What Makes You Uniquely Human & How Words Affect Your Thoughts

Major storms all get names: Milton, Katrina, Ian, Sandy etc. Why do we name storms? Do the names of storms ever get used again for other storms? Find out as we start this episode with a brief look at the tradition of naming major storms. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-do-hurricanes-get-their-names-who-chooses-and-why-list/ What is it that makes us human and separates us from all the other animals on the planet? The answer will surprise you because a lot of characteristics you may think are uniquely human are not. Yet there are other things that do make us unique that you may have never considered. Here to sort it all out and make you think differently about what it means to be a human is Adam Rutherford. He is a science writer, broadcaster, and author of the book The Book of Humans: A Brief History of Culture, Sex, War, and the Evolution of Us (https://amzn.to/3YsxLyF) At some point our ancestors stopped grunting and started using words to communicate. And those words started to affect how we think. So, how did that all happen? Where did our words come from? Why do some words seem so arbitrary while other words sound like the word they are describing? All this is what Steven Mithen is here to discuss. He is an archaeologist and professor of early prehistory at the University of Reading. He has written more than 200 hundred articles and books, his latest book is called The Language Puzzle: Piecing Together the Six-Million-Year Story of How Words Evolved (https://amzn.to/4dDd8E1). People have theories of what should and should never be put down the garbage disposal. Consumer Reports actually did some tests and came up with some interesting recommendations. Listen as I reveal if eggshells and chicken bones and a bunch of other things should or should not be put down there. https://www.consumerreports.org/appliances/garbage-disposals/foods-you-can-cant-put-down-a-garbage-disposal-a1074300549/ PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS!!! INDEED:  Get a $75 SPONSORED JOB CREDIT to get your jobs more visibility at https://Indeed.com/SOMETHING  Support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast.  Indeed.com/SOMETHING.  Terms and conditions apply. SHOPIFY:  Sign up for a $1 per-month trial period at https://Shopify.com/sysk . Go to SHOPIFY.com/sysk to grow your business – no matter what stage you’re in! MINT MOBILE: Cut your wireless bill to $15 a month at https://MintMobile.com/something! $45 upfront payment required (equivalent to $15/mo.).  New customers on first 3 month plan only. Additional taxes, fees, & restrictions apply. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices