping-beauty-problem-is-keeping-mathematicians-awake/

[Trivia Question]

Sum of numbers on a D120 vertex where 10 faces meet

https://www.wired.com/2016/05/mathematical-challenge-of-designing-the-worlds-most-complex-120-sided-dice/

[Fact Off]

Fastest computer worm in history was the random-scanning worm called Slammer (aka the Sapphire Worm)

https://cseweb.ucsd.edu/~savage/papers/IEEESP03.pdf

https://www.science.org/content/article/fastest-worm-ever

https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/1523881

Effectiveness of randomly promoting employees in a business instead of promoting by merit

[Ask the Science Couch]

Humans are (maybe) bad at intuitively understanding or predicting randomness

https://cocosci.princeton.edu/tom/papers/hard.pdf

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5215234/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5933241/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0010027717302895

https://zhaolab.psych.ubc.ca/pdfs/Zhao_2014_JEPHPP.pdf

Patreon bonus: pseudorandom number generators and randomization seeds

https://www.random.org/randomness/

https://csrc.nist.gov/glossary/term/pseudorandom_number_generator

https://www.acsac.org/2003/papers/79.pdf

https://www.fourmilab.ch/hotbits/

[Butt One More Thing]

Dung beetles that attach themselves to butts to find poop non-randomly

https://www.sfzoo.org/dung-beetle/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19169550/

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

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Special Episode: "Our Big Shot" from Chalk and Blade Productions Jan 03, 2025

Show notes

Hello Tangents listeners! We are off this week to rest up and enjoy the holidays, so in place of a regular episode we have a super special treat from friends of the show that we're excited to share! We're dropping an episode of a new podcast series from Chalk and Blade Productions called "Our Big Shot."

What if we could build a disease free world? Well, we almost have. We are at a point in history where we have a Big Shot to make that happen. Dr Seema Yasmin, expert in disease control, brings you the stories of disease eradication, and the pioneers who can tell us how to finish the journey. These conversations will make you smarter, entertain and surprise you, and give you hope for the future of humanity.

SciShow Tangents is on YouTube! Go to www.youtube.com/scishowtangents to check out this episode with the added bonus of seeing our faces!

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

And go to https://store.dftba.com/collections/scishow-tangents to buy some great Tangents merch!

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

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.

Best of 2024 Compilation Dec 31, 2024

Show notes

One year passes, another is just around the bend, so let's look back on the top 6 Tangents episodes of 2024!! From intriguing topics to spooky mystery guests, this compilation truly summarizes a wild, wonderful year for Tangents. We hope you enjoy reminiscing with us, and we look forward to all that's ahead!

Original episodes:

6. Feathers - airdate March 19, 2024

5. Glue - airdate May 14, 2024

4. Cheese - airdate February 6, 2024

3. Garbage - airdate March 5, 2024

2. Roller Coasters - airdate September 17, 2024

1. Caves - airdate October 1, 2024

Sources for each episode can be found in the descriptions of the original episodes on your preferred podcasting platform.

SciShow Tangents is on YouTube! Go to www.youtube.com/scishowtangents to check out this episode with the added bonus of seeing our faces!

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

And go to https://store.dftba.com/collections/scishow-tangents to buy some great Tangents merch!

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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Dreams with Trace Dominguez! Dec 10, 2024

Show notes

Is a dream really a wish your heart makes? Or is it just that your brain is an organ that never really turns off? What do your dreams even mean??? These are just some of the perplexing questions this episode posed to us and our special return guest, Trace Dominguez!

SciShow Tangents is on YouTube! Go to www.youtube.com/scishowtangents to check out this episode with the added bonus of seeing our faces!

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

And go to https://store.dftba.com/collections/scishow-tangents to buy some great Tangents merch!

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://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2814941/

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-to-control-dreams/

[The Scientific Definition]

Dreambooks

https://www.cabinetmagazine.org/issues/67/vandegrift.php#:~:text=Popular%20in%20Europe%20since%20antiquity,game%20then%20sweeping%20Northeastern%20cities.

https://web.archive.org/web/20151222092158/http://www.eastm.org/index.php/journal/article/viewFile/146/134

https://www.obafemio.com/uploads/5/1/4/2/5142021/dream_interpretation_in_ancient_china.pdf

Incubation

https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft5j49p06s&chunk.id=d0e2624&toc.id=&brand=ucpress#:~:text=Common%20throughout%20all%20antiquity%2C%20the,some%20divinely%20inspired%20dream%20vision.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/dream-sleep-experience/Dreams-as-a-source-of-divination#ref984709

https://www.dreamscience.ca/en/documents/New%20content/incubation/Incubation%20overview%20for%20website%20updated.pdf

Ominous-Vapor Watcher

https://www.obafemio.com/uploads/5/1/4/2/5142021/dream_interpretation_in_ancient_china.pdf

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Zhouli

[Trivia Question]

Rapid eye movement (REM) saccade speed

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780080450469010895

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1469-8986.1985.tb01551.x

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1469-8986.1983.tb03008.x

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9406327/

[Fact Off]

Approximating dreams with generative AI

https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/heres-how-ai-could-soon-decode-your-dreams

Lucid dreaming and the effects of video games on dreams

https://academic.oup.com/nc/article/2017/1/nix009/3859602

https://theconversation.com/im-a-lucid-dream-researcher-heres-how-to-train-your-brain-to-do-it-118901

https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2014-00817-001

https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F1053-0797.16.2.96

https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2014-00817-001

https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2008-19013-002

https://www.theverge.com/2014/1/21/5330636/video-games-effect-on-dreams

[Ask the Science Couch]

Neuroscience of fever dreams

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3830719/

https://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/IJoDR/article/view/28492

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6997236/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0033318268718077?via%3Dihub

https://www.accjournal.org/journal/view.php?number=1528

Patreon bonus: Recurring dream content and possible psychology

https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2010-23497-001

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Antonio-Zadra/publication/232509978_Recurrent_dreams_Their_relation_to_life_events/links/53d673f10cf220632f3da1f7/Recurrent-dreams-Their-relation-to-life-events.pdf

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053810005000772?casa_token=Dofy4I_w2PsAAAAA:DdZ6qAtKJiS6OEE3Iu8pETHldBs5n1SH3lvSQl6WuCNVv9Xi8v09wuR9bWki5YROcyKWXAZ3CcN3

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01812/full

https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/ajp.134.12.1335

[Butt One More Thing]

Psychoanalyst Hans Thorner documenting a patient who dreamed of butt spiders

https://bgsp.edu/app/uploads/2014/12/Blechner-M-Patients-dreams-and-the-countertransference.pdf

https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429477546-12/three-defences-inner-persecution-hans-thorner

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Camouflage Nov 26, 2024

Show notes

Now you see it, now you don't - this episode is a true trick for the senses as we uncover the hidden wonders of Camouflage! From human ingenuity (?) to animal creativity, misdirection and subterfuge abound in this episode, so keep your eyes peeled, it's not one you'll want to miss!

SciShow Tangents is on YouTube! Go to www.youtube.com/scishowtangents to check out this episode with the added bonus of seeing our faces!

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

And go to https://store.dftba.com/collections/scishow-tangents to buy some great Tangents merch!

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

[This, That, or the Other: Disappearing Acts]

Stripes painted on ships and planes

Painting planes pink

Yehudi lights on planes

https://www.cnrs-scrn.org/northern_mariner/vol19/tnm_19_171-192.pdf

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1634902/

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/552503/the-secret-lives-of-color-by-kassia-st-clair/

https://books.google.com/books?id=heS0lbYrpAwC&pg=PA56&dq=yehudi+lights&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjHg8TLg6KJAxX5DkQIHUDFHHcQ6AF6BAgJEAI#v=onepage&q=yehudi%20lights&f=false

https://books.google.com/books?id=DUkl5bH6k6EC&pg=PA62#v=onepage&q&f=false

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0042698902002675#:~:text=In%20the%20Purkinje%20shift%2C%20the,versus%20red%20into%20apparent%20motion.

[Trivia Question]

Color combinations of Bargibant's pygmy seahorses

https://www.fishbase.se/summary/Hippocampus-bargibanti

https://oceana.org/marine-life/pygmy-seahorse/

https://owlcation.com/stem/Camouflage-in-Animals-Pygmy-Seahorses

[Fact Off]

Trashline orb-weaver spiders that build self-portraits for camouflage https://web.archive.org/web/20160829062900/http://blog.perunature.com:80/2012/12/new-species-of-decoy-spider-likely.html

https://phys.org/news/2012-12-species-spider-fake-decoys.html

https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/trashline-orbweavers

https://academic.oup.com/beheco/article-abstract/10/4/372/2252323

Picture examples of stabilimenta: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stabilimentum

Tricking mice with scent camouflage by adding too much wheat smell

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abe4164

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-023-01127-3

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/camouflaging-wheat-smell-pest-control

[Ask the Science Couch]

Color-changing biology in invertebrates like octopuses vs. vertebrates like chameleons

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5804272/

https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms7368

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1039/c0pp00199f

https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/invertebrates/how-octopuses-and-squids-change-color

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2936158/

Patreon bonus: Non-visual-spectrum camouflage or other senses

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.860137

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.2008.0228

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00049-004-0274-4

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsif.2019.0183

[Butt One More Thing]

Caterpillars, spiders, and moths that camouflage themselves as bird poop

https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/citrus/giantswallowtail.htm

https://nhpbs.org/natureworks/viceroy.htm

https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn28124-zoologger-a-spider-that-looks-and-smells-like-bird-droppings/

https://australian.museum/learn/animals/spiders/bird-dropping-spider/

https://boingboing.net/2019/11/14/macrocilix-maia-a-moth-that-e.html

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Stomachs Nov 12, 2024

Show notes

From one to four to none at all, stomachs enjoy a stunning variety across all the creatures who have (or don't have) them. And with our stomachs all happily full of spooky month treats, we thought it was the perfect time to learn all about this weird, wobbly, wonderful organ.

