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You’ll Die Smarter — Education
You’ll Die Smarter

If you ever wanted to know why you should drink before telling a lie, why Disney characters wear white gloves, or what is the ideal vacation length, then look no further.

Copyright: © Choses à Savoir

Latest Episodes:

How heavy are the clouds? Apr 22, 2021

The clouds we see in the sky seem rather light, almost like absorbent cotton. However, being filled with water and ice, these gigantic suspended masses weigh - in reality - up to several tons. Don't be fooled by appearances, the clouds that float above your heads are more like anvils in suspension. Indeed, being made of billions of water and ice droplets, these vaporous masses can weigh far more than you may expect. With a water density of about 0.5 grams per cubed meter, a cloud of 100 kilometers cubed can reach the mass of 500 000 tons.

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What is the Rowbotham experiment? Apr 21, 2021

Long before Magellan completed the first circumnavigation of the globe, in the 16th century, ancient Greek scientists had demonstrated, by simple observation, that the Earth was round, or rather spherical. Of course, this did not prevent some people from believing that our planet was flat. To be fair, even some individuals don’t believe it now.

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Why is biting foil unpleasant? Apr 20, 2021

As you may have already noticed, if you bite aluminum foil, the strange sensation of heat or pain in your teeth is quite unpleasant. This is due to the contact between the aluminum and the metals that make up the fillings in some teeth. If you feel a tingling sensation when biting aluminum foil, it is because some of your teeth have been provided with fillings. In this case, the connection between the aluminum and the elements of the filling causes a reaction similar to that of a battery.

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Why are Bermuda shorts a military garment? Apr 19, 2021

You all know the Bermuda shorts: those shorts that come down to the knee, unlike the classic shorts that only cover part of the thighs. You may be more familiar with the name “dad shorts.” While today it is considered as a vacation or a summer outfit for older generations, its origin is quite different.

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Why do many Vietnamese have "Nguyen" in their name? Apr 18, 2021

According to some estimates, the surname "Nguyen" is used by around 40% of the population in Vietnam. This country is home to 95 million people, so there are nearly 38 million Mr. or Mrs. Nguyen. This makes Nguyen the 4th most popular name in the world, just behind Lee, Zhang and Wang, all Chinese names.

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What are the 10 most surprising objects launched into space? Apr 15, 2021

Mankind doesn't just send rockets or space probes into space. In fact, many unexpected objects have been launched into space, all for the sake of science.

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Why are ancient Egyptian depictions of humans drawn in profile? Apr 14, 2021

On the walls of the Egyptian pyramids, human depictions, and especially depictions of nobility, are often represented in profile. The reason they are designed this way is primarily religious. If you look closely, you’ll notice that the ancient Egyptian characters are not entirely represented in profile. Only the face, the legs and the arms are painted in this way. The bust and torse is represented from the front. And actually the singular eye on the profile face is depicted as if being viewed from the front, rather asynchronous to the rest of the face.

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Why does spaghetti never break in half? Apr 13, 2021

Have you noticed this before? Try this little experiment: Try to break a raw spaghetti noodle in half with your fingers by bending it until it breaks. If you give it a go, the noodle will most likely break, but not into two pieces. There's no need to feel sorry for yourself if you failed – your skills are not at fault. Raw spaghetti breaks into 3, 4, 5 or more pieces, but almost never in two. In fact, it is almost impossible to do so. This is the "mystery of the broken spaghetti". It may seem trivial, but it has interested many great scientists, including Richard Feynman, the famous American physicist of the 20th century. He was primarily known for reformulating quantum mechanics.

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Why was the paper clip a sign of resistance? Apr 12, 2021

The paper clip was indeed a symbol of unity and resistance of a particular nation in the face of the Nazi occupation during the Second World War. And this nation is Norway. It is hard to imagine that such a mundane object, primarily used to hold sheets of paper together, could have had such a great and noble meaning. Yet, history and Norway prove us otherwise. At the turn of the 20th century, a Norwegian by the name of Johan Vaaler patented the first paper clip model, close to the one we use today. But it was not exactly the same. His model lacked the two complete loops and resembled a rectangle. This design was not as easy to insert sheets of paper. As a result, his invention was never produced.

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Why are planes slower than they used to be? Apr 11, 2021

It's a fact that the more aviation savvy among you may have already observed: on the whole, airliners fly slower than they used to. If we take a random flight, for example from New York to Denver, it takes 19 minutes longer today than in 1983 to connect the two cities. This seems to go against the grain of technological progress, so what are the factors that explain this?

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Why does the Sphinx of Giza have a broken nose? Apr 08, 2021

The Sphinx of Giza is a monumental statue consisting of two distinct parts: a human face (that of a pharaoh wearing the nemes, the emblematic pharaonic headdress) and the elongated body of a lion. This Sphinx stands in front of the pyramids of the site of Giza, upstream of the Nile Delta in Egypt, near the modern city of Cairo. The Sphinx of Giza is 73 meters long, 20 meters high, and 14 meters wide. It is the largest monolithic monumental sculpture in the world.

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In which subject are left-handed people better than right-handed people? Apr 07, 2021

Before we begin, you should know that there are approximately 930 million left-handed people in the world. But can dominant sides lead people to be better (or worse) in specific subjects? Actually yes. Left-handed individuals are better at mathematics. To reach this conclusion, researchers from the University of Liverpool and Milan conducted a study of 2,300 Italian students aged 6 to 17 years old. These students were given a mathematics test consisting of easy questions such as addition and subtraction, and also more complex problems. Then each student was tested to determine the percentage

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Why is it said that babies are born in cabbages? Apr 06, 2021

This curious myth that boys are born in cabbages and little girls in roses has not only one but two claimed origins. Here they are. The first of the two theories, claims that since ancient times, cabbage has been a symbol of fertility. This can probably be explained by its form and composition: its countless superimposed leaves. It is known that in this period, as well as in the Middle Ages, cabbage soup was traditionally served to young couples to increase their chances of having a baby. It was also believed that cabbage helped the development of the foetus and was one of the foods that increased the quality of the sperm.

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Why do chip bags look empty? Apr 05, 2021

Maybe you've already asked yourself this question. It's quite natural since there are sometimes very few chips in a bag, especially compared to its size. The reason why chip bags are always half empty is that it is necessary for preservation. In fact, if the chips are exposed to oxygen for too long, they soften and spoil quickly. To keep them edible and crispy, they need to be few in number, and in contact with a particular gas: nitrogen. The absence of oxygen slows down the oxidation of the fatty substances soaking the chips.

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Why do the Japanese eat KFC at Christmas? Apr 04, 2021

Christmas in Japan is a modern tradition that is constantly growing in importance, although the birth of Jesus Christ is rarely celebrated on the occasion. Only 1% of the Japanese population is Christian, so Christmas primarily revolves around the myth of Santa Claus. In Japan, this holiday is not an occasion for family gatherings, but rather meeting up as a couple or with friends. On New Year's Eve, people will gather for fancy meal, but their Christmas spread is a bit different. The center of attention is not a turkey, but rather chicken. To be more specific, fried chicken, and ideally from the classic KFC chain.

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Why did Hitler have his iconic moustache? Apr 01, 2021

The "Hitler moustache": this is the familiar term used to refer to the mustache that prior to the end of the Second World War, was actually known as the "toothbrush moustache". Inevitably associated with the figure of the Führer, it has unsurprisingly been unfashionable since the mid-1940s.

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How does loneliness effect the brain? Mar 31, 2021

Loneliness affects between 10 and 20% of the population. It is known that loneliness can promote depression, lower the immune system, and even effect development. In order to measure the effects of loneliness on the brain’s mechanisms, a study was carried out using data from an English database. This database collects, among other things, genetic data and MRI results from approximately 40,000 people.

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Why is yawning contagious? Mar 30, 2021

As you have no doubt noticed, yawning is a very contagious reflex. This mimicry, specific to humans and certain other primates, is explained by the activation of specific neurons called "mirror neurons". These neurons are activated when we see a person doing certain actions. If we see a person yawning, the mirror neurons lead us to imitate them. But this reproduction only applies to certain behaviors, such as yawning. In many other cases, the brain prevents this propensity to copy our fellow human beings.

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Why do laurels symbolize victory? Mar 29, 2021

The leaves of laurel, a species of evergreen shrub native to the Mediterranean basin, are often braided into a crown as a reward or as a symbolism of victory. To understand why, we have to go back to ancient Greece, and more specifically to a particular myth. According to ancient Greek mythology, Eros, the god of Love, decided to punish Apollo, the god of the Sun, for mocking him during an archery session. Both Eros and Apollo were renowned for their archery skills.

