What is Cockney Rhyming Slang? It's complicated and its origins are unclear. Learn everything we know about it today in this classic episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Kombucha is pretty popular right now. But what is it exactly and where did it come from? The answers await you! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Have you ever stopped mid-pencil mark and realized to your astonishment where the plus sign came from? Then this one’s for you. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
It’s easy (and kind of fun) to laugh at the misfortune of CEOs and other high up business types when they bring it on themselves – so let’s do that now. Herein lies some of the worst business decisions ever made, hindsight being 20/20, of course. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Floods happen when more water is introduced to an area than can be quickly removed. That's about it, but there's more to floods, what causes them and the havoc they can wreak. Join Josh and Chuck in this super-saturated classic episode of Stuff You Should Know. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In 1981 America suffered the worst accidental structural collapse in its history. Listen in today to the tragic story of the fast-tracked building disaster that stills haunts Kansas City. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Face it, when you spill salt your life goes totally off the rails, maybe even forever. Fortunately, we humans stumbled upon the one reliable way to counteract that bad luck by tossing some over our left shoulder. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
It’s a listener request! Axolotls are one of the more amazing animals roaming the planet right now – they can regenerate parts of their brains, can fight off tumors, are found in the wild only in one single lake? And did we mention they smile all the time? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
It seems like we largely take it for granted these days, but the fact that we have humans living in space is the realization of a scientific dream a century old. Visit the space stations orbiting Earth past, present and future in this classic episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Today we dive into the history and current state of Native American reservations. This serves as a nice follow-up to the Trail of Tears double-ep from 2017. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Is OK the best word? It's certainly one of the most versatile. Check the interesting history of this weird contraction. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In WWII, Italy went through its own Jewish Holocaust, terrible at first then horrific as the Nazis took over the country. In Rome, a group of doctors hid Jewish refugees in plain sight in their hospital by giving them a highly contagious, highly fictitious disease. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Chuck and Josh end up making reduxes of past episodes on things like sweating and deodorant in this all-new episode on the science beneath what makes people smell. Learn all about your odor in this classic episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Laurens Hammond invented the Hammond organ and in the process changed music history. But he was much more than that. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
You've seen the evil eye. Many Middle Eastern cultures have a long history with it. Learn how to thwart this curse today. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Henry Ford tried to build a Midwestern American town in the Amazon rainforest in the 1920s. It's true. And yes, Chuck will say this should be a movie. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
It's every kid's dream - a job playing with toys that pays in toys. It's a real thing and has been around for a long time. Then there's the other side of the testing process, companies who ensure that toys are safe. It takes both of these testing techniques to successfully bring a toy to market these days. Dive into the ball pit with us today and learn all about toy testing in this classic episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Climate change is having sweeping effects on our climate and this is changing the world, not just for humans and other animals, but plants too. Will the Earth’s flora manage to find safe refuge in time? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Friends, treasure Saturn’s rings while they are young. They won’t be around forever. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Farmer's Almanac has a long rich history that is more than just moon phases and long-term weather patterns. Tune in to learn all about it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Today music sampling is a common practice, especially in electronic or hip-hop music. But how does it work? After all, other artists made the original music, and most of them would presumably like to be paid. Tune in to this classic episode to learn more about music sampling. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
One of the great Arctic mysteries was the disappearance of the ill-fated Franklin Expedition in search of a northwest passage between the Atlantic and Pacific. Not one man survived the trip, and they left precious little behind in the way of clues. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In the 19th century news spread of an unfortunate man who was born with an evil second face on the back of his head that spoke to him. The real story is that people keep falling for it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
If we could talk with the animals, grunt and squeak and squawk with the animals, what would we say? We’d better start thinking of something good because researchers are learning to speak sperm whale, prairie dog, and a bunch of other species' languages. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
You can stick them to the fridge or use them to transpose sound to tape, whatever they are used for magnets are surprisingly interesting. And knowing just exactly how and why magnets work will make you more interesting, which is why you should listen to this classic episode of SYSK. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Science is just realizing the extent of the tiny pollutants that have entered ecosystems across Earth and inside all humans. We call them xenobiotics – substances foreign to our bodies – and what effects they have on us we’re only starting to learn. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Who spoke English first and what was it like? Nothing like it is today. Listen in to learn all about it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Diaries have been around for a long time. There are many famous ones, and tens of millions that will never see the light of day. Learn about the history and benefits of journaling today. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Rainbows seem to defy nature, but they're really pretty simple when it comes down to it. Turns out it's just light reacting to water droplets in the air. But they sure do look cool. Learn all about how rainbows are formed in this classic episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The last meal of the executed is a longstanding tradition. Listen in today to learn about the dark history and modern practice of this culinary curiosity. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