SciShow Tangents is on YouTube! Go to www.youtube.com/scishowtangents to check out this episode with the added bonus of seeing our faces!

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

And go to https://store.dftba.com/collections/scishow-tangents to buy some great Tangents merch!

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

[This, That, or the Other: Stomachs ROCK]

Bird with over 1% of their total body weight of gastroliths

Aquatic animal helps control buoyancy by swallowing silt

Animal eats its exoskeleton that stores calcium in stomach

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8342792/#bib0037

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/6549149_No_gastric_mill_in_sauropod_dinosaurs_New_evidence_from_analysis_of_gastrolith_mass_and_function_in_ostriches

https://bonndoc.ulb.uni-bonn.de/xmlui/handle/20.500.11811/2110

https://www.jstor.org/stable/4098635

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26818557/

[Trivia Question]

Mammal species without stomachs

https://www.livescience.com/41661-why-platypus-wont-regain-stomach.html

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2013.2669

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/how-the-platypus-and-a-quarter-of-fishes-lost-their-stomachs

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums-static/obl4he/vertebratediversity/monotremes.html

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=A5Rzx7yeh7c

[Fact Off]

Ghost crabs use their stomach teeth (gastric mills) to growl

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2019.1161

https://www.science.org/content/article/listen-ghost-crab-frighten-away-enemies-its-stomach-rumbles

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/sep/11/ghost-crabs-use-teeth-in-stomachs-to-growl-at-predators

Someone ate a shrew to study what human digestion does to rodent bones

[Ask the Science Couch]

Borborygmus and the biology of stomach rumbles

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-does-your-stomach-gro/

https://www.etymonline.com/word/borborygmus

https://www.nature.com/articles/nrgastro.2012.57

https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/ajpgi.00212.2015

Patreon bonus: Stomach and brain communication for hunger/satiety (or other things)

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3174087/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK555906/

https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/ajpgi.00448.2003

https://www.livescience.com/health/food-diet/does-it-really-take-20-minutes-to-realize-youre-full

https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/693111

[Butt One More Thing]

Florida carpenter ants swallow their own formic acid to help protect their stomachs

https://elifesciences.org/articles/60287

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/491275

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Spooky Month: Nocturnal Animals with Tom Lum! Oct 31, 2024

Show notes

There's a chill in the air and a shudder in our bones...it's Spooky Month! Come along with us on a treacherous journey full of mischief, mayhem, and many marvelously mysterious guests! Steady yourself, for who knows what frights lurk around the corner...

Alas, our frightful fiends and friends, Spooky Month has nearly run its course - but not until we go out with a bang with our final ghoulish guest, Tom Lum! Join as we dare to tread amongst the creatures who belong to the night...nocturnal animals!

SciShow Tangents is on YouTube! Go to www.youtube.com/scishowtangents to check out this episode with the added bonus of seeing our faces!

Head to 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! A big thank you to Patreon subscribers Garth Riley and Glenn Trewitt for helping to make the show possible!

And go to https://store.dftba.com/collections/scishow-tangents to buy some great Tangents merch!

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

[This, That, or the Other: Boys’ Night Out]

Male animals float and call out to females

https://sta.uwi.edu/fst/lifesciences/sites/default/files/lifesciences/documents/ogatt/Pseudis_paradoxa%20-%20Paradoxical%20Frog.pdf

Animals in ritualistic sparring matches for several hours

https://echidnawalkabout.com.au/how-kangaroos-fight/

Patrolling perimeter and building up poop piles

https://www.britannica.com/animal/kiwi-bird

https://www.livescience.com/57813-kiwi-facts.html

[Truth or Fail Express]

Hedgehogs inflate like a balloon

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-68833432

https://www.livescience.com/59994-balloon-syndrome-hedgehog.html

Bandicoots spin to defend themselves

https://crashbandicoot.fandom.com/wiki/Spin

https://www2.environment.nsw.gov.au/topics/animals-and-plants/native-animals/native-animal-facts/land-mammals/bandicoots

Tasmanian devils are soothed by music

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ducking_the_Devil

https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/tasmanian-devil

https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/wildlife/2017/08/native-animals-should-be-renamed-with-their-aboriginal-names/

Pygmy tarsiers / gremlins rotating their heads

https://www.wired.com/2015/01/absurd-creature-of-the-week-tarsier/

https://primate.wisc.edu/primate-info-net/pin-factsheets/pin-factsheet-tarsier/

[Ask the Science Couch]

Vitamin D chemistry and nocturnal animals

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK56061/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8538717/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7761812/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12899852/

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2095.2009.00722.x

https://www.mdpi.com/2571-841X/3/1/1

Patreon bonus: Teenage humans sleeping habits shifted towards night

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2820578/

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/07420528.2023.2265480

https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2015/10/among-teens-sleep-deprivation-an-epidemic.html

https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/134/3/642/74175/School-Start-Times-for-Adolescents

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6084759/

[Butt One More Thing]

Bats with false butts (but some sort of muscle)

https://www.instagram.com/batworldsanctuary/p/DAbKf45RDjW/

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mexican_free-tailed_bat_(8006850693).jpg

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

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