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How does the Veblen effect make you buy expensive products? Mar 28, 2021

The Veblen effect, more commonly known as the snobbery effect, can easily be summed up as the fact that we, as humans, like or want to buy objects, not because we need them or because we especially like them, but simply because of their price. Yep, because they’re expensive. This effect was highlighted by the economist and sociologist Thorstein Veblen in his 1899 book The Theory of the Leisure Class. Veblen observes that if we look at the field of luxury goods, or at least those that allow people to identify themselves as belonging to a certain social class, the price decrease of these products results in decreasing interest of their potential buyers.

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Which room has the most bacteria? Mar 25, 2021

While not all bacteria that lurk in our homes are dangerous, some can transmit viral diseases and various infections, and some of which can be quite serious. These bacteria hide in every room of your home, but they are most prevalent in the kitchen. Yep, you heard it right. Contrary to popular belief, it is the kitchen and not the bathroom that is the most contaminated room in the house.

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Are we less productive in our pajamas? Mar 24, 2021

In these times of health crisis and containment, teleworking is on the rise. At home, some people tend to neglect their dress code. So the question is, does working in pajamas have consequences on the quality of our work? For many people, working at home does not imply the same dress codes. Many of us consider feel is no need to be dressed up to sit at the computer, especially if there are no video-conferences involved. So why not even stay in pajamas?

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Why was the Great Wall of China built? Mar 23, 2021

Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Great Wall of China is the largest construction undertaken by man. Built, for the most part, between the 3rd century BC and the 17th century AD, it was intended to protect a unified China from invasions from the north. According to the latest official estimates, the Chinese Wall extends over 20,000 kilometers. The Great Wall is composed of walls averaging a height of six to seven meters, and also features ditches and natural barriers such as rivers or mountains.

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Does wine protect against Covid-19? Mar 22, 2021

Published in a specialized newspaper, a recent article echoes a Taiwanese study, which claims the consumption of wine would protect against Covid-19. Unfortunately for all our wine drinkers out there, this claim is anything but true. The study insists on the role of two natural components of wine, tannins, a biochemical found in grape skin or seeds, and polyphenols, an organic compound found in many plants. In addition to their antioxidant virtues, polyphenols are believed to disrupt the spread of the virus responsible for Covid-19. As for its part, the tannin would make it more difficult for the virus to penetrate our cells.

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What is a zero stroke? Mar 21, 2021

The strange phrase "zero stroke" refers to a mental disorder that seems quite astonishing, earning it’s position in today’s You’ll Die Smarter episode, and not on a health podcast. So what is it all about? Zero stroke is a suspected mental disorder, diagnosed by doctors in Germany during the hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic (between 1921 and 1924). And this disorder was mainly characterized by the urge of patients to write endless rows of zeros. Yes, the number 0. How can this urge be explained?

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Why does the "Peace and love" sign look like that? Mar 18, 2021

The global symbol for "Peace and love" was invented in 1958. It was created at that time by the British graphic designer Gerald Holtom as part of protests against a nuclear weapons factory. This graphic designer, a graduate of the Royal College of Arts in London, was very involved in the movement. Holtom proposed that the protesters carry flags and posters with his logo during a peaceful march. This march had around 5000 people and took the protesters on a walk from Trafalgar Square in London to the town of Aldermaston, home to the famous atomic weapons research plant.

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Who is Tank Man? Mar 17, 2021

The protests in Tiananmen Square were immortalized by a photo that has become iconic. You may have seen this famous photo depicting a man with plastic grocery bags in his hands and standing in front of a line of tanks.

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Do couples really end up looking like each other? Mar 16, 2021

You may have heard that, over time, couples end up looking alike. It has been said that by living together and sharing common activities, the faces of couples begin to resemble one another. This resemblance of couples who have been living together for a long time is a common statement, and sometimes supported by psychologists.

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Why don’t pilots grow beards? Mar 15, 2021

Have you ever noticed that most male pilots are clean-shaven? Or if they have facial hair it is often a simple moustache? In fact, it is extremely rare to see a male airline pilot with a full beard, and there is a very special reason for this. And it has nothing to do with fashion. Let me explain.

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Why do big hotels often have revolving doors? Mar 14, 2021

I’m sure you’re familiar with revolving doors. These types of doors that work like a turnstile are often found at the entrance of department stores and large hotels. Consisting of several wings, usually glazed, the user pushes a wing, causing the entire door to turn. By walking with the turning wings, the user then exits the dial on the other side. Interestingly, the direction of rotation doors is usually counter-clockwise.

