PODCAST · science
Brain Junk
by Brain Junk
Brain Junk is an off-the-wall, totally unbelievable but true podcast where Amy Barton and Trace Kerr shake up science & history in the hunt for answers to questions you never knew you wanted to know. We bring you the inside scoop on things like: Can goldfish drive? How do whales not drown while eating? Who had the first prosthetic eye? We cannonball off the question high dive every other Tuesday -- those of you in the front seats, bring your ponchos. We're out to flood your brain. brainjunkpodcast.substack.com
Episodes
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328: The Last Gasp
We've had a hell of a good time spending the past 6 years scrounging up weird science and history junk for you to listen to! It's been a privilege knowing there a lots of fact junkies out there like us, digging through our podcast like raccoons in a trashcan. Our legacy is 328 fantastic episodes...
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327: MIT Hacks
Amy lives for a good shenanigan so of course she adores MIT's tradition of playing hacks (aka pranks) on Harvard and Yale. The biggest one you've ever heard of turned out to be a fake but don't worry, there's still some great ones from the past 75 years that were real! Show Notes: Atlas Obscura:...
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326: Medical Ants
In a weird turn of events, it's ants performing surgery when one of them has a leg injury instead of scientists whacking the legs off. Okay,we lied, the scientists are doing it too... Show Notes: Episode 71: Ants on Stilts (it's just as horrible as it sounds)...
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325: Crabs of Rome
Imagine rolling up to excavate an ancient ruin only to spend the day carrying out buckets full of crabs! Today we get to know the Potamon fluviatile crab. Show Notes: National Geographic article: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/river-crab-ancient-rome Musei In Commune Roma, The...
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324: Helium Alligators
Have you ever wondered if a hit of helium would change the sound of an alligator's bellows? Lucky for us, there are scientists out there who wanted to know. Show Notes: BBC: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-54197198 Kyoto University Ig Nobel announcement:...
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323: Ball Brothers
Amy looks into how companies change over time. Start making glass jars, segue into making aerospace technology, and end up only doing metal fabrication. We look at a few other companies too! Show Notes: Ball historical timeline: https://www.ball.com/our-company/our-story/history-timeline…
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322: Screaming Plants
Scientists wanted to know if plants scream and tortured tomatoes to find out the answer. Beckett (Trace's youngest spawn) wanted to know, if plants do scream, can our pets hear it and is this why cats knock plants off shelves? Show Notes: YouTube sound of Plants "screaming":...
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321: Joro Spiders
Amy laid the perfect web of "lies"; she lured Trace into an episode about shapeshifting women and then sprang the trap...this episode is about the Joro spider. We talk about the convergence of giant invasive spiders and Japanese mythology. Show Notes: Joro Spider (warning, there are spider…
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320: Voices in Your Head
How do we define and study the little voice in your head? Is it something you HEAR, hear or is it something you think? For some of us, there's no inner monologue, for others, it's so loud in there, it's hard to participate in the outside world. Trace fell down the research stairs on this one!…
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319: Porridge Championship
Who knew that a simple combination of oats, water and salt could make for a yearly competition that's lasted for 30 years? We dive into the history of oats in Scotland and the famous Golden Spurtle competition! Show Notes: Golden Spurtle World Porridge Making Championship:...
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318: All Things Cheeky
We're heading into the end of summer break so it's time for a mash up of wacky facts. Fake navels, cheetahs in heat, the weenus and MORE. Oh yes, we adore a good internet fact deep dive. Also, Trace does drop the 's**t' word once. Show Notes: Amazon fake navels:...
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317: Silkhenge
It's tiny, inscrutable, made with spider silk, and we really don't know much about the mysteries of it's intricate construction. Show Notes: Nat Geo https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/silkhenge-spiders-ecuador-mystery Wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silkhenge Internet archive...
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316: Fish Doorbell
In the spring, fish like perch travel through the rivers in the Netherlands to find places to spawn. They used to get stuck behind Weerdsluis lock: waiting for it to open. But not anymore! A virtual doorbell was created to help let the lock keeper know they're there. Hot tip, starting March 3,...