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Did the red phone really exist? Mar 11, 2021

Yes it did, but also no, it didn’t. Before we get into specifics, what was the red phone? The red phone was said to be a direct line of communication between the Pentagon and the Kremlin in Russia, set up in August 1963 after the Cuban missile crisis of the previous year. This episode was, as you may know, a kind of paroxysm of the Cold War. The Americans and Russians were never as close to war as they were when Moscow pointed missiles from Cuba at the United States.

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Why is it difficult to speak while looking into someone’s eyes? Mar 10, 2021

You may have noticed that maintaining eye contact while speaking can be difficult, even though verbal processing seems like it should be independent. Still, many people frequently look away from their conversers while chatting. So is there an interference between the two processes? Well actually, yes. There is scientific evidence supporting that it is more difficult for us to look someone directly in the eye when having a conversation.

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What is the Bad Line Syndrome? Mar 09, 2021

You may have experienced this feeling: you are stuck in a traffic jam or at the bank, in a line that doesn't move forward. You find yourself thinking that you made the wrong choice, and if you had chosen a different line or lane, it would be moving faster. Two medical researchers in Canada have looked at this phenomenon to see if there is any validity to this feeling. Is there a psychological basis for it, or is it the result of real observation? The result: this thought comes from an illusion of bad luck.

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Why is tea bagged? Mar 08, 2021

Tea bags are by no means new inventions, but their origins may come as a surprise to you. Contrary to what you might expect, we don't owe the invention to the famous tea-loving British Isles, but actually to an American. Tea bags date back to 1908. Technically speaking, it was a little earlier, 5 years prior, that a patent was filed for the first silk tea bag. But these tea bags were initially used for tasting. They were used to present small samples and to preserve the flavor of the tea leaves.

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Why is it there's a “Wicked Bible”? Mar 07, 2021

The “Wicked Bible,” also known as the “Sinner’s Bible” is the reprint of the King James' Bible published in 1631, in London, by the royal printers Barker and Lucas. This English translation of the Bible was made at the request of James I of England, and this Bible replaced the previous authorized version at the time, becoming the standard Bible for the Church of England.

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Why do we drink champagne from flutes? Mar 04, 2021

Champagne is a sparkling wine produced from 3 grape varieties: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. It benefits from an appellation of controlled origin, which means that it can only be produced in a specific geographical area and according to specific regulations. And to drink it, there are also rules. Not binding, of course, but there are specific ways of drinking it in order to fully appreciate this drink. Among them, and perhaps the most well know, relates to the glass, as champagne is intended to be drunk in flutes, not in classic wine glasses.

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Why are the bottoms of bottles hollow? Mar 03, 2021

This characteristic is very old and actually dates back all the way from the 4th century. During this time is when we first see this distinctive hollowed style on the punt, i.e., the bottom of a bottle. The primary purpose of this hollowed punt is to ensure the stability of the bottle when it is placed upright. Why not just make it flat? Fifteen centuries ago, craftsmen were unable to make bottles with a perfectly flat punt, which caused some difficulty in standing them upright. Craftsmen decided to solve the problem by stabilizing them with a heavier concave base.

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Is it more effective to wear two masks? Mar 02, 2021

Today the mask is highly recommended in many public places and often required. It is currently considered the best personal protective wear against the Covid-19 pandemic. However, you may have seen some people wearing two masks. Is this more effective? Actually, yes, it may be. This is what a scientific study shows in any case. According to this study, the superimposition of two masks could offer protection equivalent to that of FFP2 masks, which are to date the most effective device.

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What is the safest place on a plane? Mar 01, 2021

Before picking up their tickets, many passengers have probably wondered where the safest seat on the plane was. While there are no unbiased, official statistics about the safest seats on an airplane, there are small selection of studies show that some seats may be safer than others. For example, studies have been conducted for specialized publications that have looked into the question.

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How can plants hear? Feb 28, 2021

As far-fetched as it may sound, some plants can actually hear. In fact, it has been scientifically proven by researchers that plants are perfectly capable of setting up defense mechanisms responding to sound. They discovered that when the sound of a specific predators is played near the plant, their defense mechanism to fight against insects are triggered. Let’s look a little closer. These researchers first observed, how plants of the Arabidopsis genus, plants related to mustard and cabbage, reacted when a caterpillar nibbled at their leaves.

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Why do we sometimes take pleasure in the misfortune of others? Feb 25, 2021

This strange feeling, this "sick joy" that we may feel when seeing the misfortune of others, has a name: Schadenfreude. This German word literally means "joy of harm". Having been adopted into the English language, it means "to rejoice in the misfortune of others". At first glance, this feeling may appear dangerously close to sadism. Thankfully, we are not all secret psychopaths, as Schadenfreude has a key difference: it’s purely passive.

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Why should you eat using large forks? Feb 24, 2021

Perhaps should is a strong word. Of course, you can do whatever you want when it comes to eating. Chopsticks, small forks, your hands, whatever. But, if you want to lose weight, the size of your fork just might matter. At least, that's the conclusion reached by researchers at the University of Utah. Not unlike many of the questions we answer on You’ll Die Smarter, human psychology is behind this phenomenon.

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Why isn't the British police armed? Feb 23, 2021

To begin, the title of our podcast is a generalization many of us are familiar with. Some British police officers actually do carry weapons beyond the traditional police baton. So exactly what is the situation? Let’s start with some numbers. In the UK, less than 5% of the police are armed. And these weapons are rarely used. For example, in 2017, out of 15,000 armed police operations, shots were fired only 7 times.

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Why are there upper and lower case letters? Feb 22, 2021

To put it briefly, it saved money. But I think that answer is a little short for us. Let’s look a little deeper into the nitty gritty of why that is. To begin with, you should know that writing dates back to approximately 3300 years BC. This is the period from which the first traces of writing have been found in the temples of the cities of Uruk, now in present-day Iraq. At that time, the Sumerians wrote on clay tablets. But this writing was composed of pictograms or symbols representing a word or concept, not like the alphabetic writing we use today.

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Why are cats afraid of cucumbers? Feb 21, 2021

If you have a cat you may have seen this strange but hilarious reaction. House cats seem to have an irrational fear of the ever-threatening cucumber. When this common vegetable is placed next to a cat or they discover it by happenstance, they’ll often leap in the air in startlement.

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Why was the movie Titanic banned? Feb 18, 2021

The RMS Titanic, known as the unsinkable ship, struck an iceberg on April 14, 1912 and sank, causing the deaths of over 1,500 passengers. You are probably familiar with James Cameron’s famous 1997 film depicting this event. But this was not at all the first film devoted to this tragedy!

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What is "Venetian blonde"? Feb 17, 2021

You may recognize this hair color from popular media. Sitting between the realms of golden blonde and coppery red, this hair color is also referred to as “strawberry blonde.” But why do some people call it Venetian? How does it relate to city of lovers? Could it be a reference to the color of a Palace at La Serenissima? Or is Venetian a reference to the famous boats that sail the Grand Canal?

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Why do some people have a fear of clowns? Feb 16, 2021

The fear of clowns has a name: coulrophobia. While we don’t know the exact origins of the prefix “coulro”, there are some suggestions that it comes from an Ancient Greek word meaning “acrobat on stilts.” But this doesn’t explain the fear, does it?

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Where do the 7 deadly sins come from? Feb 15, 2021

Let's start by getting the elephant out of the room: the Bible has nothing to do with this list. The fact that the 7 deadly sins come from Bible is a misconception. The 7 deadly sins, also known as the 7 capital sins, came into existence far after the books of the Bible were written. The most modern portions of the Bible date around 165 BC, but the deadly sin are more recent, finding their beginnings in the 4th century. The first deadly sins were established by Evagra the Pontic, a monk and ascetic theologian living as a hermit in Egypt...

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Why are songs getting shorter and shorter? Feb 14, 2021

If you look at the duration of the top 10 best-selling titles in the United States, you'll see that their average duration is 3.5 minutes. It may not sound like much, but in reality, it averages 20 seconds less than songs released merely 5 years ago. And if we go back further to the 1970s it was not uncommon for 7- or 8-minute tracks to come out. For example, Led Zeppelin’s 1971 "Stairway to Heaven" comes out at 8 minutes and 2 seconds. So what happened?