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315: NSFW Summer Edition
It's a super long length summertime episode with the sex lives of penguins, periods in space, Humpback whale sex, swearing parrots, terminal velocity poop, & penis size vs. nose size. Buckle up! Show Notes: Dr. George Murray Levick (1876–1956): unpublished notes on the sexual habits of the Adélie...
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314: Mercenary Monkeys
Smarter than the mafia, more cunning than a pickpocket in Paris, long-tailed macaques in Bali are all about snatching valuables from tourists and bargaining for tasty snacks. Show Notes: Long tailed macaques info from the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center Sir Attenborough and monkeys...
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313: Bat Chat 2!
Amy's bringing the BATS. We've got more cool facts about bat communication and how some of them compete for food (it's sonic warfare for sure). Show Notes: Episode 214 Sky Puppies Mama fruit bats and their kiddos Episode 242 Bat Chat 1 A smorgasbord of bat shenanigans University of Bristol: Bats...
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312: Disco Scallops
Did Trace complain about clickbait titles in this episode? Yes. Did she ALSO use a clickbait title for this very episode? Absolutely. Sea scallops like light and it turns out that works in the favor of fisheries and the environment. Show Notes: Oceanconservancy.org: Scallops Fishtek Marine…
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311: "Right" Side Driving
While doing the show notes for this episode, Trace looked into tips and tricks for when you take a vacation and have to drive on the opposite side of the road. The advice? Don't panic and purchase travel insurance LOL. There are so many different historical reasons for how countries chose what…
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310: Smell-o-flage
Nothing like rubbing yourself down with snakeskin jerky to keep yourself from getting eaten. Today we check out the parallel evolution of the California ground squirrel and rattlesnakes. It's an olfactory camouflage arms race that on a bad day, ends with someone getting eaten. Show Notes: UC…
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309: Middle of the Night Panic
Nighttime waking and scattered thoughts are problem solving's evil twin. If you find yourself awake at 3 am obsessing over your problems, remember that stress and hormonal imbalances can really damage the quality of your sleep. Show Notes: IFL Science: Why Do We Wake Around 3am And Dwell On Our...
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308: I'm Stuck on Band-aids
2024 is the 100th anniversary of Band-aids. But before they were the little strips in cool tins, they came in a roll you could cut to size. Show Notes: Johnson & Johnson history of Band-aids Wikipedia: Band-aid history Disposable America The Atlantic: The Story of the Black Band-aid TruColour...
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307: 52 Cards
From poker to games played to pass the time, those 52 cards are so ubiquitous it's hard to figure just when we started using them. We go all the way back to ancient China for a possible origin of cards. images: Cloisters Deck from the Metropolitan Museum of Art and and example of cards from today...
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306: The Flip That Flopped
Call them slippahs, flip flops, chanclas, slops, plakkies, slaps, pantofles, or thongs...whatever word you choose says a lot about your age and what part of the world you grew up in. We came up with this episode topic as kind of a joke. Turns out there's way more about to know about these summer...
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305: Deadly Animal Mimics
It's easy to believe that a snake might be a deadly mimic. But butterflies that start life as carnivorous caterpillars? Oh heck yeah! Show Notes: YouTube BBC: Ants Adopt a Caterpillar YouTube Entomological Society of America: Ants and Blues The Pattern of Social Parasitism in Maculinea teleius...
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304: The Wrong Wipe
If you haven't figured it out by now, Amy is not afraid to ask tough questions! Today she talks butt health, bidets, and the dangers of wet wipes. It's funnier than you'd think, we promise. Show Notes: Business Insider: interview with Dr. Goldstein Am I Doing it Wrong? Jan 2024 The Spruce: 7 Best...
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303: The Birds!
Trace found some delightful random facts about birds! Today we're talking "anting", talons locked to the death, and musical cockatoos. Show Notes: Journal of Ornithology: Anting behavior in birds Video of crow anting: aka the spicy spa Bird Note: anting Facebook video of bald eagles cartwheeling...