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What do eggplant and cigarettes have in common? Feb 11, 2021

Bet you didn’t see this one coming. But actually, they share one very simple trait: nicotine. Yep, both contain it. 100 grams of an eggplant contains 0.01 milligrams of nicotine. That means if you were to eat 10 kilos of eggplants, you consuming the nicotine equivalent to one cigarette. While it is a small amount of nicotine, it is still rather surprising information. This discovery was revealed by a study dating from 1993 entitled "The nicotine content of common vegetables", a study carried out by three doctors from the University of Michigan...

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Where do we get the term “lesbian”? Feb 10, 2021

The word "lesbian" comes from the name of the Greek island of Lesbos, which is the homeland of the poetess Sappho. Sappho is an ancient Greek poetess who lived in the 7th and 6th centuries BC, in Mytilene on the Greek island of Lesbos. Because she was inhabitant of the island of Lesbos, she was called a “lesbian”. We know that she was very famous during Antiquity, but unfortunately only fragments of her poetic work remain today...

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Why do we shiver from the cold? Feb 09, 2021

To answer rather directly, it's for warmth. And it is a survival reflex. But let’s get into the nitty gritty details, shall we? The thermoregulation mechanism culpable is designed to keep the body at 37 degrees. When it is too cold, and the body detects that its temperature is too low, and it triggers a protective reflex. It provokes repeated muscular contractions that create heat with the aim to raise the body's temperament. These uncontrollable muscular contractions are called tremors and are what shivering and rattling of teeth...

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Who is the bravest brother (or sister) in a family? Feb 08, 2021

An interesting study has just been conducted by a scientist and cognitivist by the name of Frank J. Sulloway. He has studied 700 families, and, to be more precise, 700 siblings. To clarify even further, these siblings all evolved into the world of high-level baseball in the second half of the 20th century. His goal? To try to determine if within siblings, one of them, whether the eldest or youngest, could be designated as the bravest, or at least as the one who takes the most risks...

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Why do we make the "V" sign of victory? Feb 07, 2021

You're going to tell me that the answer is in the question. You may say “The V of victory comes from the word Victory, which begins with the letter V.” And you will be right. But which victory is it? And just why was the expression accompanied by the gesture? Here’s a little more explanation. According to the historian Aurélie Luneau in her book "Radio London 1940-1944 Voices of Freedom", it all began at the BBC during the Resistance in the Second World War.

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Why first impressions are so important? Feb 04, 2021

You may have already noticed that when you get a first impression of someone or something, it is often difficult to get rid of it afterwards. How can you explain the fact that even when you have examined it through the lens of reason, this impression persists or at least greatly influences your final opinion? I have just read a fascinating article on this subject and I am going to summarize it for you. I'll put the link to the complete article in the description of this podcast if you want to do some of your own research...

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Why shouldn't you drink a hot drink when you're cold? Feb 03, 2021

It is a natural reflex. When it is cold, we want to warm up by drinking a hot drink, tea, coffee or hot chocolate for example. Unfortunately, that's a bad idea. Certainly, in the moment and for a short term, one feels a sensation of warmth, but it is immediately counterbalanced by a counterproductive phenome. When we drink, the hot drink gives the sensors on the mouth and tongue a false information: the body is hot. As a result, the brain reacts immediately by adjusting its internal temperature. To do this, it activates perspiration, which cools the body. This leads to the exact opposite of the desired result...

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Why do ice cubes stick to your fingers? Feb 02, 2021

Occasionally when we hold an ice cube or a piece of frozen metal, our fingers can literally stick to it. This physical phenomenon has an easily understandable basis. The heat from our fingers melts the ice on the surface of the ice cube. At this point, the ice turns into water and gets embedded in the small folds of our skin. But a few moments later, if the ice cube is big enough and cold enough, the temperature at the surface of the ice cube is so cold that the water refreezes causing, our fingers to stick...

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What is the "Braess paradox”? Feb 01, 2021

The Braess Paradox, highlighted in 1968 by mathematician Dietrich Braess, states that adding a new road to a road network can reduce overall performance when cars choose their route individually. In simpler terms, and without going into the technical details that explain this mathematical paradox, this means that although it may seem counter-intuitive (hence the term "paradox"), when there is a traffic jam, the best way to make traffic flow smoother is not necessarily to add a lane. On the contrary, it is sometimes better to remove one...

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Why do camels and dromedaries not have the same number of humps? Jan 31, 2021

A fairly short podcast today to quickly answer this common question! It's something you've known since you were a child: dromedaries have one hump and camels have two. But have you ever wondered why there's a difference? After all, these animals are very close. So why don't they have the same number of humps? First off, you have to know what this part of the body is used for. These bumps are essential because they provide the animal with the energy it needs to survive the extreme conditions of its habitat...

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What is the origin of the Rubik's cube? Jan 28, 2021

This popular three-dimensional geometric puzzle is composed of 26 outer cubes of different colors. The Rubik’s cube was invented in 1974 by Ernő Rubik, a Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture who built the cube for his students to think about its internal mechanism. They had to ask themselves the question: what is the internal mechanism that allows the cubes to rotate on three axes and still remain together. The first prototype, was composed of 26 small cubes and a center, the whole was carved out of wood. Each layer of 9 cubes could rotate, without moving the others...

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Why is it called "Stockholm Syndrome"? Jan 27, 2021

In a situation of Stockholm syndrome, a hostage develops a feeling of empathy and occasionally even friendship with his captor. This syndrome owes its name to a hostage situation that took place in Stockholm in 1973. On August 23rd, a prisoner on parole, Jan Erik Olsson, attempted to rob a bank. He had to retreat into the branch and ended up taking four people hostage. Negotiations were held with the authorities and after 6 days he freed everyone. Having spent almost a week with him, the hostages developed a curious behavior during the arrest, going so far as to stand in front of the policemen who came to arrest him, separating them from Olsson...

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What exactly is Paris syndrome? Jan 26, 2021

Paris syndrome is a psychological disorder that some people experience when they are on vacation in Paris. Similar to the Stendhal and Jerusalem syndromes, this disorder mainly affects Japanese people who, distraught by the gap between reality and the idea they had of the city before going there, lose their footing in the face of the cultural gap between the image of Paris depicted in Japan and Paris in reality...

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Does love really harm friendship? Jan 25, 2021

You may know the adage "One lost, ten found". Perhaps we should add, "one found, two lost" to our colloquial dictionary. A British study has established that entering into a romantic relationship distances us from our friends. Two of them, to be very precise. Let me explain...

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Why is it necessary to reveal the ending of films? Jan 24, 2021

You may be like me and assume that revealing the end of a movie or giving away key plot information in a trailer would have a negative impact on a film’s box office. It’s easy to assume that spoilers would discourage potential viewers. We assume that the public would collectively no longer want to see a movie if we knew the ending or essential elements in advance. But actually, not only is this not the case, but the complete opposite is true. Let me explain...

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Was Beethoven really deaf? Jan 21, 2021

You’ve probably heard it. That the great German composer, Beethoven, who lived during the 18th and 19th century was deaf. But is it actually true? Yes, actually, it is. How do we know? In the absence of medical records, we have to refer to his correspondence. When his deafness first developed, Beethoven began to use conversation books to communicate with those around him...

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How many faces can we recognize at most? Jan 20, 2021

We easily recognize the faces of our loved ones, family and friends, as well as most of the people we interact with on a regular basis. But we don't remember every face we come across and there is a limit to our memory when it comes to facial recognition. To understand it more precisely, a study was conducted in Great Britain that allowed us to calculate for the first time just how many faces we are able to really recognize. The result is rather disappointing. We only remember approximately 5000 faces...

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Is toothpaste effective against erectile dysfunction? Jan 19, 2021

On social media, a number of recipes are circulating to cure the most diverse of ailments. One of them praises the virtues of toothpaste to relieve erectile dysfunction. To be specific, they say that coating one's penis with toothpaste will restore normal erections and prevent premature ejaculation. But that's not all - this miraculous remedy can even make the sexual act last longer. It's not so surprising that the video announcing these amazing results has been seen more than a million times...

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Why do astronauts sleep near a vent? Jan 18, 2021

The life of astronauts is nothing like that of other humans. In the particular environment where they live, mundane daily activities are vastly different than on Earth. One of these mundane activates that looks a little different in space is sleeping. On board the International Space Station, each astronaut has a small compartment reserved for rest. This small cabin is equipped with all the necessary equipment for sleeping like a sleeping bag, a lamp, and pillow, but these are not the objects of interest to us. Rather we want to discuss the presence of a mandatory air vent that can be found in each resting compartment...

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Did chastity belts really exist? Jan 17, 2021

As you may know, a chastity belt was a device allegedly developed to prevent sexual intercourse and masturbation. They are said to have been designed in Europe in the late Middle Ages so that men could ensure the fidelity of their wives when they went to war for long periods of time. But this seems to be a myth. In fact, many historians confirm that these belts never actually existed. How can this be confirmed?