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302: Potato Chip Taste Test
We recorded IN PERSON! Trace brought back a whole bunch of fun flavored chips from Uwajimaya, a fantastic Asian grocery store in Seattle! Check out the show notes for our 5 other taste test episodes! Show Notes: P.S. If you like the Non Newtonian fluid cup, it's in our Merch store! P.S.S. in...
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301: Pregnancy & Pee
From wheat to mice to rabbits to...you won't believe the techniques we've used to determine if a woman is pregnant. The history of detecting pregnancy is long, inexact, and strange. Buckle up for some crazy science. Show Notes: Harvard University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences: Pee is for...
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300th Episode!!!!!
We're officially pros now right?!?! We dug deep into the internet's brain junk drawer for a random smash-up of whatever facts tickled our fancy. Thank you for listening and loving this show as much as we do. Show Notes: Check out our shop for fun stuff SHIRTS, CUPS, & MORE Guinness book of World...
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299: Master of Magic
We might quit Brain Junk and run off to the University of Exeter for their brand new Masters program in MAGIC. Not Hogwarts (darn) but you'd be studying the role of magic in society. Listen to our podcast while you apply!!!! Show Notes: University of Exeter Magic and Occult Science MA NPR…
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298: Pomology: Fruits, yo!
Apologies for the sound quality. Trace solemnly swears this is our last Zoom recorded episode. In 1886, the US government decided it was time we cataloged every fruit. Lacking the ability to take color pictures, a small group of artists, led by a talented female painter, began to create a record…
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297: Pedestrianism
Hold onto your top hats, we're striding into the historical world of competitive race walking! Can you even imagine walking 1000 miles in 1000 hours (FYI 1000 hours is nearly 42 days) Image: Emma Sharp Show Notes: BBC: The strange 19th century sport that was cooler than football Wikipedia: Foster...
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296: Diving Bell Ships
Go look up the Carl Straat diving bell ship. It's insane to think that it's possible for people to walk on the bottom of a river in regular clothes and rubber boots. There's no special equipment except for the boat and compressed air. Show Notes: Carl Straat diving bell ship (the video Amy…
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295: Cat Allergies...achooo
Up until 2020, If you loved cats but your allergies didn't love them back, you had to live with runny eyes, hop yourself up on Benadryl, or live a sad cat free life. Now there's something that might reduce the amount of Fel d1 that cats produce! The less Fel d1 in your environment, the less…
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294: Wave Washing
Are you team killer whale or team crab eating seal? We're cheering for both... Watch the movies in the show notes if you dare. There's no blood and guts but the hunting style of the B1 pod is still a complete horror show. image: AlKalenski from pixabay, Antarctic seal and iceberg Show Notes:...
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293: Sheep and Mummies
From Sugar the long lost Australian sheep to an unfortunate Bulgarian man who became mummified way faster than scientists would expect, Amy's bringing it with a fact double header! P.S. Sugar the sheep had 28 pounds of wool shorn off. That'd make a lot of sweaters! Show Notes: Brain Junk Merch...
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292: Magnets
First off, we recorded on Zoom ( I KNOW it's ). Sorry about the sound quality. Trace is working on a new platform for us. But okay, magnets! You asked & we are here to demystify those wacky magnets you've got stuck all over your fridge. Show notes: US Energy Information Administration magnetism...
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291: Critter-palooza
It's our last week of Thanksgiving break! Hope this finds you contentedly full from a good meal and hanging out with the people you adore. Trace pulled out all the stops with audio buffet of animal episodes. The bell bird, honeypot ants, and unexpected animal buddies. Also shout out to Hank the...
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290: Brach's Turkey Corn
Brain Junk is still on break but whooo-boy we've got a trip down memory lane for y'all! Picture it, September 2020, Trace and Amy sitting a million socially distant miles apart while tasting the flavor sensation of the season--turkey flavored candy corn. We still have TFSD (turkey flavored stress...
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289: Amy Double Header
Brain Junk is taking Thanksgiving break! Trace has some writing projects she needs to get off the ground and Amy has a teenager at home(do we need to say more?) We've got some fun episode mashups coming the next three weeks. Don't worry, we'll be back with all new stuff in December! This is a...
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288: Snail Mucus
We've got a vocab "argument" when it comes to the beauty industry. They say that super hydrating lotion has snail mucins. Scientists say mucins are in a protein family secreted by animals for a whole host of reasons. Come clean beauty industry! It's snail mucus. Show Notes: NIH National Library…
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287: Halloween!
It's the 31st of October and we've got some tricks and treats for you! We've dug up a whole bag of weird facts from ghost month in China to brain worms to devil's chairs. Settle in with your pile of candy and unwrap this creepy episode with us. P.S. Trace's lovely sister-in-law, Kathleen made an...
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286: Time Capsules!
Let's look into the past with time capsules! People have stashed important items in clay pots or the walls of buildings for centuries. It wasn't until 1939 that the phrase "time capsule" became popular as a way to explain the fascination we have with saving bits of ourselves for the future.…
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285: Where's the Bog?
In Wisconsin's Chippewa Flowage (what the heck is that? OMG it's amazing) there are floating islands of peat. Covered with trees and doing what they want. You've got to check out the videos in our show notes! P.S. Today is Amy Barton's birthday!!!!! DM her on our Instagram with Bday wishes!…
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284: Don't Burp in Space
Back in 1984, Coca-Cola and Pepsi started a very short space race. In 1985, Cans and soda went on the STS 51-F shuttle flight. It was sticky and fizzy and burping was a DISASTER. Amy takes us on a Vomit Comet ride to the stars talking burps, tears, and all things gastrointestinal in low gravity....
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283: Stinky Dinosaur Chicken
We've decided the Hoatzin is Brain Junk's new mascot! It's the weirdest, cow poop smelling, leaf-burping bird from the Andes. We adore them. image: Pixabay, Herbert Bieser Show notes: Video of climbing baby Hoatzin: Youtube Current Biology: Hoatzin quick guide Earth Planet Youtube This is a…
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282: Dirigible Cat
It's October 1910 and the first attempt to cross the Atlantic in an airship is all ready to go. They've got a crew of six, a fancy new radio, and a...cat. We'll give you three guesses as to which of those things were NOT supposed to be on the airship. image: Library of Congress Show Notes:...
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281: The Big Steal
Back in 1881, two young towns in Eastern Washington wanted to be the county seat in newly created Spokane county. Spokane vs. Cheney had rich businessmen turning out to vote. What happened next is still hotly contested (depending which city's historical society you ask). Show notes…
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280: Kick 'em in the Shorts
We've plucked a bunch of random facts from the junk drawer! Tree rings, platypusary, and death by salt are just a few of the super cool facts curated for your ears! Care to share a little Brain junk with your friends? Check out our new merch! https://brain-junk-merch.printify.me/products Show...
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279: Pigeon Pilots
A huge reason you have a touch screen on your smart phone is because of a pigeon and a bomb? Let's talk about WWII pigeon pilots! Show Notes: TikTok pigeon pilot footage NIST history report on pigeons and invention Wikipedia: Project Pigeon This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Brain Junk is an off-the-wall, totally unbelievable but true podcast where Amy Barton and Trace Kerr shake up science & history in the hunt for answers to questions you never knew you wanted to know. We bring you the inside scoop on things like: Can goldfish drive? How do whales not drown while eating? Who had the first prosthetic eye? We cannonball off the question high dive every other Tuesday -- those of you in the front seats, bring your ponchos. We're out to flood your brain.
brainjunkpodcast.substack.com
HOSTED BY
Brain Junk
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Brain Junk have?
Brain Junk currently has 322 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Brain Junk about?
Brain Junk is an off-the-wall, totally unbelievable but true podcast where Amy Barton and Trace Kerr shake up science & history in the hunt for answers to questions you never knew you wanted to know. We bring you the inside scoop on things like: Can goldfish drive? How do whales not drown while...
How often does Brain Junk release new episodes?
Brain Junk publishes regularly with 322 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Brain Junk?
You can listen to Brain Junk on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Brain Junk?
Brain Junk is created and hosted by Brain Junk.
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