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Why do they run 42.195 km in a marathon? Jan 14, 2021

Contrary to what you may have heard, no, this distance does not come from antiquity because it isn’t the distance between Marathon and Athens. The length of 42.195km run in all the marathons in the world comes from the royal family of England. Originally, the marathon appeared at the first modern...

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Why do Greek statues have a small penis? Jan 13, 2021

In his book “Greek Homosexuality,” Professor Kenneth Dover explains that long and thick penises were considered grotesque in the ancient Greek cultural world. Their representations were thus limited to works of satirical art and depictions of ugliness and barbarism. Contrarily, small penises were associated with moderation, a cardinal virtue of the masculine ideal at the time, and, by extension, an artistic aesthetic. The ideal Greek man was rational and intellectual. And this "ideal" man had to be endowed with a small sexual organ...

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Are we really descendants of apes? Jan 12, 2021

The idea that man is descended from the ape was popularized in the 19th century by opponents of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. Nowadays, paleoanthropologists all agree that the great apes are more like our cousins. By claiming that the human species had evolved over millions of years, Darwin was opposing biblical claims that it took God only one day to create a man that was no different from his 19th century successors...

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Why does reading aloud help with memorization? Jan 11, 2021

Recent research suggests that reading aloud allows us to memorize what we read better than any other form of reading. And there is a particular reason why this technique is so effective. A recent study has shown the role played by reading aloud in memorization. It was conducted with the collaboration of students. Researchers presented 20 words to volunteers. For the purposes of the experiment, these volunteers were divided into four groups, each of which had to memorize words using a different technique. Depending on the group, the students either read the words silently, read the words aloud, listened to them through the voice of another speaker, or listened to their own recordings of the words...

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Why do we become more irritable when we are hungry? Jan 10, 2021

You may have already noticed this. When it's time to eat, temperaments can get heated and you may feel more irritable than at other times of the day. The phenomena of being "hangry" has been the subject of very serious scientific research. A study was conducted by nutritionist Amanda Salis at the University of Sydney. The conclusion: the culprit is blood sugar levels. Let me explain...

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Why are solar eclipses doomed to disappear? Jan 07, 2021

The interactions between the Earth and the Moon demonstrate how far away our natural satellite actually is. This phenomenon, as well as the current position of the Sun, explains the diminishing of, then the eventual projected end of total solar eclipses. The Moon is moving away from the Earth at a rate of 3.8 centimeters, or about 1.5 inches, each year. In 600 million years, the moon will be 23,500 kilometers (or over 14,000 miles) further away than it is today...

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Why are beer bottles sometimes made of dark glass? Jan 06, 2021

To understand the reason for this, we should start by pointing out that during the brewing process, the alpha acids in the hops are transformed into isomerized alpha acids. It sounds complicated, but it’s not. It is these acids that give beer its bitterness. But when the beer is exposed to light, the photons trigger a process that causes some of these acids to react with another substance (riboflavin to be exact, better known as vitamin B2). The result is a compound whose structure is quite similar to … wait for it ... the substances found in skunk secretions. Including the smell that goes with it!

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Why do we rub our eyes when we are tired? Jan 05, 2021

Sometimes, when we are tired, we may rub our eyes. This reflex is widely shared amongst humans, and in most cases, uncontrollable. But how do we explain it? There is apparently no particular gain in terms of energy spent doing it. Once we rub our eyes, we don’t feel livelier than before we did this, but we do it anyway. So, what is it good for?

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What is the ideal number of days for a vacation? Jan 04, 2021

Every person asked this question might have a different answer, depending on their personality and their role in society. For example, if we ask an employer what the ideal length of vacation is for their employees, the answer will certainly not be the same as when we ask this same person how many days of vacation they would like to take...

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Why do main Disney characters wear gloves? Jan 03, 2021

Many of the earliest Disney characters wear white gloves. This means we never see the hands of Mickey, Minnie, Donald Duck, or Pinocchio. It seems Walt Disney himself was the first to draw white gloves on Mickey Mouse in The Opry House, After that, the emblematic white gloves became the Disney trademark for many years! To be more exact, in 1928, when the first Mickey Mouse cartoon came out, this character still had completely black hands. But by 1929, he started to wear white gloves. There are several explanations to this evolution...

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